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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…
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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…
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We human beings are naturally biased. Products of our environment, we are influenced by our cultural milieu, by our background, our life experiences…
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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…
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As the Talmud is, at its core, an oral tradition—with the words before us a summary of “classroom”” discussion—it is…
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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…
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In Talmudic times, the norm was that the chazzan literally prayed on behalf of the congregation. The people would listen and answer "amen," thus…
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One of the exciting aspects of Talmud study is the range of ideas presented, and the openness to expressing radical ideas—including those…
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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),…
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The Gemara (Brachot 27a), in discussing the propriety of making an “early Shabbat”, records that Rav Yirmiya davened just behind his…
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"Mei’emati korin et hashema b’arvit, from what time may one begin reciting the evening shema?" So begins the Talmud Bavli, the…