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Torah · 5:42

Why Do Our Kids Have to Learn About Oxen and Pitchers?

367 views · Dec 23, 2025

Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky

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The opening of this shiur, in Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky’s own words — taken from the captions, so names and Hebrew terms may be approximate.

Hi, this is David Alowski with the question and answer short series. So anonymous says you'll often mention specifically in your why be Jewish year that at some point kids will ask Rebby why do I have to learn this? I don't own an ox and I'm not planning on buying one. I don't run through the public property with pictures. And then you move on to saying that Yiddishkite has to be relevant. But I've never heard you give the answer to that. Why do we have to learn about oxen, pitcher running, marriage with an indeterminately valued piece of silk, gitten catching fire while floating from a roof and so on. What is the relevance? How do we explain this to our children? So, it's an excellent question obviously that's why I use it and it is one of my problems that I sometimes make fun of something and I don't go back and give it meaning. For example, we did a short where someone said to me, "In your wy Jewish, you destroyed the santo for me. Could you please bring it back?" Right? That's true. I use something sometimes for a laugh line and I don't go back and fill it in. So, there's three answers to this question. I'll tell you the one that I like. The first answer is learning Gammorra sharpens your mind. It doesn't matter what the topic is or how it works, etc. It just automatically sharpens your mind. Okay, that's true. But I don't think that's a good enough answer because so does doing crossword puzzles. I know that because in the New York Times cross word puzzles it says

Jump to a moment

  1. 0:00Hi, this is David Alowski with the question and answer short series. So anonymous says you'll…
  2. 0:32piece of silk, gitten catching fire while floating from a roof and so on. What is…
  3. 1:04true. I use something sometimes for a laugh line and I don't go back and fill…
  4. 1:34approved by the AARP. So apparently doing crossword puzzles will help to keep your mind sharp.…
  5. 2:04that is well I tell you the truth I'm not planning on becoming a pisic. So…
  6. 2:35everything we're learning is relevant. You just have to figure it out. I've told this story…
  7. 3:08the world was not created to be nothing. So therefore it means that everything you're learning…
  8. 3:40shore. There's Shane, Regal and Karen. He explained how those three are three ways that we…
  9. 4:10So that's the correct answer. If there's a kid, then as much as possible, we should…
  10. 4:42Even though I don't run through the street with pictures, you could understand somebody coming back.…

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