“And G-d said to Abram; go from your land, your birthplace and from the home of your father” (Breisheet 12:1). Rashi…
You Go First (Nazir 47)
Jewish law rules that when one must “desecrate” the Shabbat in order to save a life it is the greatest scholar present who should…
Rav Meir's Legacy (Nazir 49)
While it was Rav Yehuda Hanassi who edited the Mishna it is the teachings of Rav Meir, who lived in the generation prior, that form the basis…
Nazir 23: Time to Sin
“For there is no righteous person in the land who does [only] good and does not sin” (Kohelet 7:20). Sinning is part and parcel of…
Nazir 23: Paving the Road of Good Intentions
One of the long standing debates in ethical theory is whether it is actions or intentions that determines the ethical probity of our actions. There…
Nazir 19: A Nazir in the Land
When one thinks of the mitzvoth dependent on the land of Israel we think of the agricultural laws of the Torah; terumah, maaser, shmittaand the…
Some Opening Thoughts on Masechet Nazir
After discussing the general topic of nedarim, vows, the Mishna moves to a most specific form of a vow, that of a nazir. The…