Reform Daf Yomi

A religion of deed

2011-11-15T21:45:00.000-05:00

Just finished Tractate Chullin! It's my 14th complete tractate! Now onto the post... One reason I love Judaism is that it is mainly a religion of deed. That's why I was surprised today when I came across a teaching that one can be punished for his thoughts - if that thought was about idol worship. The teaching come in the context of an incident where a child sends away a mother bird before

Podcast Parshat Noach

2011-10-25T17:31:00.002-04:00

Click here

Temporary Wilderness - A Sukkot Sermon

2011-10-18T13:50:00.005-04:00

The News of Gilad Shalit's release after 5 years of captivity prompted me to change my Sukkot sermon last minute. I'd love to hear your thoughts about it.בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּשְׁבוּ, שִׁבְעַת יָמִים; כָּל-הָאֶזְרָח, בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, יֵשְׁבוּ, בַּסֻּכֹּת. You shall sit in sukkot for seven days, all the citizenry of Israel shall sit in sukkot.[1] And so we do.

Honoring Your Parents - only gains (Chullin 110b)

2011-10-16T22:12:00.001-04:00

I've always wondered why so few laws in the Torah have rewards attached to them. Honoring parents (Kibud Av v'Em) is perhaps the most famous. Here's the text: Honor your father and your mother, that you may long endure on the land that the Lord your God is assigning to you. (Ex. 20:12)According to the daf from a few days ago there is an interesting reason for this. The text reads: Any positive

My Rosh Hashanah Sermon - would love to hear your thoughts!

2011-09-28T16:17:00.000-04:00

In Marc Foster’s “Stranger than Fiction” Howard Crick’s life is turned upside down when he realizes he might be a character in novel. Immediately, Crick, played by Will Ferrel, seeks out a literature professor to find out what to do. His instructions are clear, figure out whether he is a character in comedy or a tragedy. As the narrative continues we find Crick carrying around a notebook. On one

An authentic reading of tradition - a Shoftim Sermon

2011-09-02T08:59:00.003-04:00

“For whom do you speak?” asked our dean Jack Wertheimer. I was attending a seminar for rabbinical students from all seminaries, orthodox, conservative, reform, and transdemoninational and it was our first session. With a smile, knowing he was about to be controversial, Dr. Wertheimer asked again, “For whom do you speak? As a rabbi, can you ever speak for the Jews? What about your movement? How

Play it safe or play it rational (Chulin 48b)

2011-08-13T23:32:00.000-04:00

So here's a question: you find a needle in the lung of an animal. Is it the animal (and lung) kosher or not? The issue at hand is whether the needle punctured the lung. If it did, the lung is considered traif and thus the animal is not kosher. If it didn't the animal is fine. What's interesting about this question is that Rabbis Yochanan, Elazar and Chanina permit the animal for eating, while

How to avoid a dishonest reputation (Chullin 44b)

2011-08-10T23:42:00.001-04:00

A useful teaching in today's Daf: If one adjudicated a case (concerning contested property) and ruled in favor of one party and against another, or he ruled an item impure or pure or the ruled it forbidden or permitted, and likewise if witnesses testified about the property all of these (the judges and witnesses) are allowed to buy the item [in which they played a role in permitting or

Matot D'var Torah - collective unity

2011-07-22T11:49:00.002-04:00

I want to begin with an odd scene. Picture a ball of bees. When winter rolls around, bees understand that they need to protect their queen, so they swarm her. Creating a giant ball around her, their collective bodies give off heat saving all but the most peripheral bees. Only those bees that remain on the outside, freeze and fall off. While an odd picture, this natural phenomenon describes a

Plan Ahead - a Parshat Chukat Sermon

2011-07-04T21:26:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I've been working hard at Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor. Here's a sermon I gave this past Friday: 30 days, 12 hours, and 30 minutes. That’s how long William Henry Harrison served as the president of the United States. As legend has it, Harrison came to office on a cold and wet March 4th day. Known for his tough persona, he left his hat and coat inside and

Economic Advice in the Talmud - It's not all about the next big idea (Menachot 85a)

2011-06-05T16:25:00.000-04:00

In the daf from a few days back the Talmud quotes a disagreement between Moses and two Egyptian sorcerers (Yochana and Mamrei). According to Rashi after the first plague (turning water to blood), these sorcerers mocked Moses, saying "Straw you are bringing to Aforayim!" Rashi explains that Aforayim was a market that was known for selling straw. According to these sorcerers, Moses's "magic" in

Oil, Tax Loopholes, and Tithing (Menachot 67b)

2011-05-17T16:51:00.000-04:00

First of all, a shameless plug. If you haven't already, please go to www.facebook.com/brooklynjews and "like" the Brooklyn Jews page. It's the organization I work for (the outreach arm of Congregation Beth Elohim) and we are trying to get 100 likes by the end of the week! Now for the post. The Talmud asks the question: Why is an idolater's terumah (priestly tithe) valid? Technically, if we read

