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While “only” a rabbinic command, drinking four cups of wine is given special status at the seder. Unlike matzah and marror—which…
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There is a fine line between matzah and chametz. They are, by definition, made of the same ingredients. All that separates them is a fleeting moment…
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The most repeated mitzvah in the Torah—and hence, one can argue, the most important message of the Torah—is to be kind and sensitive…
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“On the eve of Pesachim, one may not eat adjacent to mincha time until it gets dark; even a poor person of Israel should not eat until…
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“On the eve of Pesachim, one may not eat adjacent to mincha time until it gets dark” (Pesachim 99b). The seder meal is the most…
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Judaism eschews extremism. “The two extremes in each and every tendency are not a good way, and it is not proper for a man to follow them…
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The Shulchan Aruch, the most accepted code of Jewish law, consists of four sections: Orach Chaim, dealing with the day-to-day routine of Jewish law;…
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There is a fascinating debate amongst the medieval greats as to whether one is obligated to act lifnim meshurat hadin, over and above what…
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In one of his teshuva derashot, Rav Soloveitchik lamented the fact that, while there are many shomer Shabbat Jews in America, there are very few…
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Language is much more than a method of communication. It conveys the values and culture of those who speak it. The Hebrew language is known as …
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I am on occasion asked by my (generally non-observant) students questions about the afterlife. This is a most welcome question, indicating some…
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In our last post, we discussed the fascinating view of Rabbi Yehuda (at least, as understood by Rashi) that the prohibition of eating chametz on…
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There is no more oft-repeated command in the Torah than the charge to be kind and sensitive to the ger—ki because[1], …
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In describing our Talmudic Sages, one would not put a sense of humour at the top of the list—maybe not even at the bottom. Yet that would be…
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The problem of theodicy—why a benevolent G-d allows so much evil to exist in this world—has troubled thinkers from time immemorial.…
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One of the principles of Biblical interpretation is that the Torah is not necessarily written in chronological order, ein mukdam umeuchar…
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One of the requirements our Talmudic Sages set for the receiving of semicha, rabbinic ordination, was the ability to speak clearly (…
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“On the eve of the fourteenth, we search for chametz by candlelight” (Pesachim 2a). I fondly recall hiding pieces of chametz all over the…
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The task of editing involves critical decision-making. Beyond questions of language and syntax, an editor must decide what to include and what to…
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Mashechet Pesachim details the events of the busiest day of the year, beginning with the search for chametz the night before the seder, the…
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With the destruction of the Temple, the focus of the seder menu shifted from the eating of the korban pesach to the eating of matza. The importance…
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Great poetry resonates across generations and even cultures, with all finding different layers of meaning that speak to them. Yet at the same time,…
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The Netziv, in his commentary on Chumash, explains that the first verse of the priestly blessing "May G-d guard you and protect you"…
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In our last Daf Yomi Thought we spoke of the three people whom G-d loves. However, there are those whose actions are such that G-d actually hates…