Shiurim

9 published
Reasoning · Bava Metzia

Why Rabbi Yochanan Holds the Finder Keeps It

A close reading of the sugya of disputed ownership — and the unstated principle that drives the entire…

Reasoning 3 min
Narrative

Rabbi Akiva’s Wife Part 2

Rachel reminds Akiva that it is now time to go off to Yeshiva and learn. He studies at…

Narrative 5 min
Narrative

Rabbi Akiva’s Wife, Part One

On Sotah 17a, it is recorded: דָּרֵישׁ רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא: אִישׁ וְאִשָּׁה זָכוּ — שְׁכִינָה בֵּינֵיהֶן. לֹא זָכוּ —…

Narrative 4 min
Reasoning

Loyalty and Devotion

May one move a stone sitting on top of a barrel on Shabbos in order to get wine…

Reasoning 5 min
Method

From the Verse to the Halacha: A Worked Example

Watching the Sages move from text to binding law.

Method 1 min
Reasoning · Shabbat

The Hidden Logic of the Thirty-Nine Melachos

Why a category, not a list, governs the law of labor.

Reasoning 1 min
Reasoning · Bava Kamma

How Liability Is Measured When an Ox Gores

Tracing the chain of reasoning from verse to ruling.

Reasoning 1 min
Narrative · Gittin

Reading the Story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza Closely

Why the Gemara places the blame where it does — a structural reading.

Narrative 1 min
Reasoning · Berakhot

The Argument Behind the Earliest Time for Shema

What the Tannaim are really disagreeing about when they cite the stars.

Reasoning 1 min