The Lesser of Two Evils: Be a Good Samaritan (Menachot 64a)

2011-05-15T20:14:00.000-04:00

A good puzzle in Friday's Daf: Rava asked: If a sick person was assessed as needing to eat two dried figs on Shabbat (because doing so would save their life) and there are two dried figs attached to two stems or there are three figs attached to one stem which do we bring?Here's the problem. If the person only needs two figs but we bring him three we have plucked on too many figs for him. Jewish

A coda to the last post (Menachot 62a)

2011-05-12T00:04:00.000-04:00

It turns out there is a proof text for why we should engage as many people as possible in ritual acts. In discussing why there are three priests involved in a particular act of ritually waving a sacrifice. The text reads as follows: With the multitude of people is the glory of the King (Prov 14:28). Turns out that sharing in tasks was so important that it wasn't just something the Kohanim did.

Ark Openers and Other Crucial Tasks (Menachot 52a)

2011-04-30T22:40:00.000-04:00

I always hate being given the "honor" of opening the ark. "Can't the rabbi or cantor just do it," I ask myself. But I always say yes. I don't want to seem standoffish. What I find is that sometimes the most successful synagogues actually make work for their congregants to keep them involved. Ark openers, english readings, people to undress the Torah, and people to hold it are actually not so

Repetitive for a Reason (Menachot 44a)

2011-04-22T23:04:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder why the line "I am the Lord your God" repeats itself in Numbers 15:41: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.’Here's an interesting story that seeks to answer the question (translation Soncino). Even though it's not relevant I'm going the whole text because it's really THAT good:It was taught: R. Nathan said, There is not a single

Dealing with difficult texts: an acharei mot sermon

2011-04-15T18:02:00.002-04:00

Et Zachar Lo Tishkav Mishkavei Ishah, To’evah Hi Do not lie with a male as one lies with a woman; it is an abomination (Leviticus 18:22) Each year, rabbis around the country cringe when they reach Leviticus 18 in the yearly Torah cycle. There’s so much great stuff in the Torah, commandments to love our neighbor as ourselves, reminders to value the poor, widow and orphan, acts of courage and

Metzora Sermon: Making Reform Halachic Decision

2011-04-08T17:16:00.000-04:00

One thing I’ve always loved about Nathan Englander’s writing is his use of tragedy and irony. Here’s a great example from his novel, The Ministry of Special Cases. Taking place in Argentina in 1976, the novel tells the story of one family during the countries “dirty war” when 30,000 students disappeared and were murdered at the hands of the government. In it, Englander tells the story of Kaddish

Yosef the Babylonian's Memory (Menachot 18a)

2011-03-28T21:53:00.000-04:00

I hate to forget things. Today I had a text that was on the tip of my tongue. Sitting in class, I knew it was important to our discussion, but I just couldn't remember what it was. As an aside it turned out to be a reference to the mythical poop god, Baal Peor. In the daf a few days ago, a similar thing happened to one of the rabbis. In a discussion about sacrifice, Yosef the Babylonian keeps

More on Job Transitions (Menachot 16a)

2011-03-25T19:08:00.000-04:00

There's an interesting disagreement cited in today's Talmud page. The original disagreement appears in Yoma 49b and basically boils down to this: if the Kohen Gadol (high priest) dies or is disqualified in the middle of the Yom Kippur sacrifice and you must replace him what do you do with the substance of his sacrifice? Does the next Kohen Gadol pick up right where he left off or does he have to

HUC, Intermarriage, and High Standards (Menachot 6a)

2011-03-15T23:43:00.000-04:00

People may not know this but one may not be ordained by the Hebrew Union College is they are in an interfaith relationship. Over the past few decades this rule has raised a lot of controversy. Why should Reform rabbis be allowed to do interfaith weddings but not be in one themselves? Or perhaps, rabbis should be held to a higher standard? The JTA has some interesting things to say about this

An Eerily Accurate (and funny) Video

2011-03-11T12:50:00.000-05:00

This is so amazing and true!

Uniting the Place With The Spirit (Zevachim 117a)

2011-03-10T17:35:00.000-05:00

First of all congratulations to all who finished Zevachim today. May you return again and again to its teachings. I just had an interesting conversation about a footnote in the Schottenstein Talmud from a few days ago (117a note 15). In it, the famous scholar from south France, the Meiri wonders why there were points in Israel's history that we were allowed to sacrifice anywhere, even on private

Saul and Samuel – Transitioning Leadership (Zevachim 118b)

2011-03-08T22:44:00.000-05:00

I’ve been in jobs that have really helped me with my transition. I’ve also been at jobs that haven’t been so great at it. Here’s one model that we find in today’s daf for how to negotiate this transition. While accounting the history of Israel’s early rulers, the Talmud uses an interesting phrase: ושנה המלך שמואל ושאולSamuel and Saul reigned for one year [jointly] In case these two names don’t

