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“Man was made in God’s image long before the covenant of Abraham and the Israelites. To be a Jew is the Jewish way of being human. It is not a justification for others to be less human” Rabbi-Lord Jonathan Sacks

This tractate winds up with the most interesting conundrum. What happens if the paroches (the curtain in holy Temple which separates the holy of holies from the hall with the menorah, lechem hapanim and gold altar) becomes impure due to … Continue reading →

Matza is ubiquitous. Even non-Jews know about Passover and Matza. Recently my wife’s healthy food influencer who is the most secular person around, eating chazer treif with high fiber exhorted her listeners to eat Matza-on Passover. But in a rabbinic … Continue reading →

The parsha of Vayikra introduces the various sacrifices in the Torah. The prophet reading is Isiaiah chapter 43-44. The prophet rebukes the people by saying your “small” animals mean nothing in light of your sins. However, it is not clear … Continue reading →

On page 115 there is a story about a great Talmudic rabbi Abaye as a little boy. The story says that Abaye as a little boy asked at the seder on passover night why the grown ups were removing the … Continue reading →

The parsha Vaykhal begins with telling us about keeping shabbos despite the work on the Mishkan (Tabernacle). The Torah then goes on to explain the work done . The Torah then says the work was done by “Bezalal” who was … Continue reading →

Pesachim page-88 is gem. It is packed with thought provoking ideas. It will take at least two and maybe three days to unravel. The daf starts with a story When Ula comes to a town in Babylonia known as Pumpedesia. … Continue reading →

Page 80 continues this esoteric discussion about bringing the Pesach offering when a majority of the people of Israel are in a state of Tumah (impurity) which is allowed. The question arises what if the situation is a 50-50 meaning … Continue reading →

This week the SD was listening to a continuing legal education on trial tactics in personal injury cases. The SD tries to avoid bringing in the day job, but this was too illuminating. The lecturer started by paying homage to … Continue reading →

Sometimes you can go a whole week of reading the parsha on the bus, the train, waitingin line… and somehow you miss the gem. In Chapter 10 in the plague of darkness, Pharoah calls Moses and says, you and your … Continue reading →