Elevated by Words of Torah – A parsha post by TorahTutors.org tutor Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman
https://www.webyeshiva.org/parshat-devarim-2022/
A Tuesday TorahTutors Tidbit About Strength and Connections
For this week’s Tuesday TorahTutors tidbit, we ask:How did a TorahTutors student studying technical Talmudic topics happen upon a verse from the poignant section of Yeshayahu that will be read as the haftarah this Shabbos? The Gemara in Gittin 34a discusses various cases in which a husband writes a gett (bill of divorce) for his…
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International Friendship Day!
We just learned that tomorrow is International Day of Friendship, and naturally, we immediately thought about how that connects – deeply! – to TorahTutors. In 2011, the UN proclaimed what the Rabbis knew thousands of years ago: the importance of making connections with others. Many commentators on Pirkei Avot (Ethics of Our Fathers) understand the…
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A Tuesday TorahTutors Tidbit About Talmudic Thinking (and More!)
Time for another Tuesday TorahTutors tidbit! Real Torah, from real TorahTutors sessions. A TorahTutors student recently received an introduction to Talmudic logic and discourse when studying Tractate Brachot. Mishna 3:3 states: “Women, slaves, and minors are exempt from the recitation of Shema and from tefillin, and are obligated in prayer, mezuzah, and birkat hamazon.” After…
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A Tuesday TorahTutors Tidbit About the Challenge of Building Bridges
Time for a Tuesday TorahTutors tidbit! Real Torah, from real TorahTutors sessions. This week’s Torah portion includes the story of how two tribes (later joined by half of another tribe) asked to settle on the east side of the Jordan River, where there was good pasture for their abundant flocks, rather than crossing into the…
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A Tuesday TorahTutors Tidbit About Hebrew Letters and Their Numbers
Time for another Tuesday TorahTutors tidbit! Real Torah, from real TorahTutors sessions. Some TorahTutors students are more focused on Hebrew language, while others study Jewish texts or ideas in whichever language works for them – and some do both. For instance, one student learning about how Hebrew letters are used as numbers didn’t just practice…
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A Tuesday TorahTutors Tidbit About Mistakes and the People Watching Them
Time for another #TuesdayTorahTutorsTidbit! Real Torah, from real TorahTutors sessions. This week’s Torah portion offers a great example of the fact that no one is perfect – as Rambam discusses (and a TT student learned) at length, including analysis of what it is that Moshe does wrong in Parshat Chukat. In the fourth chapter of…
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A Tuesday TorahTutors Tidbit in Which a Bat Mitzvah Considers Complexity
A TorahTutors student recently completed Pirkei Avot just in time for her bat mitzvah, after studying it with her online tutor for a year and a half. The beautiful dvar Torah she shared for the occasion, sent in as a #TuesdayTorahTutorsTidbit by her beloved tutor, discussed how meaningful and relevant the teachings of Pirkei Avot…
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A Tuesday TorahTutors Tidbit About a Concerned Father
Time for another #TuesdayTorahTutorsTidbit!Real Torah, from real TorahTutors sessions. As Father’s Day was just a couple of days ago in the US, we’re thinking about some of the fathers our students have learned about. One of those is Manoach, the father of Shimshon. There are, of course, many different ways to understand the navi’s portrayal…
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A Tuesday TorahTutors Tidbit About Individuality in Shared Practice
A TorahTutors student studying the weekly Torah portions learned a beautiful idea last week from Parshat Naso. Every Nasi (head of tribe) was told to bring a korban and gifts on behalf of his tribe. The Torah lists each Nasi and what he brought – but their gifts were identical. Why couldn’t the Torah have…
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