Rechav - a model of Teshuvah (Zevachim 116b)

2011-03-07T00:16:00.001-05:00

One of Judaism's most famous prostitutes if Rechav. Here's her story: Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho

He's Got Yichus - Bezalel

2011-03-04T18:08:00.001-05:00

It's been a long time since I posted but I wanted to share this teaching with everyone. Our torah portion this week (pikuedi) starts with the mention of Bezalel, the architect of the tabernacle: These are the records of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Pact, which were drawn up at Moses' bidding — the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. Now Bezalel,

My Senior Sermon - Vayigash

2010-12-09T19:54:00.001-05:00

Each 4th year Rabbinic student at the Hebrew Union College gives a sermon. Mine was today: It was an ordinary day for Peter Smith. He got dressed, ate his usual breakfast, got into his car, and headed for work. Arriving a little early, Smith logged on to his facebook account. As he began moving through the site a strange ad on the side of the page caught his eye: “Hey Peter – Hot Single Ladies

A Odd Status (Avodah Zarah 71b)

2010-10-27T10:51:00.000-04:00

I learned something very interesting about theivery from the notes to the daf a few days ago. When someone wants to acquire an item they can't just pay money for it. Instead they must do an act that shows that they are acquiring it. This goes for all moveable items (keys, chickens, wine etc). There are many ways to do this, each with their own name. Kinyan Meshicha means I pull an item toward me

Regular Water Doesn't Cut it (Avodah Zarah 42b)

2010-09-27T22:44:00.000-04:00

It was a problem in Jumanji and the Mask. Just because you throw something in the water doesn't mean it disappears. Well the Mishnah has an answer. When one finds an object that may have been used in idol worship and you are afraid a Jew might find it and worship it himself, throw it in the dead sea: If one finds utensils and on them is a figure of the sun or a figure of the moon or the figure

Brooklyn Jews in the News

2010-09-11T14:26:00.001-04:00

Not an article about text but a great piece non-the-less about some exciting stuff going on with Congregation Beth Elohim and Brooklyn Jews. Enjoy!

A Lesson for Chabad

2010-09-10T23:53:00.000-04:00

I taught a class today on the idea of arevut (communal responsibility) at Congregation Beth Elohim. Here's a lesson to all those who wonder what all those Chabad teens are doing on the street with their shofars and why they want us to hear it. According to a Mishnah in Tractate Rosh Hashanah only those who are obligated to hear the sound of the shofar can be Motzi (the person who blows the

Happy New Year!

2010-09-08T17:09:00.000-04:00

Thought I would share my High Holy Day sermon before I preach it at 7PM at the Prospect Park Picnic House: “All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unique in it’s unhappiness” Considered one of the most famous opening lines of any novel ever written, these words from Tolstoy’s, Anna Karenena speak to a bias inherent in all of western literature: being happy is boring, unhappiness

Mezzuzot and landlords (Avodah Zarah 21a)

2010-09-04T19:09:00.000-04:00

Today's Daf speaks about an interesting issue. If you are the landlord of a property and you rent it to someone who is not Jewish, do you still need a Mezzuzah on your doorpost. Looking at the plain meaning of the text, one might think the answer is yes. In the Torah (Dt. 11:20) we read the phrase: על מזוזות ביתך On the doorposts of your house According to the plain meaning of the verse all

Heresy may be many things but it's not boring (Avodah Zarah 17a)

2010-08-31T11:40:00.000-04:00

Why does our daf today tell us to stay away from heresy? According to the Marharsha we are warned to stay away from heresy because engaging with it is "intellectually pleasing" and therefore we might be drawn into wrestling with its ideas. I want to state openly that I both read and enjoy many of the things traditional Judaism calls heresy. And I'm not the only one. Read thinkers like Rabbi

Change is slow (Avodah Zarah 16a)

2010-08-30T21:44:00.000-04:00

Change is hard. Change takes time. You move too slow and people vote with their feet. You move to fast and people complain and you may lose your credibility. While there is a place for fast paced change, for the most part increment change is the safest bet. In today's Daf we get a great model of this incremental change. Faced with a choice of selling a fattened ox to an idolatrous king on his

A good friend (Avodah Zarah 15b)

2010-08-29T23:00:00.000-04:00

When are you allowed to tell a friend not to do something and when should you keep your mouth shut? Here's an example. If your best friend is overweight and goes on a diet are you allowed to remind them of this when they eat a giant burger? What if they don't go on a diet but you are worried about their weight? This question is at the heart of today's daf. Here is the example we find today.

