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• Talmudic & Halakhic StudyNew

  Maaser Kesafim: Obligation or Custom?

  Halakhic study · eight sections

  Maaser kesafim is not mentioned in the Talmud, and it has no binding source, either in the Torah or in the words of the Sages. It is an important custom that spread in the time of the Rishonim, mainly among the Chasidei Ashkenaz. Whoever practices it is generally fulfilling the mitzvah of tzedakah, so the money is meant mainly for the poor. Some midrashim see it as a continuation of the idea of maaser sheni, which was meant to bring a person closer to the Torah, and so they direct it to those who toil in Torah.

  19 Oct 20261 chapter22 min read
• Parasha

  Lech Lecha

  Genesis 12:1 – 17:27

  • Finding Our Bearings
  • The River of Egypt
  • The Sandak, the Gaon and Common Sense
  • …

  18 Oct 20264 chapters25 min read
• Talmudic & Halakhic Study

  May One Use a Washing Machine on Chol HaMoed?

  Halakhic study · seven sections

  The Sages forbade laundering on Chol HaMoed so that people would not put off their laundry until the festival and enter the festival dirty. A washing machine involves no effort, and it did not exist when the decree was made. So it seems the decree does not apply to it at all.

  18 Oct 20261 chapter6 min read
• Philosophical ReflectionNew

  What Must One Really Believe?

  Jewish thought revisited · sixteen chapters

  Of what is called the “principles of faith,” what is really binding? Providence, miracles, prayer, Torah and science, popular beliefs: a fresh look.

  16 Oct 202616 chapters140 min read
• Philosophical Reflection

  Evidence for the Existence of God

  In plain language · eight chapters

  Can God’s existence be shown? Four arguments, the revelation at Sinai, and the questions of evil and God’s hiddenness.

  14 Oct 20268 chapters85 min read
• Parasha

  Noach

  Genesis 6:9 – 11:32

  • The Repeated Command “Be Fruitful and Multiply”
  • Jew and Noahide: The Two-Story Model
  • The Mathematics of Lineage

  11 Oct 20263 chapters28 min read