Josh at Parshablog discusses the implications of "miracle stories". Really good analysis.Adventures in Chinuch with another excellent vort, this time discussing from the Parsha how Aharon teaches us a lesson in how we view ourselves and others, and attaches that to Purim and happiness. Aharon wasn't...

According to the Shulchan Aruch, Jews are not allowed  within 6 feet of a church or other place of idol-worship. We are not allowed to bend down to remove a splinter if it would look like we're bowing in front of an idol. We are not allowed listen to church music or smell in...

David writes on Hirhurim: "Based on Rabbi Broyde’s summary of Rabbis Kook and Elyashiv’s position, "that a bet din ought not to convert a child to Judaism unless it is nearly certain that the child will grow up to be religious," I’m not sure how that leads to invalid...

Hat tip: Raggedy Dad. This is fascinating. It seems Sky News in Great Britain did a piece on the Manchester Jewish Community, trying to explain and show the lives of British Orthodox Jews to the public. Here's Episode I Part I; there should be links to the rest at the end of each video or on YouTube...

In my previous post, based on my reading of Rambam’s introduction to Mishne Torah, I showed that the core of Talmudic authority are the Transmitters of TSBP, the גדולי חכמי ישר�ל המעתיקי� תורה שבעל פה coupled with the subsequent Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin had the auth...

On page 29, of “Maimonides The Exceptional Mind�, the author makes the following statement: “He [Maimonides] writes that the Halachik component of “the Babylonian Talmud is binding on all Israel… because all the customs, decrees and institutions mentioned in the Talmud received the assent ...

A post from SemGirl from a month ago got me thinking. It was already fodder for one post here on parshablog, in terms of the tzavaah of Rabbi Yehuda haChassid and the practice of not marrying someone with the same name as your parent. But there is also: A friend of mine really worked overtime, labor...

There are two major halachic discussions surrounding the holiday of Thanksgiving: Is it permissible to celebrate Thanksgiving? Is turkey kosher? That, and the cosmic mysteries that is the fact that ‘turkey’ in Hebrew is ‘הודו’. As to the question of whether or not there w...

This week, many Americans will sit down with their families to celebrate Thanksgiving by sharing what has become one of the traditional American meals: turkey. Jewish tradition tells us that in the days of Moshiach, the Bais HaMikdash will be rebuilt and the order of animal sacrifices will be reinst...

Recently, in Daf Yomi, we encountered an interesting gemara. To cite my translation of the Rif, who cites the gemara lehalacha: {Kiddushin 31a} �מר ר' יהושע בן לוי �סור ל�ד� שיהלך �רבע �מות בקומה זקופהשנ�מר מל� כל ה�רץ כבודו Rabbi Yehos...