At the bottom of page 4b and continuing on to the top of page 5a in the Babylonian Talmud, tractate Berakhot, we have the following: אמר רב נחמן אם תלמיד חכם הוא אין צריך Rav Nahman said: “If one is...
Something I noticed years ago and about which I am still curious is that women seem to be the only people who discuss their sexual experiences in the Babylonian Talmud. Now, I have not read the entire Babylonian Talmud, so...
I’ve been curious about our practice of singing/saying a daily psalm, which derives from the final mishnah in Tamid, in which it opens with saying “השיר שהיו הלויים אומרין בבית המקדש” – “The song which the Levites would say in...
Eight years ago, in my second year of rabbinical school, I got very fascinated by a particular topic and subsequently endeavored in much research. While I had hoped (and still hope) to write an article on the topic, it seems...
A curiosity of mine for a few years now has been the noticeable absence, when reading through the statements of the early rabbis, as to why they do not mention a reason as to why Jews are supposed to light...
The Babylonian Talmud not infrequently records collections of statements from amora’im, starting off with one that connects with the immediately preceding discussion, but then continues on with other similar statements by that particular sage. One such semi-famous collections of statements...
One of the most popular statements in Pirkei Avot is that fourfold statement of Shimon ben Zoma at the outset of chapter four, included in which he inquires איזה הוא עשיר? השמח בחלקו, שנאמר יגיע כפיך, כי תאכל; אשריך, וטוב...
The most famous sorcery done by a rabbi in rabbinic literature is that by Rabbi Eliezer, the late first century rabbi. Not only does rabbinic literature portray him as being the most knowledgeable about sorcery, but even engaging in some!...
With yet another post as part of my many niddah posts, this post is actually somewhat of a throwback. Nearly eight years ago, I posted concerning a Talmudic excerpt about 3rd-4th century rabbis permitting menstruant women to immerse in a mikveh...
Last week, during the holiday of Sukkot, I was curious about whence we get the waving of the lulav. So, I decided to start at the Mishnah! The primary location for this discussion is in the third chapter of Sukkah,...
