Great thinkers convince people and do not try to intimidate them. In the introduction to his Guide for the Perplexed, Rambam issues a command to the reader, invoking G-d’s name. This demand is puzzling on two levels. First,...
Even those with only a passing knowledge of the Five Books of Moses recognize the death penalty applied to various sins. The Oral Torah, committed to writing centuries later, explains the procedural limitations to these penalties. However there...
Today we access Torah texts in many more ways than in the past. Of course, we primarily use printed texts (sefer, sefarim) in our learning. But very often we also access texts and write our own notes...
Over the past half century, the Orth- odox community has grown tremendously in its practice of married women covering their hair. At what point must a bride start covering her hair? Historically, Jewish marriage has consisted of two stages —...
The Chanukah menorah has eight lights for the eight days of the holiday. There is a ninth light, the shamash, which is not an actual Chanukah light. A box of Chanukah candles usually contains 44 candles so you...
I. Reasons to Deviate Rav Yosef Karo (16th cen., Israel; Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 676:1) says that the first blessing on Chanukah lights is: “le-hadlik ner Chanukah, to kindle Chanukah light.” Many have noted how puzzling this is because the...
I. Obligations to Give Giving charity, sup- porting those in need, is a great mitzvah. It is important not only in order to help those who need financial assistance but also to create a giving character, which is...
I. Fathers-in-Law There is a deep lesson in the fact that there is no English equivalent of the word “mechutanim.” Mechutanim are the parents of your son- or daughter-in-law (mechutan is the male part of the mechutanim). When your...
I. Thank You Hashem We recognize and thank G-d for the blessings we receive in this world, sometimes in formal ways with a blessing and other times informally. In a modern democracy, sometimes elections can turn the tide...
We stand up for a Torah scroll when it is removed from the ark or moved from place to place. Doing so is a sign of respect for the divine word inscribed on its parchment. Do we...