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6 days ago | 
jewishpress.com | Yaakov Klass
Question: I have been puzzled by the fact that we do not recite the Shehecheyanu blessing when we start the counting of Omer (Sefirat HaOmer). What is the reason? M. SchwartzVia E-mailSynopsis: Last week we discussed the concept of the requirement to recite blessings, starting with the Biblical commandment to give thanks for the food that we have eaten and the land G-d has bestowed upon us (Deuteronomy 8:10), as explained by Rambam in Hilchot Berachot (chap.
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6 days ago | 
jewishpress.com | Yaakov Klass
Entitlements‘Not Returned To His Former Prominence’(Makkos 12a)The Mishna and the Gemara on our daf cite a dispute between R. Meir and R. Yehuda regarding a rotze’ach (specifically one who killed another unintentionally and has to flee to one of the cities of refuge) as to whether such an individual is returned to his former position of prominence when he finally returns home upon the death of the Kohen Gadol. R. Meir’s view is that he is restored to his previous position; R.
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1 week ago | 
jewishpress.com | Yaakov Klass
New York CityCANDLE LIGHTING TIMEApril 18, 2025 – 20 Nissan 57857:20 p.m. NYC E.D.T.Sabbath Ends: 8:23 p.m. NYC E.D.T.Sabbath Ends Rabbenu Tam: 8:52 p.m. NYC E.D.T.Weekly Reading: Pesach Festival (see below)Weekly Haftara: Pesach Festival (see below)Daf Yomi: Makos 10Mishna Yomit: Eduyos 8:7 – Avodah Zarah 1:1Halacha Yomit: Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayyim 3:1-3Rambam Yomi: Hilchos Eruvin chap.
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1 week ago | 
jewishpress.com | Yaakov Klass
Question: I have been puzzled by the fact that we do not recite the Shehecheyanu blessing when we start the counting of the Omer (Sefirah). What is the reason? M. SchwartzVia E-mailAnswer: Indeed, this unusual practice – or non-practice – demands an explanation. And in order to understand it, it behooves us to expound on the concept of berachot in general. Rambam (Hilchot Berachot, chap.
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1 week ago | 
jewishpress.com | Yaakov Klass
The Red Sea’s Argument‘Elai And Toviah: Relatives Of A Guarantor’(Makkos 7a)Our daf opens with a query: Is a relative of an arev – a guarantor of a loan – considered a party to the case involving a loan that defaulted, and may he testify in the matter or not? The following interesting case of an arev will give us a greater perspective regarding the classification of an arev.
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2 weeks ago | 
jewishpress.com | Yaakov Klass
New York CityCANDLE LIGHTING TIMEApril 11, 2025 – 13 Nissan 57857:13 p.m. NYC E.D.T.Sabbath Ends: 8:15 p.m. NYC E.D.T.Sabbath Ends Rabbenu Tam: 8:45 p.m. NYC E.D.T.Weekly Reading: TzavWeekly Haftara: Ve’Arva La’Shem (Malachi 3:4-24)Daf Yomi: Makos 3Mishna Yomit: Eduyos 7:2-3Halacha Yomit: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 220:10-221:4Rambam Yomi: Hilchos Shabbos chap.
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2 weeks ago | 
jewishpress.com | Yaakov Klass
Without Warning ‘… But You Were With Us…’ (Makkos 2a) Our mesechta discusses many aspects of eidim zomemim, false witnesses who testify to a condition (i.e., that a certain individual presenting himself as a Kohen is a ben gerusha or ben chalutza, that he is the son of a divorced woman or a woman who received chalitza and subsequently married his father – and as such he is unfit for the priesthood) or an act (i.e., that an individual committed a sin for which one must be banished to galus)...
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2 weeks ago | 
jewishpress.com | Yaakov Klass
Question: I would like to have a better understanding of a practice that I and many others are a party to every year before Passover. How does the sale of chametz to the gentile take effect if it returned to the original owner within a very short period after the festival’s conclusion? M. GoldblumMiami Beach, FLSynopsis: Last week we discussed the transfer of chametz from Jewish ownership to gentile ownership as practiced in earlier times.
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2 weeks ago | 
jewishpress.com | Yaakov Klass
New York CityCANDLE LIGHTING TIMEApril 4, 2025–6 Nissan, 57857:05 p.m. NYC E.D.T.Sabbath Ends: 8:07 p.m. NYC E.D.T.Sabbath Ends: Rabbenu Tam 8:37 p.m. NYC E.D.T.Weekly Reading: VayikraWeekly Haftara: Am Zu Yatzarti (Isaiah 43:21-44:23)Daf Yomi: Sanhedrin 108Mishna Yomit: Eduyos 4:10-11Halacha Yomit: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 213:3-214:2Rambam Yomi: Hilchos Milah chap.
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3 weeks ago | 
jewishpress.com | Yaakov Klass
Silence Golden? ‘Iyov, Who Was Silent…’(Sanhedrin 106a)Our Gemara relates that Pharaoh had three advisers whom he consulted on how to deal with the increasing Israelite population. Bilam, who advised to drown all Jewish males; Iyov, who was silent (offering no counsel); and Yisro, who fled. Bilam, for his wicked counsel, received like punishment – he was slain during the Israelite battle against Midian (Bamidbar 31:8). Iyov, for his silence, was punished through constant physical suffering.
