Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers, posits that it takes 10,000 hours of practice for people to…
Terumah: Returning Home
The prayer for the welfare of the State of Israel recited in many of our congregations assumes that…
Bava Batra 21: The Talmudic Tuition Plan
It is unlikely that Yehoshua ben Gamla would make very many listings of the five or even ten most…
Bava Batra 29: Ode to Rashi
It is hard to imagine what the Jewish world would be like without Rashi. Well, maybe not so hard.…
Bava Batra 14: Make it Beautiful
Every once in a while one comes across a Talmudic story that makes one shake one’s head in…
Yitro: I Love My In-Laws
“Moses went to greet his father-in-law, bowing down low and kissing him” (Shemot 18:7…
Bava Batra 13: Splitting Up
The opening Mishna of Bava Batra teaches that in the interest of privacy, one neighbour…
Bava Batra 13: Splitting Up
The opening Mishna of Bava Batra teaches that in the interest of privacy, one neighbour can force…
Bava Batra 10: Put it in Writing
Visiting Yeshiva Chachmei Lublin as Torah in Motion “Journeyed through Jewish History…
Bava Batra 9: Please Sir, May I Have Some More?
The Ramah in his glosses to the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 249:1) rules that the mitzva of tzedakah…
Bava Batra 8: Come On In
“We force him [the resident of a courtyard] to contribute to the building of the guard’…
Bo: Egyptian Appreciation
The land of Egypt and the people of Egypt had undergone tremendous hardship and suffering. Their…
Bava Batra 4: Good Fences
The opening pages of Bava Batra discuss how neighbours can force one another to build a fence…
Bava Batra 3: Time for a New Shul
“Rav Chisda said: One may not destroy a beit knesset until another one is built” (Bava…
Vaera: When the Going Gets Tough
The story of the slavery and subsequent redemption of the Jewish people focuses almost entirely on…
Bava Batra 2: Mind Your Own Business
There is a beautiful custom to recite “ma tovu, how goodly are your tents Jacob and your…
An Introduction to Bava Batra
The three Bavas - Kamma, Metzia and Batra - are the bread and butter of Talmudic learning. If I,…
Bava Metzia 107: A Good Neighbour
“Reish Lakish said: Whomever has a beit knesset in his city and he does not enter it, he…