Sotah Oct 27, 2015

    Seder Nasim is the shortest of the six orders of the Mishna comprising only seven of the sixty-three masechtot and “only…

Nazir Oct 23, 2015

    “And G-d said to Abram; go from your land, your birthplace and from the home of your father” (Breisheet 12:1). Rashi…

Oct 21, 2015

  With the busy Yom Tov season, I would not be surprised if many missed what is potentially the most significant Jewish news story of the…

Nazir Oct 19, 2015

  Jewish law rules that when one must “desecrate” the Shabbat in order to save a life it is the greatest scholar present who should…

Noach Oct 16, 2015

“And Arpachshad lived five and thirty years, and begot Shelah. And Arpachshad lived after he begot Shelah four hundred and three years, and…

Nazir Oct 13, 2015

  While it was Rav Yehuda Hanassi who edited the Mishna it is the teachings of Rav Meir, who lived in the generation prior, that form the basis…

In one of the great mistakes in history, Alfred Nobel was lucky enough to read his own obituary—a result of an error of an editor who printed…

In one of the great mistakes in history, Alfred Nobel was lucky enough to read his own obituary—a result of an error of an editor who printed…

Sukkot Sep 27, 2015

"And you shall dwell in sukkot for seven days, all citizens of Israel shall dwell in a sukkah so that your generations may know that I made the…

Yom Kippur Sep 22, 2015

The two central and most important tefillot of Yom Kippur are the yud gimmel middot harachamim, the 13 Attributes of mercy, and the al chets, the…

Nazir Sep 20, 2015

“For there is no righteous person in the land who does [only] good and does not sin” (Kohelet 7:20). Sinning is part and parcel of…

Nazir Sep 17, 2015

One of the long standing debates in ethical theory is whether it is actions or intentions that determines the ethical probity of our actions. There…

Rosh Hashanah Sep 13, 2015

Teshuva tefillah, utzedkaha ma’aveerim et roah hagezeirah - repentance, prayer and tzedakah remove the evil of the decree.   Prayer is a great…

Nazir Sep 9, 2015

When one thinks of the mitzvoth dependent on the land of Israel we think of the agricultural laws of the Torah; terumah, maaser, shmittaand the…

Ki Tavo Sep 4, 2015

Parshat Ki Tavo opens with the mitzvot of bikkurim, the farmers’ bringing of his first fruits of the land to the Temple, and viddui maaser, the…

Nazir Aug 31, 2015

  After discussing the general topic of nedarim, vows, the Mishna moves to a most specific form of a vow, that of a nazir. The…

Nedarim Aug 26, 2015

One of the primary messages of masechet Nedarim is how negatively [most of] our Sages viewed the taking of vows. More often than not a vow reflected…

Nedarim Aug 18, 2015

Just this past Shabbat, we read of the mitzvah of tzedakah. The Torah describes the case where the poor are our neighbours, and we must…

Nedarim Aug 14, 2015

  Adam and Cain, Noah and Cham, Abraham and Yishmael, Yitzchak and Eisav. Our children do not always turn out as we would like. Even children…

Nedarim Aug 9, 2015

Everybody loves a good story. And what one cannot accomplish through direct teaching, one can often accomplish through a story. Yet it is…

Nedarim Aug 8, 2015

In our past couple of posts (here and here), we have discussed the notion of a petach, an opening to allow one to annul a vow.…

Eikev Aug 7, 2015

Moshe Rabbeinu was a most humble person. We know this because the Torah tells us so, the only trait of Moshe that the Torah actually enumerates. But…

Nedarim Aug 6, 2015

  "One may use as an opening [to annul a vow] one's own honour or the honour of one's children" (Nedarim 66a). Our…

Nedarim Aug 4, 2015

  "If only I would have known.." After many pages delineating the parameters of various vows the Talmud discusses when and how one…

Nedarim Jul 31, 2015

It is always fascinating how a most technical, even obscure, discussion can reveal and lead to a discussion on fundamental concepts of Judaism…

