Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

October 1st, 2017

 מילי דהספידא על אבי ומורי זכר צדיק לברכה מאת: הרב שמחה פוירמן   ביום שלישי, כ״ט אלול תשע״ז הרב חיים יהושע בן אברהם פוירמן סים מלהגיד שיעורו האחרון בישיבה אוניברסיטי, מכון לחינוך ״עזריאלי״. אמר לאחד ממשרתיו, ״חכה לי, שצריך אני לנוח קצת״, ואז יצאה …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

September 23rd, 2022

It is important to show gratitude.  Sometimes gratitude does not involve much effort or expenditure, so long as it is sincere. Our Mishna on Amud Beis teaches us: הַמּוֹצִיא הוֹצָאוֹת עַל נִכְסֵי אִשְׁתּוֹ הוֹצִיא הַרְבֵּה וְאָכַל קִימְעָא קִימְעָא וְאָכַל הַרְבֵּה מַה שֶּׁהוֹצִיא הוֹצִיא וּמַה שֶּׁאָכַל אָכַל ה …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

June 24th, 2022

Our gemara on amud beis discusses the idea that certain people may have preference in marriage for someone similar to them, such as a deaf person may prefer to marry a deaf person. If compatibility and similarity in interests are important in marriage, to what extent and what domains can be identified?  Doing this can help couples work on enhancing them together, and also help people who are dating identify these areas as priorities.  R …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

September 4th, 2022

Our Gemara mentions a problematic pattern of behavior that can, according to the Gemara, even affect a woman’s likelihood of conceiving:  Redufa leylech el beis aviha, When there is contention in the marriage and the woman tends to return back to her father’s home.There is a normal human pattern for young women to connect to and seek guidance from their mothers, as we saw by Rivkah (Bereishis 24:28): וַתָּ֙רׇץ֙ הַֽנ …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 5th, 2020

  בִּיב הַקָּמוּר אַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת בִּרְשׁוּת הָרַבִּים — שׁוֹפְכִין לְתוֹכוֹ מַיִם בַּשַּׁבָּת. If the first four cubits of a drainage ditch were arched over (Kamur) in the public domain, one may pour waste water into it on Shabbat. What is this obscure term, Kamur? Meiri ibid on word Kemoros ועוקה זו מתרת בין בפנים ובין מבחוץ …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

January 6th, 2021

Our Gemara quotes a Mishna that skins that are worked and processed lose their status of Tum’ah, with the exception of human skin which remains impure.  Based on this difference, there is an important polemic between a Saducee and a Sage recorded in Mishna Yadayim 4:6.  The dispute is as follows: How does rabbinic law make sense? They render scrolls of scripture as impure, while Greek sacred literature (possibly referring to Homer …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

May 22nd, 2023

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the opinion of Shmuel that Babylonia is considered outside of Israel and a Get needs the messenger to attest to the signatures. Shmuel holds that though due to the constant traffic to and from the yeshivos in Israel to Bavel, there ought to be sufficient witnesses who could attest to the signatures on the Get, the Benei Yeshiva are engrossed in their studies and nonetheless would not recognize signatures.  …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

February 17th, 2019

  In Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye exclaims in frustration to his daughter who is considering a marriage outside of the faith, “A bird and a fish can fall in love, but where would they build their home?” Today, many couples find themselves in a position of religious disparity. Whether they started out in the same religious position and one turned more religious and the other less, or they married under this circumstance, it challeng …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 22nd, 2020

A Broken Heart is More Whole   A dilemma was raised before the Sages: If one priest is ritually impure and another has a blemish, which of them should enter to perform repairs? Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi said that Rav said: The impure one should enter, as he is permitted to participate in communal service. If the entire community is ritually impure, even impure priests may perform the service, whereas blemished priests may not serve under any circ …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

September 16th, 2022

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses the situation of a man marrying a woman and then discovering that she had many oaths which has an impact on their personal life. This may invalidate the marriage, as he can say,  ‎אי אפשי באשה נדרנית I did not want to marry a woman who is a serial oath maker. Aside from the basic burden of being liable for too many restrictions, Maor Vashemesh (Matos 8) suggests a more characterological p …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

