It is traditional to read Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) on the Shabbos of Chol Hamoed Sukkot – or this year, since there is no Shabbos Chol Hamoed, on Shemini Atzeret. The book of Kohelet is so difficult to understand that the Talmud (Shabbos 30b) says the Sages considered excluding it from the biblical canon because of…
A TorahTutors student was going on an extended family vacation and in lieu of a session, her parents requested material she could learn independently while away, to review with her tutor upon their return. (Note: This one is a throwback tidbit, pre-pandemic and travel concerns.) They were learning Parshat Re’eh at the time, and the…
It’s the last Tuesday in the Jewish month of Elul; time for a TorahTutors Teruah* Tidbit! (*teruah = shofar sound that starts with a “t”) A young student and her tutor began reviewing laws and customs of Rosh Hashanah by discussing the symbolic foods they each eat on Rosh Hashana, such as apple and honey…
Recently, a new adult student joined TorahTutors with the goal of exploring the weekly parsha in more depth. He prefaced his first learning session last week by sending his new tutor two questions he was struggling with after reading that week’s parsha (Ki Tavo) on his own. His questions, paraphrased, were: (Deut. 26:10) “A land…
A young TorahTutors student was interested in connecting more deeply with Jewish prayer, and asked her tutor if they could explore the meaning of Shema. After clearing the topic with the girl’s parents, the tutor guided her to read through each of the three Torah passages recited as part of Kriyat Shema and to find…
The Talmud (Bava Batra 91a) records a view that Ivtzan, a lesser-known leader from the Book of Judges (12:8), is actually Boaz, of Book of Ruth fame. One TorahTutors session included discussion of how different commentaries relate to this tradition on different levels. Ralbag, for instance, suggests simply that the tradition is rooted in the…
A TorahTutors student learning Parshat Shoftim explored the conflicting views of Rambam and Ramban regarding the prohibition of various forms of sorcery and fortunetelling. As a fan of Rick Riordan who had recently read a series of his that emphasized the importance of oracles, she related particularly to Ramban’s portrayal of understandable human interest in…
Rambam stresses in the fifth chapter of Shemoneh Perakim that one should always be focused on the goal of contemplating God to the best of human ability, directing all of one’s pursuits towards that goal. On one hand, this single-mindedness might imply a sparse, minimalist existence, cutting out any type of physical enjoyment. On the…
Finding deeper meaning in calendrical and geographic technicalities: The Mishna in Taanit (1:3) records two opinions about the appropriate date on which to begin praying for rain in Israel: The first view is that prayers should begin on the 3rd of Marcheshvan, the official start of the rainy season; Rabban Gamliel, however, says to wait…
As one of few observant Jews in her school, a young TorahTutors student felt overwhelmed trying to explain her family’s dietary restrictions and asked to learn about kashrut. Her online tutor opened the topic with a brainstorming session, using WebEx’s file sharing and annotation tools to encourage independent thought and prepare to explore texts together.…