It is common knowledge that one should not eat Matzah on Erev Pesah, but while many people assume it is a practice and not a prohibition, Maimonides writes: אָסְרוּ חֲכָמִים לֶאֱכֹל מַצָּה בְּעֶרֶב הַפֶּסַח כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּהְיֶה הֶכֵּר לַאֲכִילָתָהּ בָּעֶרֶב. וּמִי שֶׁאָכַל מַצָּה בְּעֶרֶב הַפֶּסַח מַכִּין אוֹתוֹ מַכַּת מַרְדּוּת עַד שֶׁתֵּצֵא…
From the Bible to MaimonidesBy Rabbi Haim Ovadia A young and very brilliant woman, a doctoral candidate who was also studying with me for her conversion, asked me once what are the parameters of modest clothes according to the Torah. Now, had she asked what are these parameters according to…
Counting the Omer is a beautiful concept. It emphasizes the importance of gradual development, echoing the physical and spiritual journey of our ancestors from slaves in Egypt to a liberated, monotheistic nation at Mount Sinai. Unfortunately, the demand to keep track of the count and make sure one counts every…
“They shall eat the meat on that night, roasted, with matzoth and bitter herbs” The first ever lean burger, is the central dish, at least verbally, at our Seder table. We all follow the Mishnaic maxim of Rabban Gamliel, which obligates us to pronounce the words פסח מצה ומרור –…
In Parashat Mattot we are introduced to the legal intricacies of making vows. I am using the word “vow” here in its halakhic sense, which is a commitment to perform or avoid a certain action. The rabbis of the Mishnah argued that vows can be undone if it can be…
For Parashat Mishpatim Immediately following the momentous event of Mount Sinai, the Israelites are handed a long list of laws and regulations, detailed in Parashat Mishpatim. Surprisingly, these laws have very little to do with rituals, sacrifices, or spirituality. Rather, they deal with financial and physical damages, and with the…
שָׁלֹ֣שׁ רְגָלִ֔ים תָּחֹ֥ג לִ֖י בַּשָּׁנָֽה – You shall celebrate three pilgrimage holidays a year (Ex. 23:14) We all know the three pilgrimage holidays, Pesah, Shavuot, and Sukkot. Do we also know how Shavuot differs from the other two? Well, to begin with, Shavuot has no set day in the Torah,…
For Parashat Shofetim Halakha, the Jewish legal system, is a labyrinthian structure of arguments and counter-arguments, with hundreds of rabbis in each generation opining on numerous matters, and only few rising to the status of authority recognized by all. Tens of thousands of volumes published and probably a thousand others…
The Torah refers to the content of the Tablets of the Law, given to Moshe on Mount Sinai, not as the Ten Commandments, but rather as עשרת הדברים – the Ten Concepts (Ex. 34:28; Det. 4:13; 10:4). That is because the first and the last of the ten concepts cannot…
Do you have to understand the laws of the Torah to be able to observe them? This is not a new question. It was probably born at the same moment the laws of the Torah were introduced to the Israelites for the first time, but it has gained prominence in…