It is often hard for us to realize that concepts we take for granted are foreign to others. That…
Pesachim 49b: Shul Weapons
To produce excellence, a certain degree of elitism is required. We are influenced by those around…
Pesachim 49a: A Pesach Wedding
Getting married is a very big deal, and a mitzvah that supersedes almost all else. And like all…
Pesachim 47: Eating on Yom Kippur?
The Yomim Tovim celebrate monumental events in Jewish history. The focus of these days is on…
Dr. Bryna Levy to Speak at Or Chaim on Shabbat
Dr. Bryna J. Levy will be scholar in residence at the Or Chaim Minyan on Shabbat, Parshat Shoftim,…
Shoftim: Seeking Justice
Almost always, wrongdoing requires that people work together to perpetrate such. As has been…
Some Impressions of South African Jewry
Having just returned from the Torah in Motion African Safari, I would like to share some…
Pesachim 37: Designer Matzah
Matzah is the most basic of foods. Mix some grain with water and bake ASAP, and presto! We have the…
Dr. Bryna Levy to Return with Rupture and Repentance: Joseph and His Brothers
Dr. Bryna J. Levy returns with another fascinating text-based study of the relationship between…
Re'eh: Cohesive Community
The destruction of the Temple in the Year 70 caused a major historical shift regarding the focus of…
Pesachim 35: Sleeping Through Class
I imagine I am not the only one who has dozed off during a lecture. While I might manage to pick up…
Pesachim 34: Land of Darkness
Soon after the editing of the Mishna in the land of Israel, Jewish life and learning started slowly…
Eikev: Fear of G-d
Effort vs. result. The relative value of these two concepts is a fundamental dispute between our…
Pesachim 30a: Economic Intervention
On the first page of the laws of Shabbat, the Mishnah Berurah discusses the problem of price…
Pesachim 22: Time Well Spent
“Shimon Ha'amsoni—and some say, Nechemia Ha'amsoni—used to derive [laws]…
VaEtchanan: Time for Comfort
Life is so unfair. While we believe that ultimately (and ultimately can take an eternity!) justice…
Tisha B'Av: Greetings
“Everything is dependent on mazal, even the sefer Torah in the ark”. Certain mitzvoth…
Pesachim 11: Telling Time
The halachic legal system is much more than a set of abstract principles or technical…