Which Is More Sacred: a Festival or Shabbat? A Mitzvah or Money?
With great metaphysical creativity, Talmudic rabbis probe the exact limits of comparison and analogy
By Adam Kirsch · May 13, 2014
Talmudic Rabbis, All Men, Admit They Cannot Bring Women Under Their Power
In debating the principles of intentional sin, sages find that pleading ignorance is no defense, even if not all laws can be followed
By Adam Kirsch · May 6, 2014
Why Did God Choose the Jewish People To Receive the Torah?
Talmudic rabbis debate the paradoxical belief in Jewish chosenness despite the evidence of Jewish powerlessness
By Adam Kirsch · April 29, 2014
Jugglers, Acrobats, a Magnificent Temple—and Notably No Political Strife
In the Talmud, nostalgic, biblical, divine explanations override accurate secular history and chronology
By Adam Kirsch · April 1, 2014
Why Read Daf Yomi? To Rediscover an Older Way of Imagining the Jewish Spirit.
To the Talmudic rabbis, religion was not opposed to the law but deeply connected to its study, even if dialogue wins over decree
By Adam Kirsch · March 25, 2014
The Talmud Is a Training Manual for Jews Preparing for the Next Holy Era
For a hundred generations Jews lived in anticipation of redemption, a historical tension that continues to define Judaism
By Adam Kirsch · March 18, 2014
Jewish Culture Was Not Always a Response to Non-Jewish Culture
Why read the Talmud as a secular Jew? In part, for its expression of an independent Jewish creativity and spirituality.
By Adam Kirsch · March 11, 2014
Rationalism, Mysticism, Slaves, and a Sukkah Made From an Elephant
The Talmud describes rabbis who were not just judges and legal analysts, but magicians as well
By Adam Kirsch · March 4, 2014
Math Problem for Talmudic Rabbis: Building the Right Size Sukkah
Pi, irrational numbers, and squaring the circle are all brought to bear to find justifications for tradition
By Adam Kirsch · February 19, 2014
In the Talmud, One Sin Is Beyond Repentance: Giving God and Jews a Bad Name
A holy desecration is unethical in part because of the social pressure to reflect well on the tribe
By Adam Kirsch · February 4, 2014
Too Much, Too Little: Talmudic Rabbis’ Creativity Shines When Interpreting Prohibitions
Manna, and fasting, are not just miracles of sustenance and faith, but also elements of jurisprudence
By Adam Kirsch · January 28, 2014
Some Jewish Acts Seem Meaningless. The Talmud Says You Should Do Them Anyway.
Illogical Jewish laws are ‘matters that Satan challenges’: raising doubts for enemies of Judaism and skeptical Jews
By Adam Kirsch · January 21, 2014
What Happens When the Talmud Asks, ‘What If?’
Probing hypothetical, metaphysical problems was the rabbis’ way of defining what matters most in Judaism
By Adam Kirsch · January 14, 2014
The Talmud Pays Little Attention to What Jews Believe, Yet Asks Them To Have Faith
Judaism’s manual of sacred technology prizes holiness over beauty, action over thought, and ritual over belief
By Adam Kirsch · January 7, 2014
In the Talmud, the Fall of a Priestly Upper Class Is Just Deserts
Biblical examples of righteousness and wickedness show that in Judaism, goodness remains possible and divine
By Adam Kirsch · December 24, 2013
Which Came First: Abraham and the Patriarchs or Moses and the Torah?
A Talmudic problem: Abraham lived before the law was given, so how can his actions be used to interpret the law?
By Adam Kirsch · December 17, 2013
What the Talmud Would Say About the Pew Survey of American Jews: Stop Counting
An ancient principle of Judaism, debated at length in the Oral Law, is that it is a sin to count Jews—or is it?
By Adam Kirsch · December 10, 2013
Miraculous Architecture of the First Temple Leads to Religious Sectarianism in the Second
To the Talmudic rabbis, a miracle is more plausible than the notion that their sources were incorrect
By Adam Kirsch · December 3, 2013
The Talmud’s Yom Kippur, With Sacrifice and Blood, Is Nothing Like Jewish Ritual Today
The rabbinic tradition arose from the fact that the Bible doesn’t tell us what we need to know to lead our lives
By Adam Kirsch · November 19, 2013
There Are Thieves in the Temple. Or Are They Sacred Messengers?
Daf Yomi: The Talmud provides the Jewish version of well-known Christian gospel about money-changers
By Adam Kirsch · October 29, 2013
On the Origin of Passover’s Four Questions and the Renewal of Miracles
The Talmud is not a literary text, yet its role in maintaining the continuity of Jewish history is undeniable
By Adam Kirsch · October 22, 2013
Magical Thinking, Superstition, and Incantations in Jewish Oral Law
By elevating witches and demons to the level of gods, Talmudic rabbis diminished religious thought
By Adam Kirsch · October 15, 2013
When the Rabbis Got Together for Shabbat Dinner, Drama—and Law—Ensued
In the Talmud, examples of real-life rabbinic behavior and the intensely personal nature of lawmaking
By Adam Kirsch · October 8, 2013
When the Rabbis Do Things by the Book, They Give the Talmud Its ‘Talmudic’ Qualities
In this week’s Daf Yomi, deference, privilege, and the appearance of impropriety from the rabbis of ancient Jewish society
By Adam Kirsch · September 17, 2013
How the Talmud Has Bridged the Gaps Between Various Jewish Cultures for Ages
By imbuing even the most mundane things—like vinegar—with importance, the rabbis find proof of sacred history
By Adam Kirsch · August 6, 2013
In the Shadow of the Divine, Reaping Unintended Benefits at the Edges of the Law
Daf Yomi: A closer look at the Holy of Holies provides a fascinating illustration of how the rabbis of the Talmud read the Bible
By Adam Kirsch · July 23, 2013
Appreciating the Talmud’s Sublime Devotion to Torah for Its Own Sake
Daf Yomi: For the rabbis, trivial—even outdated or immaterial—problems can provide the best thought experiments
By Adam Kirsch · July 16, 2013
Math Lessons and Quantum Physics in Studies of Rabbinic Stringency and Leniency
Daf Yomi: For generations, Talmudic training has meant exercising the mind in logical thinking, not just learning laws
By Adam Kirsch · July 9, 2013
