The commitment to learn Daf Yomi is a remarkable one. It is the only study project I know that…
Moed Katan 28: Beyond Our Control
It is to be expected that, in a chapter dealing with the laws of mourning, a discussion of the…
Moed Katan 27: Leading By Example
No idea is stressed more in the Torah than that of being kind to strangers, “because we were…
Re'eh: Behind the Scenes
Showing extra sensitivity to the needs of the poor, the widow, orphan, servant, and stranger is a…
Ki Teitzei: Hit 'Em Less
What is the role of a Rabbi? When this question was asked to Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein, author…
Ki Teitzei: Leave G-d Out of It
For the religion that first brought the message of ethical monotheism to the world, Judaism sure…
Shoftim: To Tell the Truth
"Tzedek tzedek tirdof, justice, justice you shall pursue in order that you may live and…
An Outsider: Moed Katan 17
One of the greatest and the most tragic figure of Talmudic literature is Rav Eliezer ben Hurcanus,…
Moed Katan 17: How to Sin
The primary way we can tell which commandments are more important than others is by the punishment…
Moed Katan 9: To Fast or Not To Fast
The Gemara (Megillah 5b) relates that Rebbe wanted to abolish Tisha B'Av. Interestingly, no…
Moed Katan 8: Mazel Tov--Soon
As we discussed in our last post, mourning and Yom Tov[1] are polar opposites, and mourning…
Moed Katan 8: Mixed Emotions
Halacha reflects not only legal truths, but moral, psychological, and philosophical (and other)…
Moed Katan 5: Stand By
For better or worse most people pay little attention to the proof texts brought to support various…
Moed Katan 5: The Right Path
One of the fascinating features of the Talmud is how it seamlessly moves from topic to topic. The…
Eikev: Pain and Gain
“And they placed upon them taskmasters lema’an anoto, in order to afflict them in their burdens” (…
Some Opening Thoughts on Masechet Moed Katan
Moed Katan has as its focus two contradictory themes: the laws of Chol Hamoed and of aveilut,…
Some Concluding Thoughts on Masechet Megillah
“And I have given them statutes that are not good, and laws that they do not live with"…