The biggest news story of the week was about a clerk in Kentucky with a fundamentalist understanding of the Bible. Among many reactions on social media, there was a clip from the “West … more

With the Ashkenazic community beginning Selichot this Saturday night, with Rosh Hashana around a week and a half away, bringing with it the Day of Judgment, we are left to examine our deeds, our … more

Everyone who is familiar with the story of Ruth knows the Talmudic sentiment (Yevamot 69a, 77a and Ketuvot 7b) that a Moabite female is permitted to join the Jewish people. The Talmud has a classic … more

At the beginning of Parshat Behar, when the Torah describes the laws studied at Mt. Sinai, Rashi asks a question that is well-known by those who study his commentary: What does the topic of shmittah … more

“Don’t eat ‘neveilah’ (meat from the carcass of an animal that dies a natural death) – give it to the ‘ger’ who lives in your gates, and he shall eat it. Or … more

Towards the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Va’Eschanan, we are given Moshe’s reminder that we are not to add anything to the Torah, nor to detract from it (4:2). This is … more

Last week, from Tisha B’Av through Tu B’Av (July 26–31), was loaded with a particularly awful set of occurences in Israel. From the vandalism on a Conservative (Masorti) … more

When the Levush records the halakha from Shulchan Arukh 428 about when certain Torah portions are read during the year, he explains the rule that Tisha B’Av precedes parsha Va’Etchanan: … more

Ever since the blessing given to the Tribe of Gad by Yaakov in the middle of Parshat Vaychi, Gad has been considered to be the greatest soldier, and set of soldiers, known to Israel. So well known … more

This idea was born out of a learning session I had with my daughter, Aliza. She gets a lot of credit for the direction into which this thought developed. The tale of the daughters of Tzlafchad is … more