September 28th, 2022

What is more motivating? A cheap reward that comes quickly or a significant reward that takes much longer to obtain? Our Gemara on Amud Beis references an adage, “בוצינא טב מקרא”.  Rashi translates botzina as a small gourd and Kara as a large gourd. The idea is the same as, “A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.” That is, a person would prefer a small gourd, which he can eat right now, instead of waitin …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

March 7th, 2022

Our Gemara on Amud Beis tells us about the miracle of the Lechem Hapanim, the bread from the special table in the Beis HaMikdash: They would lift the table with the shewbread on it to display the shewbread to the oley regel standing in the Temple courtyard, as it was prohibited for Israelites to enter the Sanctuary, where the table stood, and they would say to them: Behold your affection before God, Who performs a perpetual miracle with the bread …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

April 17th, 2023

  Our Gemara on amud beis discusses circumstances of the Sotah’s retraction of her willingness to drink from the waters. Sometimes it is considered a de-facto confession and therefore she no longer drinks, or instead we believe she is panic stricken, and her refusal is not a confession, rather she may still be innocent and thus drinks: לָא קַשְׁיָא הָא דְּקָהָדְרָא בַּהּ מֵחֲמַת רְתִיתָא ו …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

July 9th, 2024

Our Gemara on amud beis tells us about the contents of the Holy Ark:    “Both the second set of tablets and the broken pieces of the first set of tablets were placed in the Ark.”   Why keep the broken tablets in the Ark?  What prominence and lesson do they hold? Tiferes Shlomo (Sha’ar Hatefila) explains, based on a Zohar (III:283a), that the human heart has two chambers.  One chamber represents the aspec …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

September 28th, 2023

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the rule that a woman cannot be betrothed by allowing her to keep money she had previously borrowed. This is because the marriage bond needs to be effectuated via a transfer of a tangible object. The loan is not tangible, and even if the money was not spent and thus still tangible, the transfer of money to her domain occurred as a loan, and not an exchange for marriage. A second rule discussed is that if a woman …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

September 4th, 2020

  וּכְלָלָא הוּא דְּכׇל מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁהַזְּמַן גְּרָמָא נָשִׁים פְּטוּרוֹת? הֲרֵי מַצָּה שִׂמְחָה וְהַקְהֵל, דְּמִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁהַזְּמַן גְּרָמָא הוּא, וְנָשִׁים חַיָּיבוֹת. Is it a general principle that women are exempt from all time-bound, positive commandments without exception? B …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

October 12th, 2022

One of the famous questions regarding the slavery and oppression of the Jews, and the resulting retribution against the Egyptians is why should Pharaoh be punished for following God’s decree? God tells Avraham that his children will be strangers in a strange land, and serve them for 400 years. Yet in the next verse God assured Avraham that the oppressors will also be judged, and the Jewish people will leave with great wealth (Bereishis 15:1 …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

October 14th, 2022

Our Gemara on Amud Beis mentions a Tanna, Rabbi Elazar ben Parata, and actually his grandfather as well.  I could find nothing to comment on about this daf, so I’ll discuss biographical notes about Rabbi Elazar ben Parata.  He, similar to Rabbi Chaninah ben Tradiyon, was arrested for ”crimes against the state”, the age-old anti-semitic canard against Jews who taught Torah, as teaching subversive treasonous material. Th …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

April 26th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud aleph discusses the famous moral dilemma of a circumstance where you must choose between another person’s survival or your own survival, such as you are in the desert with another person, and only have enough water for one person to survive.  Ben Petora taught: It is preferable that both of them drink and die, and let neither one of them see the death of the other. Until Rabbi Akiva came and taught that the verse sta …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

April 21st, 2022

Our Gemara on Amud Beis tells us the following principle: גּוֹי וְעֶבֶד הַבָּא עַל בַּת יִשְׂרָאֵל — הַוָּלָד כָּשֵׁר. If a gentile fathers a child from a Jewish woman, the child is not a mamzer and considered a Jewish person.  The Arvei Nachal (Vayyigash 2) explains this in terms of its metaphysical implications. Let’s begin with a basic assumption that if the halakha dictates su …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

