The Twelve Minute Shiur

Happy is an elephant housed at the Bronx Zoo. She was the subject of a recent court case that dealt with the question: what legal rights - if any - does an animal enjoy? And this got us thinking, naturally, about what Jewish law might have to say about the same question. Get the source sheet at www.freehofinstitute.org/learning, scroll down to The Twelve Minute Shiur. 

In our last few installments, we’ve been talking about the interplay of coercion and consent in the halakhah. In this shi`ur, we’ll take a look at the mitzvah of tz’dakah. It’s a mitzvah that, in theory, the community does not have the power to enforce. The Rabbis, however, were not satisfied with that state of affairs. Download the source sheet at www.freehofinstitute.org/learning , scroll down t...

In our last two installments, we’ve seen how the concepts of “consent” and “coercion” intersect in the halakhah, particularly in the realm of business transactions. Here in shi`ur number 15 we take a look at how those concepts play out in the traditional halakhah of marriage and divorce. The ancient Rabbis were prepared to utilize coercion, both legal and physical, to rescue wives whose husbands a...

"If they hang him from a tree until he agrees to sell - the sale is valid." In our previous shiur, we saw that, according to the halakhah, a person may be coerced into giving their free-will consent (g’mirat da`at) to a binding agreement. Illogical? Unjust? Yes, but maybe realistic, too. In this episode we dig a bit deeper into the psychological, ethical, and even theological elements of this issu...

"If they hang him from a tree until he agrees to sell - the sale is valid." That's absurd, right? Surely our freely-given consent is absolutely required before we take on a legal obligation! Well, that's what we'd like to think. But the halakhah declares that there are times when we are pressured – or coerced – into giving our “consent” to an agreement… and even so, the agreement is binding upon u...

In this episode, we read a responsum by Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg, an eminent 20th-century Orthodox authority, on our question. Weinberg is candid enough to admit that the reformers who introduced vernacular prayer back in the 1800s had a powerful halakhic argument to support then. He indicates, as well, that the Hatam Sofer’s creative halakhic theory forbidding prayer in the vernacular (episo...

Do you recite Hallel on Yom Haatzmaut? If so, do you say the b’rakhot? It makes a big difference. To recite a few Psalms is, well, to recite a few Psalms. But to recite them with b’rakhot is to declare that the recitation fulfills a religious obligation and that the day on which we mark Israel’s independence also celebrates an act of Divine redemption for the Jewish people. There's a great deal of...

It’s a mitzvah mid’rabbanan, an ordinance of the ancient Rabbis, to drink four cups of wine at the seder on the night of Pesach. But must the four cups contain wine ? It’s an important question, obviously, for people who can’t tolerate wine or simply hate its taste. It’s an even more serious question for those, like diabetics and alcoholics, who for serious medical and health reasons must avoid th...

In the first episode of this series, we learned that the classical halakhah, as expressed in the Talmud and the codes ( poskim ) permits the recitation of the major parts of the worship service in the vernacular, "the language that one understands." In the second episode, we saw that the same is true - technically - for mikra megillah, the reading of the scroll of Esther at Purim. But me...

In shiur #7, we looked at halakhic texts that permit the recitation of the major rubrics of Jewish liturgy (k’riat Sh’ma and t’filah) in “the language that one understands.” In this installment, we trace the halakhah concerning the language of mikra Megillah, the mitzvah to recite/hear the scroll of Esther on Purim. We’ll see that, at least in theory, it is perfectly permissible to fulfill this co...

It's one of the earliest halakhic controversies between the Jewish religious reformers and their opponents. Download the source sheet at https://www.freehofinstitute.org/lea rning. Scroll down to the Twelve Minute Shiur #7.

Must doctors always tell their patients the truth? That’s a complicated question. What does the halakhah say? That’s also a complicated question. For the source sheet, go to https://www.freehofinstitute.org/learning and scroll down to the Twelve Minute Shiur #6.

It’s one of the most famous kushyot (“difficulties”) in halakhic history: why does Hanukkah last for eight days when the miracle of the oil lasted for only seven days? Got a teirutz (an answer)? Compare it with those of our lineup of sages! For the source sheet, go to www.freehofinstitute.org/learning and scroll down to “The Twelve-Minute Shiur,” #5.

Study along with the source sheet. Go to https://www.freehofinstitute.org/learning.html and scroll down to “The Twelve-Minute Shiur #4

The answer may surprise you!

The second installment of the podcast version of our Twelve Minute Shiur. Study along with us with the source sheet, available at https://www.freehofinstitute.org/learning.html . Just scroll down to the Twelve Minute Shiur #2!

The first installment of the podcast version of our Twelve Minute Shiur.  Study along wth us with the source sheet, available at https://www.freehofinstitute.org/learning.html . Just scroll down to The Twelve Minute Shiur #1!