How common it is for people to return from a funeral and realize how little they knew about the…
Nidah 30: In Utero
Being pregnant with one’s first child is the best of times. One imagines a talmid…
VaYetze: From Yaakov to Yisrael
“And Yaakov was a pure man, dwelling in the tents” (Breisheet 25:27). Like his father…
Niddah 31: A Great Mitzva
In our last post, we discussed that seven days after giving birth to a boy and 14 after a girl, the…
Niddah 31: The Joy of Being Jewish
Death, as we have often noted, is the primary source of tumah, impurity, with a corpse classified…
Chayei Sarah: Growing Old, Staying Young
"And Sarah lived one hundred years, twenty years and seven years; these are the years of Sarah…
Niddah 2: Shammai and Hillel
It is hard to imagine more influential institutions of Jewish learning than those of Beit Hillel…
VaYera: Moving Out of Town
One of the fundamental issues of debate amongst observant Jews regards the degree of openness with…
Niddah: Blood and Water
“And you shall live by them” (Vayikra 18:5). The mitzvot of the Torah are meant to…
Lech Lecha: In Defence of Terach
Our rabbis famously debate the righteousness of Noach. Was he a tzadik only relative to the corrupt…
Masechet Kelim: Time for New Dishes
Seder Taharot opens with masechet Kelim, vessels, which at 30 chapters and 254 mishnayot is far and…
Noach: Defending Noach
For years, psychologists have debated the impact of the environment (nurture) on the development of…
An Introduction to Seder Taharot
Jewish law is generally divided into three distinct areas: issur v’heter, ritual law;…
Shmini Atzeret: Election Day
Tomorrow is Shmini Atzeret. It is also Election Day in Canada. While that is no doubt unfortunate…
V'zot HaBracha: From G-d to Man
When writing a book, a good author will introduce the major themes of the book in the opening…
An Introduction to Masechet Tamid
“The one sheep you shall do in the morning and the second sheep you shall do in the evening…