The term am ha'aretz has come to mean an ignorant Jew, and is generally used in a pejorative manner. However, in Talmudic literature, an ignorant…

A common feature of Talmudic editing is to group together a series of statements made by the same person. Generally, it is that person making a…

We human beings are naturally biased. Products of our environment, we are influenced by our cultural milieu, by our background, our life experiences…

A striking feature of Talmud study is how it seamlessly moves from subject to subject; and how, almost out of the blue, one finds oneself discussing…

Jewish law prescribes not only that we make a blessing on food, but that we do so in the correct sequence. Thus, to cite a very basic example, we…

As the Talmud is, at its core, an oral tradition—with the words before us a summary of “classroom”” discussion—it is…

The opening Mishnah of the sixth chapter of Brachot discusses the various blessings one makes on different types of food. The Talmud attempts, but is…

In Talmudic times, the norm was that the chazzan literally prayed on behalf of the congregation. The people would listen and answer "amen," thus…

One of the exciting aspects of Talmud study is the range of ideas presented, and the openness to expressing radical ideas—including those…

The Talmud spends a good deal of time discussing the proper frame of mind for prayer. In a rather obvious remark (yet, much easier said than done),…

The Gemara (Brachot 27a), in discussing the propriety of making an “early Shabbat”, records that Rav Yirmiya davened just behind his…

"Mei’emati korin et hashema b’arvit, from what time may one begin reciting the evening shema?" So begins the Talmud Bavli, the…