It was not long ago that it was hard to find a minyan of people with a lulav and etrog in shul. Following on the heels of the High Holidays, Sukkot…
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Sukkah 41: My Own Lulav
One of the unique laws of the arba minim, the four species, is that one can only fulfil the Biblical mitzvah with a set that one personally owns (…
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Sukkah 28: Nice Guys Finish First
Rabbi Yochanan ben HaChoranit must have been a great Sage. I imagine that many reading this devar Torah have never heard of him and there is in fact…
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Sukkah 26: Snack Time
One of the requirements of a sukkah is that it be a dirat arai, a temporary dwelling. A permanent structure would be a bayit, a home, rather than a…
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Sukkah 20: A Great Servant
Psychologists have long known that two people can—and often do—see the exact same thing, and yet offer very different accounts of what they have…
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Sukkah 2: Looking Skyward
“A sukkah that is taller than 20 amot, cubits (approximately 30 feet), is invalid; and Rabbi Yehuda validates it” (Sukkah 2a). This rather technical…
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Yoma 86: Time for a Cheeseburger?
One of the fundamental mitzvot of the Torah, one we acknowledge at least twice a day, is the command to love G-d. “And you shall love the Lord your G…
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Yoma 69: Who is Great
It is hard to imagine Jewish life without davening or brachot. They are amongst the most important of our religious practices. One of the ways COVID-…
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Yoma 38: The Printing Press
“Talmud Torah k’neged kulam, Torah study equals them all”. And in our tradition, learning equates with teaching. The Torah records no actual mitzvah…
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Yoma 23: Misplaced Priorities
In our last post, we discussed the tragic murder carried out in the Temple by a religious zealot who had lost a race to determine who would have the…
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Yoma 23: The Height of Impurity
Newton’s third law of motion teaches that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This law explains why it is much easier to hit a…
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Yoma 18: Will You Marry Me
We have often noted the refreshing openness of our Sages. They tell it as it is, and made no efforts to cover up the foibles or even sins of their…
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Yoma 9: Sins of Omission
When discussing the gravest of sins—say, for example, the three cardinal sins of murder, adultery and idolatry—we are dealing with sins of commission…
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From Pesachim to Yoma
In a rather fortuitous coincidence, the daf yomi cycle concluded masechet Pesachim just a few days before Pesach. In the Talmud Bavli, masechet…
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Pesachim 114: Lets Drink Some Wine
While “only” a rabbinic command, drinking four cups of wine is given special status at the seder. Unlike matzah and marror—which…
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Pesachim 113: Crossing the Line
There is a fine line between matzah and chametz. They are, by definition, made of the same ingredients. All that separates them is a fleeting moment…
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Pesachim 99: Wine for the Poor
The most repeated mitzvah in the Torah—and hence, one can argue, the most important message of the Torah—is to be kind and sensitive…
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Pesachim 99: To Lean or Not to Lean
“On the eve of Pesachim, one may not eat adjacent to mincha time until it gets dark; even a poor person of Israel should not eat until…