Remember God while articulate, and of sound mind • King Solomon guides the nation in sweeping terms to serve God in a state of cohesive vigor, before malaise and societal decay set in • If we had listened to God, Nevuchadnezzar would not have been goaded to destroy the temple

Establishment of possession requires a rightful claim • The squatter's mindset • Mistaken forgiveness • Consensus within contradictory testimony • What circumstances would invalidate the establishment of presumed possession?

Don't delay teshuva; at advanced age, a person might block out their recollection of their misdeeds, preventing adequate remorse • How to tell if someone has a share in the world to come • Is it important to be missed? How to be a wise servantand avoid putting off doing teshuva

From how far away does does a tree take up nutrients? • If a tree is planted near a neighbor's property is the tree owner stealing, and may first fruits be brought? • If branches from a neighboring tree overhang into your property, how much may you chop?

How does King Solomon view retirement? • It is common to be easily stirred from sleep as the slumber of death approaches • What is the significance of decreased musical sensitivity as we age?

What objects can constitute a barrier that prevents ritual impurity spreading from one house to another through a shared window? • Must one bury a stillborn? • Distancing a mill from a wall owned by a neighbor • When one neighbor takes steps to establish property usage that would curtail his neighbor's usage rights if firmly established by preceden…

Equitable division of complex property • May one partner force the dissolution of a partnership, and if so, how? • When and why is a master required to free his slave? • When are mutually agreeable partners nonetheless barred from dividing their property?

Confronting systemic decline begins with awareness • Realistic assessment of one's weaknesses should inform the challenges one engages • Appreciate and utilize fleeting gifts • Dietary recommendations shift as we age

Is a dubious claim given credence if a more credible lie could have been crafted? • Above and beyond: when is one required to pay for a full half of a taller than necessary wall built by his neighbor? • The versatility of conveyed property easements • What facets of a property may be utilitzed by a tenant of a room in a large house? • The time to e…

If a rented second story is damaged, when may the upstairs tenant move in downstairs with the landlord? • How do the Rambam and Rosh differ in their respective approaches to an unresolved question between Landlord and Tenant? • Who is responsible for repairing a leak that runs from the upper floor and damages the lower floor? • Does the right to bu…

Adjudicating ambiguous lease agreements • Chazaka, established possession does not confer "squatter rights" • Do creditor rights to foreclosure include property improvements made subsequent to the lien? • The Torah obligation to pay employees in a timely manner • The rabbinic obligation to pay beyond the biblical time frame…

Landlord rights • Borrower rights • Primacy of established custom • When is a tenant entitled to a reduction in rent?

What liabilities apply to atypical borrowings? • What core facets of a borrowing transaction are required to generate the Torah's default liabilities upon borrowers? • Ba'alim Imo: exemptions from liabilities when the lender is employed by the borrower • Could a rabbinic court be liable for an inadvertent embezzlement of consecrated properties brou…

Workers' rights to eat from produce they are cultivating • The Torah prohibits muzzling an ox while he is threshing; what are the implications of Man's shared identity with other creatures? • Strategies for employers and employees to enhance their respective profits • By fixing terms of consumption with his employer, the employee's baseline rights …

When a lender takes collateral for a loan, what liabilities does he become responsible for? • When may a lender rent out the collateral to reduce the principal of the loan without permission?

Commodity loans • Permitted pseudo-interest loans between Torah scholars • Pseudo-interest loans between family members can lead to usury • One may not pay interest even with mere words • To avoid stumbling, witnesses and documentation of a loan protect both lender and borrower • Remaining in a locale with sustained hardships instead of moving away…

May a lender enjoy an undermarket lease granted by the borrower? • A secured loan gives the lender the status of Bar Metzra, with the first right of refusal upon sale of the collateral • A passive investor with security on the principal must offer additional compensation to his borrower/business partner beyond simple profit-sharing to avoid the pro…

What are the implications of Man's waning resilience? • Mortality is a process • Each stage of life presents unique opportunities

Prohibited forms of usury • Stealing money with noble intentions • Prohibited deceptive practices • You won't eat bugs and you'll be happy • Inherited usury • Your own life comes first

How is Chomesh, an additional charge for the owner's redemption of his second tithe, calculated; is it 20% or 25% of the principle value? • Assymetric bidding wars for redeeming consecrated assets • When can Chomesh be charged on a prior Chomesh assessment?

