Intimate Knowledge of G‑d
Compassion Toward People
Splendor in Mind and Heart
Avodah
Is the common practice for anyone who touches a megillah to wash their hands first? (especially for megilat esther which is more likely to be touched by the general public)? [...]
I was listening to an interesting shiur discussing the Chazon Ish?s many nisyonot (physical health, childlessness, wife) and how he met them all with the bitachon that he was in [...]
On Fri, Apr 04, 2025 at 05:05:52PM -0400, mcohen--- via Avodah wrote: > there have been multiple discussions on avodah about aspects, additions > and differences to the sidur that [...]
fyi there have been multiple discussions on avodah about aspects, additions and differences to the sidur that i think would have been resolved by this insightful article on the history [...]
In the lead up to Pesach, I am trying to formulate a thought around the chastisement of the malachim by Hashem as cited in Sanhedrin 39b: ???? ??? ?????? ??? [...]
When the gemara correlates certain violations with certain results, other than just saying it?s a violation (eg not washing ntilat yadaim resulting in poverty), is it positing a value judgement [...]
I wondered about the logtics of the second Aron Qodesh according to those who held a second Aron went out in front of the army when at war. What do [...]
. R' Joel Rich commented: > One of the things I?ve thought a lot about is the character- > ization of Chazal as being consequentialist or deontological, > etc. I [...]
Blogs
- YGB - יג"ב
- Aspaqlaria
- Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
- | Modern Uberdox
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
Rischa D'Araisaאילו לא הוציאBonus Afikoman Episode:Haggadah Inspired Counter-Historyhttps://listen.jewishpodcasts.fm/yeshivaofnewark/99847 [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
Rischa D'Araisa Season 10 Finale Episode 26:כי ישאלךResponding to Feedback:Five Minute Answers toSix of Your Questionshttps://listen.jewishpodcasts.fm/yeshivaofnewark/99892 [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
Deep SimchaReb Tzadok HaKohenon the Renewed Emotionsthe Seder is Supposed toProvoke and Elicit[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd7SA5qSktc?si=E-I7KW8Cv79CzGEZ]Sorry it got stopped in the middle of a sentence, Zoom does that randomly. I made the [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.Topic: The Pri Tzaddik (Reb Tzadok HaKohen) on the Avodas Hashem of the Seder NightTime: Apr 8, 2025 10:00 PM Eastern Time (US and [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZM1Ovk4VFY?si=BHW9MCKvGvYgpxhG]Inyana d'Yoma [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
The one on top must be from the late '50s or early '60s as the one on bottom is from Yud Shvat 1970. In both pictures my grandfather zt"l is [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
The Deeper Meaning and Purpose of Free Will.Connecting to Hashem with a Different Form of Dveykus.Spiritual and Conceptual Proximity.Digressions into Free Will of Angels and Aliens,and into Eis La'asos.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYEyQI9AzII?si=Pu-_aVJahnePNjGK] [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
The school runs an annual privilege auction.Students bid for privileges from the teachers. My privilege is always a shiur on the topic of your choice to the audience of your [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
Rischa D'Araisa Season 10 Episode 25:Attacks from Without and Within:WZO's Eretz HaKodesh SlateandYU's Hareni Clubhttps://listen.jewishpodcasts.fm/yeshivaofnewark/99318 [...]
Zohar Al Pi Pshat Day 286. 32a: The Distinctions, Union & Symbiosis of Day & Night, Light & Darkness
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
Occasionally I feel it is appropriate to showcase one of Zohar Al Pi Pshat segments. This is one of those.The Distinctions, Union & Symbiosis of Day & Night, Light & Darkness[youtube [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM7qsU1BCeY?si=LZdjDaO7fBC-ji3n]A recording for the BHP daily Halachic Whatsapp group https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gz8rrxqRcfy9rMOXRLG6GS [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
The Shaf V'Yasiv Shul in Bagdad Fascinating stuff on the historical development of the authority of the Babylonian yeshivos and their heads, going back to King Yechoniah and the Charash and [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
The mysterious Rabban Savurai (Savora'im) and the question as to When was the Talmud Written Down?[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VzjwlcmA4o?si=xy4SBuTVQ0G__x8T]This episode of our series on the Iggeres D'Rav Sherira Gaon deserved its own [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
Tzidkas HaTzaddikof Admor Reb Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin zt"l zy"aSimanim 54-56The first episode in the series is in Hebrew. Subsequent episodes are linked in the comments and are in English.[youtube [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/yb2goqoonpk6826i3uvtt/Toras-Purim-Collection-5757-5785.pdf?rlkey=pxcueiorhttps://www.academia.edu/128243755/Toras_Purim_Collection_5757_5785 [...]
- Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
There are still kelim to bring השראת השכינה today. The yein malchus flows through the four amos of halacha. Just as the neshama is primarily in the head, but causes the flow to [...]
- admin
Rav Dovid Lifshitz zt”l (whose 31st yahrzeit is today) often spoke about the connection between shaleim as wholeness, and that of another conjugation, “shalom“, peace. Shalom is not simply a cessation of violence. That [...]
- admin
Parashas Behar is a list of mitzvos. The first section is all about shemittah and yovel. A family’s ancestral land cannot be sold into perpetuity. Instead, if someone is forced [...]
- Micha Berger
This week I’d like to discuss three seemingly unrelated questions about the words of the tephillah: The focus of Shabbos Mussaf davening is the paragraph that begins “Tiqanta Shabbos…” What [...]
- Micha Berger
Here’s my theory about the origin of this minhag. My point here is not really about advocating for the minhag. I just feel a need to push back when people [...]
