“Reish Lakish said: It was well known beforehand to Him at whose word the world came into…
Sukkah 21: Time to Go to Bed
As important as classroom education may be, informal education is often more valuable. "The…
Sukkah 17: No Walls
"For G-d is bringing you to a good land...a land of wheat, barley, grapes, figs,…
Sukkah 14: Open Your Heart
The halachic system, like all legal systems, is on based on verifiable actions. What one may think…
Sukkah 11: If You Build It...
While the Jerusalem Talmud rules that one makes a bracha upon construction of a sukkah (…
Sukkah 6: What's in a Letter?
In 1878, Yehuda Leib Gordon published a poem, Kotzo shel yud, in which he pokes
Sukkah 4: Reach for the Top
The Gemara derives the minimum height of a sukkah from two separate and very distinct sources. In…
Sukkah 2: It's Who You Know
We eat matza on Pesach to commemorate the matza eaten by our ancestors as slaves in Egypt and as…
Perfect Practice: Some Opening Thoughts on Masechet Sukkah
Masechet Sukkah holds a special place in my heart, being the first tractate I learned cover to…
Some Concluding Thoughts on Masechet Yoma
Masechet Yoma deals almost exclusively with mitzvoth between man and G-d. Most of the tractate…
Yoma 77: Swimming on Yom Kippur
“Our Sages compared the (positive) mitzvoth in the Torah to the limbs of the body and (the…
Terumah: Volunteers Needed
Immediately after the Divine revelation at Sinai, the Torah in Parshat Mishpatim presents a long…
Yoma 75: The Penalty Box
One of the most challenging roles for a parent or teacher is to figure out how to administer…
Yoma 74: Great Looking Food
Thanks to Rabbi Jonathan Ziring for his help with this Daily Daf and with countless other divrei…
Yoma 72: Time For Some Fun
"Any Torah scholar whose inside is not like his outside [whose piety does not match…
Mishpatim: Follow the Leader
"Do not be a follower of the majority for bad, do not respond to a grievance by yielding to…
Yoma 70: Don't Waste My Time
Torah reading as we know it today is a rabbinic innovation, beginning with Moshe Rabbeinu who--…
Yoma 67: A Cliffhanger
The ritual of the sa'ar la-azazel is a most incomprehensible one. Howcan …