The bill is coming, or is it? Rav Mordechai Elefant's formative experience • Strategies to remember your Creator in youth • The Steipler explains that by abandoning God, a person is engulfed in a spirit of impurity which leads him to embrace outlandish folly

Can one effect a barter transaction with money, or only engage in a sale transaction with money? • Transactions with grey market money • When can the transfer of money be utilized to effect a transaction without the purchaser also doing Meshicha, drawing the acquisition towards himself? Who provides the token object to effect a Chalipin exchange, t…

Claiming an inheritance as a long lost brother • Wicked mice have block parties • Healthy profit margins • Buyers and sellers negotiate

Divine glory is strikingly manifest on earth through His wondrous salvation of His people in the merit of deep focused Torah study, integration of Torah enlightenment in our lives, and supporting Torah • By observing His wondrous protection of Israel, those engaging in violence, defamatory rhetoric, and disingenuous vengeful posturing are encourage…

Preventing harmful human strife takes priority over reducing animal distress • How should one prioritize the returning of objects lost by oneself, by one's rebbe, and by one's father? • What should one prioritize in Torah study? • The culpability for sins committed willfully yet in ignorance is less than the culpability for issuing erroneous ruling…

Laws pertaining to a lost object hidden in a wall • Finding an object in an Airbnb • Mordechai 258 silver plated tin: sold or found?

When should a lost bill of divorce, bill of emancipation, will, promissory note, or documented gift be returned to the beneficiaries?

What causes Amalek to agitate against Israel, and what causes them to escalate their aggression to violent attacks?

Acquisitions of movable property through one's courtyard • When does a lost object picked up by one's son, daughter, slave, or wife become the property of the father, master, or husband?

Is one who is willing to steal also presumed willing to swear falsely?

A hero's compensation • A peaceful lion and Rav Safra's donkey • A failed hero's compensation • Standing up against bandits: How are the salvaged items divided? • A moser (informant) must pay for having caused his friend financial loss

Israel and the nations are like fire and water

When does one bring a guilt offering for having stolen? • What happens if the victim was a convert without heirs? • What happens if the Kohen stole from the convert without heirs?

Torah infuses the Israelite with ideal form, and its absence yields degeneracy • Racial substrate provides a constellation of qualities suited to fulfillment of purpose

How and when does Takanas HaShavim, an enactment for returnees, help a robber come clean? • Is a son obligated to honor his wicked parent? • In addition to returning the stolen sheep, must a robber return appreciation, such as wool? • What restitution must be made if the stolen property has depreciated?…

Continuing in the path of Abraham, the father of a multitude of nations • The tragic genesis of exile towards fulfillment of our purpose • Maintaining a distinct identity among the nations requires powerfully delving into Torah

Can a Canaanite slave or convert testify? • If recognized as "your brother," why may we not appoint a slave or a convert as king? • If a woman transferred ownership of her dowry to her son and then predeceased her husband who enjoys lifetime usufructuary rights, who rightfully owns the dowry - her husband or her son?…

The ten conditions of Joshua for inheritance of Israel • Within the annual cycle, what is unique about the day God chose to begin the Deluge? • Why is it not theft or damaging to defecate in a fellow Jew's yard nor a violation of Shabbos to take a stone from his wall for personal hygiene?

Are neutralized witnesses eligible for liabilities upon becoming vilified witnesses, or has their neutralization precluded further liability? • Are vilified witnesses required to compensate for money that their victim could have successfully grabbed, though it was never awarded by the court? • When does the admission of culpability create and maint…

The Covenant of the Parts

Can a stolen object be acquired by the thief through its physical transformation? • Can a stolen object be acquired by the thief through the owner's despair of ever recovering it? • Can a stolen object be acquired by the thief through a change of the object's name? • Can a thief designate a tithe or consecrate a sacrifice from what was stolen?…

What is the purpose of antisemitism?

Liability for damage caused by one's fire • The righteous are duty bound to help the wicked return • Calculated risks: How to avoid dangers in various scenarios • May one save one's life through theft with reasonable intent to repay? • May one save one's property through theft with reasonable intent to repay?…

Introduction : What elements are at the root of Lavan's hatred?

Liabilities for damages caused by one's pit • Liabilities of multiple damagers • Limitations to liabilities for damages caused by one's pit

Anger and its consequences

Does the responsibility to protect against damage exceed liability for damage? • Why does the burden of proof to extract money surpass the proof necessary to convict for capital offenses?

To what degree are irresponsible parties exempt from liability when their properties damage? • Tosafos presents a radical perspective on ownership as a function of practical accessibility • When do courts appointed guardians result in liability for the owners?

Food Matters

Liability for damages while on the road • There is greater liability for inadvertent physical harm than for inadvertent property damage • When is speeding permitted and exempt from liability for property damage? • One who engages in gross negligence is liable for physical harm and exempt from exile if it resulted in death…