Halacha

The night before Passover, chametz “leaven” is searched for and then burned the next morning—ביעור חמץ biʿur chametz. Afterwards, any remaining unfound chametz is nullified and declared to be “like the dust of the earth,”— ביטול חמץ bittul chametz. Which of these acts fulfills the biblical requirement?

Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, is twice-widowed, but the Torah still expects Judah to allow his third son Shelah to marry her. In the Second Temple period book, Tobit marries his seven-times widowed cousin upon the advice of the angel Raphael. And yet, the Talmud prohibits marrying twice widowed women, for fear they are dangerous.

Calendrical disputes, which recurred frequently in ancient and medieval Jewish communities, created alternative dates for festivals such as Yom Kippur and Passover. Here, we look at four disputes and the different ways that communities navigated them. 

The rabbis distinguish four stages in the fetus’ development towards personhood. For the duration of the pregnancy, until the commencement of active labor, “a fetus is like its mother’s thigh” (עוּבָּר יֶרֶךְ אִמוֹ).

By the 1^st century C.E., observance of Torah laws is abundantly evident in Judean society. But how far back does this widespread observance go?

In the famous story of the Oven of Akhnai, Rabbi Eliezer makes recourse to divine revelation to defend his legal ruling. Rabbi Joshua responds that “the Torah is not in heaven” and God has no say. Elsewhere in the Talmud, however, heavenly voices are considered authoritative, a view which aligns with that of the Qumran sect, which believed God continues to reveal secret details of Torah laws.

When the State of Israel was established, the leading figures in religious Zionism had to justify Israel’s right to conscript soldiers using Jewish legal sources.

Statements that express our feelings are often confused with factual assertions.

What role does evidence play in believing that Torah is the revelation of God?

Four accounts of revelation and laws, but one religion

Morally problematic halachot remain on the books despite rabbinic attempts to transform or reinterpret them. How do we relate to these texts as Torah from Sinai, coming from God?

In Leviticus 15, the laws of niddah are about purity; Lev 18 and 20, however, prohibit sex during menstruation. The rabbis, who inherited both of these texts, create a new, hybrid concept: the prohibition of sex while a woman has the status of menstrual impurity.

The Shabbat laws offer an instructive model for how Jews in antiquity engaged in creative reinterpretation of biblical texts in order to expand their limited application and to ensure that their customary practice comported with their sacred texts.

Maimonides, in his Guide of the Perplexed, portrays sacrifices as a ruse to repudiate idolatrous practices prevalent at the time. In Mishneh Torah, however, Maimonides states that the messiah will rebuild the Temple and restore sacrifices just as they once were. How are Maimonides’ two works reconcilable?

Jewish law prohibits the gelding of animals based on its interpretation of Leviticus 22:24. Is this what the Torah means? Why might the Torah have prohibited this, and how could the prohibition function in an agrarian society dependent on draft animals?

By erasing the boundaries between Written and Oral Torah, and removing any clear content from God’s revelation of law, Sommer undermines the concept of authoritative halakha that he wishes to refine.