“A sukkah that is taller than 20 amot, cubits (approximately 30 feet), is invalid; and Rabbi Yehuda validates it” (Sukkah 2a). This rather technical…
One of the fundamental mitzvot of the Torah, one we acknowledge at least twice a day, is the command to love G-d. “And you shall love the Lord your G…
It is hard to imagine Jewish life without davening or brachot. They are amongst the most important of our religious practices. One of the ways COVID-…
“Talmud Torah k’neged kulam, Torah study equals them all”. And in our tradition, learning equates with teaching. The Torah records no actual mitzvah…
In our last post, we discussed the tragic murder carried out in the Temple by a religious zealot who had lost a race to determine who would have the…
Newton’s third law of motion teaches that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This law explains why it is much easier to hit a…
We have often noted the refreshing openness of our Sages. They tell it as it is, and made no efforts to cover up the foibles or even sins of their…
When discussing the gravest of sins—say, for example, the three cardinal sins of murder, adultery and idolatry—we are dealing with sins of commission…
In a rather fortuitous coincidence, the daf yomi cycle concluded masechet Pesachim just a few days before Pesach. In the Talmud Bavli, masechet…
While “only” a rabbinic command, drinking four cups of wine is given special status at the seder. Unlike matzah and marror—which…
There is a fine line between matzah and chametz. They are, by definition, made of the same ingredients. All that separates them is a fleeting moment…
The most repeated mitzvah in the Torah—and hence, one can argue, the most important message of the Torah—is to be kind and sensitive…
“On the eve of Pesachim, one may not eat adjacent to mincha time until it gets dark; even a poor person of Israel should not eat until…
“On the eve of Pesachim, one may not eat adjacent to mincha time until it gets dark” (Pesachim 99b). The seder meal is the most…
Judaism eschews extremism. “The two extremes in each and every tendency are not a good way, and it is not proper for a man to follow them…
The Shulchan Aruch, the most accepted code of Jewish law, consists of four sections: Orach Chaim, dealing with the day-to-day routine of Jewish law;…
There is a fascinating debate amongst the medieval greats as to whether one is obligated to act lifnim meshurat hadin, over and above what…
In one of his teshuva derashot, Rav Soloveitchik lamented the fact that, while there are many shomer Shabbat Jews in America, there are very few…
Language is much more than a method of communication. It conveys the values and culture of those who speak it. The Hebrew language is known as …
I am on occasion asked by my (generally non-observant) students questions about the afterlife. This is a most welcome question, indicating some…
In our last post, we discussed the fascinating view of Rabbi Yehuda (at least, as understood by Rashi) that the prohibition of eating chametz on…
There is no more oft-repeated command in the Torah than the charge to be kind and sensitive to the ger—ki because[1], …
In describing our Talmudic Sages, one would not put a sense of humour at the top of the list—maybe not even at the bottom. Yet that would be…
The problem of theodicy—why a benevolent G-d allows so much evil to exist in this world—has troubled thinkers from time immemorial.…