Whether exploring a new twist on a favorite topic, debating a taboo subject, or learning Jewish history on our heritage tours, Torah in Motion constantly seeks to expand the horizon of Jewish thought.
Chulin Jan 25, 2019

That the “Orthodox” community is more careful about kosher food than kosher money is sadly obvious, and demonstrated all too often.…

Chulin Jan 17, 2019

In the introduction to his responsa, Rav Moshe Feinstein writes that the Sages of each generation are permitted and obligated to issue halachic…

Chulin Jan 13, 2019

“And it will be, when the Lord, your G-d, brings you to the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you,…

Chulin Jan 9, 2019

In a beautiful teshuva (Orach Chaim 4 #89) written during Chanukah 1960, Rav Moshe Feinstein was asked (by Rabbi Leo Yung, rabbi of the Jewish Centre…

Chulin Jan 7, 2019

“It is a sign between Me and the Jewish people that in ‘six days’ G-d created the heavens and the earth” (Shemot 31:17).…

Chulin Jan 2, 2019

That one must be Jewish to shecht an animal is not necessarily obvious. One might have argued that as long as the meat is slaughtered…

Chulin Dec 26, 2018

When I mention to people that it is likely worse to smoke than to eat pork, I often get strange looks. And usually the more observant the person, the…

Chulin Dec 24, 2018

There are few, if any, semicha programs that require their students to learn shechita or safrut, and even fewer that require good…

Chulin Dec 20, 2018

One of the questions I am often asked by those of my students who do not keep kosher, is have you really never eaten non-kosher food? I generally…

Chulin Dec 18, 2018

Over and over again the Torah warns us not to allow avodah zara, idolatry, in the Land of Israel. Yet, as is often the case, things are not always…

Chulin Dec 13, 2018

"It was for this reason that man was first created as one person [Adam]…to teach that no man is the same as another; therefore, every…

Chulin Dec 11, 2018

In the fall of 1860, Rav Yaakov Ettlinger penned what is likely the most revolutionary responsa of modern times; one that opened the door to allowing…

Chulin Dec 10, 2018

Some years back I attended a talk by Rabbi Dr. M.D. Tendler who spoke about the most important teshuvot written by his father-in-law, Rav Moshe…

Chulin Dec 5, 2018

That the role of a modern rabbi in the Western World is far different than that of the rabbi of Eastern Europe is rather obvious. The typical 19th…

Chulin Dec 3, 2018

Masechet Chulin, a derivative of the word chol, translates as “The Secular Tractate”, and stands in contrast to the first two…

Menachot Nov 29, 2018

“It is said of the olah sacrifice of cattle, ‘rei’ach nichoach, an offering made by fire of pleasing odor’ (Vayikra 1:9); and…

Menachot Nov 27, 2018

The Sochochover Rebbe, in the introduction to his classic work on the laws of Shabbat, Eglei Tal, explains that Torah study is meant to be…

Menachot Nov 23, 2018

“And you shall place on the table showbread before Me tamid, at all times” (Shemot 25:30). The lechem hapanim …

Menachot Nov 20, 2018

“At that time, the Lord said to me, ‘Hew for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up to Me onto the mountain, and make…

Menachot Nov 15, 2018

The opening Mishna of masechet Megillah teaches that those living in small rural communities could fulfill the obligation to hear the Megillah…

Menachot Nov 8, 2018

The Jewish people are a most contentious one. We argue about (almost?) everything and then some. Debate is most healthy and part and parcel of…

Menachot Nov 1, 2018

"All korbanot mincha, flour offerings, are to be made of matza with the exception of the chametz of the korban todah,…

Menachot Oct 24, 2018

It is well known that the mitzvah of tzitzit is a classic case of a mitzvah aseh shehazman grama, a time-bound positive mitzvah…

Menachot Oct 18, 2018

There is little that turns one off from religion more than corruption in the religious sphere. When one sees someone cheating who outwardly…