Emor: Excluding Exclusion - May 6, 2020 - A midrash which explains what led the mekallel to blaspheme opens up more questions about exclusion, and the Havdalah which is at the core of Sefer Vayikra.

Shoftim 13 - An Introduction - May 5, 2020 - Themes in Shimshon's story, and the story of the Philistines; who is Shimson's mother? Why does a midrash name her Hatzlelponit?

Shoftim 12:11-15 - End of the Short Stories - May 5, 2020 - Rabbi Michael Rotenberg's theory about the set of five brief accounts of shoftim (Tola, Yair, Ivtzan, Eilon, Avdon), and how they fit their context.

Yeshayah, Week 55: 38:4-6 - Prayer and Response - May 5, 2020 - In response to Yeshayah's prophecy, Chizkiyahu prays. Hashem answers Chizkiyahu positively. But why does Chizkiyahu pray in the way he does, and why does Gd answer "in the merit of My servant David"?

Pandemic Ethics: Are Unproven Medicines Kosher? - May 4, 2020 - A somewhat expanded version of an earlier discussion regarding use of untested/experimental treatment to treat COVID-19. Makes use of recent statements from Rabbi Dr. Avraham Steinberg and Rav Asher Weiss.

Rav Kook's Poetry of Redemption - May 3, 2020 - Three poems by Rav Kook illustrate the state of the individual and nation in exile, and the imperative for each of us to be a Moshe/Aharon/Shofar summoning the nation for redemption.

Avodah Zarah 74b - Kashering receptacles that held wine - May 3, 2020 - Rules for kashering vessels of various materials which hold wine for shorter and longer durations. Side note on the fluid mechanics of milui v'irui.

Grand Re-Opening? Calculating the Costs and Benefits of Extending Stay-At-Home Orders - Apr 30, 2020 - Audio from a video filmed in preparation for the Sunday May 3 Zoom session of our Beit Midrash Shavuaton on the Pandemic, we look at sources in Jewish law on calculating the costs and benefits of lockdowns meant to prevent contagion. For the Zoom address, please email [email protected]. The source sheet is posted here as well. For more on the Shavuaton, please go to www.torontotorah.com/pandemic.

Shemuel #61 - 16:1-3 - Yishai, Shemuel's Fear, and the Horn - Apr 30, 2020 - What was special about Yishai? Why did Shemuel refuse to go anoint a replacement for Shaul, and why did G-d respond in this way? And what was the message in Shemuel's horn?

Acharei Mot: The Art of Purposeful Eating - Apr 29, 2020 - Understanding the Torah's prohibition against eating blood via the Torah's permission to eat meat. Three purposes to eating meat - sustenance, ethical development, korban re-enactment - are paralleled by three types of explanations for the prohibition against eating blood.