In today's world of the 30-second soundbite, good oratory skills are a necessary ingredient for…
Vayechi: 17 Plus 17
Sefer Breisheet begins with the grandeur of creation, detailing the many new life forms, and with…
Some Reflections on the year 2020
“Ezra enacted for the Jewish people that they should read the curses that are …
Pesachim 29: Enjoying Some Chametz on Pesach
There are few ritual prohibitions as widely and carefully observed than that of the…
Vayigash: Reconciliation?
Hugs, kisses, joy and forgiveness. So appears the reunion of Yosef and his family after twenty-two…
Asara b'Tevet and Christmas
For better or worse, in the minds of many—Jew and non-Jew alike—Chanukah and Christmas are two…
Pesachim 21: Welcome Stranger
There is no more oft-repeated command in the Torah than the charge to be kind and sensitive to the…
Mikeitz: Family First
Judaism has always maintained that a strong family life is the most important ingredient to create…
Chanukah: Clothes Make the Man
There is no more powerful symbol than light in our tradition. It is how we usher in the Shabbat,…
Pesachim 13: Time for a Joke
In describing our Talmudic Sages, one would not put a sense of humour at the top of the list—…
Chanukah: Back to the Future
Mai Chanukah? What is Chanukah? the Talmud (Shabbat 21ba) queries, a question we find with respect…
Pesachim 8: Bathing In Jerusalem
The problem of theodicy—why a benevolent G-d allows so much evil to exist in this world…
VaYeshev: Coats and Goats
We tend to divide the Bible into narrative and law. The former teaches ethical and moral values…
Pesachim 6: 30 Days Notice
One of the principles of Biblical interpretation is that the Torah is not necessarily written in…
VaYishlach: Where Was Rivka?
One of the fascinating (and, at times, frustrating) aspects of the Torah is how much information it…
Pesachim 7: Let the Dough Rise
One of the requirements our Talmudic Sages set for the receiving of semicha, rabbinic…
Vayezei: Making One Pray
"And G-d saw that Leah was hated, and He opened her womb" (Breisheet 29:31). Apparently,…
Pesachim 2: Searching for Chametz
“On the eve of the fourteenth, we search for chametz by candlelight” (Pesachim 2a). I…