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Doing teshuva is hard work. Sinning can be fun, easy to do, financially beneficial and habit forming. Change is hard. It requires hard work,…
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One of the revolutions of Judaism was its democratization. No person is inherently superior to another--all are created in the same Divine image. One…
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“Even though he repays him he is not forgiven until he asks him.” (Bava Kamma 92a) In our last couple of postings we have discussed the…
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In our last post we discussed Rabbi Yehuda’s (rejected) view that the blind are exempt from mitzvoth. This exemption actually brought great joy…
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Rav Yaakov Ettlinger in his collection of responsa (Binyan Tzion #172) discusses the powerful and scary question of whether one has to give up one…
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Masechet Bava Kamma begins by describing one’s responsibility to pay for damages caused by one’s animals. It then discusses damages one…
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“Rav Yossi said: It would have been proper for the Torah to be given by Ezra had Moshe not preceded him.” (Sanhedrin 21b) It was Moshe…
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When opportunity knocks, answer – you may not get a second chance. Or to quote the language of our Sages “a closed door does not easily […
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One of the beautiful features of the Land of Israel is its wide-ranging topography. The lowest point on earth some 1,300 feet below sea level is…
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“The disciples of Rav Yochanan ben Zakkai asked him ‘why was the Torah stricter regarding a ganav, thief than a gazlan…
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“Al pi [1], according to the testimony of two or three shall something be established.” (Devarim 19:15) With so much power…
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While there are 613 categories of mitzvoth they are not all created equal. Saving a life is more important than observing Shabbat, Shabbat is more…
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One of the greatest causes of damage to public property is that of fire. Forest fires cause damage to millions of acres of every year and we…
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“The ox of a Jew who gores the ox belonging to the Temple or the ox of the Temple that gores the ox of the Jew they are exempt from…
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Correlation does not imply causation - though it may be just that. It is not always easy to distinguish between two events that, while…
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Slow down. Such would be good advice for those trying to navigate a busy street. Running down the street in any major urban area is not recommended…
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In our previous posts we discussed the difference between an ox classified as a tam, a domesticated animal who is not at risk of…
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“The victim and the perpetrator share in the [payment] of damages.” (Bava Kamma 14b) Being a victim of an accident is never pleasant…
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One would not expect to connect Miriam’s speaking negatively against Moshe, read (at least in the Diaspora) this past Shabbat, with the laws…
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One of the basic differences between the religious and civil laws of the Torah is while the former are mandatory the latter are not necessarily so…
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Arba avot nezikin, there are four primary categories of damages, the ox, the pit, the man and fire." (Bava Kamman 2a) As …
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"There are four primary categories of damages - the ox, the pit, the man and the fire...the common denominator of them is that…
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"One who wants to sharpen his mind should involve himself in monetary law as there is no section of the Torah larger than them; they are like an…