“Even though the gates of prayer are closed, the gates of tears are never closed”. With…
Chagigah 3: There Is Always Something New
Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of the Yamim Tovim, especially in Temple times, was the coming…
Ki Tavo: A Covenant of Love
With less than two weeks until Rosh Hashanah, the theme of teshuva begins to take centre…
What We Talk About When We Talk About War
In this, what was the summer of our discontent, it is worth looking at the words that were commonly…
Some Opening Thoughts on Masechet Chagigah
The mitzvah of aliyah laregel--going up to Jerusalem on Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot--was a…
Some Concluding Thoughts on Masechet Moed Katan
The commitment to learn Daf Yomi is a remarkable one. It is the only study project I know that…
Moed Katan 28: Beyond Our Control
It is to be expected that, in a chapter dealing with the laws of mourning, a discussion of the…
Moed Katan 27: Leading By Example
No idea is stressed more in the Torah than that of being kind to strangers, “because we were…
Re'eh: Behind the Scenes
Showing extra sensitivity to the needs of the poor, the widow, orphan, servant, and stranger is a…
Ki Teitzei: Hit 'Em Less
What is the role of a Rabbi? When this question was asked to Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein, author…
Ki Teitzei: Leave G-d Out of It
For the religion that first brought the message of ethical monotheism to the world, Judaism sure…
Shoftim: To Tell the Truth
"Tzedek tzedek tirdof, justice, justice you shall pursue in order that you may live and…
An Outsider: Moed Katan 17
One of the greatest and the most tragic figure of Talmudic literature is Rav Eliezer ben Hurcanus,…
Moed Katan 17: How to Sin
The primary way we can tell which commandments are more important than others is by the punishment…
Moed Katan 9: To Fast or Not To Fast
The Gemara (Megillah 5b) relates that Rebbe wanted to abolish Tisha B'Av. Interestingly, no…
Moed Katan 8: Mazel Tov--Soon
As we discussed in our last post, mourning and Yom Tov[1] are polar opposites, and mourning…
Moed Katan 8: Mixed Emotions
Halacha reflects not only legal truths, but moral, psychological, and philosophical (and other)…