An Interesting Trend (Avodah Zarah 7b)

2010-08-22T22:17:00.000-04:00

For the past few days the Talmud has focused on one question: are we allowed to do business with idol worshipers on the days surrounding a pagan holiday. According to the predominant view of the Mishnah we are not allowed to buy, sell, loan, lend, and borrow from pagans three days before and three days after their holiday (called eid). However, this law was written at a time when Jews had the

An angel get's it's wings (Avodah Zarah 4b)

2010-08-18T22:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, a colleague of mine joked that the Talmud tells us that each time we do a good deed an angel get’s its wings. Another colleague looked at him astonished, “Really! It says that in the Talmud?” “No” laughed my first colleague, “I was actually just quoting Peter Pan.” What was funny about his comment was that in a way he was actually right about the Talmud. Leaving Peter Pan (or any

How To Spend a Day (Avodah Zarah 3b)

2010-08-17T22:26:00.000-04:00

I really like the way God spent his day before the destruction of the Temple. Here's the breakdown (of a 12 hour day): First three hours: God studies Torah Second three hours: God judges the world Third three hours: God provides nourishment for the entire world Final three hours: God plays fetch with his pet (the Leviathan) If only I had the discipline to model this in schedule in my everyday

Orthodox By Design

2010-08-14T23:48:00.000-04:00

I just bought Jeremy Stolow's new book, Orthodox By Design: Judaism, Print Politics, and the ArtScroll Revolution. I'm looking forward to reading it. Beside finding the topic interesting, it might better help me understand the methodology and ideology behind the Schottenstein Talmud, the translation that I use for Daf Yomi. Here is a wonderful review of the book by Shaul Magid that appeared in

Outdated Law (Shev 46a)

2010-08-12T23:45:00.002-04:00

I've noticed a number of themes that keep reappearing in the past few days of study. One such theme is the protection against the shoddy memory of a householder who hires a worker. We know that the rabbis are in the business of creating laws to protect individuals from flaws in the system. Because a householder is often busy and often has many workers, the rabbis made laws that aimed to avoid

Interesting Article

2010-08-11T11:27:00.003-04:00

I recently came across an interesting blog post where the author argues that daf yomi cannot make one into a real scholar. I would tend to agree with Tzvi. I don't retain nearly enough to feel like I have a command of the tradition. Nevertheless, I find it meaningful for other reasons.

The Importance of Returning Lost Items (Shev 42)

2010-08-10T23:54:00.000-04:00

A quick thought of Talmud for the day. Imagine that you find a wallet. If you can find the owner, would you return it? Most would. Now what if I told you that the wallet you found has $50, but once had $100. Before you found it someone had taken half of the money. Would you still return it? What if I told you that the owner of the wallet would berate you for taking the $50 and would continue

Prayer and Patience (Parshat Re'eh)

2010-08-07T13:40:00.001-04:00

Here is the sermon that I gave at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn last night. It deals with a legal issue that came up during the daf yomi cycle a few months ago: Every once and a while, you meet a student who makes you question everything you thought you knew. Mine came during the summer between my junior and senior year in college. It had been my tenth summer at the URJ Eisner Camp in

Avoiding army service: a precedent (Shev 35b)

2010-08-01T23:46:00.001-04:00

First of all, I didn't realize it but last post was our 100th post! I don't want to get into the politics behind allowing the ultra-orthodox community in Israel to avoid army service. The issue deserves a better post than I can give it now. Until then check out this interesting article about the issue in the Jerusalem Post this past spring. Leaving aside the issues on the ground, I was blown

The Special Place of the Rabbinate: Something to Wrestle With (Shev 31b)

2010-07-29T14:39:00.002-04:00

There's been a lot of talk about the power of the rabbinate, especially around the latest conversion bill. Although it's tabled for the short term it will probably come up again soon. So why do we care? One reason comes from yesterday's daf. In it we find that if I ask someone to testify on my behalf outside of a courtroom and they lie, saying that they don't have relevant testimony, they are

Youtube and the Talmud (Shev 28b)

2010-07-25T23:09:00.000-04:00

There's been a lot of buzz around the recent court case of Google/YouTube vs. Viacom over what copywritten material may or may not appear on YouTube. Although its a complicated suit one major issue revolves around when one must take copy written content down from its website. Is it enough that Viacom asks preemptively that no clips of the Daily Show end up on YouTube or do they need to ask each

Eat Food (Shev. 22b)

2010-07-20T18:41:00.000-04:00

Michael Pollin has a famous motto: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.Although Pollin wasn't the first person to deny that Mcdonalds and similar restaurants fail to serve real "food," he popularized this idea. In essence, Pollin draws a line between what he sees as "food" and what he sees as everything else. Food is natural, real, and you know where it comes from. Mcdonalds is processed, fatty

A notable difference (Shev. 20)

2010-07-18T23:52:00.000-04:00

I always thought Kol Nidre was like the Kaddish, a bunch of indistinguishable synonyms. As much as we try, there's not a notable difference between works like l'hitpaar, l'hitnasei, l'hithadar, and l'hitallel. They are all word to that essentially mean to praise. That's why translations of the Kaddish often come out as weird sounding. I always thought that Kol Nidre was doing the same thing. In

