For years, one of the most anticipated dates on the Jewish calendar was Rabbi Soloveitchik’s annual teshuva derasha given during the aseret…
Yoma 54: Love in the Temple
The relationship between G-d and the Jewish people is often compared to that of a husband and wife. Full of love and even desire, it is meant as a…
Yoma 53: Please Shorten Your Prayers
Mashechet Yoma delineates the special Temple service performed on Yom Kippur in great detail--and includes much discussion relating to the daily…
Yoma 52: There's No Way to Know
Great literature lends itself to multiple, even contradictory, interpretations. And the Bible is--in addition to everything else--great literature.…
Yoma 48: Try a Little Harder
One of the major debates in Jewish law is whether mitzvoth require kavanah, intent to fulfill the mitzvah (see for example Brachot13a). As a general…
Yoma 47: Raising Great Children
There is nothing more challenging and important, for a parent and for a community, than raising children. There is no formula for producing…
Yoma 38: What a Loser
"And [we remember] these for degradation: those of Beit Garmu didnot want to teach on the matter of the lechem hapanim; those of Beit…
Yoma 37: Winning the Lottery
One of the central features of the Yom Kippur service was that involving the two goats: one offered as a sacrifice whose blood was sprinkled on…
Yoma 36: What Sin Comes First?
The kohen gadol performed vidui, confession, three times on Yom Kippur. The first two were done using his own personal bull offering,…
Yoma 35: Not Such a Good Excuse
One of the most difficult things for we humans to do is to admit that we are wrong. Even when we know we have acted in ways that leave much to be…
Yoma 28: Prehistoric Torah
"The Holy One blessed be He looked into Torah and created the world" (Breisheet Rabba 1:2). Our Sages viewed the Torah as the architectural…
Yoma 22: Murder in the Mikdash
One of the fundamental teachings of Judaism is that nothing is inherently good or bad--it all depends on how it is used. Even the evil inclination…
Yoma 19: Yom Kippur Sleep
The kohen gadol had a hard day of work on Yom Kippur. The avodah, the special Yom Kippur Temple service, was intricate and difficult, and…
Yoma 18: Look Who Saved Torah From Oblivion
Sometimes the choices we make turn out to be better than we could have imagined in our wildest dreams. The baseball player drafted in the 11th round…
Yoma 13: When the Competition Gets Tough...
“And he shall atone for himself and for his household” (Vayikra 16:6). The Rabbis derive from this verse that the kohen gadol, in order…
Yoma 12: Messianic Laws
The opening Mishnah of Yoma teaches that a backup kohen gadol was to be prepared lest the kohen gadol become tameh,…
Yoma 10: Home Sweet Home
“And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house” (Devarim 6:9). The mitzvah of mezuzah is a most beloved and popular one—…
Yoma 9: Sinning in Secret
Although it is mashechet Gittin (55b-57b) that records the stories relating to the destruction of the Temple[1], the famous Talmudic passage stating…