Nedarim Jul 30, 2015

It is not uncommon for someone to lose their job due to something stupid they do at an office party. People are much more apt to let their guard…

Nedarim Jul 23, 2015

Sadly, some people need stimulants--be they (legal) alcohol or (illegal) drugs--to stimulate themselves and put themselves in a good mood. Others,…

Nedarim Jul 22, 2015

At first glance one would not expect a Talmudic discussion on the mitzva of bikkur cholim in the midst of a discussion of vows. However…

Nedarim Jul 20, 2015

  In our last post we discussed the renewed interest today in the study of Tanach. Concurrent with that, for the first time in…

Nedarim Jul 19, 2015

Over the past generation - primarily in Israel but also to a lesser extent in the Diaspora - there has been a renewed focus on the study of Tanach.…

Mattot Jul 17, 2015

"G-d spoke to Moses, saying: Take revenge for the Israelites against the Midianites.  Then you shall die and be gathered to your people…

Poland Jul 14, 2015

The Ramah, Rav Moshe Isserles, is probably the most famous and important figure to have lived in Krakow. Born in 1530 to a wealthy family, the name…

Poland Jul 13, 2015

Shabbat in Krakow. A city of glory, like almost no other in Jewish history. The Jewish quarter dates from the 16th century and is actually…

Poland Jul 12, 2015

For Jews, Poland was as close to Gan Eden in exile as one could get. It was referred to by Jews as Po lin, "here we rest" in…

Poland Jul 9, 2015

Travelling in Poland is emotionally moving and exhilarating at the same time. In the morning after minyan, Rabbi Michael Shudrich, the chief rabbi…

Poland Jul 8, 2015

  "Eino domeh shmiah l'rei'ah, one cannot compare hearing to seeing". I write these words at the end of our first day of…

Tisha B'Av Jul 5, 2015

With the destruction of the Temple and the Babylonian exile, the period of prophecy came to an end. "Only fools and children continue to…

Balak Jul 3, 2015

It is for good reason that the lion is the king of the jungle. Powerful, courageous, fearless, and ferocious, lions sit at the top of the food…

Jul 2, 2015

Summer is the time for vacation, especially for students who look forward to such activities as camp, sleep, travel, and plain old fun. School…

Jul 2, 2015

Summer is the time for vacation, especially for students who look forward to such activities as camp, sleep, travel, and plain old fun. School…

Nedarim Jun 30, 2015

Dina demalchuta Dina, the law of the land is the law, is one of the most famous teachings of Jewish jurisprudence. While ostensibly a law relating to…

Nedarim Jun 29, 2015

  The Mishna Berura - the most widely used halachic code of the 20th century - in his introduction to the laws of Shabbat explains the crucial…

Nedarim Jun 29, 2015

  Imagine if instead of twenty-four books the Tanach consisted of only six. Strange as it sounds that was the original plan. "Rav Adda…

Chukat Jun 26, 2015

It is in Parshat Chukat that we meet the second generation of the Jewish nation, the one that would conquer the land of Israel. Yet there is precious…

Nedarim Jun 23, 2015

The 1960's sitcom Get Smart[1] had as one of its heroes Hymie the robot. Lacking full human intelligence, he understood language only…

Korach Jun 19, 2015

This week's d'var Torah is dedicated in honour of my father Rabbi Joseph Kelman z"l whose yahrzeit is this week. May his memory be…

Nedarim Jun 17, 2015

In the siddurim commonly in use today, on the Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh, we pray that we should be blessed to have "chaim she'…

Nedarim Jun 15, 2015

The mitzvah of Talmud Torah has a dual objective. First and foremost, one learns so one will know how to act: "an ignoramus cannot be a…

Shelach Lecha Jun 12, 2015

Parshat Shelach Lecha is perhaps the most tragic parsha of the Chumash. The march of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel came to a…

Nedarim Jun 9, 2015

In our second to last post of Masechet Ketubot we discussed the decision of Rabbi Yehudah Hanassi to put  the Oral Law into writing.…