April 9th, 2023

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph tells us about Moshe’s retrieving the bones of Yosef while the Jews were caught up in grabbing the spoils from the drowned Egyptians: תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: בֹּא וּרְאֵה כַּמָּה חֲבִיבוֹת מִצְוֹת עַל מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, שֶׁכׇּל יִשְׂרָאֵל כּוּלָּן נִתְעַסְּקוּ בַּבִּיזָּה, וְהוּא נִתְעַסֵּק בּ …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

March 17th, 2023

There is an morbid vaudeville joke about the hapless shlemazel train engineer who was fired from his job.  Feeling depressed, he puts his foot to the third rail, hoping to electrocute himself. Somehow, since this poor guy cannot seem to do anything right, he survives and is not zapped by the high voltage.  Why, you might ask?  Because, of course, he was a poor conductor! Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses the concept of “sword …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 2nd, 2020

A Profession will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune. - Jim Rohn The Gemara rejects this contention: There, with regard to a firstborn, it is different, for if he leaves it and does nothing the animal will die, and therefore we say that a person is agitated over his property. In his agitated state he will overlook the details of permitted and prohibited actions and violate a prohibition. Here, however, if he leaves his …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

June 2nd, 2022

Our Gemara on Amud Beis quotes a verse in Vayikra 4:28 which uses an ambiguous phrase regarding a sin-offering, “Or, if his sin be known to him.”  The phrase seems to emphasize knowing about the sin, but it is redundant, as how would he bring a sacrifice if he did not know about his sin?  From there the Gemara derives a number of rules relating to what kind of information obligates a sacrifice, and what does not.  If he …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

March 18th, 2022

Our Gemara discusses the halakha of Machazir Gerushaso, which is the prohibition to remarry a divorced wife, once she married someone in between. Instead of discussing the halachos, let us look into the mystical and symbolic teachings that have been triggered by this human pattern of connection and disconnection.  We have noted many times in Psychology of the Daf the ways in which the relationship between God and the Jewish people is describ …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

May 25th, 2023

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses Jews who have names of Gentiles. It is a known halakhic and moral debate about the practice of choosing Gentile names. Different communities have different customs and that will not be the focus of our discussion. But there is a fascinating Midrash about the history and process of Jewish names. It states in Bereishis Rabbah 37:7: A dispute between Rabbi Yose and Rabbi Shimon Ben Gamliel. Rabbi Yose says: The anc …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

June 26th, 2024

Our Gemara on amud aleph (and the previous daf) discusses how ownership is determined for produce that grows on the side of a ledge, where the top is a garden owned by one person, and the bottom is owned by another. What is the status of those vegetables that grow on the vertical surface between them?   מַתְנִי׳ שְׁתֵּי גַּנּוֹת זוֹ עַל גַּב זוֹ, וְהַיָּרָק בֵּינְתַיִם. רַבִּי מ …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

March 8th, 2023

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the concept of Meis Mitzvah, an abandoned body with no identifiable relatives. In such a case, even a Cohen Godol and a Nazir are permitted to tend to the burial. Sefer Chassidim (261) says that metaphorically speaking, there are mitzvos which are neglected and abandoned and also are considered to be a Meis Mitzvah. Chofetz Chaim (Shemiras Halashon I:3) adds: This is true by force of a kal v’chomer. If a l …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

April 28th, 2020

The following is a guest post from Chaya Feuerman, LCSW-R 
You lost your baby. You’re no longer pregnant. It’s a long story. You don’t want to talk about it. The doctors. The Rabbis. The Dayan. They all said you had to do it. You can’t talk about it. Nobody knows what really happened. Your husband refuses to talk to you about the baby. He doesn’t want you to bring it up ever again. You must move on. Everyo …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

March 28th, 2020

Despite the fact that the NYS Department of Financial Services issued an order waiving all copays and deductibles for tele-health visits, some insurance companies continue to ignore the ruling.  The order is explicit in stating that it is both for COVID-19 and non-COVID cases, as well as mental health, The ruling can be found at this url : https://www.dfs.ny.gov/reports_and_publications/press_releases/pr20203171 Here is the relevant quote:& …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

February 10th, 2019

This year is a Jewish leap year.  The Jewish calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar inputs; specifically, the months follow the Moon, however the seasons follow the Sun. Since 12 lunar months only add up to 354 days, it is approximately 11 days short of a solar year.  The rabbis understood from the Biblical directive to guard the month of spring, that they needed to add in a leap month (Adar II) approximately every 3 year …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

