Dr. Bryna J. Levy returns with another fascinating text-based study of the relationship between…
Re'eh: Cohesive Community
The destruction of the Temple in the Year 70 caused a major historical shift regarding the focus of…
Pesachim 35: Sleeping Through Class
I imagine I am not the only one who has dozed off during a lecture. While I might manage to pick up…
Pesachim 34: Land of Darkness
Soon after the editing of the Mishna in the land of Israel, Jewish life and learning started slowly…
Eikev: Fear of G-d
Effort vs. result. The relative value of these two concepts is a fundamental dispute between our…
Pesachim 30a: Economic Intervention
On the first page of the laws of Shabbat, the Mishnah Berurah discusses the problem of price…
Pesachim 22: Time Well Spent
“Shimon Ha'amsoni—and some say, Nechemia Ha'amsoni—used to derive [laws]…
VaEtchanan: Time for Comfort
Life is so unfair. While we believe that ultimately (and ultimately can take an eternity!) justice…
Tisha B'Av: Greetings
“Everything is dependent on mazal, even the sefer Torah in the ark”. Certain mitzvoth…
Pesachim 11: Telling Time
The halachic legal system is much more than a set of abstract principles or technical…
Pesachim 9a: When In Doubt...Eat
"Two verses that contradict each other, until a third verse is found and reconciles between…
Mattot-Massei: It's Your Land
“And Elazar the priest said: This is the law of the Torah, which the Lord commanded Moshe…
Pesachim 7a: Who Carries Your Water?
Rav Yisrael Salanter, the 19th century founder of the mussar movement, was asked by his students…
Pinchas: Moving On
"And Moshe did as G-d had commanded and he took Joshua and stood him before Elazar Hakohen and…
Pesachim 4a: The Rent is Too High
Landlord-tenant disputes are the bread and butter of many a lawyer. No law can account for any…
Pesachim 3b: Story of a Bigmouth
Great leaders are great strategists. The Talmud (Pesachim 3b) relates that a certain non-…
Pesachim 2-3: Light Up the Night
"To tell of Your loving-kindness in the morning and Your faithfulness at night" (…
Pesachim: Some Opening Thoughts
"On the night of the 14th [of Nissan], one [begins the] search for chametz". So…