The defeat of Babylonians by Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE led to a (temporary) golden age of Jewish…
Some Opening Thoughts on Masechet Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah conjures up images of prayer, repentance, and new beginnings. It is the time of year…
Rosh Hashanah 2: A New Year for Kings
"Arba Rosh Hashana hem, there are four New Years; on the first of Nissan is the New Year for…
Behar: The End of the Torah
The Torah was edited with great precision. This is the idea behind the notion that "there is…
Yom Ha'atzmaut: The Most Important Mitzvah
One of the Rambam's principles of faith is the eternity of the Torah. While historical…
Beitza 25: Hurry Up and Be Patient
In Talmudic times, animals were generally slaughtered only when there was a known buyer ready to…
Beitza 24: Fishing on Yom Tov
Shabbat and Yom Tov are gifts to the Jewish people, and the Jewish people only. As such, we are…
Emor: The Joys of a Kohen
Being a kohen today is not what it used to be. While one may receive more aliyot and lead …
Beitza 20: The Path of Hillel
There is arguably no greater figure in Talmudic literature than that of Hillel the Elder. He…
Beitza 17b: To the Showers...
Often, when studying Gemara, we fail to appreciate how different day-to-day life was for our…
Kedoshim: One is Holy
One of the features of the scientific world is classification of different species into their…
Beitza 17: Open Sinning
All of us are sinners. To be human means that we make mistakes, both inadvertent and intentional.…
Beitza 11: Beyond the Beginning
Our Sages defined a chacham as one who is roeh et hanolad, who foresees the results of his actions…
Fiscal Responsibility
What is it about leaders that so many of them seem to be embroiled in ethical controversy? We in…
Pesach: A Long Short Story
“And it was at the end of four hundred and thirty years, in the middle of that very day, that the…
The Four Questions of Jewish Education
I write these words just days before Pesach, the holiday that, more than any other, focuses on…
Acharei Mot: Celebrating Pesach on Yom Kippur
It is quite rare to read parshat Acharei Mot on Shabbat Hagadol. In non-leap years, it is generally…