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…
"These are the things that are said mipnei darchei shalom." (Gittin 59) After listing a series of rabbinic enactments …
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…
“Vekatav lah sefer krietoot”, and he shall write for her a book of separation (Devarim 25:1). A get must be in…
In the first row of the remarkably preserved Jewish cemetery in Worms (one we will please G-d visit on this summer's Journey…
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…
One of the most famous rabbinic enactments is that of the pruzbul, enacted by the great sage Hillel, which allowed a loan to be…
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…
"Initially one would establish a court in another place and nullify [the get]. Rabban Gamliel the Elder decreed that one may not…
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…
One of the primary requirements of a get is that it be written lishma, with the husband's intent of divorcing the…
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…
In a well-known Midrash our Sages assert that one of the factors that prevented the total assimilation of the Jews in Egypt thereby…
How does one measure greatness in Torah learning? We can glean an important insight from the Talmudic discussion regarding the status of …
We live in a generation in which many seek chumrot, religious stringency. This can be most positive, hamachmir tavo…
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…
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 While the law of the Sotah is no longer applicable the laws…
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…
In our last post we discussed the Talmudic tendency to group together sayings of one particular sage quoting another. In…
Originally meant as an oral “text” the Talmud features a number of mnemonic devices to aid in recall and memorization. Thus…
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…
One of most bitter and divisive (Jewish) fights of the 19th century was that regarding the use of the vernacular in the synagogue -…
In our last post we discussed how a rasha arum, a cunning evildoer, is amongst the mevali olam, those who are destroyers of…
“He [Rabbi Yehoshua] used to say: a pious fool, a cunning evildoer, an ascetic woman and the wounds of the ascetics destroy the world…