I. Home For Chanukah Chanukah occupies an unusual place in halachah. Most mitzvos fall on the individual. Chanukah’s primary mitzvah devolves on the location, not the person. The Gemara (Shabbos 21b) does not describe the obligation as lighting a candle...
We tend to imagine the great sages as flawless in both halachic mastery and personal awareness. Generally, this attitude has great merit because these sages rose to their timeless prominence due not only to their brilliance but also their...
I. Remembering Rav Neriah This Shabbos, Vayishlach 5786, is designated as the Knitted Kipah Shabbos in c o m m e m o r a t i o n of the 30th yartzeit of Rav Moshe Tzvi Neriah. Rav...
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: ’your weapons’ but as ‘your ear’ (oznekha). If...
People are complicated and may fail to perform a mitzvah for many reasons, including those entirely beyond their control. Consider someone who bought a mezuzah from a reputable and pious seller, only to learn years later that a word...
I. Rabbi Sacks’ Focus on Chumash Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, whose fifth yahrtzeit was this past week, focused much of his teachings on the Chumash, the Five Books of Moses. His analyses vary widely in style, ranging from close readings...
In the first part of this essay, we saw that Judaism has long wrestled with the ethics of publishing and the dangers of unreliable or misleading content. The halakhic tradition demands accuracy, rejects heresy and insists that those who release...
Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly become a part of daily life, influencing the information we consume and the decisions we make. And the process is just starting. This places significant responsibility on the AI builder. Designing an AI system is...
On Shemini Atzeres of 5786, the Jewish world lost Rabbi Moshe Hauer zt”l, one of the wisest and most quietly pious people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. Rabbi Hauer was a spiritual giant and a personal...
I. Who May Duchen? The Torah commands kohanim, male descendants of the priestly families, to bless other Jews while raising their hands and reciting a specific formula, i.e. to duchen, to do Nesi’as Kapayim. “Speak with Aharon and with his...