Do rabbis belong at Super Bowl parties? And if so, what should they do during commercials which display halachically prohibited sights, or during the camera’s pan to the cheerleaders? [I’m not raising the bitul torah question; if you are reading my blog, you have no right to condemn someone else for wasting time from Torah study… Read More »

[I'm currently enjoying this post re: Rav Yisrael Salanter at Modern Uberdox ]Here’s an interesting story, recorded in Achilat Matzot b’Yisrael by R’ Shalom Yuda Gross (pg. 140-141 of the pdf here , but I have brought the Hebrew at the end of this post). Read More »

We put out a bird-feeder bell before Shabbos, as part of our Shabbos Shirah celebrations. No birds braved the freezing cold over Shabbos, but we had hopes for the rest of the week……Until just now, when I heard a thump outside and got this picture: Those are evil-looking eyes. Read More »

This week I’ll be presenting a campus Medical Ethics class on “May a patient refuse medical treatment?” We’ll talk about: The Torah’s license to heal and whether that obligates patients to seek healing; The arguments in favor of compelling a person Read More »

[This is my article from this week's edition of Toronto Torah ]On its most basic level, the chazzan’s kaddish is a call for the Name of G-d to be elevated, to which we respond with a similar blessing of the Name of Gd. Read More »

No, that title is not meant the way it may sound.My father likes to note Rashi to this week’s parshah (Shemot 16: 14), in which he offers a science experiment: If one fills an eggshell with dew, seal her and leave her in the sun, she will rise independently into the air. Read More »

[This month's Kosher Cooking Carnival is here ; enjoy ]40 is coming, in just a few weeks.This development brings with it many different emotions, on many different levels, but one stands out for me: A sense of limits. Not depressingly, just realistically. Read More »

Last night, during a shiur on common Kashering questions, I was asked about a unique method of kashering a sink. My sense is that this approach does NOT work… but it does sound entertaining.Normally, we kasher a sink by heating water to a high boil, and then pouring it all over the surfaces of the sink. Read More »

I write the post below 5 years ago, as a reaction to Parhas Shmos. It still rings true for me, on many levels. I cannot stand Parshat Shmot. I fear reading it. It drives me berserk – and especially this year.Call this hubris, but I overly identify with Moshe Rabbeinu. Read More »

Tonight, CNN.com carries headlines about the publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, Andrew Adler, writing an editorial suggesting ways in which Israel might move ahead with its defense against a nuclear Iran. Read More »

Regarding my “Owning the Rabbi” post , an anonymous commenter wrote: One also finds the opposite situation: Rabbis “owning” the shul. That is, Board members voting against their true wishes for the shul policy position the Rabbi publicy supports. I agree that this happens, but I’m not sure it’s about rabbinic ownership of the shul. Read More »

This class addresses one of the questions I hear most frequently from physicians: May I take call on Shabbat?And its corollary: May I switch with a non-observant Jewish physician?And then the inevitable follow-up: May I drive home from the hospital Read More »

A friend of mine, a Rabbi, once received an anonymous letter complaining about an element of his wardrobe. Other Rabbis have other stories of such communications. I presented my view on anonymous letters a while back, but I’d like to discuss the content of such letters, instead. Read More »

On Sunday morning I’ll be teaching a Medical Halachah class on “The Kohen as Physician”. A combination of factors made last week a bit difficult, so I’m behind on composing my source sheets, but here are the vignettes I expect to use. Read More »

For anyone who was skeptical about last year’s reports on Talmud study in South Korea – take a look at this… Read More »

When a certain well-known rabbi heard I wanted to enter the rabbinate, he put his hands on my head, gave the top of my skull a long look, and said something along the lines of, “That’s strange; I don’t see anything wrong.”Personally, I think he had the wrong party; I think he should have done that to my wife. Read More »

[This week's Haveil Havalim is here ]While taking care of administrative tasks on Motzaei Shabbos, I listened to the opening salvos of the Republican debate. [Don’t ask me why; I still live in the fantasy that somehow, magically, one of these anurans is going to metamorphose into a prince. Not a chance. Read More »

Per economist Paul Zak, the human brain generates oxytocin in response to experiences in which we draw close to others – weddings, hugs, receiving a gift – and this oxytocin helps us to feel empathy in return, and to act more generously toward others in general. Read More »

I was in New York today to interview avreichim for next year, and while en route I completed a source sheet for this coming Sunday’s shiur, “Why was the Torah translated into Greek?” Here are the sources, in case you find the topic interesting. 1. Read More »

One of the several reasons why religious fanaticism so easily leads to violence is that religion – and Judaism is no exception – provides sources and precedents which can be used to justify violence in any forum. Read More »