Rambam’s Baffling Position Concerning What We Heard at Sinai
Shavuot celebrates matan Torah. Accordingly, it behooves us to attempt to decipher what exactly we heard at that momentous occasion. Before proceeding, however, let us remember Rambam’s warning: מו”נ ב, לג[1] ודעהו וזכרהו, שאי אפשר שיכניס אדם עצמו ... Read more →
Leadership and Love
“When they fell ill, my garb was sackcloth. I afflicted my body with fasts. I returned prayer to my bosom” (Tehillim 35:13, as interpreted by R. Levi, cited by Ibn Ezra ibid.). Thus King David describes his reaction to his enemies’ afflictions. The king empathized with their pain and ... Read more →
Time is Money, But what is Money?
The Gemara (Bava Metzia 46b) records a debate regarding which method of acquisition (kinyan) exists on a Torah level for moveable objects. Rabi Yochanan holds that paying money alone is the method of kinyan, while Reish Lakish maintains that meshicha, pulling the object, is the method of ... Read more →
Must a Father be the One to Circumcise His Child?
The Gemara tells us that one of the key elements in the concept of shlichut, appointing a proxy on behalf of oneself, is that the sender to be able to perform the activity for which he is appointing an agent (see Bava Metzia 10b). This requirement creates a complication with one of the most ... Read more →
Pesach – From Bread of Affliction to Bread of Affection
The Seder opens with a strange declaration: “This is the bread of affliction our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat.” What kind of generosity is it to invite strangers to eat the bread of affliction? In my Haggadah, I offered a radical interpretation. We ... Read more →
Renting a House for Pesach
Recently, many families have opted to vacation and leave their homes for Pesach. While away, these families may rent out their house or apartment to another Jew. Are these individuals obligated to perform bedikat chametz even though they will not be home over Pesach or have they absolved ... Read more →
Taste no Evil? Ta’am Chametz and the Prohibitions of Bal Yeira’eh and Bal Yimatzei
The Torah prohibits owning chametz on Pesach. We eat and burn our chametz and clean our house, but while we use separate utensils for Pesach, what is the status of ta’am chametz, taste infusions? Must we worry about chametz taste inside of foods and inside of vessels? Rav held one must break ... Read more →
Achila Gasa- When More Is Not Better
The Gemara (Pesachim 107a-b) rules that on erev Pesach one may not eat too soon before the seder. The Gemara presents two options for the starting point of the prohibition to eat food, either mincha ketana or mincha gedola. The latter option of mincha ketana, which is close to nightfall, is ... Read more →
The Noble Lie in Halacha
The Torah tells us to avoid lies – “Midevar sheker tirchak” (Shemot 23:7) – but Chazal in two major discussions note several exceptions to this general rule. What considerations can be of such import as to supersede the lofty value of emet? We will explore the various outliers in an ... Read more →
Ma’amad Har Sinai and Tzelem Elokim – The Prohibition of Sculpting the Human Form