Pesachim

Embark on a journey of Jewish learning and discovery, exploring the depth of our Pesachim resources, where tagged items including audio, programs, and podcast episodes await your exploration.

Pesachim 50: A Very Clear World

Rabbi Jay Kelman

I am on occasion asked by my (generally non-observant) students questions about the afterlife. This is a most welcome question, indicating some thinking about the meaning of life. Yet they quickly learn I have little to offer in the way of…
Article
Jan 19, 2021

Pesachim 43: Chametz at the Seder

Rabbi Jay Kelman

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 Pesach does not apply to chametz that is owned by a non-Jew. In this post, I would like to discuss a…
Article
Jan 13, 2021

Pesachim 29: Enjoying Some Chametz on Pesach

Rabbi Jay Kelman

There are few ritual prohibitions as widely and carefully observed than that of the prohibition of eating chametz on Pesach. It is not uncommon for people to start “cleaning for Pesach” weeks or even months in advance of the holiday…
Article
Dec 29, 2020

Pesachim 21: Welcome Stranger

Rabbi Jay Kelman

There is no more oft-repeated command in the Torah than the charge to be kind and sensitive to the ger—ki because[1],  gerim hayeetem, you were strangers in the land of Egypt". Thirty-six times, possibly even forty-six…
Article
Dec 23, 2020

Pesachim 13: Time for a Joke

Rabbi Jay Kelman

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 unfair. The Gemara (Shabbat 30b) notes that Rabba would open every shiur with a joke, bringing a smile…
Article
Dec 15, 2020

Pesachim 8: Bathing In Jerusalem

Rabbi Jay Kelman

The problem of theodicy—why a benevolent G-d allows so much evil to exist in this world—has troubled thinkers from time immemorial.  The Talmud (Brachot 7a) relates that when Moshe asked G-d to “Make Your way known to me…
Article
Dec 10, 2020

Pesachim 6: 30 Days Notice

Rabbi Jay Kelman

One of the principles of Biblical interpretation is that the Torah is not necessarily written in chronological order, ein mukdam umeuchar baTorah. Thematic considerations are generally more important than chronological ones.  Yet in…
Article
Dec 8, 2020

Pesachim 7: Let the Dough Rise

Rabbi Jay Kelman

One of the requirements our Talmudic Sages set for the receiving of semicha, rabbinic ordination, was the ability to speak clearly (Sanhedrin 5b). We are all familiar with brilliant people who are very poor teachers, unable to clearly…
Article
Dec 2, 2020

Pesachim 2: Searching for Chametz

Rabbi Jay Kelman

“On the eve of the fourteenth, we search for chametz by candlelight” (Pesachim 2a). I fondly recall hiding pieces of chametz all over the house and then helping my father, z”l, find them as we began the formal preparations for…
Article
Nov 26, 2020

An Introduction to Masechet Pesachim

Rabbi Jay Kelman

The task of editing involves critical decision-making. Beyond questions of language and syntax, an editor must decide what to include and what to exclude, and how much prominence to give to any particular story. This is doubly true when editing an…
Article
Nov 24, 2020