The Twelve Minute Shiur

#96 - The Introduction to Rambam's Mishneh Torah, Part 1

We begin our close reading of Rambam's הקדמה (Hakdamah), the Introduction to the Mishneh Torah, his great compilation of Jewish law and arguably *the* most impressive wor

#95 - Rabbi Moshe Feinstein: The Theory of Halakhic Decision, Part 2

The second and concluding installment of our look at Rabbi Moshe Feinstein's introduction to his collected responsa, where he sets forth his theory of why the contemporar

#94 - Rabbi Moshe Feinstein: The Theory of Halakhic Decision, Part 1

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, one of the leading Orthodox poskim(halakhic authorities) of the 20th century, was certainly no liberal or progressive. But his theory of halakhic d

#93 - Just Who Is a "Kosher" Witness?

Most Orthodox poskim will tell you that, to be a valid ("kosher") witness, a person must be an Orthodox Jew, that is, observant of ritual halakhah according to Orthodox s

#92 - A Family Trauma in the Halakhic Literature?

It's a typical halakhic discussion among the rishonim (medieval Talmudic scholars): an analysis of texts concerning the laws of aninut, the period of time that extends fr

#91 - Piyyutim and Creative Worship

Do you like creative liturgy - poems and thought-pieces and readings that add to or replace the traditional siddur text ? If you do, you probably know that Orthodox Jews

#90 - Standing Up and Sitting Down for the Sh'ma

Reform congregations make a point to recite Sh'ma on their feet: they either rise or remain standing, if able. Most everybody else recites it in a seated position. Many s

#89 - Why Must We Use a Plain Wedding Ring?

It's a well-known minhag (custom) to require that the wedding ring be a plain band, with no precious stones. But is this a requirement of halakhah? Most authorities say "

#88 - How Many Matzot on the Seder Plate?

Most say "three."​ Some say "two." Why the disagreement? And what's behind the two positions? We go back to the Mishnah and survey 1500 years of debate. Not so bad, we no

#87 - El Melekh Ne'eman

In traditional Ashkenazi siddurim, you'll find this instruction, right before Sh'ma Yisrael: "when praying in private, add 'El Melekh Ne'eman.'" Is this a big deal? Well,

#86 - Counting Children in a Minyan?

We all know that a minyan, the quorum needed for communal prayer (t'filah b'tzibur), is composed of a minimum of ten adults. Children, who have no obligation (yet) to ful

#85 - What makes a Marriage a Marriage? Part 3

In our last installment, we saw that Rabbi Moshe Feinstein ruled that Reform weddings do not create halakhically valid marriages. In this installment, we'll see that anot

#84 - What Makes a Marriage a Marriage? Part 2

In this installment we consider the (in)famous decision of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, the preeminent 20th-century Orthodox posek in North America, concerning Reform Jewish we

#83 - What Makes a Marriage a Marriage? Part 1

Two Jews walk into a church (stop us if you've heard this one!). They get married there, in a Christian ritual, with a priest as the officiant. Does halakhah recognize th

#82 - The Problem With Expertise

We hear much these days about "the death of expertise," a growing tendency to ignore and cast suspicion upon the counsel of physicians, scientists, economists - trained e

#81 - Three Blessings of Thanksgiving

We liberal Jews are quite familiar with the b'rakhah known as "Shehechiyanu." It's our all-purpose blessing of thanksgiving. We recite it all the time, over almost every

#80 - Students of Torah and Military Service: A Responsum of the Tzitz Eliezer

In this installment, we look at a t'shuvah (responsum) from 1948 by a leading Orthodox posek on the question of draft exemptions for Torah students. We doubt that his opi

#79 - Are Students of Torah Exempt from Military Service?

In Israel, as estimated 60,000 full-time students at chareidi (ultra-Orthodox) yeshivot are exempt from giyus (the draft). It's a bitterly contested issue, especially dur

#78 - Why Do We Recite B'rakhot?

The birkot hanehenin, the blessings we recite before deriving material benefit from Creation: why exactly do we recite them? 

#77 - Birkat Eirusin, or: Is Marriage a Mitzvah?

At the moment of kiddushin, the inception of marriage, we recite the b'rakhah known as birkat eirusin, "the betrothal benediction." What does the text of that b'rakhah te