Posted on: April 18th, 2012

When The Service Is Done ‘Once Permitted To Kohanim, Me’ilah Does Not Apply’ (Me’ilah 4b)

Posted on: April 12th, 2012

Yankel drove with his wife to the yeshiva's annual dinner. "I hope we'll be able to find parking," she said.

Posted on: April 12th, 2012

Each morning at about 7:10 a.m. my mother, still in her housecoat and slippers, would wake me for school. One wintry Monday morning I opened my eyes to see her leaning over my bed. She was in hat and coat and her hands were cold from the weather outside.

Posted on: April 12th, 2012

A Bride And Groom On Their Wedding Day ‘Except For The Day After Yom Kippur’ (Kerisos 25a)

Posted on: April 12th, 2012

Question: If a person has a number of personal concerns that need to be thought out and analyzed, can he go to shul to do this?

Posted on: April 5th, 2012

Question: How much matzah must one eat at the Pesach Seder?

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Posted on: April 5th, 2012

Beware Of The Fruit! ‘A Mis’asek Is Excluded’ (Kerisos 19a)

Posted on: April 5th, 2012

It's 1 p.m. on Friday, Erev Pesach. The rabbi had already sold the chametz at 10 a.m. But I forgot to sell mine. Now the synagogue office is closed and I can't get hold of the form the rabbi uses to sell the chametz. The Torah requires me to remove all chametz from my house on Pesach. But I just cannot bring myself to throw out that Glenfiddich. Is there a way the whisky can remain in my house during Pesach, and would I be able to drink it after Pesach?

Posted on: March 29th, 2012

Question: What is the basis of the custom to refrain from eating matzah for a period of time before Pesach?

Posted on: March 29th, 2012

On the bima of the beis medrash stood a maos chittim "pushka" (collection box) on behalf of "Matzos Chesed Organization." The gabbai emptied the box every few days, typically finding $200-$500.

Posted on: March 28th, 2012

Seizing An Opportunity? ‘A Person Is Believed Regarding Himself More Than 100 Witnesses’ (Kerisos 11b-12a)

Posted on: March 22nd, 2012

Question: If someone passes away on one day but is buried the next day, when does the son stop saying Kaddish and when should he observe the yahrzeit – 11 and 12 months, respectively, after the day of death or 11 and 12 months, respectively, after the day of burial?

Posted on: March 22nd, 2012

Temple Management 101 ‘The Rest Were Given To The Craftsmen As Wages’ (Kerisos 6a)

Posted on: March 22nd, 2012

Summertime in Massachusetts, one often sees flowers for sale at the side of the road. But there is no salesperson present. Instead, there is a sign requesting $10 for the flowers. You leave the $10 bill on the table and go back to your car with flowers in hand. It is an honors system. There is nobody watching to see if you pay only $5 or if you creep back, retrieve your $10 bill and make off with the money and the flowers. Doing that would be a breach of trust.

Posted on: March 14th, 2012

The act of temurah, consecrating another animal in place of an already consecrated animal, incurs the punishment of malkot - lashes. This is somewhat surprising. There is a halachic rule that a prohibition that does not involve an overt act does not incur the punishment of malkot – “lav she’einbBo ma’aseh, ein lokin alav.” Why then does a person incur malkot?

Posted on: March 14th, 2012

Question: When we pray, are we requesting or demanding that God fulfill our wishes?

Posted on: March 14th, 2012

Shmuel Bender and Asher Beckerman were study partners (chevrusas). They also sat next to each other in shiur. Shmuel felt fortunate to have the privilege of learning with Asher, whom he admired greatly.

Posted on: March 14th, 2012

If a fetus is a separate entity, how is slaughtering a pregnant animal permitted? After all, Chullin teaches us that the Torah prohibits slaughtering a mother and its child on the same day.

Posted on: March 7th, 2012

The Rambam That Engendered Fifty Novella ‘He Says to His Maidservant: You Are Free’ (Temura 25b)

Posted on: February 29th, 2012

"When someone completes his job faithfully you must pay him fully, even if no benefit comes from the work. For example, if a person ordered a delivery of medicine for a critically ill patient, and the person died or recovered meanwhile, the driver must be paid."