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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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—…
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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…
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Yoma 8: Dying for Glory
About twenty-five years ago, a series of studies[1] found that upwards of 50% of elite athletes would take a drug that would guarantee overwhelming…
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Yoma 3: To Work or Study
"Abba Chanan said, in the name of Rav Elazar: One verse says, 'make for you an ark of acacia wood' and one verse says and 'they (not…
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Yoma: Some Opening Thoughts
Seder Moed, the order of Mishnah dealing with our festivals, begins with Shabbat and includes such tractates as Pesachim, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkah and…
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Pesachim Comes to a Close
Mashechet Pesachim details the events of the busiest day of the year, beginning with the search for chametz the night before the seder, the…
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Pesachim 120: What's On the Menu?
With the destruction of the Temple, the focus of the seder menu shifted from the eating of the korban pesach to the eating of matza. The importance…
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Pesachim 117: King of the Poets
Great poetry resonates across generations and even cultures, with all finding different layers of meaning that speak to them. Yet at the same time,…
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Pesachim 113: The Chicken, the Prostitute, and the Rabbi
The Netziv, in his commentary on Chumash, explains that the first verse of the priestly blessing "May G-d guard you and protect you"…
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Pesachim 113: A Love/Hate Relationship
In our last Daf Yomi Thought we spoke of the three people whom G-d loves. However, there are those whose actions are such that G-d actually hates…
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Daf Yomi Pesachim 113b: Reciprocal Love
G-d's greatest gift to man is that He created us in His image. As heretical as it sounds, man and G-d are, in effect, opposite sides of the…
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Pesachim 113: Praise From the Lord
Our Sages have long recognized that the desires for money, honour, and sexual gratification are most powerful. Avoiding sin in these areas, something…
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Pesachim 112: A Jewish First Amendment
Today's daf is sponsored by Arthur Little in observance of the Yahrzeit of his father, Areyeh Ben Avraham Yitzhak z"l,…