Having just returned from the Torah in Motion African Safari, I would like to share some…
Pesachim 37: Designer Matzah
Matzah is the most basic of foods. Mix some grain with water and bake ASAP, and presto! We have the…
Dr. Bryna Levy to Return with Rupture and Repentance: Joseph and His Brothers
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-…