Sometimes the choices we make turn out to be better than we could have imagined in our wildest…
Yoma 13: When the Competition Gets Tough...
“And he shall atone for himself and for his household” (Vayikra 16:6). The Rabbis…
Yoma 12: Messianic Laws
The opening Mishnah of Yoma teaches that a backup kohen gadol was to be prepared lest…
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 …
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…
Yoma 10: Home Sweet Home
“And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house” (Devarim 6:9). The mitzvah of…
Yoma 9: Sinning in Secret
Although it is mashechet Gittin (55b-57b) that records the stories relating to the destruction of…
Yoma 8: Dying for Glory
About twenty-five years ago, a series of studies[1] found that upwards of 50% of elite athletes…
Yoma 3: To Work or Study
"Abba Chanan said, in the name of Rav Elazar: One verse says, 'make for you an ark of…
Yoma: Some Opening Thoughts
Seder Moed, the order of Mishnah dealing with our festivals, begins with Shabbat and includes such…
Pesachim Comes to a Close
Mashechet Pesachim details the events of the busiest day of the year, beginning with the search for…
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…
Toldot: And He Grew Up
"Vayigdal Haish, and the man grew up and grew more and more, until he became very big…
Pesachim 117: King of the Poets
Great poetry resonates across generations and even cultures, with all finding different layers of…
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…
Chayei Sarah: Like Mom and Dad
“And Yitzchak brought her to the tent of his mother; and he took Rivka, and she was for him a wife…
Pesachim 113: A Love/Hate Relationship
In our last Daf Yomi Thought we spoke of the three people whom G-d loves.
Daf Yomi Pesachim 113b: Reciprocal Love
G-d's greatest gift to man is that He created us in His image. As heretical as it sounds,…