A person who digs or opens a pit into which an animal falls is liable for damages (Exodus 21:33–34). As a result of a hyper-literal reading of the term בַּעַל הַבּוֹר (baʿal ha-bor)—literally “the owner of the pit”—combined with abstract legal codification, the Talmud ends up suggesting that, in fact, a person who digs a pit on public property is actually exempt from paying damages.
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.
To meet Yofiel, the angel of Torah, to ward off the devil, or to pronounce God's name are some reasons for ascetic fasting. But beware: Publicizing your fast not only negates your act of piety but can bring down divine wrath. Just ask Miriam daughter of Onion Leaf.
Jacob and Samson celebrate their marriages for seven days. The earliest mention of marriage blessings, however, is in the apocryphal book of Tobit and the Dead Sea Scrolls, both from the late second Temple times. 3, 5, 6 and even 7 blessings circulated in Jewish society before the rabbis formalized the series as the “Sheva Berakhot” by early medieval times. Their recitation by guests during the celebratory week was promoted by the rabbis as occasions to engage in an “act of lovingkindness” (gemilut ḥasadim).
The book of Esther never mentions a fast on the 13th of Adar; in fact, in the late Second Temple period, it was a day of celebration. Talmudic sources never mention the fast either. How did it originate?
Onan son of Judah “would let [his seed] go to waste on the ground, so as not to provide offspring for his brother. This was wicked in the eyes of YHWH, who killed him” (Genesis 38:9–10). What was Onan’s sin?
By the 1st century C.E., observance of Torah laws is abundantly evident in Judean society. But how far back does this widespread observance go?
It is widely assumed that the Torah prohibits all tattoos. And yet, a look at the verse in context yields alternative understandings.
The Torah allows the removal of vessels from a house before the priest quarantines it for tzaraʿat, understanding impurity here not as the result of physical reality but of a human declaration. This idea is developed further by the rabbis, who apply it to other areas of Jewish law.
In the Torah, Nimrod and Esau are hunters, Isaac enjoys game, and the legal collections take it for granted that hunting for food is common and permissible. Once Judaism decided that even wild animals must be ritually slaughtered, the Jewish attitude towards hunting took a sharp negative turn.
The Talmud requires having two unspecified cooked dishes to be eaten as part of the Passover meal. How did this requirement develop into the custom of placing two particular symbolic foods, the shankbone and the egg, on the seder plate?
R. Eleazar of Worms in the 12th century, defended the practice of spilling wine when reciting the plagues against detractors who disparaged it, by offering a mystical, numerological rationale. This, however, was a post-facto attempt to explain a folk custom, whose origins lie in the human fear of being struck by these very plagues.
Hidden behind the strange rabbinic definition of walled cities is a polemical response to the notorious claim of Emperor Hadrian, who rebuilt Jerusalem as the pagan city Aelia Capitolina.
In halakha, the 39 melachot of Mishnah Shabbat 7:2 functions as a comprehensive list of primary categories of forbidden labor. A closer look at the list in context, however, reveals that it was composed and added as a supplement, to clarify a detail in the previous mishnah.
Leviticus’ list of conjugally-forbidden relations was extensive for its time. While the Karaites expanded the list greatly, the rabbis did so only slightly, leaving modern-day rabbinic Judaism with more relatives permitted for marriage than most western societies.
Deuteronomy’s description of the circumstances of divorce is ambiguous. Thus, the Mishnah (m. Gittin 9:10) records three different opinions on when a man is allowed to divorce his wife. What can we infer from the biblical text?
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.
Leviticus 15 describes two types of impure bleeding for women: menstruation (niddah), and bleeding that is “not during her menstrual period (zavah).” The Rabbis attempt to define the difference in an abstract manner, and in so doing, elide the two.
The Torah prohibits lending to poor people with interest. Why did Jewish law include business loans and how did this effect the law’s original purpose?
But Chicken and Egg Remained Permitted
In reference to the parturient, the Torah speaks of a 33 or 66 day period of דמי טהרה “blood of her purity” as distinguished from a 7 or 14 day period “like menstruation.” What is the difference between these two periods according to Leviticus and how did later groups such as rabbinic Jews, Karaites, Samaritans, and Beta Israel understand it?
Leviticus 15:24 does not declare sex with a menstruating woman to be forbidden, only that it results in temporary impurity. Leviticus 18:19 and 20:18, however, strictly prohibit it. What accounts for these two different approaches?
The Cow That Laid an Egg (!)
Immersing in the Priestly Text: In support of Dr. Rabbi Zev Farber's contention in “The Purification of a Niddah: The Torah Requirement” that the Torah does not require women to immerse after niddah in order to become pure.
The Torah prohibits a mourning ritual called tonsuring, i.e., the pulling out or cutting of hair to express sorrow. Rabbinic interpretation understood these verses as a prohibition for men to shave their beards or temples with a razor. Ibn Ezra, however, uncharacteristically rejects the rabbinic interpretation of these verses, and Shadal, who accepts ibn Ezra's reading, goes as far as to say that he himself shaves with a razor.
Jewish law requires a menstruant woman to purify herself by immersing in water. A schematic look at Leviticus 15 actually implies this is not a Torah requirement.
Thirty nine forms of melacha “work” are forbidden on Shabbat. Does the number drive the list?
The Torah states multiple times that it is forbidden to do melakha “work” on Shabbat. Rabbi Akiva and his students argue that the Torah is referring to 39 specific forms of work. Where did they get this number? The key is in the Tabernacle.
