Zev’s Corner

Long before the green movement’s inception, the Torah took a genuine interest in garbage.  As it commands this week, every morning, a Kohen would perform the Mitzvah of the “Terumas HaDeshen” on the outer Mizbeach.  This procedure involved scooping a shovelful of leftover ashes from the Mizbeach and placing it down on the floor of [...]

Cardiologists aside, salt is always a welcome condiment – especially when it’s included for free.  But the Torah’s insistence that every Korban be accompanied by communally-donated salt raises some questions.  After all, if an individual was able to spend a fortune on the sacrificial animal itself, couldn’t he or she afford to pay for a [...]

Imagine pulling up on a motorcycle alongside a morning jogger and offering him a lift to get to his destination sooner.  The absurdity of such a proposition is readily apparent: the jogger’s goal is not to arrive at a particular destination, but rather to enjoy the experience of the run itself.  Indeed, as incredible as [...]

Good fences make good neighbors – even if your neighbor is God Himself.  When the Gemarah (Zevachim 59b) cites the opinion of R’ Yosei that the copper (outdoor) Mizbeach stood at a towering ten cubits tall, it is immediately bothered.  How could the Mizbeach possibly have been so tall, it questions, when the surrounding fence [...]

We all know the good-old ‘Bnei Brith’ Jew of the previous century.  Sure, he may never have been blessed with a formal Jewish education beyond the occasional Sunday morning Hebrew School.  He certainly couldn’t quote you a Shach, a Taz, or even a Mishnah.  And he probably never heard of Bishul Akum.  But he sure [...]

It was a shout heard around the world – maybe even several worlds.  As the horrified Egyptians shattered the placid night silence with a chilling “Tze’akah Gedolah” (great shout) for their dying firstborns, one cannot help but get the sense that there may be more to the story than meets the eye.  While the magnitude [...]

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Things are certainly looking up under the sea.  With every passing year, more and more studies point to the multiplicity of benefits accrued from the regular consumption of seafood.  While high concentrations of mercury remain a serious concern, doctors are becoming increasingly aware of the wide variety of essential nutrients – including omega-three fatty acids, [...]

Talk about an uneventful showdown.  After all the buildup and nail-biting suspense, the rendezvous between Yaakov and Esav is admittedly… somewhat anticlimactic.  Yet, as our sages teach us, every little detail of this seemingly benign exchange is laden with gems: hints, secrets, and prophecies about future qualities and events that will transpire between the descendants [...]

See Zev’s webcast from Yerushalayim…

See Zev’s webcast from Yerushalayim…

Halacha makes a fascinating distinction between a Sukkah that has areas of invalid S’chach (“S’chach possul”) as opposed to a Sukkah that has areas of no S’chach (i.e., gaps of open airspace).  While invalid S’chach – such as a metal sheet, a basketball, or an apple – only invalidates a Sukkah if it comprises a [...]

If the Miami Heat reminded us of anything this past year, it’s that “more all stars” does not always equal “more championships.”  While we don’t know what exactly transpired behind the scenes in Miami’s specific case, history has consistently shown that adding more talent to a team often brings with it more ego, arrogance, and [...]

What a scene.  The radiant heavens and earth listen attentively to the sayings and teachings of   G-d, which patter gently like drops of rain and soft dew upon glistening blades of grass and vegetation.  Eagles are flying boldly, while brilliant lightning illuminates the sky.  From start to finish, Parashas Ha’azinu presents a vivacious symphony of [...]

(Dedicated L’Ilui Nishmas Blima Nechama Bas Ze’ev) Newton got it right – more so than he may have realized.  When Sir Isaac enlightened the world with his first law of physics, teaching that an object at rest tends to stay at rest, he uncovered one of the most fundamental principles of translational physics.  Perhaps unbeknownst [...]

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Peanut butter and jelly, bowties and suspenders, Bird and McHale – some things just go together.  This week, the Torah introduces us to a different sort of pair, albeit of slightly greater significance: “Shoftim V’Shotrim Titen Lecha B’Chol She’arecha.”  In the very same breath, the Torah describes the requirement to appoint judges (“Shoftim”) and the [...]

“One should always be loose like a reed, and not rigid like a cedar tree” – Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anis 20b Charity pays.  Literally.  As the Torah teaches, “You shall surely give to him; and your heart should not be sad when you give to him, for because of this Hashem will bless you in all [...]

To the best of our knowledge, Rashi received no grant money from Nefesh B’Nefesh for his comments on Parshas Ekev.  But he has certainly got some people thinking, with his Medrashic citation near the end of this week’s Torah reading.  “When you go into exile,” reads the Medrash, “continue to distinguish yourselves in mitzvos – [...]

See Zev’s webcast from Yerushalayim…

Never has being a vegetarian been so lonely.  While replete with customs of mourning and sobriety (see Rama O.C. 551:1), Shabbos Chazon is simultaneously celebrated by voraciously salivating carnivores worldwide, who have been in serious withdrawal from their beloved hamburgers, ribeye steaks, and pastrami sandwiches.  Whether the lavish attention given to bovine delicacies is appropriate [...]

Shalom! I hope this finds everyone doing very well.  This week’s Dvar Torah is slightly longer than usual (they will b’n usually be much shorter!), but I wanted to try to develop a thought that recently occurred to me. “And Bnei Yisrael traveled from A to B; B to C; C to D; Aharon HaKohen [...]

Shalom U’vracha! The teaching assistant’s lecture is never quite as good as the professor’s… but this week, that seems to be what’s offered.  When the Torah presents the mitzvah to “kasher” a cooking utensil that has absorbed non-kosher flavor, it is the untenured Elazar HaKohen – as opposed to departmental chair Moshe Rabbeinu – who [...]

Shalom from Yerushalayim! If Baskin Robbins boasts 31 flavors, Jerusalem must have 131.  From Carlebachian hippies to cellphone-toting Satmers, from white-hooded sun-glassed mystics to dapper Litvishe Roshei Yeshiva, a green American fresh off the boat from the Young Israel of Brookline might easily become overwhelmed by the nearly endless variety of approaches to pursuing holiness [...]