A view of Jerusalem: Haftarah Devarim

2010-07-16T11:35:00.003-04:00

Isaiah 1:1-27Leave it to Isaiah to know exactly what to say on a week like this. Not just because we are only days away from Tisha B’Av, and not just because the Palestinian conflict rages, but because Jerusalem, I feel has been lost in some way to me this week.Alas, She Has become a harlot,The faithful cityThat was filled with justice,Where righteousness dwelt…”(verse 21)…Where I dwelt for a

Rabbis paying dues (Shev 13b)

2010-07-14T14:13:00.001-04:00

Should rabbis pay dues to their synagogue? It’s a tough question. On the one hand, rabbis are employed by their community. Therefore, paying dues might be viewed as a formality; paying a rabbi less will accomplish the same thing financially for a community. However, for some, rabbinical dues is a goodwill gesture. It show that they see themselves as part of the community and thus are willing to

Free Agency: Parshat Mattot-Mas'ei

2010-07-09T20:01:00.003-04:00

Numbers 30:2-36:13Sorry for the lack of post last week.Also, I'll be posting my d'var for this week about the Torah portion, not the Haftarah.Something very important for our people happened yesterday.Last night at 9:27 pm, LeBron James made his announcement that he would be joining the Miami Heat, ending the weeks of speculation about what he would do with his free agency. He explained that he

It could happen here

2010-07-08T08:15:00.000-04:00

I came across and an interesting argument yesterday (although not in the day's daf). On Sotah 11a we find a debate between two rabbinic sages, Rav and Shmuel about the meaning of Exodus 1:8, "and there arose a Pharoah who knew not Joseph." According to Rav this means that a new Pharoah arose, someone who had no relationship with Joseph and was not beholden to him. According to Shmuel our texts

Suspension of Sin (Shev. 8b)

2010-07-05T23:39:00.000-04:00

There's an interesting idea in today's daf. If one commits an inadvertent sin and they don't know about it (the classic example is one who knows they are impure but forgets and eats food that must only be eaten in a state of purity), their sin is "suspended" after Yom Kippur. What this means is simple. We know from our above example that if someone forgets they were impure and never remembers

A deep need for the grind

2010-06-30T23:21:00.000-04:00

We started a new tractate yesterday. At a meeting today, I found out that two HUC students in the class of '12 have been doing Daf Yomi since the end of school. That brings the total up to 4 (with others who have done it on and off for other periods during the past two years). I'm excited about these two student. They are both very smart and I will try to convince them to write for this blog.

Against Paul (Makkot 23b)

2010-06-28T22:27:00.000-04:00

There's a statement in yesterday's Daf by a little known sage (in fact he only appears once in the Mishnah and once in the Toseftah). Here's the quote, with Artscroll inferences in parenthesis: R. Chananya ben Akashya says: The Holy One Blessed is He, desires to confer merit upon Israel (i.e. to increase their reward by providing them with many opportunities for mitzvah observance) therefore, He

Will there be an asterisk?: Haftarah Balak

2010-06-25T13:17:00.007-04:00

Micah 5:6-6:8A quick search for the famous phrase from this week’s haftarah from the prophet Micah renders a number of inspirational t-shirts. This is my favorite.Verse 6:8:It has been told to you what is good, and that Adonai requires of you:Only to do justiceAnd to love goodnessAnd to walk modestly with your God.Jewish study Bible reminds us that this verse has been used to understand the

God of Our Fathers (Makkot 19a)

2010-06-23T22:25:00.001-04:00

This summer I'm working on a project for HUC, designing a website to help rabbis and cantors with conversions. It will have texts, articles, and programs, pretty much anything you can think of, a one stop shop for everything conversion related. In doing research I came across an article that I've been meaning to read, “Can Converts to Judaism say ‘God of our fathers’?” by Shaye J.D. Cohen in

One of us? Haftarah Hukkat

2010-06-18T13:23:00.003-04:00

Judges 11:1-33It is always difficult to find a hook in the haftarot that come from the historical books of the prophets. Though there are many ideas and narratives, somehow the theology in Isaiah or the visions in Ezekiel lend themselves to more interpretation.Such appears to be the case here, with the story of Yiftach (Jephtah) the Gileadite who leads the Israelites to victory over the Ammonites

What is an enemy (San 9b)

2010-06-13T23:31:00.001-04:00

I've been in the following situation a number of times. I get in a fight with a friend. After storming off, I'm not ready to talk with this friend, so I avoid him. Days pass and still I am not ready to talk with him. Perhaps this is because I am angry or perhaps this is because I am too proud to apologize for my role in the fight. Nevertheless, I know that when we do see each other things will be

Look to the Skies! Haftarah Rosh Hodesh

2010-06-11T23:13:00.002-04:00

Isaiah 66:1-24When Rosh Hodesh falls on Shabbat, a special Haftarah is read. Coming from the last chapter of Isaiah, there is a vision of new moon after new moon and Sabbath after Sabbath as a promise of God’s unending relationship with humanity. God’s sovereignty will endure forever. At the beginning of the chapter, we have God’s lamenting the troubles in getting someone’s attention.For I

