Life and Society
Healing, doctors, pikuach nefesh and the Gemara's health advice.
Kopi luwak, also known as civet coffee, is one of the world’s most expensive and least-produced varieties of coffee. It is made from coffee beans that have been eaten by the Asian palm civet and other related civets and…
As Houthi rebels continue targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea and surrounding waters, some ships have resorted to an unusual tactic: claiming to be Muslim to avoid being attacked.
In 1848, a cholera epidemic swept through Eastern Europe, including the Jewish communities of Lithuania. The disease was swift and deadly, and its effects were especially devastating in crowded and impoverished areas.
Rebbetzin Leah Auerbach, a”h, once visited a glasses store in Yerushalayim to purchase a new pair of glasses. She was considering photochromic lenses, which darken in sunlight and return to their clear state indoors.
Deep in the Alaskan wilderness, Camp Tikvah hosts a remote Pesach retreat. Families gather to celebrate, their voices echoing with joyous songs and Torah discussions.
Some things just never change. When someone joins a weight loss group, some people ask, “Can’t you just diet by yourself?” When someone sees a nutritionist, some people ask, “Can’t you just eat healthy?” The presumption…
There is a machlokes Rishonim whether the mitzvah of bikur cholim is m’d’oraysa or m’d’rabbanan. It is based on the understanding of a passage in Bava Metzia (30b).
The Gemara recounts a story where the government sent two officers to a yeshiva to study Torah. The government wanted to find out if there was anything objectionable in the Torah.
The following stories and the rulings that follow are based on the Chashukei Chemed and Pninei Halacha on Bava Kama. They are not intended to be relied on for practical halacha. 1. Shimshon had a venomous snake as a pet.
HaRav Meir ben Jacob HaKohen Schiff (1608–1644) wrote a commentary on a number of mesechtos that are commonly studied in yeshiva. The commentary, commonly referred to as the “Maharam Schiff,” is cryptic and often…
The Gemara in Kiddushin (17a) discusses the situation of an eved Ivri, an indentured servant, who became ill. His boss contracted with him for six years of labor. However, he was ill for two years.
The topic of overeating is discussed in the daf this week (Gittin 70a). The Gemara quotes a beraisa that states, “One who fills his belly with anything will become sick.” Rashi explains that eating as much as one…
In 2010, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin delivered a highly anticipated speech to around 1,100 supporters at a Tea Party Convention. However, she couldn’t get through it without a few notes scrawled on her hand.
Rebbe Eliezer ben Yaakov said, “From where do we know that a woman should not go out to war with weapons?” The Torah says, “A man’s utensils should not be on a woman” (Devarim 22:5).
In Parshas Korach, Moshe Rabbeinu announced that the events that were about to unfold would establish clearly whether or not Korach was right in his challenge.
The Gemara in Nedarim (15a) says that an oath not to sleep for three days is considered to be a shevuas shav, a vain oath. It is not physically possible to stay awake for three days.
One mantra that is often repeated in halacha is that nothing supersedes saving a life. Therefore, it is somewhat surprising that a recent Gemara (Kesubos 39a) seems to take a contrarian view.
Rav Shlomo Halberstam, zt”l, the Bobover Rebbe, was instrumental in saving many lives during the Holocaust. The Bobover Rebbe borrowed whatever money he could to secure visas and travel documents for would-be victims.
There was a pregnant woman who smelled food on Yom Kippur. She developed a ravenous desire to eat. If she did not satisfy the craving, it was possible that her life or that of the fetus would be in danger (Yoma 82b).
The floor of the Beis HaMikdash was composed of beautiful tiles. The Gemara discusses the halachah if one of the tiles became dislodged. May the kohen stand on the wobbly tile and perform the avodah?
There is a clear halachah in Shulchan Aruch (230:1) that a prayer on the past is a wasted prayer. The two examples offered are based on a Mishnah and Gemara in Berachos.
The following story is based on a question in Chashukei Chemed. It was synthesized with a story appearing in a Hebrew weekly periodical.
Rabbi Shlomo Kluger, zt’l, was the chief dayan in Brody, Galicia. One Shabbos, someone rode into town with an urgent message for the first Belzer Rebbe, Rav Shalom Rokeach, zt’l.
A woman was deathly ill, and her family was gathered around her. She wanted to ensure there would be no lingering or bitter disputes regarding the inheritance she was leaving to them, so she pleaded with her children to…
Some things just never change. When someone joins a weight-loss group, some people ask, “Can’t you just diet by yourself?” When someone sees a nutritionist, some people ask, “Can’t you just eat healthy?” The presumption…
In my first year of attending yeshiva gedolah in Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim, I had the z’chus of having Rabbi Shmuel Niman, zt’l, as a rebbe.
The Mordechai (Gittin 461) relates that Rabbeinu Tam once allowed a kohen to pour water over his (Rabbeinu Tam’s) hands. This caused one of his students to inquire as to how he could allow a kohen to serve him, being…
When I was growing up, my family used to daven at Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim, which was then in Forest Hills. At the yeshiva, all the local children liked to visit “the dungeon.” The dungeon was the lone dormitory room on…
aftR I finishD learning d Daf Yomi on mon I realized dat OMG I had Nuttin 2 wrte bout. Nuttin jumped out @ me. I wz turniN things Ovr n my hed wen d ideas of acronyms hit me. ppl uz dem whIl txtN.
I came across an interesting halachah in Halichos Shlomo: A husband is obligated to help his wife. Before husbands get too nervous, I did take the halachah somewhat out of context.
Before I started attending an early-morning daf yomi shiur, in my ignorance I envisioned that many attendees sleep through most of the shiur.
A messenger rides into Brody on Shabbos asking the Belzer Rebbe to pray for a dying man. Rav Shlomo Kluger is aghast; the Rebbe's son-in-law defends it.
Rav Huna rebukes his son Rabbah for avoiding Rav Chisda’s lessons. Rabbah says they are only about healthy living, and his father tells him that is exactly why to go.
A new mother faced discharge from hospital on Shabbos. Rav Dovid Feinstein told the couple to offer all their money to stay, to avoid even a rabbinic prohibition.
Yoav pursues Sheva ben Bichri, who hides in a city and puts all its people in danger, until the townspeople save themselves by killing him.
During the 1848 cholera epidemic, Rav Yisrael Salanter went up to the bimah in Vilna on Yom Kippur and made kiddush so that his kehillah would eat.
A pregnant woman craves food on Yom Kippur; Rebbi has them whisper that it is Yom Kippur, she holds back, and her son becomes Rabbi Yochanan.
