Halakhic Discussions

Shimi Kaufman analyzes Rav Shimon Shkop's perspectives of halakha and human experience, through the lens of financial law.

Steven Gotlib explores mentalism through a halakhic lens -- in particular, the need for a disclaimer stating that no magic is genuinely being performed.

Noah Gradofsky explores sources about a pregnant Sotah and their relevance for Jewish abortion ethics.

Yonah Lavery-Yisraeli explores the relationship between the Talmudic term of "asmakhta" and the way we view our past, present, and future.

David Polsky explores a passage in the Sifrei that is key to articulating a Halakahic position on withholding food as a military tactic.

The classification of certain people as "athenes" receives wide expression in Talmudic stories and even practical halakhic application. Shayna Herszage-Feldan considers the varieties of asthenes descriptions in Talmudic texts, proposing that the category encompasses the condition that is today diagnosed as contamination-focused obsessive compulsive disorder.

  Mark Glass I. A long time ago in a galaxy far far away. … Growing up, that’s how the gabba’im of my youth minyan would determine if...

Francis Nataf argues that the Jewish ethics of mutual aid force us to re-examine our obligations to non-Jews within and outside of our communities.

The study of ta’amei ha-mitzvot—the rationales underlying commandments—is a popular source of spiritual meaning, but does it also have relevance to halakhic practice? Dovid Campbell explores an intergenerational rabbinic debate regarding the relationship of ta’amei ha-mitzvot and the requirement to perform mitzvot with a proper intention.

Devora Steinmetz explores how modern communication technology should impact the question of when to start shiva.