HaRav Yishai Natan - Why Don’t Ashkenazim Do Birkat Kohanim in Chutz La’Aretz? The Gemara in Sotah 38b says many incredible things about Bikar Kohanim. “הקב״ה מתאוה לברכת כהנים” - Hashem desires Birkat Kohanim. Not just that He likes it — He desires it. “כל כהן שמברך מתברך” - Every Kohen who blesses the people is himself blessed. The Tur brings from … [Read more...]
Halachot of Shavuot
חג השבועות - HaRav Yishai Natan - There aren’t many unique mitzvot associated specifically with Shavuot. There’s no mitzvah of eating matzah, no sukkah, and no other specific actions unique to the holiday. Eating Cheescake is not a mitzva. The only unique mitzvah of Shavuot is simchah, rejoicing on the Yom Tov. Still, we are going to discuss some of the … [Read more...]
Parashat Bamidbar – מקום קבוע
Establishing a Fixed Place for Tefillah - HaRav Yishai Natan - This week’s parasha, Bamidbar, discusses the degalim and the shevatim — how each tribe had a specific place around the Mishkan: east, west, north, and south. We also find that when Yaakov Avinu’s body was brought to Eretz Yisrael, he instructed that each shevet stand in a designated place while … [Read more...]
Parashat Behar – Heter Iska
What Is a Heter Iska? Maggid Shiur: HaRav Yishai Natan … [Read more...]
Credit Guaranteed: Arvut and Honor
The Value of Credibility By: Rabbi Tzvi Price One of the aspects of the study of Choshen Mishpat that makes it so extraordinary, is the way in which it combines razor-sharp logic and strict legalism, with the swirling emotion and drama that money seems to always engender. The Torah looks into a person’s heart, understands the assumptions, the emotions, the motives that … [Read more...]