Category: Science and Health

Sleepless nights and great fatigue sometimes mean pulling out the big guns to function, such as downing a double shot of espresso or an energy drink. Some have already made the blue can part of their morning ritual, but experts say you should avoid this seemingly innocent habit. This is because one can of an […]

In November 2022, investigators in a high-profile case in the UK concluded that two-year-old Awaab Ishak died as a result of exposure to mold in his family’s apartment in Rochdale.  This tragic story highlighted various social issues, from poverty to racism, and it showed the underappreciated impact of mold-related health effects. While the potential threat […]

The annual number of new Parkinson’s disease diagnoses in the United States is likely 50% higher than estimated, based on a broad analysis of insurance claims and population growth detailed in a study published on Thursday that could help increase funding and care for the disabling illness. Earlier, much smaller US studies conducted in the […]

Today we encounter a number of mishnahs that focus on whether a vow not to partake of a particular food extends to forbidding its derivatives.  One who vows that dates are forbidden to him is permitted to eat date honey. One who vows that late grapes are forbidden to him is permitted to eat vinegar […]

Today’s daf finds us in the midst of a series of mishnahs exploring the implications of vows forbidding consumption of various foods. The overarching question animating much of this material is whether a vow concerning a particular food also applies to byproducts of that food or to other similar foods. And as we’ve seen over […]

Jewish history is replete with persecutions, but the systematic murder of two thirds of Europe’s Jews (6 million in total) in the Holocaust, or Shoah, altered Jews and Judaism forever. Since the end of World War II, Jewish communities have grappled with how and when to commemorate the Holocaust. As a result, just as there […]

Testing all Ashkenazi Jewish women for a variant of the BRCA gene that greatly increases the risk of breast and ovarian cancer – instead of only women at high risk due to family history – has been found to be cost-effective. The analysis by researchers at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center, the Hebrew University’s Faculty […]

A loss of taste or smell during a COVID-19 infection could actually be a good sign, a new study has found. A new peer-reviewed study published on Plos One has found that the loss of either sense during a COVID-19 infection is a strong predictive factor for a robust immunologic response. As the COVID-19 pandemic […]

A towel was discovered in the stomach of a 25-year-old woman (S.) living in the north of Israel after she had suffered from stomach aches for months – now she claims that the hospital didn’t treat her properly.  At the beginning of August S., pregnant with twins, arrived at the Holy Family Hospital in Nazareth […]

On today’s daf, the Gemara quotes a teaching from Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar about vows concerning fish.  (A person who says): “Fish [dag] I will not taste,” is prohibited from large ones and permitted to small ones. (A person who says), “Fish [daga] I will not taste,” is prohibited from small ones and permitted to large ones. […]