Last year my friend Rabbi Schneeweiss posted about the mystery of the Moshe’s “Kushite wife”. https://kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/2020/06/behaalosecha-moshes-mysterious-marriage.html He quoted Ibn Caspi, who harshly rejects Chazal’s interpretation as the exact opposite of Pshat, as bad as if they said black means white or love means hate. (Did Ibn Caspi also think that the blind Rav Sheshet (Sagi…
Hilchot Maachalot assurot 17:28 Even though the court is not obligated to separate a child (from eating forbidden foods or violating Shabbat), there is an obligation for the parent to disparage it and separate him in order to train the child in restraint and moderation (Kedusha [1]), as it says “train the child according to…
The Rambam (Issurei Biah 13:4) identifies three things which the convert seeks in joining the Jewish people. 1. To join the covenant 2. To find protection under the wings of the Shechina (divine providence) 3. Accepting the Yoke of Torah These three ideas are the basic features of the Jewish people. The first is Jewish…
Before Pesach one must destroy all of the chametz in his possession. What happens if you left on a trip and forgot some chametz at home? The Rambam says that if you are traveling for a mitzvah then if you are unable to both return and destroy the chametz and also do the mitzva, then…
When preparing for Pesach, one of the concerns of the halacha is to prevent us from becoming paranoid about Chametz. In order to do so, it guides us in how to deal with uncertainty. If the Mitzvot are to be compatible with the reality of human life, we cannot just be strict about any uncertainty….
One is not allowed to carry on Shabbat between a “public domain” and a “private domain”. However, the definition of these domains is counterintuitive. A private domain is defined be being enclosed by walls, even if used by many people. Even a whole city can be a private domain if it is enclosed by walls…
Labor on Shabbat is divided into 39 Avot, or categories. For example, plowing and planting. However, the Avot are not these actions themselves, but rather the category which these are representative of. Thus “Choresh”, plowing, is any work involving excavation. The names of the Avot are typical examples, but they are distinct from the Categories…
כשעושים דברים אלו, אין עושין אותן לא על ידי גויים, ולא על ידי קטנים, ולא על ידי עבדים, ולא על ידי נשים–כדי שלא תהא שבת קלה בעיניהם; אלא על ידי גדולי ישראל וחכמיהם. ואין מורין לנשים לעשות דברים אלו. ואסור להתמהמה בחילול שבת, לחולה שיש בו סכנה, שנאמר “אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי בהם” (ויקרא…
The Rambam lists five Mitzvot of Shabbat. (א) לשבות בשביעי; (ב) שלא לעשות בו מלאכה; (ג) שלא לענוש בשבת; (ד) שלא לצאת חוץ לגבול בשבת; (ה) לקדש היום בזכירה a. To rest on the seventh b. Not to work on it c. Not to punish on Shabbat d. Not to go beyond the boundary on…
