Divrei Chaim

The Mishna in Meg (6b) has a rule:  אין בין אדר הראשון לאדר השני אלא קריאת המגילה ומתנות לאביונים.  Therefore, this year, which is a leap ye...

The Yerushalmi (Shabbos 12:3) has a din that a board placed on the north side of the mishkan could not at some other point be used on the so...

Daas Zekeinim comments on the dimension of the mizbeiach: ארכו כנגד הלוחות חמש דברות על לוח זה וחמש על לוח זה ושלש אמות קומתו כנגד שלשה גואל...

I saw a beautiful diyuk quoted in the name of R' Yechezel Abramsky: וְנָתַתָּ֖ אֶל־הָאָרֹ֑ן אֵ֚ת הָעֵדֻ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֶתֵּ֖ן אֵלֶֽיךָ (25:1...

Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America's Schools Back to Reality by Charles Murray is a very short book that is built ...

From Scott Johnson over at the powerlineblog.com: President Biden has made a show of support, Biden style. His express support has turned to...

According to Rashi, the events described in ch 24 of our parsha took place before mattan Torah: פרשה זו קודם עשרת הדברות.   The inevitable c...

The past few days I have felt a bit torn between different emotions. Today is my father's yahrzeit, and l'havdil being ha'meisim...

Ramban quotes a Mechilta on the pasuk  וְעֹ֥֤שֶׂה חֶ֖֙סֶד֙ לַאֲלָפִ֑֔ים לְאֹהֲבַ֖י וּלְשֹׁמְרֵ֥י מִצְוֺתָֽי (20:4) saying: רבי נתן אומר: לאו...

I recently saw a flyer in my neighborhood advertising a yeshiva week break trip to Panama, which is guess is the latest fad after you've...

1) Chazal tell us that each of the makkos lasted a month.  The makkah itself lasted a week, and there were three weeks of warning given. The...

Very short of time this week, but did not want to skip writing something on the parsha.  Right after Hashem commands Moshe and Aharon (6:13)...

 וַיִּ֤פֶן כֹּה֙ וָכֹ֔ה וַיַּ֖רְא כִּ֣י אֵ֣ין אִ֑ישׁ וַיַּךְ֙ אֶת־הַמִּצְרִ֔י.  Rashi explains that Moshe saw that there was no one worthy, ...

At the end of the parsha, after so many years of slavery, just as Moshe appeared on the scene and geulah was around the corner, rather than ...

1) Rashi comments on Yaakov's request  אַל נָא תִקְבְּרֵנִי בְּמִצְרָיִם that there are three reasons why Yaakov did not want to be buri...

One of the reasons (it's mentioned in the slichos as well) that we fast on 10 Teves is because this is the yahrzeit (or 9 Teves, but the...

1) Many people prefer to break their fast on coffee and cake rather than sit down to a heavy meal.  Is that an option when 10 Teves falls on...

If a drop of milk fell into my cholent but is bateil b'rov, if I decide that I don't want rely on bitul and would rather give up eat...

What is Israel's end game in Gaza?  I don't pretend to have the answer to that question.  I'm just spitballing ideas.  It's ...

1) Today is the last day of Chanukah, known as "zos Chanukah."  Rashi in parshas Matos comments on the pasuk at the beginning of t...