Today’s daf (Megillah 4a) records a fascinating rule taught by Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi which, though codified by many of the Rishonim, is not widely practiced. Specifically, the rule states that if Purim falls on a Shabbat (which, nowadays, would only occur to Shushan Purim – the 15th of Adar – and would only apply…
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Today’s daf (Megillah 3a-b) records how those serving in the Beit HaMikdash must temporarily cease doing so in order to hear the Megillah, and similarly, how those studying Torah must temporarily cease doing so in order to hear the Megillah.For some, these are just technical rules which speak to the hierarchy of mitzvah obligations on…
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Today we begin Massechet Megillah whose opening Mishna informs us that while residents of walled cities (כרכין המוקפין) read Megillat Esther on the 15th of Adar, and while residents of villages and large towns (כפרים ועיירות) read it on the 14th of Adar, residents of villages (כפרים) – who may not have someone who knows…
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Here is a recording of a shiur I delivered at the OU Center in Jerusalem on ‘Shehecheyanu on having a baby’: For the handout, click here.
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Here is a recording of a shiur I delivered at the OU Center in Jerusalem on ‘Shehecheyanu on getting married’: For the handout, click here.
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Here is a recording of a shiur I delivered at the OU Center in Jerusalem on ‘Shehecheyanu on Purchasing New Clothes’: For the handout, click here.
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Here is a video of a talk I delivered in Hebrew for החברה לחקר המקרא about the ideas taught by Rabbi Sacks zt’l in his book ‘Not in God’s Name’
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STUDIES IN SPIRITUALITY by Rabbi Jonathan SacksBefore reading Studies in Spirituality, a collection of essays on the parsha on themes relating to spirituality written by Rabbi Sacks the year before he died, I was not sure what to expect. I’ve read every one of Rabbi Sacks’s previous books, but beyond the strange feeling experienced when…
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𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑𝐒: 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐆𝐆𝐋𝐄, 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐀𝐍 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐓𝐇 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐉𝐄𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐬 (𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐛𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏) Many life journeys and personal stories are recorded in ‘Layers: Personal Narratives of Struggle, Resilience and Growth from Jewish Women’, but in order to explain what this book represents, I want to begin with the last…
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‘The changing nature of human society demands a fresh Tanakh translation which speaks to each and every one of us while remaining rooted in the eternal essence of the Torah. The Tanakh is a living script, the screenplay of the history of humanity from Creation to the present. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt’l was the…
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