Whether exploring a new twist on a favorite topic, debating a taboo subject, or learning Jewish history on our heritage tours, Torah in Motion constantly seeks to expand the horizon of Jewish thought.
Shabbat Mar 30, 2020

When it was still forbidden to write down the Oral Law, one of the very few written texts was that of Megillat Taanit, the scroll of fast days. This…

Shabbat Mar 25, 2020

“Rava bar Machsseya said in the name of Rav Chama bar Gurya in the name of Rav: One who gives a gift to another must inform him” (Shabbat…

Shabbat Mar 16, 2020

One of the hardest mitzvot to properly fulfil is that of rebuke, “hocheiach tocheech et amitecha” (Vayikra 19:17). We are…

Shabbat Mar 12, 2020

“The carrying out on Shabbat are two that are four [for one] inside [a home] and two that are four [for one] outside [the home]” (Shabbat…

Berachot Mar 5, 2020

Leadership is not for the faint of heart. A leader, by definition, must make decisions that are going to hurt people. That does not mean the…

Berachot Feb 27, 2020

I imagine that many of us had elementary school classmates whom we knew were going to reach great heights. Their intelligence and drive to succeed…

Berachot Feb 26, 2020

We have often noted that the Talmud was edited with great precision. A simple example is the extreme to which it goes to record who, and in whose…

Berachot Feb 24, 2020

When one is consumed with hatred, one is liable to act in ways that are out of the norm, to say the least. “Sina’ah mekalkelet et hashura…

Berachot Feb 19, 2020

“Rav Hamnuna said: How many important halakhot can be derived from these verses of the prayer of Hannah?” (Brachot 31a).…

Berachot Feb 16, 2020

“Our Sages taught: Shimon Hapekuli arranged the eighteen blessings before Rabban Gamliel, al haseder, in order, in Yavne…

Berachot Feb 13, 2020

It is hard to think of a mitzvah that has undergone as much change over time as that of prayer. Originally, prayer was a spontaneous pouring out of…

Berachot Feb 12, 2020

It is fair to say that, if not for the leadership of Rav Yochanan ben Zakkai, you would not be reading these words. Judaism as we know it today could…

Berachot Feb 6, 2020

The years following the destruction of the Temple were fraught with great danger and uncertainty. The infighting that had so weakened the Jewish…

Berachot Feb 2, 2020

As we transition from the third to the fourth chapter of masechet Brachot, our focus shifts from the mitzvah of kriat shema to that of…

Berachot Jan 29, 2020

Shehechiyanu vekemanu vhegeyanu lazman hazeh. It was when daf yomi last reached Brachot 27 that I wrote my first “Daily Daf”. For…

Berachot Jan 26, 2020

One of the things I love about the Gemara is how realistic and human it is—how it portrays people, rabbis and laypeople alike, in all their…

Berachot Jan 23, 2020

“A jewel in the mouth of Rava. The purpose of chochmah, wisdom, is teshuva and maasim tovim, good deeds”(Brachot 17a…

Berachot Jan 19, 2020

“The appointed one [assistant kohen gadol] said to them [the priests in the Temple]: ‘Recite a single blessing.’ They…

Berachot Jan 16, 2020

“Rabbi Chelbo said in the name of Rav Huna: All who have yira’at shamayim, fear of Heaven, his words are heeded, as it is…

Berachot Jan 13, 2020

What should one pray for? If we were to take a survey of the typical shul-goer, or even one who is not, I suspect we will hear such ideas as health,…

Berachot Jan 9, 2020

In our post discussing the last lines of the Talmud Bavli, we wondered why the Gemara ends with a teaching by Eliyahu Hanavi. As Daf Yomi begins its…

Berachot Jan 6, 2020

“From when may one recite the kriat shema in the evening? From the time the kohanim enter to eat their terumah until the end of the…

Berachot Jan 5, 2020

Rashi begins his commentary to Chumash asking why the Torah begins with the story of creation and not with the first mitzva given to the Jewish…

Nidah Jan 4, 2020

“Tanna devei Eliyahu, the school of Eliyahu, taught: Kol hashoneh, all who study (and review) halachot every day are guaranteed that they…