אחת המגבלות הספיריות המקובלות בתוקף במהלך ספירת העומר היא איסור התספורות. בגלל מות תלמידיו של רבי עקיבא, אנו מקפידים להימנע מתספורות בחלק מהזמן שבין פסח לשבועוס. זו הסיבה שהמספרות… Read more »

  The trying period that we are currently going through has led to the closing of Shuls around the world. The continued spread of coronavirus, and the regulations enacted in… Read more »

  One of the hallmarks of modern consumption is variety. Even in baked goods we enjoy a huge range, and any given bakery will supply an impressive range. Yet, aside… Read more »

  Last week we opened a discussion concerning healing and halacha, discussing the basic questions of whether it is a mitzvah to heal, whether a physician is permitted to take… Read more »

  Concerning a case of damages, in which a person assaulted and injured somebody else, the Pasuk teaches that there is an obligation to pay for his healing: “and heal… Read more »

  As we approach the day of Tu Bi-Shevat, it is an appropriate time to discuss the laws of reciting the Shehecheyanu blessing over new fruit. The custom is to… Read more »

  Next week will be Parashas Vayeishev. The parsha includes the story of Yehuda and Tamar, which culminates in Tamar’s trial and the birth of her twins from Yehuda. One… Read more »

  Parashas Korach includes the Torah obligation to redeem firstborn sons: “Every first issue of a womb of any flesh that they offer to Hashem, whether man or beast, shall… Read more »

  One of the prerequisites for fulfilling the mitzvah of tzitzis is that the garment on which the tzitzis are hung—the tallis we wear in shul, or the tallis katan… Read more »

  Most countries in the world today have certain elements of price control—a policy of setting prices (usually a maximum price or price cap) by a government agency or regulatory… Read more »

  Parashas Tazria  teaches us to perform Bris Milah on the eighth day of an infant’s life: “On the eighth day you shall circumcise the flesh of his foreskin.” The… Read more »

  The book of Vayikra begins with instructions for the korban olah (Elevation Offering): “If one’s offering is an elevation offering from the cattle, he shall offer an unblemished male;… Read more »

  In this week’s parashah we find the Torah injunction to refrain from lighting fires on Shabbos: “You shall not kindle a fire, in all of your dwellings, on the… Read more »

  In the previous article we discussed the basic prohibition against taking a legal dispute to non-Torah or secular courts of law. As we saw, doing so involves a particularly… Read more »

  Parashas Mishpatim begins with the words: “And these are the ordinances that you shall set before them” (Shemos 21:1). Based on the Pasuk, the Gemara (Gittin 88b) cites the… Read more »

  The day of Yetzias Mitzrayim, our redemption from Egypt, is a birthday: the national birthday of Klal Yisrael. This is stated by the Pasuk in Yechezkel: “And as for… Read more »

Lighting Chanukah candles is a mitzvah of the home. In the words of the Gemara, the mitzvah is defined as ner ish uveiso—“a candle for each man and his household.”… Read more »

  Perhaps the most famous kidnapping in history is that of Yosef by his brothers, as told in Parashas Vayeishev. Yosef was subsequently sold to an Egypt-bound group of Ishmaelites,… Read more »

  The Torah tells us that Rosh Hashanah is a day of sounding the Shofar: “And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month… a day of… Read more »

  The current vacation season, coupled with Pasuk in Parashas Va’eschanan which mentions that the Jewish People “saw no image” (of Hashem), provides us with an opportunity to discuss a… Read more »

  Dwelling on the heroic, and patently dangerous, deed of Pinchas, the Keli Yekar asks the following question: How was it permitted for Pinchas to place himself in danger? We… Read more »

  The Gemara (Sanhedrin 105b) teaches that from the blessings of Bilam we know the curses he wished to inflict upon the Jewish people. One of his aims was that… Read more »

    In this week’s parsha we read about the mitzvah of Birkas Kohanim. Sefer Chareidim has an important opinion about the mitzvah of the priestly blessing—Birkas Kohanim. Although the… Read more »

  The mitzvah of chinuch, educating our children in general, and specifically initiating them into keeping mitzvos, is among the central elements of the Jewish people. In one of the… Read more »

  The Gemara (Sotah 14a) teaches that we are should follow the ways of Hashem—to emulate His traits (midos) as taught to us by the Torah. One of His traits… Read more »

As we count the Omer, many of us will encounter some of the doubts typical of the Omer count. This week we wish to discuss these doubts. There is no… Read more »

  An often discussed halachic element of Purim is the question of damages caused in the course of celebration, drunken or otherwise. Purim damages can be a simple case of… Read more »

  The annual reading of Parashas Zachor fulfills the obligation of remembering the deed of Amalek as the Children of Israel traversed from Egypt. The memory of Amalek is a… Read more »

  One of the most striking features of Torah tort law is the concept of indirect damage. In contrast to modern law systems, Torah law includes an explicit exemption from… Read more »

  When Pharaoh began to crack under the pressure of the plagues that continued to strike him, and wished to allow the Jewish people to leave Egypt to serve Hashem,… Read more »

  In the past two articles we discussed the mitzvah (or custom) of giving maaser kesafim, and, following this, the priorities that define how best to distribute charity money. In… Read more »

  Last week we began a discussion of the laws of hashavas aveidah, returning lost property. As noted, these laws are of importance the year round, but come into focus… Read more »

  In bygone times, the number of Jews who used to sell their chametz on Pesach was relatively small. The enactment of selling one’s chametz does not appear in the… Read more »

  The Gemara (Berachos 43a) teaches that one who sees blossoming fruit trees during Nissan recites a special berachah: “Blessed are You… Who did not omit anything from His universe and… Read more »

  Acting behind the scenes throughout the dramatic episode of Parshas Toldos, Rivka is perhaps the first biblical example of an informant. The report of Yitzchak’s blessings opens with Rivka… Read more »

  The Mishnah (Avos 5:10) makes the following statement: “There are four dispositions among men. […] One who says, “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is yours”—this is an… Read more »

In Parashas Vayeira we learn of the birth of Yishmael to Avraham Avinu. In the present article we will discuss a particular halachah that relates to non-Jews in general, and… Read more »

As we approach Rosh Hashanah and the Ten Days of Repentance, we are confronted by the task of Teshuvah – repenting our misdeeds and bettering our ways in the future…. Read more »

  The Pasuk (Devarim 16:19) teaches us: “Bribery makes blind the wise and upsets the pleas of the just.” For this reason, the Torah states that it is forbidden to… Read more »

A halachic question that has been asked countless times over the generations, and which is still widely discussed today, is whether Kohanim are permitted to visit the graves of the… Read more »

Towards the upcoming festival of Shavuos, on which we received (and continue to receive annually) the Torah, we dedicate this article to the mitzvah of Torah study. As we will… Read more »