The Mikveh Waters (Makkot 4a)

2010-06-08T16:51:00.004-04:00

If there was a giant oil spill in the gulf of Mexico, would the waters be invalidated as a mikveh?Today, the gemara debates whether a mikveh becomes invalid when different amounts of either drawn water or other liquid substances mix with the free flowing mikveh waters. The first round of discussions focuses on a mikveh that does not yet contain the necessary amount of water to make it valid (

Too loaded (San 113a)

2010-06-06T23:25:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we finished Sanhedrin. Today we begin Makkot. However, I want to explore an important issue that came up in yesterday's daf. In a somewhat lengthy discussion of Jericho we learn that it is both forbidden to rebuild a city in Jericho or to build a city anywhere else with the name Jericho. I've been thinking a lot about that teaching. Today there are names (and terms) that are out of

On entering the Promised Land: Haftarah Sh’lach Lecha

2010-06-04T13:03:00.004-04:00

Joshua 2:1-24Everybody, it seems, wants to get into this place. It was the goal of the Israelites. Since the year 70, it had been the Jews’ hope to return. During the Crusades, the Christians and Muslims fought over the land, trading ownership frequently. The British coveted it. Modern Middle Eastern nations have pledged to sweep through all the way to the sea, destroying the Jews along the way.

Rabbah Bar Bar Hana (110a)

2010-06-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

There are a series of stories in Bava Batra that peaked my interest. They are mostly told by Rabbah bar bar Hana and they make almost no sense. For this reason, they have become allegories for some of the most important ideas in Judaism (most notably issues surrounding the evil inclination). Yesterday's daf had a parallel from one of these stories (the 14th, from B.B 74a). Here it is in soncino

The Obstacles of Luxury (San 108a & San 109a)

2010-06-02T20:26:00.004-04:00

The discussion over the past few days has focused on how different groups of people lost their share in the world to come. The rabbis give many different examples of what the groups did to transgress their way out of olam ha'baah. One reoccurring thread used in discussion with the generation of Noah and the Sodomites is how wealth and fortune turned into arrogance and transgression. לא נתגאו אלא

Importance of Hospitality (San 109b)

2010-06-02T00:12:00.001-04:00

We read in Shabbat 127a about the paramount place of hospitality in our tradition. This idea is only underscored in today's daf. Here we read that the sin of the Sodomites was that they failed be hospitable. The Talmud gives more examples than I can enumerate here, but some of the highlights include: A legal system that benefits the natives and penalizes the foreigner (those who take boats pay

The wonderful grayness of Job (106a)

2010-05-30T21:13:00.000-04:00

One thing that I've noticed over the past few days is that there is a definite trend among the Rabbis to define the grayness of human action. Throughout chapter 11, the Rabbis take the most ambiguous characters and label them as either evil or righteous. We can read Jill's post to see how the Rabbis make excuses for David in order to show how many of his actions were righteous (for example, they

Happy Memorial Day (San 107a)

2010-05-30T20:06:00.003-04:00

Today I learned all kinds of new, intimate details about the story of David and Bat Sheva. For instance, have you ever wondered why Bat Sheva would be bathing naked in public? Turns out it was all a test. Basically, David was jealous that God tested Abraham, Isaac and Jacob so he asked God to give him a test. So, God says okay. Satan turns up as a bird and David shoots an arrow at the bird

Leading by Looking Ahead

2010-05-29T19:00:00.003-04:00

Haftarh Beha’alotechaZechariah 2:14-4:7Sorry for the break in posts. As you may have guessed from Marc and Jill, finals eat up a lot of our time. Hopefully this post will nourish you during Se’udah Shlishit. This week’s parasha is interesting for a number of reasons. Most interesting, and perhaps best known, is chapter 12 of the book of Numbers, where Aaron and Miriam speak out against Moses

Teach Your Children Well? (San 104a)

2010-05-27T10:58:00.005-04:00

The rabbis seem to have this weird obsession with talking about their "organ/member" to deliver a message. Must be a guy thing. On 103b4, the gemara asks about a matter of Yehoiakim and that which was found on him (hanimtza alav). We learn that R Yochanan and R Elazar dispute the matter:One says that it means that he tattoed the name of a pagan deity on his male organ, and one says that it means

Resurrected From Finals (San ch 11)

2010-05-27T09:07:00.004-04:00

Well, it's been awhile but I'm back. I got behind over finals and it has taken me some time to catch up. Now that I am, all I can say is: WOW, chapter eleven is out of this world, literally. The chapter deals with all kinds of CrAZy things like the world to come and the messianic era. The connection is that in a tractate dedicated to court proceedings, we should know a little something about what

