A TorahTutors student and her tutor noticed Yaakov’s harsh words to Levi in last week’s parsha, including criticism for Levi’s anger, and wondered why this tribe is singled out to serve Hashem in the Mishkan/Beit Hamikdash. They spoke about the difference between anger and passion, and how anger can become passion when channeled in…
A small group of pre-teen TorahTutors students studying the book of Yehoshua noticed a lot of references to Moshe throughout the book. For instance, chapters 20-21 describe the designation of cities of refuge and Levite cities in fulfillment of the original command to Moshe. At the conclusion of chapter 21, the Navi also emphasizes that…
Rabbi Chaim Brovender founded WebYeshiva under the direction of Rabbi Jeffrey Saks 13 years ago, with TorahTutors following as an affiliate site soon after, so it might not be “new.” But as this new article in the Jerusalem Post magazine notes, there is something unique about it, as well as newly intensified relevance: There are hundreds of places…
One of our students is a social worker who spends lunch breaks with her tutor to sharpen her Gemara skills. They learned in a mishnah on Pesachim 99b: “They should not give a poor person fewer than four cups of wine, even if he takes from the public fund.” The student asked, at whom is…
During one recent TorahTutors session, discussion about public perception brought up a particular detail of the laws of Chanukah. The Gemara (Shabbat 23a) suggests that someone who lives in a courtyard [or house] with entrances (or windows) facing two different directions must light Chanukah candle[s] in both. Why? “Because of suspicion” – because if one…
Did you ever see a six foot man eating chicken? Is the question about a 6-foot man who eats chicken, or is there perhaps a giant chicken out there eating humans? Exploring this and other examples of syntactic ambiguities helped a TorahTutors student understand two different ways to read Bereishit 37:18, “And they…
In the seventh chapter of his introduction to Pirkei Avot, Rambam explains that a person’s negative character traits can create obstacles to prophetic perception of God, and describes some of the essential qualities of a prophet: wisdom, strength of character, satisfaction with one’s lot, etc. However, “It is not of the conditions of the prophet…
TorahTutors is pleased to congratulate our Director, Sarah Rudolph, on her recent appointment to the editorial committee of Tradition! Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought is published by the Rabbinical Council of America. It was founded in 1958 by Rabbi Normal Lamm and has been led since January 2019 by Rabbi Jeffrey Saks, who…
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, ob”m, once wrote about Thanksgiving: Though you don’t have to be religious to be grateful, there is something about belief in God as creator of the universe, shaper of history and author of the laws of life that directs and facilitates our gratitude. It is hard to feel grateful to a…
A person who finds a lost object takes on responsibility not only to return the item but to make reasonable efforts to keep it in good condition until the owner comes to claim it. For instance, the Mishna (Bava Metzia 2:8) states that books (in those days, scrolls) must be read – or at least…