Topics covered: Chapter 1, Mishna 2 According to Rabbi Akiva, the waters of purification – which purify a person who became ritually impure by coming into contact with a corpse – render a person IMPURE if he was pure when …

Topics covered: Chapter 1, Mishna 1 Rabbi Yehuda said they appoint a backup wife for the High Priest in case his wife dies just prior to or on Yom Kippur, since he must be married in order to fulfill his …

Topics covered: Chapter 1, Mishna 1 What does the Torah mean by don’t hate your neighbor in your heart? What does the Torah mean by don’t bear a grudge or take revenge? The tzara’as, Biblical leprosy, of a house could …

Topics covered: Chapter 1, Mishna 1 Why is gossip-mongering sinful on a Biblical level and what harm does it cause? Which buildings require a mezuzah? Which uses and owners exempt a building from mezuzah?

Topics Covered: Chapter 1 Mishna 1 Was it because the majority of the Jews did not return from Babylonia that the Second Temple was destined to be smaller, less holy, and to fall without being rebuilt? Or was it because the …

Topics covered: Chapter 1, Mishna 1 The First Temple was destroyed for the sins of idolatry, illicit sex and murder. The Second Temple was destroyed for the sin of baseless hatred among the Jewish people. It would seem that the …

A ritually impure priest may bring communal offerings according to Torah law, but is this a full permit or just an exception due to the exigent needs of the community? The golden frontplate of the High Priest atones for offerings …

Topics covered: Chapter 1, Mishna 1 We’ve laid out the reasons why the High Priest was sequestered in the Temple for 7 days prior to Yom Kippur, but why couldn’t his wife go with him? And if the concern is …

Topics covered: Chapter 1, Mishna 1 Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Chanina debate which elements of the Tabernacle Inauguration and Investiture of the First High Priest were essential to that ritual – a practical issue with regard to the Inauguration of …