- Siyum HaShas -

“Why learn Gemara?” is a question most ba’alei teshuvah will ask themselves in the course of their Torah study. It is rather unlikely that Gemara inspired the ba’al teshuvah to take his initial step towards Torah. He was probably attracted to Torah by the beauty of its ideas about life, purpose, self-knowledge and relationships. Having […]

“One who teaches his daughter [Oral] Torah — it is as though he teaches her frivolity.” 1

Rabbi Eliezer’s stunning, seminal ruling, apparently banning women from studying the Oral Torah, seemingly pre-empts any consideration of the issue. Upon closer inspection and reflection, however, two crucial distinctions emerge.

“And Israel camped there before the mountain” (Exodus 19:2)

“As one person with one heart” (Rashi)

Everywhere we turn, there is discord and dissension—in the world at large as well as within the Orthodox community. Chazal inform us that God’s covenant with the Jewish people was sealed with the Torah Shebe’al Peh—the Oral Law.