Author Archives: rebleib1

Parshat Shemini: The Snake and the Curse of Having it All

Parshat Shemini is popularly known for its section on the laws of Kashrut, though this topic does not actually present itself until the sixth Aliyah. Nevertheless, with the esoterism of much of the rest of the Parsha, Kashrut becomes an … Continue reading

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A Review of Chanukah Torah 2020

I am privileged to share some Torah that I developed over the course of Chanukah 2020 with the help of my students, family members, and friends. As always, I enjoy hearing from readers in the comments if you have any … Continue reading

Posted in Chanukah, Classroom Experiences, Halacha, Holidays, Talmud / Daf Yomi, Tefillah | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Death By a Thousand Cuts: Retracing the Final Steps of Korach (and Special Announcement!)

I am very excited to announce that I have completed my first book, which I plan to self-publish on Amazon in the next few weeks. The book, “Not a Short Vort: Torah Explorations for the Inquisitive Mind,” contains 21 essays … Continue reading

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To Stop this Plague, Avoid Social Distancing

I recently had the fortune of finishing two areas of learning right around the same time with my 8th graders – Parshat Korach and the book of Shmuel Bet. Much to our surprise, we discovered that the two sections, separated … Continue reading

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A Fool for Love: The Meeting of Chesed and Emet

I just finished my first year of teaching in a new location, and I finally have the time to write up the conclusions of a learning experience I had with my 7th Grade Advanced Chumash class a few months ago. … Continue reading

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Aruch Hashulchan Yomi (Reprise)

Some time ago (link) I proposed a new system for the daily learning of Aruch Hashulchan which would be based on a set number of paragraphs, which are mostly uniform in size, to replace the existing system based on a … Continue reading

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What I Learned in My First 2000 Days of Teaching

In honor of my 1000th day of teaching, shortly before the end of my 6th year of teaching, I made the daily announcements for my school over the intercom (a lifelong dream) and brought in treats for my students. I … Continue reading

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Coronavirus and Maintaining Belief in Challenging Times

Many in my large Jewish community have lamented the closure of our Shuls and schools in the face of the devastating Coronavirus cutting a deadly path across our nation. I am among them. Yet I tend to react to difficult … Continue reading

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Jewish Unity and Parshat Shemot

As the young nation unified by its harmony at the end of Sefer Bereishit turns to one enslaved in Sefer Shemot, we are informed that it is in the same spirit of unity that the Jews descend to Egypt: וְאֵלֶּה … Continue reading

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Some Suggestions for Daf Yomi Cycle #14

With the end of Daf Yomi cycle #13 upon us this January and cycle #14 beginning immediately thereafter, we will soon find ourselves awash with celebratory tributes and articles extolling the extraordinary growth of the program and Talmud Torah itself … Continue reading

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