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The Torah talks very little – actually, not at all (at least explicitly)– about the coming of the Mashiach, the Messianic Era, or the…
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One of the philosophical debates between the Greeks and Jews concerned the eternity of the world. The Greeks believed that the world has existed from…
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“Stay far away from a lie” (Shemot 23:7). Unlike the other mitzvot in the Torah where we are just told not to do something, when it comes…
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The Jewish people have long been accused of being robbers and thieves. The importance of countering this accusation was so crucial that it…
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The last chapter of masechet Sanhedrin is like no other in the Talmud. Almost devoid of legal discussion, it contains some 23 double-sided pages of…
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“Every argument that is for [the sake of] heaven's name is destined to endure. And if it is not for [the sake of] heaven's name,…
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“Do not profane your daughter and make her a harlot” (Vayikra 19:28). One has to wonder exactly whom the Torah is addressing. What kind…
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“The entire house of Israel is commanded to sanctify the Name” (Laws of the Fundamentals of Torah, 5:1). The language is striking,…
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“And you shall love the Lord your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your possessions” (Devarim 6:5). Clearly, if…
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Fundamental to Jewish theology is the belief that both the Written Law and the Oral Law were given by G-d at Sinai. While the finite Written Law, i.e…
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Man finds it difficult to admit wrongdoing. Doing so creates cognitive dissonance. Being that we are basically good people – there are few who…
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In an amazing teshuva, Rav Yaakov Ettlinger (Binyan Tzion #172-173), basing himself on the story of Tamar and Yehuda, rules that one must give up one…
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In recent years, as more forensic tools have become available, we have been able to free many people who languished for years in prison before their…
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The fact that the Bible allows – perhaps at times even encourages – the death penalty for violating its most serious transgressions is…
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"They would cross-examine him with seven questions: in which year of the jubilee, in which year of the shmitta cycle, in which month,…
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There is nothing more precious than human life. As we discussed in our last post, it is due to the crucial importance of one individual life that man…
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One of the most famous and beautiful teachings of Judaism is, “whoever preserves one life, it is as if he has preserved an entire world…
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With thousands going back to school today (myself included), parents, teachers and students are looking forward (well, maybe not all are looking…
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The conflict between truth and peace dates back at least as far as the creation of the world, with “truth” arguing that being that man is…
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“Based on the words of two or three witnesses shall the matter be established” (Devarim 19:15). While absent cause, we have little…
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Over the last few posts (see here and here) we have been discussing those who are disqualified from giving testimony or sitting as a judge…
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“Rav Nachman said: Those who eat davar acher, the other, are pasul, invalid to give testimony” (Sanhedrin 26b). As is often the…
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Innocent until proven guilty is a fundamental tenet of the our secular legal system. It finds an antecedent in the rabbinic notion of a …
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"And G-d blessed them and G-d said unto them: Be fruitful and multiply and fill the land and conquer it” (Breisheet 1:28). These are…