Since olives are very small, how did it happen that the shiur of a kezayis got to be so big? That is the subject of my essay "The Evolution of the Olive," which you can download here.

In posting this essay, I am experimenting with a new model for publishing, based on the "donationware" model that exists with computer programs. I would like to make my writings accessible to the wider public, which does not happen if they are published in journals (unless it's Hakirah, which makes their archives available online for free, but I already have articles reserved for them). In addition, if I am going to devote extensive amounts of time to writing, I need to make it a viable source of parnasah. While I hope to eventually publish all my articles in book form, that is a difficult and very slow process, and it's a pity to keep it all locked up until then if there is another way to make it available. So I am posting this essay here, and asking that if people find they have benefited from my website in general and from this essay in particular, please make a modest donation using the button below. Thank you, and enjoy the essay!