Four Sages Enter the Island

2010-05-25T21:59:00.000-04:00

Although the previous week of Talmud has been unlike any that I have ever studied (Chapter 11 of Sanhedrin deals almost exclusively with questions of the Messiah, the afterlife, and heresy) I don't want to post about it tonight. Rather I want to point out something that came up in a recent class I attended at Congregation Beth Elohim called "The Theology of Lost." For those who don't know about

The Invention of Lying (San 97a)

2010-05-21T13:04:00.001-04:00

Is a world without lying a world without religion? According to the writers of the recent movie "The Invention of Lying" the answer is yes. The premise of the movie is simple. Ricky Gervais's character lives in a world where no one lies. One day he discovers that he has the ability to lie and begins taking advantage of everyone's gullibility. However, things begin to change for him when his

The Dangers of Overpopulation (San 95b)

2010-05-19T00:23:00.000-04:00

Here's an interesting scene from today's daf. The Talmud explains that as Sancheiriv marched his troops to besiege Jerusalem during the reign of King Hezekiah (see II Kings 19) an interesting thing happened to Israel's landscape. As it turns out there were so many troops with Sancheiriv that after the first wave swam across the Jordan river toward Jerusalem, they took with them so much water in

A Great Lesson In Humility (San 88b)

2010-05-13T14:36:00.001-04:00

Sorry I haven't written in while. I just finished finals. Here is a very interesting teaching from this past week's regimen: Who is one, who is designed for a share in the World to Come? One who is modest and humble, who enters bowing and leaves bowing, and who learns Torah constantly but does not take credit for himself.What I love about this text is it's ending. When I do daf yomi I sometimes

A Message about Who Belongs – Haftarah Emor

2010-04-30T11:15:00.003-04:00

Ezekiel 44:15-31Speaking of the priests, Ezekiel prophesies in verse 23:They shall declare to My people what is sacred and what is profane, and inform them what is clean and what is unclean.What does it mean to separate and make classifications?Should we continue to make separation and classification?What is clean and what is unclean?What is good and what is bad?Who is in and who is out?Who

An Answer Already (San 73)

2010-04-27T09:02:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I asked a question about the meaning of a Rodef (pursuer). I knew that a rodef (someone pursuing someone else in order to kill them) could be killed by someone else to save the victim's life. However I wasn't sure if it applied to rape or assault. Last night's daf gave me my answer. If someone is pursuing his fellow to kill him, or a male (to rape him) or a betrothed women (to rape her)

I wish I had more time (San 72b)

2010-04-26T23:21:00.000-04:00

I've always been told that Judaism has been relatively liberal when it comes to a women's right to choose. The Religious Action Center is clear in it's pro-choice position. Therefore I was very excited to encounter the discussion of this issue in yesterday's daf. The Talmud quotes Mishnah Oholot 7:6: If a women is in hard labor, they chop up the child in her womb and they remove it limb by limb

Seasons of Change – Haftarah Acharei Mot-Kedoshim

2010-04-23T15:32:00.000-04:00

Amos 9:7-15The time is coming, says the Eternal,When the one who plows the fieldwill overtake the one who reaps it;and the treader of grapes [will overtake] the one who sows seeds,when the mountains shall drip sweet wine,and all the hills shall overflow. (9:13)The imagery in this passage from the prophet Amos is imagery of abundance. There will be so much produce to harvest, it will take until

A Raw Moment (San 68a)

2010-04-21T23:15:00.000-04:00

On today's Daf we get a glimpse of a really raw moment in the life of Rabbi Akiba. After Rabbi Eliezer dies, Akiba is so distraught over the death of his friend that he "struck his flesh until his blood flowed to the ground." Reading this, I was touched by Akiba's human pain. Oddly, many later commentators ignore the emotion of this text and view it through a legal lens. Tosafot point out that

Dugout Sorcery (San 65)

2010-04-19T16:00:00.004-04:00

I just learned a new baseball superstition this weekend. If a pitcher is in the midst of pitching a no hitter, it is a bad omen for anyone in the dugout to mention it is happening until the game is over!Yesterday's daf talks all about sorcery, bad omens and superstitions. Obviously one should avoid participation in sorcery, so the rabbis ask an obvious questions: What constitutes action when it

The Need for Lust (San 64a)

2010-04-18T23:19:00.000-04:00

There's a facinating story that appears in today's talmud page (daf). Although it appears here, its parrellel in tractate Yoma is a fuller account. What follows is the Soncino traslation of the story. My notes will be in italics. They (the Rabbis) ordered a fast of three days and three nights (in order to catch the "evil impulse" because he had led the people to sin and was the reason for the

Dane Cook and My Favorite Foreign God (San 60a)

2010-04-15T22:06:00.003-04:00

This post deals with an issue from a few days ago. It's been on mind my and I wanted to write about it. Numbers 25 relates the following story: While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And

Peer pressure (San 61b)

