One of the central texts in the Talmud as it relates to how a man and a woman should have sexual intercourse is one which does not, ostensibly, seem as if it should have anything to do with sexual intercourse....
Thank God we are not stuck with simply printed editions of the Talmud and that we have manuscripts, as well, otherwise, we would be missing a statement of Rabbi Akiva‘s. Found on bArakhin 16b, there is a beraita about the...
While there is a well-known tannaitic teaching that one says a blessing – בורא פרי הגפן (Creator of the fruits of the vine) – over wine (mBerakhot 6:1), one of the interesting blessings that is created during the period of...
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...
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...
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...
