Shimon Hecht

Click here for the original text of the Talmud. The bulk of the tractate of Sotah discusses the laws of a married woman suspected by her husband – with strong circumstantial evidence – of infidelity. She is brought to the Temple and given to drink from th...

Tractate Erchin, (literally “assessments”) deals with various kinds of donations to the Holy Temple. It is named for the Biblical model of donation in which one donates the “worth” of an individual to the Temple treasury. Its nine chapters cover a number ...

The first two chapters of Makos discuss, respectively, the laws of perjured witnesses and the cities of refuge for inadvertent murderers. The third and final chapter details the laws of corporal punishment administered by the courts—hence the name of the ...

Tractate Yoma discusses observances and rituals associated with Yom Kippur, primarily how it was celebrated in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The tractate concludes with a discussion of the significance of experiencing a nocturnal emission on Yom Kippur.

Says the prophet Jeremiah in Lamentations, “For these things I weep.” Where were the rest of the Jewish people when Jeremiah was mourning the destruction of the Holy Temple?

The bulk of tractate Kiddushin discusses the laws of betrothal and marriage. The last few pages of the tractate delve into the laws of yichud, the prohibition against an unrelated man and woman (unmarried to each other) from secluding together. On a relat...

The tractate of Moed Katan (literally: the "small festival") discusses the laws of Chol Hamoed, the "intermediate days" of the holidays of Sukkos and Pesach, when many work-related activities are restricted. The third and final chapter of the tractate dis...

The tractate of Avodah Zarah (lit. idolatry) discusses all laws relating to idolatry as well as many laws regulating the interaction between Jews and non-Jews. The conclusion of the tractate details the laws that are germane when a Jew purchases food uten...

When the era ended for various virtues