- admin
והיה רגיל להוכיח אותי על שראה שאינני משתתף בצערא דאחרינא. וכה היה דברו אלי תמיד שזה כל האדם. לא לעצמו נברא רק להועיל לאחריני ככל אשר ימצא בכחו לעשות. [My [...]
- Rabbi Seth Mandel PhD zt"l
Micha’s note: The following was a post written to the Mesorah email list by Rabbi Dr. Seth Mandel zt”l, a rebbe-chaver of mine (more: a rebbe who insisted on treating [...]
- Micha Berger
(I put these thoughts together for a reply for my daughter Gavi, who pointed me to a medrash that “everyone in her neighborhood” were talking about, but I then was [...]
- Micha Berger
“Poteach et Yadekha“, oil on canvasHaim Masliach, 2021 A comment by Ilana Elzafun* brought this Seforno to my attention. This week’s parashah (Lekh Likha), Bereishis 16:13, describes Hagar’s prayer to [...]
- Micha Berger
Dear R Dr Broyde (Cc: Avodah), Over Shabbos, I read your article about getting ChatGPT to discuss whether a kohein in a same-sex marriage may go up to duchen. I [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
Nephesh Hachaim 1:13 1. T The things we say can also link celestial worlds, rectify this one, and interconnect with the upper worlds, as we’ll now see. After all, we’re [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
Da’at Tevunot 3:7 (¶ 118 [middle]) 1. We’d do well to take something into consideration, Ramchal adds here. It’s that just because something or someone is imperfect doesn’t mean [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
The Way of G-d 2:6:4 1. G-d allowed for a prosecutor in His court, famously known as satan 1. His role is to argue against the accused, which them enables [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
Nephesh Hachaim 1:12 1. R. Chaim already spoke 1 of the fact that we could only link celestial worlds, rectify this one, and interconnect with those upper worlds after we’d [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
Da’at Tevunot 3:6 (¶ 118 [beginning]) 1. Ramchal reiterates here 1 that wrong is a created entity 2 that was only designed to last for as long as G-d wanted [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
The Way of G-d 2:6:3 1. Given the above, the fact is that G-d doesn’t judge the world according to His foreknowledge but rather according to the way He wants [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
Nephesh Hachaim 1:11 1. Following up on the thought offered in the last chapter that despite our being connected to physicality we’re nevertheless superior to angels, R’ Chaim now [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
Da’at Tevunot 3:5 (¶s 116 [end] – 117) 1. Ramchal says that he’s going to expand upon things he’d said above 1 and reveal things that are “deep” about [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
The Way of G-d 2:6:2 1. G-d appears in each Sanhedrin and court, influences it, and sees to it that justice is served 1. Now, in some instances [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
Nephesh Hachaim 1:10 1. Given all of the above concerning our makeup and capacities, it’s reasonable to wonder whether angels are loftier than we are or we’re loftier than they. [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
Da’at Tevunot 3:4 (¶ 116 [beg.]) 1. Ramchal is about to offer something that will serve as a prelude to what’s to follow 1. It’s that even though G-d [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
Derech Hashem 2:6:1 In the course of His interactions with the world 1, G-d arranged it so that phenomena that affect both the things that humankind brings about 2 and [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
Nephesh Hachaim 1:9 1. Following through on the discussion of the previous chapter, R’ Chaim contrasts the situation of the generation that dwelt in the Sinai Desert 1 with that [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
Da’at Tevunot 3:3 (¶’s 103- 115) 1. It seems logical, doesn’t it, that goodness would be a product of something that emanates goodness while wrongfulness would be a product of [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
Da’atTevunot 3:2 (# 98 – 102) 1. Ramchal starts to explain the role of wrong and injustice in the world with a proposition derived from Rambam1. It’s that when G-d [...]
- bf61cd94975385fed8cbdd16766a3ee4
Nephesh Hachaim 1:8 1. R’ Chaim offers a rather complex discussion here about the positioning of the Cherubs in the Tabernacle and Holy Temple in order to illustrate his point [...]
- Neil Harris
The website 18FORTY has a fantastic and thoughtful multimedia post on OTD that is worth watching, reading, and listening to. If you are reading this then you know I don’t [...]
- Neil Harris
Spoiler, there isn’t much substance to I what have to say. Also, I am spoiling the end of the Skywalker saga. After reading an excellent essay by Rabbi Harry Maryles [...]
- Neil Harris
I checked my recent writing history today and the last legit post of mine was really 3.5 years ago. For some that’s a long chunk of time. In that time [...]
- Neil Harris
My wife’s comment on Simchas Torah pretty much summed it up, “I feel like this is the biggest tease for you.” You see, my mom a”h was niftar right before [...]
- Neil Harris
When today comes around I usually think about things my father missed since he has been gone. I decided that this year I’ll attempt to list a number of things [...]
- Neil Harris
Walking out of shul, the morning after Yom Kippur, a follow early Sunday morning riser casually said to me, “Back to normal, right?” I was taken off guard (and also [...]
- Neil Harris
I have started this post about 2 dozen times over the past 3 years and I never seem to get more than about 300 words written about why I stopped [...]
- Neil Harris
I want to share something that Rav Efraim Twerski said at his Shabbos HaGadol drasha. After starting off with 10 questions Rav Twerski said over an amazing Torah from Rav [...]
- Neil Harris
So, tonight’s the 6th yahrtzeit for my dad, Avraham ben Zorach a”h (Al, of blessed memory). Like everyone else that has lost a parent I lit my 24 hour yahrzeit [...]
- Neil Harris
“WARMED BY THE FIRE OF THE AISH KODESH– Torah from the Hilulas of Reb Kalonymus Kalman Shapira of Piaseczna” by Rav Moshe Weinberger and adapted by Binyomin Wolf is more [...]