A G-d-Based Moral Bucket List
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow David Brooks, a columnist for the New York Times, wrote an article entitled “The Moral Bucket List.” Soon after it was published, it climbed to number one on the list of New York Time’s most emailed articles. David Brooks comes to grips with the realization that there is more to life than […]
More Than Twenty Percent
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow The story is told of a man who approached a rabbi. He said to him, “Why are you always so machmir? Every time I ask you a question, the answer is always that it is forbidden.” The rabbi said, “I’m surprised to hear you say that. I indeed have many kulos! For […]
Draining the Swamp
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow Very often, the Gemara pairs together totally unrelated topics because they have one common denominator. Recently on the daf, we had a collection of unrelated beraisos. The only reason they were listed together is that in each case Rav Yosef said to follow the opinion espoused in the beraisa. A beraisa discusses […]
Charity with Uncharitable Intentions
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow One time, when all of Bnei Yisrael came up on pilgrimage (oleh regel) to Jerusalem, there was no water available for drinking. Nakdimon ben Gurion approached a certain lord and said to him: “Loan me 12 wells of water for the pilgrims, and I will repay you 12 wells of water; and […]
To Save a Life
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow One mantra that is often repeated in halacha is that nothing supersedes saving a life. Therefore, it is somewhat surprising that a recent Gemara (Kesubos 39a) seems to take a contrarian view. The question addressed by the Gemara is whether a certain intervention, which might very well be ordinarily prohibited, can be […]
Love Thy Neighbor
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow It says in the Torah, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The Talmud (Kesubos 37b) has a very peculiar application of this verse. The Talmud discusses the proper manner of a court-mandated execution. The Talmud observes that there are two ways to perform the execution referred to as “sayef.” How do […]
Kohen Conundrums
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow A visitor to the Munkacser beis midrash might see a bizarre sight. He might notice his friend Mr. Katz davening Shacharis there on Monday morning. Yet, when it is time for kriyas haTorah, the first Aliyah would be given to a Yisrael. The astute observer might conclude that they are following the […]
Stealing to Save a Life?
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow Rav Shlomo Halberstam, zt”l, the Bobover Rebbe, was instrumental in saving many lives during the Holocaust. The Bobover Rebbe borrowed whatever money he could to secure visas and travel documents for would-be victims. The money borrowed was directly responsible for lives being saved. After the war, Mr. Benedict, one of the lenders, […]
Sheva Brachos Shailos
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow In the first perek of Kesuvos, there is a lengthy exposition on Sheva Brachos. What follows is some selected halachos regarding Sheva Brachos with a focus on the psakim of Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l. This article is not intended to issue practical rulings but to engender discussion. The Rema (EH 62:6) writes […]
Wednesday is the Day to Wed
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow Mazal tov to all those who finished Maseches Yevamos. We began Maseches Kesuvos on Friday. I remember that a few minutes after I was engaged and we had a mock l’chayim ceremony, my future shvigger opened her notebook. She promptly started a lengthy discourse about the dates available for the wedding. She […]