Friday, June 28, 2024

rehabilitating the reputation of the meraglim

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There is a custom quoted in SA (OC 580) to fast on 17 Elul as this is the anniversary of the day the meraglim died.  The MB (sk 8) quotes th...
Thursday, June 27, 2024

when to hesitate and when not

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The gemara (Shaboos 134) says that one is allowed to be mechalel shabbos to wash a baby on the third day after milah.  Some Rishonim hold th...

the suicidal need to vote Democrat (2)

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I figured I would post this week's "vote Democrat = suicide" update before the debate, as that will probably be it's own r...
Friday, June 21, 2024

the significance of repetition -- lomdus to answer to a Shaar haMelech posted years ago

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A mere sixteen years ago when the daf hayomi was doing Nazir I posted a kashe of the Shaar haMelech that I left unanswered. There are Rishon...

the suicidal need to vote Democrat

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For some reason there are people still clinging to the belief that voting for Biden and Democrats is the right thing to do, even though it i...
Thursday, June 20, 2024

inner strength

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 Chazal tell us that Doeg was a gadol ha'dor, a brilliant talmid chacham, but his Torah was מן השׂפה לחוץ (Sanhedrin 106b).  It was all e...
Friday, June 14, 2024

lack of self-awareness

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1) It's hard to write something on the parsha when we are barely out of Yom Tov, but I don't want to skip a week, so I am going to c...
Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Rus and Shavuos -- kabbalas haTorah and redemption of Eretz Yisrael

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1)  וכל העם ראים את הקולת ואת הלפידם ואת קול השפר ואת ההר עשן וירא העם וינעו ויעמדו מרחק (Shmos 20:14). Once the reisha of the pasuk tells u...
Thursday, June 06, 2024

the special tefilah of erev rosh chodesh sivan

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The Shl"H has a special tefilah to recite on erev rosh chodesh Sivan for the sake of one's children and grandchildren.  In additio...
Wednesday, June 05, 2024

only the beginning

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 שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת לְדָוִד שָׂמַחְתִּי בְּאֹמְרִים לִי בֵּית ה׳ נֵלֵךְ.  עֹמְדוֹת הָיוּ רַגְלֵינוּ בִּשְׁעָרַיִךְ יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם Radak  learn...
Friday, May 31, 2024

sometimes it's all or nothing

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  וְאִם תֵּלְכוּ עִמִּי קֶרִי (26:21)  Rashi explains רבותינו אמרו: עראי, כמקרה שאינו אלא לפרקים, כך תלכו עראי במצותיו.  It sounds from the ...

is learning without ameilus considered bitul Torah?

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1) Rashi famously comments that אם בחקותי תלכו refers to ameilus in Torah.  Why ameilus in particular -- maybe the pasuk is referring to lim...
2 comments:
Thursday, May 30, 2024

halacha based on nevuah - lo ba'shamayim hi

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The gemara (Meg 3 and other places) derives from the last pasuk in our parsha,  אֵלֶּה הַמִּצְוֺת אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה׳ אֶת מֹשֶׁה אֶל בְּנֵי יִש...
5 comments:
Thursday, May 23, 2024

shemita, ona'ah. and lag ba'omer

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Our parsha opens with the sugya of shemita and yovel, and then proceeds to tell us the halachos of ona'as mamon and ona'as devarim. ...
Friday, May 17, 2024

limud vs shemira

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Rashi comments on וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם מִצְוֺתַי וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם (23:31) that     ושמרתם – זו המשנה. ועשיתם – זה המעשה. Rashi's source is the...

yiras Hashem tehora

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 The Midrash comments on the opening of our parsha:  אֱמֹר אֶל הַכֹּהֲנִים – הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (תהלים י״ט:י׳): יִרְאַת ה׳ טְהוֹרָה עוֹמֶדֶ...
1 comment:
Monday, May 13, 2024

a Yom ha'Atzmaut not of simcha or sasson, but of chedva

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R' Lerrer from Merkaz haRav said that R' Tzvi Yehudah would quote from the teshuvos Ye'shuos Malko from R' Yehoshua m'K...

how a college president from the past dealt with student rebellion

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I'm in the middle of Ronald White's biography of Civil War hero Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.  Towards the end he mentions an incide...
1 comment:
Friday, May 10, 2024

pe'ah and connecting to the Land

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Why does the Torah instruct the farmer to leave pe'ah in his field for the poor to cut?  Wouldn't it be easier if he cut it for them...

the most dangerous and common lifnei iveir

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The Chazon Ish ( YD 62:25 ) raises a very interesting question: does the issur of lifnei iveir apply only to misleading other people, or doe...
1 comment: