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As a teacher one of my favorite parts of my work is parent teacher meetings. I (usually) find it most interesting talking to parents in general and…
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"These are the things that are said mipnei darchei shalom." (Gittin 59) After listing a series of rabbinic enactments …
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Perhaps the most famous Talmudic story is that of the convert who wants to learn the entire Torah while standing on one foot. For good…
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“Vekatav lah sefer krietoot”, and he shall write for her a book of separation (Devarim 25:1). A get must be in…
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In the first row of the remarkably preserved Jewish cemetery in Worms (one we will please G-d visit on this summer's Journey…
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One of the marks of a great person is the ability to change one’s mind. While such may end the career of a politician[1] it demonstrates…
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One of the most famous rabbinic enactments is that of the pruzbul, enacted by the great sage Hillel, which allowed a loan to be…
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Two of the groups of people to whom we must show the greatest consideration are the widow and the orphan. It is these two who come in…
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"Initially one would establish a court in another place and nullify [the get]. Rabban Gamliel the Elder decreed that one may not…
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The commandment to love and care for others, perhaps the most important in the entire Torah, while applicable to all is phrased in the context of one…
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One of the primary requirements of a get is that it be written lishma, with the husband's intent of divorcing the…
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Timing is everything. Not only is picking the right time to do something crucial but recording that time can be equally important. This is especially…
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In a well-known Midrash our Sages assert that one of the factors that prevented the total assimilation of the Jews in Egypt thereby…
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How does one measure greatness in Torah learning? We can glean an important insight from the Talmudic discussion regarding the status of …
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We live in a generation in which many seek chumrot, religious stringency. This can be most positive, hamachmir tavo…
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One would not expect the laws of divorce to be affected by one's location. Thus it comes as a bit of a surprise to open masechet Gittin…
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After detailing the laws of the suspected adulteress the Mishna moves to masechet Gittin. While the law of the Sotah is no longer applicable the laws…
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Part of the purpose of the harsh treatment of the Sotah is convincing the suspected adulteress to admit her infidelity. By doing so she is…
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In our last post we discussed the Talmudic tendency to group together sayings of one particular sage quoting another. In…
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Originally meant as an oral “text” the Talmud features a number of mnemonic devices to aid in recall and memorization. Thus…
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It is an amazing aspect of the human condition that two people can see the same thing yet see it most differently. That is likely why the…
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One of most bitter and divisive (Jewish) fights of the 19th century was that regarding the use of the vernacular in the synagogue -…
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In our last post we discussed how a rasha arum, a cunning evildoer, is amongst the mevali olam, those who are destroyers of…
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“He [Rabbi Yehoshua] used to say: a pious fool, a cunning evildoer, an ascetic woman and the wounds of the ascetics destroy the world…