2015-02-04

"Rabbi Elazar said, in the name of Rabbi Chaninah: Torah scholars increase peace in the world, as it says, 'and all your children shall be…

2015-02-02

We have previously referred to the special leniency that allows a woman to remarry on the testimony of one witness. This was a most revolutionary…

2015-01-30

Back in the tenth chapter of Yevamot, we discussed the case of a woman who remarried on the basis of the testimony of one witness who declared that…

2015-01-28

One of the basic tenets of our legal system is that those who are not of a sound mature mind are not to be held responsible for their…

2015-01-23

"Talmud Torah kneged kulam" (Mishnah Peah 1:1). This teaching is generally understood to mean that the study of Torah is equal to all…

2015-01-21

One would not think that a discussion about the intricacies of the laws of chalitzah would lead to a discussion regarding…

2015-01-20

For those who do not live in Toronto--and perhaps for many who do--you may not be familiar with the Bata Shoe Museum. This unique museum is the place…

2015-01-14

In our last post, we discussed why Rav Yochanan was so angry when his student, Rav Elazar, repeated a teaching of his without attribution.…

2015-01-12

Perhaps the greatest fear of man is that he will be forgotten, that ultimately his life will be devoid of meaning. Even, perhaps especially, the most…

2015-01-07

"Rav Elazar ben Yaakov said: I heard that the beit din may hit and punish not according to the [laws of the] Torah, not to…

2015-01-06

"A woman whose husband went overseas, and one[1] came and told her, 'Your husband has died' and she marries [another]...…

2015-01-04

"G-d did not find a vessel more pleasing for the Jewish people than peace" (Uktzin 3:11). Such is the concluding teaching of the…

2014-12-29

"Three signs are there for this nation: they are rachmanim, merciful; bayshanim, have a sense of shame[1]; and gomlei…

2014-12-16

One of the key distinctions between the land of Israel and the Diaspora is the ability to observe the many mitzvot between man and the land. The…

2014-12-11

One of the famous concepts of Jewish law is the exemption of women from time-bound positive mitzvoth. The reason for such is specified neither in the…

2014-12-09

"The signature of G-d is truth" (Sanhedrin 64a). "Accept the truth from wherever it comes" (Rambam, Introduction to Avot). There…

2014-12-08

"And G-d blessed them; and G-d said unto them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over…

2014-12-04

To Western man the notion that one must marry somebody in specific or even that restrictions be placed on the choice of a marriage partner is an…

2014-11-30

“Rav ordered that lashes be given to any person who betrothed by cohabitation, who betrothed in the open street, or who betrothed without…

2014-11-27

Masechet Kiddushin opens by delineating the three methods by which one is mekadesh, betroths, a woman. Masechet Yevamot, on the other hand,…

2014-11-24

"Shimon ben Azzai said: I found a scroll of genealogy, and it was written, 'So-and-so is a mamzer, [having been born] from [a…

2014-11-23

"A convert who comes to convert bizman hazeh, nowadays...we inform him of the importance of leket, shichichah, peah and  ma…

2014-11-20

  Halacha, Jewish law, has a multiplicity of voices, each reflecting the word of the living G-d. Of course, in practice, we must choose…

2014-11-18

"Ishto k'gufo, ba'al k'ishto", one's wife is like one's own self; a husband is as one with his wife. Jewish thought…