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One of the fundamental mitzvot of the Torah, one we acknowledge at least twice a day, is the command to love G-d. “And you shall love the Lord your G…
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It is hard to imagine Jewish life without davening or brachot. They are amongst the most important of our religious practices. One of the ways COVID-…
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“Talmud Torah k’neged kulam, Torah study equals them all”. And in our tradition, learning equates with teaching. The Torah records no actual mitzvah…
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In our last post, we discussed the tragic murder carried out in the Temple by a religious zealot who had lost a race to determine who would have the…
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Newton’s third law of motion teaches that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This law explains why it is much easier to hit a…
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We have often noted the refreshing openness of our Sages. They tell it as it is, and made no efforts to cover up the foibles or even sins of their…
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When discussing the gravest of sins—say, for example, the three cardinal sins of murder, adultery and idolatry—we are dealing with sins of commission…
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In a rather fortuitous coincidence, the daf yomi cycle concluded masechet Pesachim just a few days before Pesach. In the Talmud Bavli, masechet…
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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…