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…
The first daf (page) of Masechet Megillah focuses on the distinction between open and walled cites, regarding the timing of the reading of…
Masechet Ta'anit ends with a description of how, on the 15th of Av and on Yom Kippur, "the maidens of Jerusalem" would dance in the…
Perhaps no greater question has vexed the Jewish people as that of our relationship with the nations of the world. Should it be one of integration?…
For most of the world, the year 1492 marks the anniversary of Christopher Columbus' voyage to America. Yet for Jews, the year 1492 is a year of…
Sukkot marks the beginning of the rainy season, and Rabbi Eliezer opines that we should start saying masheev haruach umoreed hageshem starting…
"If not for my covenant, day and night, the laws of heaven and earth, I would not have created" (Yirmiyahu 33:25). Classical Jewish thought…
It is hard enough to do what is right. Our wants, desirers, egos, social pressure, and the like often get in the way of acting properly. Even when we…
Living in Canada, it is hard to get excited about rain. Often it puts a damper on nice summer plans. Even in Israel, where water is so much more of a…
One of the most popular images in our tradition is that of a tree. Its many component parts reflect the diversity of our community. Some, like the…
"Memati mazkirin gevurat geshamim, from when do we begin to mention the power of rain?" (Ta'anit 2a). Masechet Ta'anit opens with a…
The last Mishnah in Masechet Rosh Hashanah quotes a debate between the Sages and Rabban Gamliel on a fundamental aspect of prayer. "The same way…
The fourth and last chapter of Masechet Rosh Hashanah focuses on the mitzvah of shofar and the special davening—malchiut, zichronot and…