“A song to David; G-d, who will live in Your tent, who shall dwell on your holy mountain? He [who] speaks truth in his heart” (Tehillim…
Makkot 24: 11+6+3+1= 613!
“’And now let Me go, so that I may destroy them and make you a great nation’ (Shemot 32:10). Rav Abahu said: If the verse had not…
Makkot 23: It's Great To Do Nothing!
Almost by definition, news—at least most of it—is of the less-positive variety, often causing us to think the world is a lot worse than…
Makkot 22: Please Stand Up!
“Rava said: How foolish are the rest of the people who stand before a sefer Torah, but do not stand before a great person!” (…
Makkot 12: It's Not My Fault
The Torah takes justice very seriously: “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot” (Shemot 21:24).…
Makkot 5: Don't Quote Me
When I first started learning Gemara – and as we prepared for tests – we were told not to worry if we got the names of the rabbis wrong.…
Makkot 5: A Fatal Mistake
“And you shall do to them as they sought to do to others” (Devarim 19:19). Edim zomimim, plotting witnesses, are punished…
Makkot 5: I Don't Believe You
“The witnesses do not become zomimim, ‘plotting witnesses’, unless they falsify themselves” (Makkot 5a). The law of…
An Introduction to Makkot
In the standard editions of the Talmud Bavli in vogue today, there are 63 tractates of Mishna, 37 of which have a corresponding Gemara. The…