We're told in this week's Torah portion that when a murder victim is discovered, the elders of the city closest to the site where the body was found gather and say "Our hands did not spill this blood, and we were not witness to it (Deut 21:7)." They then pray for...

Is it easy to make a moral choice? Moshe, our teacher, tells us that it is, at least in principle: "See that I have placed before you today 'blessing' and 'curse'. The blessing, if you will listen to the Commandments of HaShem your G-d which I have commanded you...

In the Talmud, the Sages tell us to study the skies, or more specifically the calculations of the calendar: "says Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmeini in the name of Rebbe Yochanon: from where do we know that it is a Mitzvah to calculate the seasons and the months? For it says,...

The Torah portion of Dvarim, beginning the last of the 5 books of Moses, is universally read on the Sabbath proceeding the Ninth of Av, when we commemorate the destruction of both Temples and other tragedies throughout Jewish history. Each week's reading is divided...

The Talmud, at the end of the first tractate, Brachos, learns a fascinating lesson from the verse: "This is the Torah [the law]: when a person dies in a tent...” [19:14] This verse speaks about impurity that attaches to everything in the same building as someone who...