by Efraim Vaynman I welcome the comments of Dr. Sterman to my recent essay “Tekhelet: Color Perception or Apprehension”. There were many issues I did not have a chance to address in my original article and his critique has given me the opportunity to address those remaining issues and present a fuller picture of why I believe that tekhelet was ...

by Efraim Vaynman Tekhelet, most say it is blue, others argue it is purple, and still others describe it as green. Let us reexamine the subject anew as we approach Parshat Shelah that contains the mitzvah of tzitzit and tekhelet. A Scottish eye care company recently commissioned a study to “demonstrate just how our visual interpretations of the world around ...

by Efraim Vaynman (continued from here and here) Part 3 In the prior two essays, I argued that attitudes toward kollel lifestyle are changing within men’s education but not within women’s education, and that women’s Torah education has changed in a significant and relevant way. In this essay, I argue that this change should affect how we view women’s roles ...

by Efraim Vaynman (continued from here) Part 2 A Return to the Sources In the prior essay, I argued that the kollel lifestyle is changing but that an imbalance exists between men and women that will exacerbate the current shidduch crisis. In this essay I will review the Talmudic sources on which the Chareidi education system bases itself to teach ...

Rethinking the Shidduch Crisis: The Role of Jewish Women in Contemporary Society by Efraim Vaynman Part 1 of 3 Sometimes we don’t see the obvious until we are forced to. The so-called “Shidduch Crisis,” the many singles struggling to find a mate, is a case-in-point. The Chareidi community in particular has proposed many ideas for solving and alleviating the shidduch ...

by Efraim Vaynman Is it Possible to Become a Metzora [1]There have been various attempts to identify the symptoms of tzaraat as given in the Torah with modern medical skin conditions. Jacob Milgrom (Leviticus 1-16, p. 817), summing up the research … Continue reading Nowadays? [2]The question is if one can become a metzora and not if the halachot of tzaraat ...

by Efraim Vaynman I. Noble Intentions The need for specific intent in even the most objectively proper religious acts seems odd but speaks to a basic truth about Judaism and the relationship between man and God. The opening line of this week’s parasha reads (Ex. 25:2): דבר אל בני ישראל ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו תקחו ...