At times, what seems like a very technical debate on some (even no longer relevant) aspect of…
Eiruvin 26b: Rules Are Made to Be Broken
The Talmud as a whole, and especially the Mishna, is first and foremost a vast corpus of Jewish law…
Kedoshim: Hating Your Neighbour
One of the most powerful ways to express hatred is to refuse to speak to someone, or to just…
Yom Ha'atzmaut: From Yom HaZikaron to Yom Ha'atzmaut
This d'var Torah is dedicated in honour of the participants in Chidon HaTanach, the 50th…
Eiruvin 21b: Rabbi Akiva's Water
It is hard to imagine one more dedicated to Torah than Rabbi Akiva. Despite the fact that he did…
Eiruvin 19: Abraham to the Rescue
"G-d wanted to give merit to the Jewish people; therefore, He increased for them Torah and…
Shemini: Counting to Eight
"And it was on the eighth day" (Vayikra 9:1). While this verse is the beginning of a new…
Eiruvin 19a: Going to Gehenom
"Rav Yirmiya ben Elazar said, there are three entrances to Gehenom: one in the desert, one in…
Eiruvin 17a: Pesach and the Salt of Sedom
"Four obligations were nullified in a [military] camp" (Eiruvin 17a). The Torah goes to…
Eiruvin 13b: Following Beit Shammai
It is well known that the halacha, with rare exceptions, follows the opinion of Beit Hillel…
Eiruvin 13a: Just One Letter
"When I [Rav Meir] came to Rabbi Yishmael, he said to me, 'My son, what is your occupation…
Eiruvin 6b: Choosing Your Rabbi
Traditionally, Jewish law allowed for a good deal of local autonomy in the application of Jewish…
Pesach: Shaping Tomorrow
Adam and Eve, Noach and his anonymous wife, Abraham and Sarah (and Hagar), Yitzchak and Rivka,…
Eiruvin 5a-6b: Building Fences
The halachic system, like most other disciplines, has both a theoretical framework and a practical…
Eiruvin 4a: Measuring Up
It is impossible, at least from a Jewish perspective, to understand the Bible without the tools to…
Eruvin 3: Stirring the Pot
"A pot with two cooks is neither hot nor cold" (Eruvin 3a). This popular folk saying is…
Some Opening Thoughts on Eruvin
Judaism has long recognized that we need both private and public space. Man is both an individual…
Shabbat 157: Some Concluding Thoughts on Masechet Shabbat
Masechet Shabbat deals primarily with the 39 forbidden activities on Shabbat--especially that of…