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Curated Torah sources across every topic, from classical texts to contemporary responsa.
Remaining in Bed After Waking Without Netilat Yadayim
Sources address whether one may remain lying in bed after waking in the morning without first washing the hands. Talmudic and halakhic sources discuss the order of morning practices, the spiritual significance of ritual hand-washing upon waking, and the distinction between strict requirement and pious custom.
אַף־עַל־פִּי שֶׁמִּדִּין הַתַּלְמוּד אֵין צָרִיךְ לִטֹּל יָדָיו תֵּכֶף וּמִיָּד
Vows Against Meat and Gravy
The Talmud and later authorities discuss whether one who vows to abstain from meat is also forbidden to consume gravy and related foods. Sources analyze the tannaitic dispute between Rabbi Yehudah and the Sages, the principle that vows follow ordinary human language, and how the scope of a vow is determined by the natural meaning of its terms in context.
הלכו בנדרים אחר לשון בני אדם
A Kohen's Attendance at a Convert's Funeral
These sources examine whether a kohen may become ritually impure to attend the funeral of his converted wife, balancing the Torah's prohibition on kohanim defiling themselves with the dead against the exception granted for a wife. The sources trace the issue from Biblical law through Talmudic discussion to medieval and later codifications.
שארו זו אשתו
Shofar in Elul: Halacha and Meaning
Sources explore the customary practice of sounding the shofar throughout the month of Elul as preparation for the High Holidays, examining both its halakhic status and its spiritual significance as a call to repentance and self-examination.
עוּרוּ יְשֵׁנִים מִשְּׁנַתְכֶם
The Biblical Prohibition of Gezel
Sources establish gezel (forcible taking of another's property) as a foundational biblical prohibition distinct from theft, appearing in the Decalogue and enumerated among the Noahide laws. The sources trace its development from Torah through Talmudic case law and medieval codification, exploring its scope, severity, and role in maintaining justice.
אָסוּר לִגְנֹב כָּל שֶׁהוּא דִּין תּוֹרָה
Halacha of Jews Fighting Jews in War
Jewish law addresses the permissibility and limits of lethal force between Jews in military conflict, drawing on biblical precedents of civil war and strife, rabbinic principles governing pursuits and zealous intervention, and codified rulings on obligatory versus permitted warfare. The sources examine when—if ever—such conflict is justified and what constraints apply.
הָרוֹדֵף אַחַר חֲבֵרוֹ לְהָרְגוֹ