September 20th, 2023

The Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses how, on the day of Moses' passing, the Manna ceased, but the Jewish people continued to be sustained by the leftover Manna until the 16th of Nissan. Similarly, the Gemara mentions that the dough-cakes the Jews took from Egypt tasted like the Manna. Is the Gemara merely recounting historical events, or does it hold a deeper significance? Shem Mishmuel, in Shelach 10, offers an explanation that goes beyond histori …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

January 16th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the legal principle of when confessing mitigates financial penalties: אִיתְּמַר: מוֹדֶה בִּקְנָס, וְאַחַר כָּךְ בָּאוּ עֵדִים – רַב אָמַר: פָּטוּר, וּשְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר: חַיָּיב. It was stated with regard to one who admits that he is liable to pay a fine, and afterward witnesses come and testify to his liability, that Rav say …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

August 25th, 2020

Eruvin 16 הֲדַר אוֹקֵים רַב נַחְמָן אָמוֹרָא עֲלֵיהּ וּדְרַשׁ: דְּבָרִים שֶׁאָמַרְתִּי לִפְנֵיכֶם טָעוּת הֵן בְּיָדִי. בְּרַם כָּךְ אָמְרוּ: יָחִיד — נוֹתְנִין לוֹ בֵּית סָאתַיִם, שְׁנַיִם — נוֹתְנִין לָהֶן בֵּית סָאתַיִם, שְׁלֹשָׁה — נַעֲש …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

June 7th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses the legal entitlements to certain properties and materials that unwittingly became shared by two potential beneficiaries and investors:   שָׁטַף נָהָר זֵיתָיו וּנְתָנָם לְתוֹךְ שְׂדֵה חֲבֵירוֹ, זֶה אוֹמֵר: ״זֵיתַי גִּדֵּלוּ״, וְזֶה אוֹמֵר: ״אַרְצִי גִּדֵּלָה״ – יַחְלוֹקוּ.   In the even …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

August 7th, 2020

Shabbos אַבָּיֵי אַשְׁכְּחֵיהּ לֵיהּ לְרַבָּה דְּקָא מְשַׁפְשֵׁף לֵיהּ לִבְרֵיהּ אַגַּבָּא דְחַמְרָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: קָא מִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ מָר בְּבַעֲלֵי חַיִּים! אֲמַר לֵיהּ: צְדָדִין הֵן, וּצְדָדִין לָא גְּזַרוּ בְּהוּ רַבָּנַן. מְנָא תֵּימְרָא — ד …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

July 18th, 2023

Our Gemara on Amud Beis records a halakhic question that a number of Rabbis were unable to resolve. They then sent the message to Rabbi Chiya bar Abba, who also was not able to come to a clear answer. His response to them was: נִתְיַישֵּׁב בַּדָּבָר. We will consider the matter and then respond. The root of this Hebrew word is to sit or settle. Rav Chiya bar Abba said, “First, let us enter into a calm contemplative stat …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

February 21st, 2023

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses a possible reason that the rabbis granted a father rights to declare his minor son a Nazir. The rabbis subsumed this under the general obligation of chinuch, the rabbinic directive to accustom a child in the practice of mitzvos. The Maharitz Chayes raises the following question: “We are aware that the idea of the mitzvah of Chinuch is to gradually accustom a child to his obligations so that he not be sudde …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 29th, 2022

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses the status of Cohanim in relation to their service in the Beis Hamikdash.  Are they considered agents of God, or our agents whom we appoint to serve God in our stead?  This has numerous applications, including if a Cohen, whom you vowed to not have benefit from, can stil bring your sacrifices. If he works for you as your agent, then he is bringing you a benefit. If he is merely following God‘s com …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

April 21st, 2024

Our gemara on amud aleph discusses the well-known halachic principle, that even though often a prohibited item can be nullified in a majority or mixture of 60 times, an item whose prohibition can become permitted at some point in time, is not negated or nullified even if it is in a mixture with one thousand permitted parts.     The phrase “even a thousand times”, is not literal. It means in any amount, so to speak, even …
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