Yevamot Jan 6, 2015

"A woman whose husband went overseas, and one[1] came and told her, 'Your husband has died' and she marries [another]...…

Yevamot Jan 4, 2015

"G-d did not find a vessel more pleasing for the Jewish people than peace" (Uktzin 3:11). Such is the concluding teaching of the…

Dec 30, 2014

"I recall with distress that which befell me; with three blows He struck me this month...He surrounded me on the eighth day with darkness, left…

Yevamot Dec 29, 2014

"Three signs are there for this nation: they are rachmanim, merciful; bayshanim, have a sense of shame[1]; and gomlei…

Vayigash Dec 26, 2014

"Your servant, our father, said to us: You know that my wife bore to me two sons" (44:27).  It is assumed by many that Yehuda made…

Chanukah Dec 21, 2014

"Mai Chanukah? What is Chanukah?" (Shabbat 21b). To this rather strange question, the Gemara answers, "Our Rabbis taught: From the twenty-fifth of…

Miketz Dec 19, 2014

Yosef was a most charismatic person. He was young, attractive and as the Torah tells us on three occasions, he was an ish mazleach, a successful man…

Yevamot Dec 16, 2014

One of the key distinctions between the land of Israel and the Diaspora is the ability to observe the many mitzvot between man and the land. The…

Vayeshev Dec 12, 2014

It takes much thought and hard work to learn when to speak up and when to remain silent. Often, we find ourselves in trouble because of a loose…

Yevamot Dec 11, 2014

One of the famous concepts of Jewish law is the exemption of women from time-bound positive mitzvoth. The reason for such is specified neither in the…

Yevamot Dec 9, 2014

"The signature of G-d is truth" (Sanhedrin 64a). "Accept the truth from wherever it comes" (Rambam, Introduction to Avot). There…

Yevamot Dec 8, 2014

"And G-d blessed them; and G-d said unto them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over…

Yevamot Dec 4, 2014

To Western man the notion that one must marry somebody in specific or even that restrictions be placed on the choice of a marriage partner is an…

Yevamot Nov 30, 2014

“Rav ordered that lashes be given to any person who betrothed by cohabitation, who betrothed in the open street, or who betrothed without…

Yevamot Nov 27, 2014

Masechet Kiddushin opens by delineating the three methods by which one is mekadesh, betroths, a woman. Masechet Yevamot, on the other hand,…

Yevamot Nov 24, 2014

"Shimon ben Azzai said: I found a scroll of genealogy, and it was written, 'So-and-so is a mamzer, [having been born] from [a…

Yevamot Nov 23, 2014

"A convert who comes to convert bizman hazeh, nowadays...we inform him of the importance of leket, shichichah, peah and  ma…

Toldot Nov 21, 2014

“Rabbi Yitzchak said: ‘Yitzchak our forefather was barren, as it is written ‘and Isaac entreated the Lord lenochach, alongside,…

Yevamot Nov 20, 2014

  Halacha, Jewish law, has a multiplicity of voices, each reflecting the word of the living G-d. Of course, in practice, we must choose…

Yevamot Nov 18, 2014

"Ishto k'gufo, ba'al k'ishto", one's wife is like one's own self; a husband is as one with his wife. Jewish thought…

Yevamot Nov 17, 2014

"And if the man does not want to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate unto the elders, and say:…

Nov 15, 2014

There has been much written – including a cover story in this newspaper (Canadian Jewish News) two weeks ago – regarding the placing of…

Chayei Sarah Nov 14, 2014

"And Abraham took another wife and her name was Keturah" (Breisheet 25:1). The Torah follows by listing the six children they had…

Yevamot Nov 12, 2014

Even those far removed from Jewish learning know that it is the mother who determines the Jewish status of a baby. Why this is so is not clearly…

Yevamot Nov 11, 2014

"Whoever starts in a mitzvah, we tell him to finish"; "a mitzvah that comes to your hand, do not let it wait". These and other…

Yevamot Nov 6, 2014

Innocent until proven guilty is a fundamental norm of Western jurisprudence. This concept goes back until at least Talmudic times, when our Sages…

Yevamot Nov 5, 2014

By dint of the fifth amendment to the Constitution, US citizens are protected from being forced to give self-incriminating testimony; pleading…

Yevamot Nov 2, 2014

All great pieces of literature can be understood on multiple levels, over multiple time periods, and by a variety of cultures. There is no greater…

Lech Lecha Oct 31, 2014

The Divine choosing of Avraham marks the beginning of Jewish peoplehood. Tellingly, this relationship begins with G-d's command (obeying G-d'…

Yevamot Oct 30, 2014

Life is not always fair. So much that befalls us--both positive and negative--is beyond our control. And there is little that is less fair than being…

Yevamot Oct 28, 2014

On Yom Kippur afternoon, the Torah reading focuses on the Jewish sexual ethic. The Torah has a relatively long list of relatives with whom intimacy…

Yevamot Oct 26, 2014

It is the Jewish woman who is privileged with bestowing Jewishness to her offspring. Yet while the mother determines the Jewish status--or lack…

Noach Oct 24, 2014

Much of Parshat Breisheet details the moral failings of many of the individuals whom we meet: Adam and Chava, Kayin, Lemech. These early failures…

Yevamot Oct 22, 2014

The assimilation and subsequent loss of Jews has been a problem since the beginning of Jewish history. Many of us were taught--in kindergarten, no…

Yevamot Oct 20, 2014

Our rabbis greatly extolled the virtues of arguments for the sake of heaven. In these disputes, the disputants not only do not take their opponents…

Shemini Atzeret Oct 15, 2014

"On the Yom Tov of the last day, we read 'Kol Habechor, every first born'" (Devarim 15:19, Megillah 31a). Finding an appropriate Torah reading for…

Yevamot Oct 13, 2014

Life is full of conflicts, contradictions, and challenges ,and it is our task to mediate them as best possible. Torah, our guide to life, is…

Sukkot Oct 8, 2014

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…

Yevamot Oct 8, 2014

Masechet Yevamot opens by listing the fifteen women who "exempt their co-wives and the co-wives of their co-wives from chalitzah and…

Oct 6, 2014

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…

Chagigah Yom Kippur Oct 5, 2014

The Jewish people had sinned, and their future stood in the balance. G-d's initial plans to destroy the people were…

Yom Kippur Oct 2, 2014

"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…

Chagigah Yom Kippur Oct 1, 2014

"The gates of repentance are always open". Yom Kippur is predicated on the possibility of teshuva at all times for all people[1…

Chagigah Yom Kippur Sep 29, 2014

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…

Chagigah Yom Kippur Sep 29, 2014

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…

Rosh Hashanah Sep 24, 2014

"On Rosh Hashanah, we read 'on the seventh month on the first day', and the maftir reads, 'is not Ephraim my…

Chagigah Sep 23, 2014

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…

Chagigah Sep 21, 2014

With the beginning of selichot season (at least for Ashkenazim), we turn our thoughts to the notion of teshuva. This most difficult…

Sep 19, 2014

Torah in Motion is a not-for-profit educational organization that delivers teaching and learning opportunities worldwide via live events, web-based…

Vayelech Sep 19, 2014

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…