24 Aug DREAM INTERPRETATIONS
Our dreams intrigue us and sometimes haunt us. Often, they challenge us to try to understand their meaning. Granted, not all dreams contain a divine message. As we discussed earlier,...
17 Aug LAST NAMES IN HALACHAH
I. What’s In a Surname? Last names serve to identify an individual with greater specificity. There may be many men named Yosef ben Ya’akov in the marketplace but Yosef ben Ya’akov Schwartz...
09 Aug VAESCHANAN: WHAT TECHNOLOGY IS GOOD FOR
The internet and related technology offer us unprecedented connections across the world. As with any tool, how we use it makes all the difference. Therefore, because of the great stakes,...
02 Aug DEVARIM: CALL OUT CULTURE
I. The Call-Out One of the features of social media behavior, one of the ways it allows people to protest injustice, is through something named a “call out.” I would like...
26 Jul DISINTERMENT FOR AN AGUNAH (KESUBOS DAF 22)
The Sages instituted many leniencies to permit the classical agunah, a woman whose husband has disappeared and cannot remarry without proof of death. How far would they go? In Kesubos...
13 Jul HEARING PROFANITY (KESUBOS DAF 5)
I. Close Your Ears The Gemara in Kesubos (5a-b) says, “What does it mean: ‘And you shall have a shovel among your weapons (azenekha)’ (Deut. 23:14)? Do not read it as:...
13 Jul DAVENING FOR THE NEGLIGENT SICK
I. Taking Risks The Torah requires us to take care of our health but few people do this vigilantly. Most people take small risks, eat moderately unhealthy foods frequently, exercise too...
21 Jun DO I HAVE TO LISTEN TO A RABBI?
When you ask a rabbi a question, you are committing yourself to following his answer. But what if you didn’t ask? Do you still have to follow his ruling? Put...
14 Jun THE CONTESTED CHIEF RABBI AND MATAN TORAH
I. The Contested Chief Rabbi of France The source of the obligation to observe the Torah’s commandments connects to an obscure medieval debate over the chief rabbinate of France. In 1385,...
07 Jun SHABBOS SHOES
I. Shabbos Clothes We greet Shabbos and spend the entire day clean and proper, dressed in fine clothes. Do we also need to wear fine shoes that we have designated for...