Sanhedrin

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

Sanhedrin 98: Not Worrying About Mashiach

Rabbi Jay Kelman

The Torah talks very little – actually, not at all (at least explicitly)– about the coming of the Mashiach, the Messianic Era, or the World to Come. The Torah is very focused on this world, worrying about such subjects such as treating…
Article
Nov 7, 2017

Sanhedrin 97: It's Almost Over

Rabbi Jay Kelman

One of the philosophical debates between the Greeks and Jews concerned the eternity of the world. The Greeks believed that the world has existed from time immemorial and thus, had no actual beginning. Jewish thought has traditionally believed—…
Article
Nov 6, 2017

Sanhedrin 97: Nothing But the Truth

Rabbi Jay Kelman

“Stay far away from a lie” (Shemot 23:7). Unlike the other mitzvot in the Torah where we are just told not to do something, when it comes to lying, we are enjoined to stay far away from an untruth. Presumably, this is so because man…
Article
Nov 1, 2017

Sanhedrin 91: The Greek Court

Rabbi Jay Kelman

The Jewish people have long been accused of being robbers and thieves. The importance of countering this accusation was so crucial that it is, at least according to Rashi (Breisheet 1:1), the reason the Torah begins with the story of…
Article
Oct 29, 2017

Sanhedrin 90: What's In Your Mind?

Rabbi Jay Kelman

The last chapter of masechet Sanhedrin is like no other in the Talmud. Almost devoid of legal discussion, it contains some 23 double-sided pages of aggadic material, more than any other chapter of the Talmud. The exact status of aggadah has been the…
Article
Oct 24, 2017

Sanhedrin 88: Let's Have a Debate

Rabbi Jay Kelman

“Every argument that is for [the sake of] heaven's name is destined to endure. And if it is not for [the sake of] heaven's name, it is not destined to endure” (Avot 5:19). In a tradition as rich, varied and nuanced as ours,…
Article
Oct 22, 2017

Sanhedrin 76: No Time to Waste

Rabbi Jay Kelman

“Do not profane your daughter and make her a harlot” (Vayikra 19:28). One has to wonder exactly whom the Torah is addressing. What kind of father (or mother) would turn her daughter into a harlot? It is for this reason that our…
Article
Oct 18, 2017

Sanhedrin 74: Lechaim!

Rabbi Jay Kelman

“The entire house of Israel is commanded to sanctify the Name” (Laws of the Fundamentals of Torah, 5:1). The language is striking, and the context – the opening words (for the general public[1]) of the Mishneh Torah –…
Article
Oct 11, 2017

Sanhedrin 72: I Love My Money

Rabbi Jay Kelman

“And you shall love the Lord your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your possessions” (Devarim 6:5). Clearly, if we are obligated to love G-d with all our heart and soul—the verse Rabbi Akiva invoked as he…
Article
Oct 9, 2017

Sanhedrin 71: It Works in Theory

Rabbi Jay Kelman

Fundamental to Jewish theology is the belief that both the Written Law and the Oral Law were given by G-d at Sinai. While the finite Written Law, i.e., the Torah, contains the words of the Divine Lawgiver, the ever-expanding and infinite Oral Law…
Article
Oct 3, 2017