Audio 1585 articles

Why is Tu B’Shevat the new year for trees, not for the fruit itself? A tree is the most efficient “machine” – it yields virtually no waste; it is also one...

Tu b’Shevat tells us what in year a tree’s produce falls. This has legal ramifications but what does the holiday mean for mankind?

2 reasons are given for the fast of Asarah B’Tevet: 1 – because the siege of Jerusalem began and 2 –  because the Torah was translated. Why does the beginning of the...

The miracle of the oil isn’t mentioned in any historical text & isn’t mentioned in Megilat Taanit as a reason for Chanukah. The Gemara, however mentions it. Why the discrepancy?

From this point in the dialog and onward, R’ Yehoshua & the Elders of Athens talk in metaphors that can never exist. Why does the nature of the dialog switch? Jerusalem...

The elders asked R Yehoshua: A man lent money to someone and didn’t repay the loan & he got some repayment. Why did he loan the person money again? Jerusalem vs....

The elders of Athens ask R’ Yehoshua: if a person couldn’t find a wife of equal status, why did he try to seek a woman of a higher status than he?...

R’ Yehoshua found many obstacles in the way of his engaging with the elders and he outsmarted them. What is the significance of all these obstacles? Jerusalem vs. Athens: Understanding the...

When Rabbi Yehoshua arrives in Greece he meets a butcher and has to engage him in a battle of wits in just in order to be able to reach the elders....

Jerusalem vs. Athens: Understanding the Depths of the Debates Between Rav Yehoshua ben Chananya and the Elders of Athens – part 3. The Torah, unlike Greek philosophy recognizes the concept that...