This Week in Learning

I was driving on a brief errand yesterday. Just before I passed a driveway, someone pulled out in front of me at the last moment. They then proceeded to drive excruciatingly slowly along the route I was taking. I missed two stoplights I would have otherwise made. It cost me time and frustration without any apparent upside. The Rambam outlines that יסורין, loosely translated as trials or tribulatio...

In discussing the laws of various offerings we bring when we make certain mistakes, the Rambam articulates an idea that seems quite strange at first read. This idea is foundational to our experience and proper attitude toward Yom Kippur. משנה תורה להרמב"ם - ספר הקרבנות - הלכות שגגות - פרק ג אֵין יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים וְלֹא הַחַטָּאת וְלֹא הָאָשָׁם מְכַפְּרִין, אֵלָא עַל הַשָּׁבִים הַמַּאֲמִינִים בְּכ...

The Teshuva –return process can help us restore our relationship with God. The day of יום כיפור –Yom Kippur, references the concept of כפרה – kaparah , often translated as atonement. It refers to the process of erasing an error as if it never happened. When we engage in Teshuva, we aim to be granted the divine gift of kaparah , which allows us to move forward with a clean slate and a fresh start....

It is a prevailing custom on Rosh HaShanah that we start the new year eating certain foods. This falls into the realm of custom, as it is not mandated by the Torah or the Sages. Ashkenazim have the popular custom of eating apples and honey, codified by the Rema. Sephardim have an elaborate array of foods often including gourds, leeks, beets, and dates. Without losing site of the core mitzvot assoc...

Saturday night we will begin saying סליחות – selichot , a nighttime prayer service, which continues until Yom Kippur (Sephardim say סליחות starting at the beginning of אלול). When we read through the service, it might seem a little off-putting at first. In fact, it can be a pretty tough way to start the early morning emphasizing the lowliness of the human being. Couldn’t we end this year and start...

Shamai says: make your Torah permanent שַׁמַּאי אוֹמֵר, עֲשֵׂה תוֹרָתְךָ קֶבַע (אבות א:טו) פירוש המשנה לרמב"ם - אמר: עשה תלמוד תורה העיקר, וכל מה שזולתו מעסקיך - בא אחריו, אם הזדמן - הזדמן, ואם לא הזדמן - אין נזק בהחמצתו The Rambam (Maimonides) comments: Make learning Torah the main thing, and everything besides it comes afterward — if it happens it happens, and if not, there is no harm in its abs...