In our last post, we discussed why Rav Yochanan was so angry when his student, Rav Elazar, repeated a teaching of his without attribution.…
On one level, one could not help but be impressed by the intensity and earnestness at Aish Hatorah, circa 1983, of young people devoting themselves…
In early 1982, I began to study something called "The 48 Ways of Wisdom" one night a week. This was a series of classes based on…
Perhaps the greatest fear of man is that he will be forgotten, that ultimately his life will be devoid of meaning. Even, perhaps especially, the most…
"And these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt". The above verse serves as the opening to the second book of the Torah,…
"Rav Elazar ben Yaakov said: I heard that the beit din may hit and punish not according to the [laws of the] Torah, not to…
"A woman whose husband went overseas, and one[1] came and told her, 'Your husband has died' and she marries [another]...…
"G-d did not find a vessel more pleasing for the Jewish people than peace" (Uktzin 3:11). Such is the concluding teaching of the…
"I recall with distress that which befell me; with three blows He struck me this month...He surrounded me on the eighth day with darkness, left…
"Three signs are there for this nation: they are rachmanim, merciful; bayshanim, have a sense of shame[1]; and gomlei…
"Your servant, our father, said to us: You know that my wife bore to me two sons" (44:27). It is assumed by many that Yehuda made…
"Mai Chanukah? What is Chanukah?" (Shabbat 21b). To this rather strange question, the Gemara answers, "Our Rabbis taught: From the twenty-fifth of…
Yosef was a most charismatic person. He was young, attractive and as the Torah tells us on three occasions, he was an ish mazleach, a successful man…
One of the key distinctions between the land of Israel and the Diaspora is the ability to observe the many mitzvot between man and the land. The…
It takes much thought and hard work to learn when to speak up and when to remain silent. Often, we find ourselves in trouble because of a loose…
One of the famous concepts of Jewish law is the exemption of women from time-bound positive mitzvoth. The reason for such is specified neither in the…
"The signature of G-d is truth" (Sanhedrin 64a). "Accept the truth from wherever it comes" (Rambam, Introduction to Avot). There…
"And G-d blessed them; and G-d said unto them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over…
To Western man the notion that one must marry somebody in specific or even that restrictions be placed on the choice of a marriage partner is an…
“Rav ordered that lashes be given to any person who betrothed by cohabitation, who betrothed in the open street, or who betrothed without…
Masechet Kiddushin opens by delineating the three methods by which one is mekadesh, betroths, a woman. Masechet Yevamot, on the other hand,…
"Shimon ben Azzai said: I found a scroll of genealogy, and it was written, 'So-and-so is a mamzer, [having been born] from [a…
"A convert who comes to convert bizman hazeh, nowadays...we inform him of the importance of leket, shichichah, peah and ma…
“Rabbi Yitzchak said: ‘Yitzchak our forefather was barren, as it is written ‘and Isaac entreated the Lord lenochach, alongside,…
Halacha, Jewish law, has a multiplicity of voices, each reflecting the word of the living G-d. Of course, in practice, we must choose…
"Ishto k'gufo, ba'al k'ishto", one's wife is like one's own self; a husband is as one with his wife. Jewish thought…
"And if the man does not want to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate unto the elders, and say:…
There has been much written – including a cover story in this newspaper (Canadian Jewish News) two weeks ago – regarding the placing of…
"And Abraham took another wife and her name was Keturah" (Breisheet 25:1). The Torah follows by listing the six children they had…
Even those far removed from Jewish learning know that it is the mother who determines the Jewish status of a baby. Why this is so is not clearly…
"Whoever starts in a mitzvah, we tell him to finish"; "a mitzvah that comes to your hand, do not let it wait". These and other…
Innocent until proven guilty is a fundamental norm of Western jurisprudence. This concept goes back until at least Talmudic times, when our Sages…
By dint of the fifth amendment to the Constitution, US citizens are protected from being forced to give self-incriminating testimony; pleading…
All great pieces of literature can be understood on multiple levels, over multiple time periods, and by a variety of cultures. There is no greater…
The Divine choosing of Avraham marks the beginning of Jewish peoplehood. Tellingly, this relationship begins with G-d's command (obeying G-d'…
Life is not always fair. So much that befalls us--both positive and negative--is beyond our control. And there is little that is less fair than being…
On Yom Kippur afternoon, the Torah reading focuses on the Jewish sexual ethic. The Torah has a relatively long list of relatives with whom intimacy…
It is the Jewish woman who is privileged with bestowing Jewishness to her offspring. Yet while the mother determines the Jewish status--or lack…
Much of Parshat Breisheet details the moral failings of many of the individuals whom we meet: Adam and Chava, Kayin, Lemech. These early failures…
The assimilation and subsequent loss of Jews has been a problem since the beginning of Jewish history. Many of us were taught--in kindergarten, no…
Our rabbis greatly extolled the virtues of arguments for the sake of heaven. In these disputes, the disputants not only do not take their opponents…
"On the Yom Tov of the last day, we read 'Kol Habechor, every first born'" (Devarim 15:19, Megillah 31a). Finding an appropriate Torah reading for…
Life is full of conflicts, contradictions, and challenges ,and it is our task to mediate them as best possible. Torah, our guide to life, is…
Pesach and Sukkot are the twin pillars of the Jewish year. They are exactly six months apart, each on the fifteenth day of the first month of their…
Masechet Yevamot opens by listing the fifteen women who "exempt their co-wives and the co-wives of their co-wives from chalitzah and…
Masechet Yevamot gets a bad rap. Many consider it amongst the most difficult masechtot to learn. Yet its seems to me it is difficult in the…
The Jewish people had sinned, and their future stood in the balance. G-d's initial plans to destroy the people were…
"Rav Yochanan said: Were it not written in the text, it would be impossible for us to say such a thing; this verse teaches us that the Holy One…
"The gates of repentance are always open". Yom Kippur is predicated on the possibility of teshuva at all times for all people[1…
One of the hallmarks of the Western world is its inclusiveness. Great attempts are made to make all feel included, no matter their ability or their…