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One of the foundational laws of Shabbat is that only productive acts are prohibited; “all who destroy are exempt” (Shabbat 105b). At times, a…
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The Latin alphabet, used in many languages of today (including English), is a phonetic system where each letter—or combination thereof—represents…
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James Naismith is credited with inventing basketball, but a primitive version seems to have existed in Talmudic times. “Rav Mordechai asked Rava: […
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Of all the 39 Melachot, it is carrying that, by far, occupies the most pages of Talmudic discussion. In the midst of discussing this prohibition, the…
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It seems that the toy industry in Talmudic times was quite different than the one we have today. Lacking the technological gizmos so popular today,…
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Abraham is the founding father of Judaism, Yaakov is the founding father of the Jewish people, and Yitzchak is the link between them. His role was…
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Years ago, I heard Dennis Prager note that, while the Talmud spends six double-sided folio pages discussing the permissibility of eating an egg laid…
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It is the 39 melachot that define the observance of Shabbat. Yet a listing of the melachot does not appear until midway through the seventh chapter…
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The sixth chapter of Shabbat begins with the issue of what ornaments a woman—and to a lesser extent, a man—may or may not wear on Shabbat in a place…
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Interpreting Scripture is no easy feat. One of the difficulties in understanding biblical literature is to figure out what parts are to be taken at…
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“The cow of Rav Elazar ben Azaria used to go out on Shabbat with a strap between its horns, against the will of the rabbis”. Shabbat is the day of…
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One of the inspiring things we see in the many stories found in the Talmud is the realistic portrayal of our great sages. We see not only much…
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The Talmud teaches that everything is dependent on mazal, “even the Sefer Torah in the ark”. Some sifrei Torah are used week in and week out, while…
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One of the differences between Talmudic rabbis and those of the post-Talmudic era is the “ability” of the former to link “crime and punishment”, or…
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One of the most famous Talmudic stories is that of the potential convert who conditioned his conversion on whether or not he could be taught the…
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Having the questions of an exam in advance would seem to be a big advantage. Yet often, such advantages are frittered away as we are apt to work a…
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Rav Moshe Feinstein noted that one of the tragedies of American Jewish life was the common notion that it is difficult to be a Jew. Children saw…
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“The rabbis wanted to bury the book of Kohelet, as its words contradict one another” (30b). The Talmud notes that, in addition to contradicting…
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In an age before electricity, having light at night was no simple matter. While various forms of lamps were in use, their effectiveness was limited.…
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Human nature is to be forgetful, even in the midst of doing something. This human frailty is what leads the Mishnah (11a) to rule that a tailor may…
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While the prelude to the giving of the Torah is the establishment of a court system (see Shemot 18), it would seem that having to actually use the…
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Two of our most fundamental mitzvoth are those of Tefillah, prayer and Talmud Torah, the study of Torah. Yet there has long been a…
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When discussing the transition of torah sheba’al peh from knowledge that was transmitted orally to knowledge that is primarily studied via texts, we…
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I had the privilege of learning in Rav Herschel Schachter’s shiur at Yeshiva University for four years, in the days before he was universally…