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…
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…
"On Rosh Hashanah, we read 'on the seventh month on the first day', and the maftir reads, 'is not Ephraim my…
A question I have often been asked by non-observant Jews runs as follows: Since cars were not yet invented when the Torah was given, how can one…
With the beginning of selichot season (at least for Ashkenazim), we turn our thoughts to the notion of teshuva. This most difficult…
Imagine being told on your deathbed that your life’s work may be for naught. Moshe Rabbeinu put heart and soul into forming a nation that would…
Heaven or Earth: Chagigah 6 "Three mitzvoth were the Jewish people commanded when they went up [to Jerusalem] on the festival, …
Making G-d Cry: Chagigah 5 In our last post we discussed the reasons that a number of our Sages cried. But humans are not the…
“Even though the gates of prayer are closed, the gates of tears are never closed”. With the destruction of the Temple--“the house…
Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of the Yamim Tovim, especially in Temple times, was the coming together of Jews from all walks of life to celebrate…
With less than two weeks until Rosh Hashanah, the theme of teshuva begins to take centre stage. While the cycle of Torah reading--and for…
In this, what was the summer of our discontent, it is worth looking at the words that were commonly used to moralize about the present war. At the…
The mitzvah of aliyah laregel--going up to Jerusalem on Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot--was a central feature of these holidays of national…
The commitment to learn Daf Yomi is a remarkable one. It is the only study project I know that takes seven and half years to complete (2,711 days, to…
It is to be expected that, in a chapter dealing with the laws of mourning, a discussion of the philosophical implications of death will follow. Such…
No idea is stressed more in the Torah than that of being kind to strangers, “because we were strangers in the land of Egypt”. This notion…
Showing extra sensitivity to the needs of the poor, the widow, orphan, servant, and stranger is a central theme of the Torah. This is especially so…
What is the role of a Rabbi? When this question was asked to Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein, author of the monumental code of law the Aruch…
As previously discussed, both mourning and Chol Hamoed share a prohibition of shaving. Yet the reasons for such are very different; the…
For the religion that first brought the message of ethical monotheism to the world, Judaism sure does its best to have us lead much of our daily…
"Tzedek tzedek tirdof, justice, justice you shall pursue in order that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your G-d is giving you…
One of the greatest and the most tragic figure of Talmudic literature is Rav Eliezer ben Hurcanus, known simply as Rabbi Eliezer Hagadol, Rabbi…
The primary way we can tell which commandments are more important than others is by the punishment recorded in the Torah for various offences[1].…
The Gemara (Megillah 5b) relates that Rebbe wanted to abolish Tisha B'Av. Interestingly, no reason is given for this idea of Rebbe's[1]. And…
As we discussed in our last post, mourning and Yom Tov[1] are polar opposites, and mourning has no place on these days of joy. Such is…
Halacha reflects not only legal truths, but moral, psychological, and philosophical (and other) truths, as well. The wide observance of the laws…
For better or worse most people pay little attention to the proof texts brought to support various Talmudic views and positions, focusing on the…
One of the fascinating features of the Talmud is how it seamlessly moves from topic to topic. The opening Mishnah of Moed Katan teaches that amongst…
“And they placed upon them taskmasters lema’an anoto, in order to afflict them in their burdens” (Shemot 1:11). This inuei, affliction is the first…
Moed Katan has as its focus two contradictory themes: the laws of Chol Hamoed and of aveilut, mourning. Chol Hamoed is a time when we are obligated…
“And I have given them statutes that are not good, and laws that they do not live with" (Yechezkel 20:25). In our last post, we…
Learning Torah is meant to be enjoyable. It is for this reason that a mourner is not permitted to learn (Moed Katan 21a) [1]--the joy that…
Jews of faith, when faced with imminent death, have departed this world with the words of the shma on their lips. Perhaps the most famous example of…
One of the ways we show respect for a person is to stand in their honour, and such an honour is not only bestowed on people. The notion of the…
One of the most central requirements of Jewish life—both in time and importance—is that of daily prayer. Yet most fascinatingly, the…
"Whoever mourns for Jerusalem will merit seeing its joy" (Ta'anit 30b). Our Sages seem to be offering words of comfort to those…
"Whoever mourns for Jerusalem will merit seeing its joy" (Ta'anit 30b). Our Sages seem to be offering words of comfort to those…
Pesach is the foundational holiday of the Jewish people, and the Exodus is the defining moment of Jewish history. A group of slaves formed a nation…
Sefer Devarim is the book of preparation to enter the land of Israel. Moshe Rabbeinu was to be denied the opportunity to lead - or even join - the…
Often it takes our enemies to whip us into shape. “Rav Abba the son of Kahana said: Greater was the removal of the ring [of Achashverosh] than…
When one makes a siyum to mark the completion of a tractate of Talmud, we recite the beautiful words of the hadran[1], that "we toil and they…
"Rav Yehoshua ben Levi said, women are obligated in the reading of the Megillah she'af hen, because they, too, were included in the…
Promises, promises. We are used to hearing them being broken, especially when they are made by our political leaders. Parshat Mattot begins by…
"These days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of…