The Talmud teaches that everything is dependent on mazal, “even the Sefer Torah in the ark”. Some sifrei Torah are used week in and week out, while…
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Shabbat 33: Let's Talk
One of the differences between Talmudic rabbis and those of the post-Talmudic era is the “ability” of the former to link “crime and punishment”, or…
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Shabbat 31b: One-Foot Judaism
One of the most famous Talmudic stories is that of the potential convert who conditioned his conversion on whether or not he could be taught the…
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Shabbat 31: No Need to Cram
Having the questions of an exam in advance would seem to be a big advantage. Yet often, such advantages are frittered away as we are apt to work a…
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The Joy of Mitzvoth: Shabbat 30
Rav Moshe Feinstein noted that one of the tragedies of American Jewish life was the common notion that it is difficult to be a Jew. Children saw…
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Alive in Our Memories: Shabbat 30
“The rabbis wanted to bury the book of Kohelet, as its words contradict one another” (30b). The Talmud notes that, in addition to contradicting…
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Shabbat 22: Lights Out!
In an age before electricity, having light at night was no simple matter. While various forms of lamps were in use, their effectiveness was limited.…
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To Forget Is Human: Shabbat 12
Human nature is to be forgetful, even in the midst of doing something. This human frailty is what leads the Mishnah (11a) to rule that a tailor may…
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Shabbat 10: In Your Court
While the prelude to the giving of the Torah is the establishment of a court system (see Shemot 18), it would seem that having to actually use the…
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Shabbat 10a: Stop Praying Already
Two of our most fundamental mitzvoth are those of Tefillah, prayer and Talmud Torah, the study of Torah. Yet there has long been a…
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Shabbat 6: The Hidden Scrolls
When discussing the transition of torah sheba’al peh from knowledge that was transmitted orally to knowledge that is primarily studied via texts, we…
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Shabbat 3: Timely Questions
I had the privilege of learning in Rav Herschel Schachter’s shiur at Yeshiva University for four years, in the days before he was universally…
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Shabbat 2: Waiting Outside
Much of Masechet Brachot deals with non-legal matters - extolling the importance of prayers and blessings and recording many stories involving our…