Day: February 13, 2022
Chagigah 4
There are times when an item or experience that we want is, for various reasons, not available to us. There are moments when our yearning for something is not reflected back to us. And there are instances when our deep desire to connect with God doesn’t feel as if it is being reciprocated.I mention all…
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Chagigah 3
According to Rambam’s 8th ‘Principle of Faith’, it is essential to consider every word of the Written Torah to be equally holy. Yet while, as an Orthodox Jew, I sincerely believe that God gave an Oral Torah to accompany and to explain the Written Torah, which means that I regard the Oral Torah as being…
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Chagigah 2
The first daf of Massechet Chagigah (2a) focusses on the mitzvah of ראייה, meaning the ‘appearing’ and ‘being seen’ at the Temple for the שלוש רגלים (i.e. the three pilgrim festivals of Pesach, Shavuot & Sukkot). However, seemingly due to the significant time, cost and effort that it took to fulfil this requirement in order…
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Moed Katan 29
Mazal Tov! Today we complete our study of Massechet Moed Katan which, over the past month, has taught us a range of laws relating to Chol HaMoed, as well as various mourning laws and customs. However, just prior to me sharing what I believe to be an original interpretation of the final line of our…
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Moed Katan 28
This Shabbat we will be reading Parshat Tetzaveh, which teaches us about the various בגדי כהונה (priestly clothes), and it is noteworthy that many of the classic commentaries on Parshat Tetzaveh quote a teaching about the בגדי כהונה that is found in today’s daf (Moed Katan 28a). To explain this teaching we first need to…
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Moed Katan 27
Sometimes you can read about an incident that took place in the past and not fully appreciate the impact that it had on those living at the time and its implications for today – and a case in point is what we are taught in today’s daf (Moed Katan 27b) about Rabban Gamliel and the…
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