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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…
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Much of Masechet Brachot deals with non-legal matters - extolling the importance of prayers and blessings and recording many stories involving our…