Treyf and the Sacred Stomach
Ten-Minute Mitzvah
In the Torah, treyf means something different from what we usually think—but its original meaning can shed light on the deeper purpose of keeping kosher today.
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Pork and the Shabbat Fish
Ten-Minute Mitzvah
Every Shabbat, a Talmudic sage made sure to eat a fish that supposedly tasted like pork. Why?
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Geulah: A Yom Yerushaliym Presentation
Ten-Minute Mitzvah
How the mitzvah of redemption, geulah, helps reveal the true meaning of Jerusalem Day.
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Locusts, Plagues, and Jewish Unity
Ten-Minute Mitzvah
As a devastating plague that ravaged 19th-century America reminds us, locusts are among the most destructive creatures in nature—yet forms of them are also the only insects that are kosher. What does this curious incongruity reveal?
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A Mitzvah's Advice for the Internet Age
Ten-Minute Mitzvah
Two commandments shed light on why people often behave online in ways they never would face-to-face—and how to avoid doing so yourself.
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Judging By Majority
Ten-Minute Mitzvah
Jewish legal cases are typically decided by majority-rule. What does that say about Judaism's understanding of justice and human beings?
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The Goring of Joseph and of Bava Kamma
Ten-Minute Mitzvah
Jewish law considers a violent ox to be problematic, but in the Torah Moses understood it in a very different way.
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The Temple Without and Within
Ten-Minute Mitzvah
A mitzvah directed toward the priesthood has an important meaning for our everyday lives.
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The Sabbath-Keeping Cow and the Torta of Torts
Ten-Minute Mitzvah
A midrash about a cow that keeps Shabbat helps illuminate the purpose of a law about restitution.
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Pitfalls and Good Deeds
Ten-Minute Mitzvah
How a mitzvah about damages connects to the moment the American Declaration of Independence was signed.
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