On the surface, it is difficult to understand why we celebrate Chanukah, a festival commemorating…
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Chanukah: Turkey and Latkes
Chanukah is a most popular holiday, even amongst “secular” Jews. For those living in…
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Let's Make Jewish High School Free
The recently released Pew report on American Jewry has generated anguished discussion on the future…
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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…
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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…
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Yoma 12: Messianic Laws
The opening Mishnah of Yoma teaches that a backup kohen gadol was to be prepared lest…
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Rabbi Dr. Yehudah Mirsky to Serve as Scholar in Residence at Or Chaim Minyan
Rabbi Dr. Yehudah Mirsky will be a scholar in residence at the Or Chaim Minyan on Shabbat of …
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Vayeshev: The President and the Viceroy
One of the messages I try to hammer home to my students is that everything in the Torah can be…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Yoma: Some Opening Thoughts
Seder Moed, the order of Mishnah dealing with our festivals, begins with Shabbat and includes such…
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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…
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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…
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Toldot: And He Grew Up
"Vayigdal Haish, and the man grew up and grew more and more, until he became very big…
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Pesachim 117: King of the Poets
Great poetry resonates across generations and even cultures, with all finding different layers of…
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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…