Seizing the Spark: Preserving Inspiration in Halacha and Life
In Maseches Chullin (95a), the Gemara transitions into a discussion regarding the prohibition against nichush (forbidden divination).
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Marriage and Family
Marriage
Kiddushin, the wedding and the obligations of husband and wife.
A Wedding Menu to Remember
On a crisp, torch-lit night in eleventh-century Baghdad, the air carried more than the usual scent of roasted almonds, cardamom, and the damp clay of the Tigris. It carried the palpable weight of a changing era.
A Forced Tumah
The Gemara (Zevachim 100a; see also Moed Katan 23a) and its commentators discuss various details of the following account, and some aspects are subject to interpretation.
Kesubah Conundrums
An individual was applying for a rabbinic position upon the receipt of his semichah. Apparently, the members of the congregation with the open position weren’t too learned.
Raising the Steaks: Why the Nasi Bought the Cow
Mazal tov on this final countdown to a joyous simcha – the wedding of a beloved son! With excitement swirling like confetti and preparations in full swing, the ultimate wedding day checklist takes shape: clothing for…
Marrying Meirav and Michal
Is it permissible for an adopted boy to be called to the Torah using his adoptive father’s name? The answer may depend on whether Dovid HaMelech married two sisters. To even suggest this idea sounds outrageous.
Stolen Wedding Food
Boruch: Mazal tov, Shimon! I’m so thrilled that I was able share in your daughter’s wedding! The food, by the way, was fantastic. Shimon: Thank you so much for coming; it means a lot to me!
Marrying for Money
Is there anything wrong with a man marrying a woman solely for her money? What about if money is just one of a man’s criteria? What if he needs his in-laws to support him while he pursues his college degree?
Egg-sploring the Halacha
With the enormous amount of responsa that have been written over the past thousand years, there are countless ones about some rather interesting questions.
Kiddushin Conundrum
At a typical wedding, there can be no doubt who the kallah is. But hundreds of years ago, a chassan got himself into a jam due to a lack of specificity.
Down In The Dumps
“Dumpster diving” is the practice of sifting through commercial or residential trash to find items that have been discarded by their owners but which may be useful to the dumpster diver.
Mazal Tov So-and-So!
Mazel tov on the completion of Nazir! In recent years, some organizations have been publicizing their conclusion that it is perfectly fine according to Jewish law for men to marry women who are older than them.
Of Arrows and Annulments
The Gemara relates two short and cryptic anecdotes. (Nedarim 76b) The first is that Chiya the son of Rav would shoot arrows and examine them. The second anecdote is that Rabba the son of Rav Huna would sit and stand.
Is Dried Fruit the Top Banana?
There was a villager – we’ll call him Reuven – with a taste for fine liquor and a nice collection of schnapps barrels. Reuven knew how to enjoy his liquor responsibly.
Cultivating Gratitude
There are some questions surrounding the details of the marriage of Rebbe Akiva to Rachel, the daughter of Kalba Savua. According to the Ben Yehoyada (Nedarim 50a), the following is what transpired.
Bungalow Cooking at Its Best
My brother-in-law Raphael Katz doesn’t live too far away from me, yet practically the only time we spend Shabbos together is during the summers at Pine Knoll in Monticello.
Sheva Brachos Shailos
In the first perek of Kesuvos, there is a lengthy exposition on Sheva Brachos. What follows is some selected halachos regarding Sheva Brachos with a focus on the psakim of Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l.
Wednesday is the Day to Wed
Mazal tov to all those who finished Maseches Yevamos. We began Maseches Kesuvos on Friday. I remember that a few minutes after I was engaged and we had a mock l’chayim ceremony, my future shvigger opened her notebook.
Leave the Rest to Hashem
The Mishna in Yevamos (49a) tells of a mysterious scroll found in Yerushalayim. The Gemara proceeds to enumerate the contents of the parchment.
Keeping It In the Family
Sometimes, while learning Talmud and the commentaries, one can uncover new facts about the events recorded in Tanach. Tosfos in Yevamos (21a) states that Dovid HaMelech married the former wife of Shaul HaMelech, Ritzpah…
Hitting A Nerve
There is a popular sefer titled What If? It is based on questions and stories in Rav Zilberstein’s sefarim which are organized according to the weekly parashah.
A Minor Point
Mazel tov to all those who finished Bava Basra! It was especially monumental considering that Bava Basra is the longest mesechta in Shas, by the number of pages.
An Age-Old Question
Rav Yosef Weissmandl took his son Rav Chaim Michoel Dov (Michoel Ber) Weissmandl (1903–1957) to receive a berachah from Rav Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky (1867–1948). Rav Michoel Dov was just a young boy of 11 at the time.
Light Up The Night
If a woman is lighting more than one light for Shabbos, why does she recite “L’hadlik ner shel Shabbos”? Ner is the singular form. Shouldn’t the correct text be l’hadlik neiros?
Who Knows Fifteen?
The last mishnah in Maseches Taanis says that the most joyous holidays of the Jewish calendar were Tu B’Av and Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur was understandably a holiday because it is the day that Hashem forgives Klal Yisrael…
The Out-Of-Town Bonus
My first lesson in how people are wary of shadchanim came when I spoke to my uncle about a prospective shidduch for his daughter. I described the bachur as being five-foot-six.
Cautionary Customs
There are many mysteries surrounding Rebbi Yehuda HaChassid. Questions about his life abound. Even his will has raised many difficulties.
Gemara stories on Marriage
Palti ben Layish and the Sword
Given Dovid's wife Michal by King Shaul, Palti ben Layish places a sword between them on the first night and keeps that boundary for over seven years.
The Brisker Rav and the Dropped Wedding Ring
At a Yerushalayim wedding the ring was forgotten, then dropped under the chuppah. When guests called it a sign, the Brisker Rav gave them a different reading.
Rav Elyashiv and the Klausenberger Rebbe's Sheva Brachos
Invited to recite a beracha at the Klausenberger Rebbe's last Sheva Brachos, Rav Elyashiv declined over the time of sunset, until the Rebbe promised to finish early.
Rav Shmuel Auerbach and the Younger Brother's Shidduch
A young man won't date before his older brother marries. Rav Shmuel Auerbach tells him not to wait, and his wedding leads straight to his brother's match.