Kayin And Hevel: Not What You Learned in Cheder
Both Kayin and Hevel are flawed in this narrative. Kayin, consumed by lust and evil, has will and determination. Hevel, free of evil, lacks drive or purpose.
Enduring Flames
The common thread between those who persevere beyond all odds and accomplish incredible things is that they have an unyielding sense of mission and responsibility. They aren’t merely doing what they want to do; they are striving to accomplish what they feel needs to be done. They feel the weight upon their shoulders.
Defective Dress
Shulchan Aruch (C.M. 232:4) rules that when merchandise is defective, the sale can be voided entirely, replied Rabbi Dayan. Even if the depreciation is small and the seller is willing to refund the differential, the buyer can return the item and claim that he wants an intact item.
Daf Yomi
Siddurim On A Bimah
‘The Heart Of Beth Din Provides For It’
(Shavuos 11a)
Is There Wisdom Outside Of Torah?
It is an interesting question whether, from the Torah’s perspective, there exists wisdom outside the Torah. Logically speaking, there is no theological need for the Torah to encompass all wisdom, so long as what it commands, as pertinent to us, is wise.
Scruffy
It is not coincidental that both national periods of mourning are connected with deficiencies in interpersonal relationships.
Daf Yomi
Leprosy?
‘… Any Kohen Who Is Not Expert …’
(Shavuos 6a)
Fruit Basket
He recalled that a week earlier, a thug had robbed the laden shopping cart that his wife was using in the supermarket, with all its contents. Rabbi Dayan had explained why his wife was not liable for the shopping cart, but did not address the question of the groceries.
The Hope Of Our Nation
As we find ourselves immersed in the agony of a war that has left so many chairs empty at the seder, still shocked from the greatest massacre of our people since the Holocaust, we must also plug into the koach of Rabbi Akiva. The power of resilience. The spirit of our nation.
Cutting Through Grief: A Torah Perspective On Self-Harm
We see that cutting oneself out of overwhelming pain is a basic human response, not a new phenomenon. However, in different eras and cultures, mental illness manifests differently based on perceptions, beliefs, and ego defenses.
Hang On
There is always going to be times of maror in our lives. But we have to continue to wait and daven for the incredible seudah that is to follow.
Shopping Cart
Although the cart was stolen, when the renter is present and unable to save the item, she is not liable – certainly if she tried unsuccessfully to do so (C.M. 303:2,5).
Daf Yomi
A Threat To Life And Limb
‘How Many Lashes Are Given Him? Forty Save One’
(Makkos 22a-b)
Spare The Rod, Spoil The Mitzvah? The Talmud’s Take On Tough Love
There are instances in the Gemara where, though corporal punishment is accepted as a practice, there is a disapproving response when it is done unfairly or excessively...
Daf Yomi
Entitlements
‘Not Returned To His Former Prominence’
(Makkos 12a)
A Thing
I don’t remember when that way of talk began, but I’m pretty sure it was only in the twenty-first century. In our culture, being a thing has become the basic unit of cultural ontology.
Forgotten Whiskey
When a person forgot to sell his chametz and does not want to destroy it, the poskim write that he should grant it as a gift to a gentile, because this is a gift for the purpose of a mitzvah – to avoid the prohibition of possessing chametz on Pesach.
Daf Yomi
The Red Sea’s Argument
‘Elai And Toviah: Relatives Of A Guarantor’
(Makkos 7a)
Court Recognizes Importance Of Baal Koreh In Landmark Tax Exemption Decision
The trial court denied the shul’s application for a tax exemption, concluding, among other things, that the property was not intimately related to the [petitioner’s] religious objectives.
Does G-d Refuse Repair Attempts?
We see, then, that not all sacrifices are rejected, nor are they rejected from all people.
The Seder’s Message To Us
Notice that we do not speak in the past tense. Omdim alainu – they stand against us attempting to wipe us off the face of this earth. As we sit down to our seder, we discover the eternal secret of the Jew.
Is It Proper To Incorporate Current Events Into The Pesach Seder? If So, In...
In short, not only is it proper to incorporate current events into the Seder, but it is likely a fulfillment or at the very least an enhancement of the mitzvah to recount the Exodus from Egypt. However, this is true only if we subsume those current events into the broader retelling and view them as part of an ongoing fulfillment of Hashem's redemption.
Good To The Last Drop
In 2011 the Maxwell House Haggadah translation underwent its first significant update since its original publishing. “Art, thou, and hast” were replaced with more conversant contemporary English.
Should You Sell Your Chametz?
We should also recognize that mechirat chametz as it is performed today was originally intended for sh’at hadchak – it was an emergency measure necessitated by Jews owning large quantities of chametz, which was a particular problem once Jews had entered the liquor business.
Vacuum Cleaner
While Dani was washing the floor mats, a branch fell from a tree and hit the vacuum cleaner, cracking it!
Daf Yomi
Without Warning
‘… But You Were With Us…’
(Makkos 2a)
The Ultimate Compliment For The Ultimate Baal Teshuva
Originally, Menashe behaved so badly that he seemed to have forfeited his place in the World to Come. But then he did such teshuva that not only did he earn a place in the World to Come, but G-d himself interfered with the nature He had created and made a special opening or tunnel through which Menashe could come into the World to Come.
Stirring Up A Hornet’s Nest
A person should never bring himself to undergo a test of faith, as David, king of Israel, brought himself to undergo a test of faith and failed.
38 Again
It was well known that Jack Benny celebrated his thirty-ninth birthday every year. When Benny died in 1974, he had turned thirty-nine a total of forty-one times.
A Personal Reflection On Pesach And Faith
As we sit at our seders this year, we are not only reliving the past; we are living in the present. We are living through a time when the Jewish people are once again fighting for freedom.
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