This week’s parsha opens with the enigmatic phrase “???? ???” – “and Korach took” (Bamidbar 16:1). Commentators and midrashic texts offer a number of approaches to understanding whether Korach was taker and/or taken, and if taken, who or what “took” him. Despite the challenging wording of the verse, a TorahTutors student learned how it could…
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It was taught in a baraita: We don’t have the people of Beit She’an, nor the people of Beit Haifa, nor the people of Tivonin, lead services – because they pronounce alef as ayin and ayin as alef [and thereby distort the meaning of the prayers]. (B. Talmud 24b; translation based on the Steinsaltz version…
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After last week’s Shavuot hiatus, check out this Tuesday TorahTutors (Teen) Tidbit: A teenaged TorahTutors student was asked to share thoughts on Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 67:12. She wrote (slightly edited): This Midrash frames Yaakov in contrast with Shimshon. Basically, Yaakov listened to his father when he said not to marry foreign women, while…
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**May our Torah study serve as a merit for the speedy recovery of those injured over the past week and for the souls of those lost, and may we see peace speedily in our days. ** There is a widespread custom to study a chapter of Pirkei Avot – a popular and particularly accessible…
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A TorahTutors student learned in the Gemara (Pesachim 117a; Steinsaltz translation/commentary from Sefaria): The Prophets among them established this hallel for the Jewish people, that they should recite it on every appropriate occasion; and for every trouble, may it not come upon them, they recite the supplications included in hallel. When they are redeemed, they recite it over their redemption, as hallel includes expressions of gratitude…
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**May our Torah study serve as a merit for the speedy recovery of those injured over the past week and for the souls of those lost. ** There is a widespread custom to study a chapter of Pirkei Avot – a popular and particularly accessible tractate of Mishna – each week between Pesach and…
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It’s always special when family members share Torah learning. One mother-daughter pair learned about prayer with TorahTutors. They studied texts exploring the origins and experience of Jewish prayer, as well as technical details like the nature of the obligation to pray and the preferred structure of prayer: praise, request, and thanksgiving. Their tutor helped them…
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**May our Torah study serve as a merit for the speedy recovery of those injured last night in Meron and for the souls of those killed. ** There is a widespread custom to study a chapter of Pirkei Avot – a popular and particularly accessible tractate of Mishna – each week between Pesach and…
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An adult TorahTutors student was interested in building skills to learn biblical commentaries on her own but had very limited Hebrew, so her tutor found ways to incorporate both basic Hebrew language study and an introduction to classical commentaries. Part of the strategy involved finding examples of each Hebrew lesson in the text of…
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There is a widespread custom to study a chapter of Pirkei Avot – a popular and particularly accessible tractate of Mishna – each week between Pesach and Shavuot. Known in English as Ethics of Our Fathers, Pirkei Avot contains many teachings that go beyond the letter of the law, offering guidance on character development that…
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