Ketuvot 3a - Oness enabling a get, the conclusion - Oct 25, 2020 - Wrapping up the gemara re: a claim of Oness regarding a conditional get, as we see Rava argue that claims of Oness are effective, and we try to challenge this view.

Shemitah and Avodat Karka #2: Mechanical Seeding, Definition of Harvesting - Oct 23, 2020 - Is use of a mechanical seeder acceptable in shemitah, since a person only starts the device? And does the prohibition against harvesting in shemitah include harvesting to improve the ground for future planting?

Tefillah 2: Korban and Tefillah and the Fixed Shemoneh Esreih - Oct 22, 2020 - Why do we ask Hashem for things that we are supposed to earn? Why and how did our Sages enact the fixed text of Shemoneh Esreih?

Shemuel #73 - 17:15-20 - Yosef and David, Parallel Journeys - Oct 22, 2020 - Comparing the stories of Yosef's errand to his brothers (Bereishit 37), and David's errand to his brothers (Shemuel I 17). Four approaches to the message.

Vaccination Ethics 1: Risk vs Risk - Oct 21, 2020 - How do we view taking one risk (vaccination) to avoid another risk (disease)? Geared toward a group including people without strong background in Torah text study.

Shoftim 16:22-31 - Shimshon: Optimist to the End - Oct 20, 2020 - Did Shimshon's power return due to his hair, or due to his prayer? And understanding Shimshon's apparent act of suicide.

Esther, Week 1: Introduction - Oct 20, 2020 - Introduction to a series on the Book of Esther. Why learn this book? Who are the Persians? Who was Achashverosh? Who are the Jews of the Megilah?

Ketuvot 3a - Oness enabling a get - Oct 18, 2020 - The origin of the phrase "k'dat Moshe v'Yisrael", and the question of when the Rabbis are empowered to retroactively cancel a marriage

Shemitah and Avodat Karka #1: Avot/Toldot, and Sowing seeds - Oct 16, 2020 - Working the land, Part 1: Why does the gemara present the four prohibited acts of agricultural cultivation as Avot and Toladot? And what is the nature of the prohibition against sowing seeds?

Tefillah 1: The Korban and Tefillah Relationship, Part 1 - Oct 15, 2020 - What does Berachot 26b mean when it says that tefillah is parallel to korbanot? A history of prayer and korban in Chumash, on separate paths and then converging.