Confiscated Calculator Calculations
Mr. Berger is considered a shomer chinam since he has no gain, even incidental, from guarding the calculator.
Daf Yomi
Painting Tefillin Straps Black
“He May Go Over the Letters With a Pen”
(Gittin 20a)
The Pintela Yid Never Dies
In front of me the story of Am Yisrael came alive. The world may proclaim our end but here we are. One must only kindle the flame. The spark is never extinguished.
The Meaning And Various Categories Of Semicha – Rabbinic Ordination (Part II)
It is noted that in past generations there were very few individuals who had semicha, let alone were practicing rabbis, while today everyone seems to have semicha.
Is it proper to give your children a phone/smartphone? If so, what age makes...
The more complicated question is whether we should give our children a smartphone at all or at a young age.
Honest Plea
When it comes to both parenting and teaching, we don’t like to watch children make mistakes. We also don’t like having to take the time and energy to enforce the consequences of those mistakes.
Redemption Of A Heritage Field During Yovel
At the time of Megillas Rus, the Yovel – Jubilee year – was in force, replied Rabbi Dayan. If a person sold a field that was his sedei achuza – ancestral heritage from when the Land of Israel was first divided – it would return to him in Yovel.
Daf Yomi
Last Will And Testament
“A Deathbed Request Is As Sealed And Delivered”
(Gitin 14b)
Gittin, Daf 12: Enjoy Your Wealth
If a person is wealthy enough to own a field, why would he think that he would be able to keep the corner of the field, which is designated for poor people? Presumably, he would be excluded from the corner of any field, let alone his own!
“If I Could Be Like…”
During the years when the commercial was popular, my Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Berel Wein, quipped, What can you expect from a generation whose slogan is to ‘Be like Mike’?
The Meaning And Various Categories Of Semicha – Rabbinic Ordination
The popularity and interest in pursuing semicha studies has surged in recent years, and there is even a widespread practice for men to make an effort to receive semicha before marriage. This is true even if one has no intention of serving professionally as a rabbi.
Is it proper to stay up all night Shavuos if you won’t be able...
Since the minhag of Klal Yisrael has been to stay up all Shavuos night and learn Torah in preparation for our yearly reacceptance of the Torah, it is definitely proper to fulfill the minhag.
Tool Liability
Mr. Eisner arranged to meet with Rabbi Dayan. He showed him the terms-of-use agreement and asked:
Are these terms acceptable and binding according to halacha? Do the borrowers need to sign?
Daf Yomi
Repulsive And Disgraceful
“The Holy One … Does Not Cause Mishaps To The Righteous”
(Gittin 7a)
The Secret Of Prayer
Consider the fact that when we pray, we are conversing with the Creator of the universe, the One who holds the key to life and death, the One who can grant our deepest desires. Shouldn’t we be even more focused and mindful during our prayer than during a job interview?
To The Top
We always have to be striving to climb our personal Har Sinai – a climb to the peak which is not too overwhelming and daunting to the top.
Intro to Gittin: Read Before You Get Married
Marriage is a mitzvah. But so is divorce. Marriage is a mitzvah we look forward to fulfilling. Divorce is one of the many mitzvos – like cities of refuge and eglah arufah – that we hope we’ll never have to deal with.
Is it proper to disagree with one’s child’s Rebbe or Morah in front of...
In order to preserve the child’s respect for the institution and its instructors, the parent must exhibit that respect in the child’s presence.
When May One Use First Names And Titles?
We are taught that addressing one's teachers by their first name is so severe an offense that the Talmud labels one who does so as an apikores – one who has distanced himself from Jewish norms.
Never Give Up
We all have the same father, we all have the same goals and purpose, which is to serve the Almighty in the best way possible.
Must Shimon Sell His Share To Yosef?
If I had my way, I'd redeem it tomorrow! responded Shimon. I'm simply not interested in being a partner in the bond!
Daf Yomi
A Wonder Worm
“When The Temple Was Destroyed The Shamir…Ceased”
(Sotah 48a-b)
Daf 44. Fast-Track Lane
Especially given our Western culture, it’s spiritually far healthier to get married in one’s early twenties, as most frum people today do. But then you’re stuck working in the opposite direction of the Torah’s formula! As a community, is there any way we can get back on track?
Special Place
Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky notes that in the post-Holocaust years there was an unverbalized message conveyed to every child that he/she was vital to the Jewish cause. As a nation we had lost so much and had endured such utter devastation and destruction that every individual was crucial for our efforts to rebuild.
How To Make Havdalah – The Candle
Some mistakenly believe that using a multi-wick candle is a requirement, citing the wording of the blessing Borei me’orei ha’eish (Who creates the lights of fire) as proof for this position.
Is it proper to attend a secular university?
Some students may thrive in a secular university because they may be called upon to take on leadership roles in a religious capacity, such as to help make the minyan or to arrange Torah study opportunities, when they might not be able do so in a Jewish college setting when there are already plenty of minyanim and Torah study opportunities.
Lag Ba’Omer At Meron
I have been going to Meron for so many years, over 20 years on this special day, I cannot imagine this day anywhere else but by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai's side. I felt hugged, I felt loved, I felt protected, and I felt like the heavens were opened wide to all my heart's desires.
When Bonfire Smoke Bothers Your Neighbor
Last year, when you made the bonfire, the smoke wafted heavily toward us, said Mr. Wasser. I found it quite intolerable!
Daf Yomi
The Impropriety Of Flattery
“They Flattered King Agrippas”
(Sotah 41b)
Daf 38: Jealousy Is Unresolvable
An individual who is miserly and jealous of others’ material prosperity will not truly want them to be blessed.