2010-04-14T22:32:00.004-04:00

A sneak preview of my article for the May Newsletter at my pulpit:Page 61b in Tractate Sanhedrin of the Babylonian Talmud discusses the different punishments for engaging in idol worship and for causing others to subvert to idol worship. There is a lengthy discussion devoted to how and why an individual or a community may be subverted into idol worship. We learn that there is a difference

Meat From Heaven (San 59)

2010-04-12T23:15:00.001-04:00

This post is Julia Rubin-Cadrain's idea: In today's Daf we encounter a debate about whether Adam was a vegetarian. The crux of the argument is this: while we read explicitly in Genesis 1:29-30 that Adam was given every seed bearing plant to eat but was told to avoid animals for food (we would only be permitted to eat animals after the flood) we have a Baraita (an oral text outside of the Mishnah

Rich Rabbi, Poor Rabbi (San 58b)

2010-04-11T23:18:00.001-04:00

Living in New York I know what's it like to be house poor. All too often I hear my friends say "I wish I could go out but rent is coming up." I too am no stranger to this sentiment. In today's Daf we find a statement by R. Elazar cautioning us against overcommitting ourselves to our property. He writes that "land ownership was given only to the mighty people." He proves this by using a proof

Which God am I getting? - Haftarah Shemini

2010-04-09T13:32:00.002-04:00

II Samuel 6:1-7:17This week’s Haftarah begins with David contemplating whether or not to bring the Ark of the Covenant into his city. He has to make this decision because of two very interesting events. First, Uzziah, in trying to save the Ark from falling, grabs hold of the Ark, a big no-no. God gets angry and strikes him down on the spot because of his disrespect. This leads David to think

What's a good death? (San 52)

2010-04-05T22:37:00.001-04:00

In pastoral training this past summer (and in our coursework this year) we spoke a lot about the idea of a "good death." We wondered if a good death meant that one passed away with all their business in order. Maybe it meant that their family was around them. Perhaps they felt that their life had achieved some higher purpose. We never settled the questions but like any good conundrum it raised

What is it good for? – Haftarah 7th day of Pesach

2010-04-05T01:30:00.001-04:00

2 Samuel 22:1-51[I know…I know… I “missed” the Haftarah for the intermediate Shabbat of Passover. Basically, it’s Ezekiel 37 the dry bones. There is a lot there, but in essence, the bones are resurrected and brought back to life, as the Israelites are redeemed and brought back to Israel.]This Haftarah from Samuel is great because it is in essence a psalm. It is a hymn of praise to God by David

What do you think? (San 50)

2010-04-03T22:15:00.001-04:00

Today's Daf speaks about the 4 method's of capital punishment and the predominant crime that leads to them. Here is the majority opinion about the order of severity. Stoning - done to a blasphemer and idol worshiper Burning - done to priest's daughter who commits adultery Beheading - done to members of a town who go to apostasy and idolatry Strangling - done to one who strikes their father or

Cursed be He...Cursed be Me! (San 48b)

2010-04-01T19:33:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I'm currently at a yoga meditation retreat at Kripalu in the Birkshires. Because I'm in an eastern mindset, I've been looking at the Talmud a bit differently these days. Here's what I saw. The Talmud records a missing dialogue in the assassination narrative of Yoav (Joab) in 1 Kings 2. I'll give the text in a second by here's a little of the back story. I'll

Looking for a Rosh Chodesh text? (San 45a)

2010-03-30T12:33:00.008-04:00

There's so much great stuff going on here, I don't even know where to begin.Yesterday's daf starts with a fascinating machloket about whether the rule that a man should be stoned naked also applies to a woman. Yehudah holds that it does and the sages hold that it does not.One of the reasons the sages give is in case people who are present at the execution become aroused at seeing her body

God is With Us – Haftarah First Day of Pesach

2010-03-29T15:03:00.003-04:00

Isaiah 43:1-15 (Reform)(Traditional Reading: Joshua 5:2-6:1, 6:27)“Have no fear, for I am with you. אַל-תִּירָא כִּי-אִתְּךָ-אָנִי God speaks these words to the people as a whole in this morning’s passage from Isaiah. God promises to ingather the exiles from the east, the west, the north and the south. In a time of Exile in Bavel, the people need to hear that there is hope that they will return

God recognizes imperfection – Haftarah HaGadol

2010-03-26T17:12:00.001-04:00

Malachi 3:4-24This week, Shabbat HaGadol, the Shabbat before Passover, we read from Malachi about redemption of all kinds. Embedded in this message is an interesting line about God’s view of the world and God’s compassion for the human condition.Let’s expound on verses 13-18: (original in Italics)You have spoken hard words against Me — said the Lord. Often, we think God is not listening to us,

Idolatry????? (San 40b)

2010-03-25T09:14:00.008-04:00

In response to John's great post yesterday, I was inspired to take my daf yomi study to a new level: I actually opened Jastrow!So far my problem with daf yomi is that if I want to make it through a full page of Talmud a day, I barely have time to read the footnotes, let alone look up interesting passages or words. But, given my inspiration from John's post (and with spring break in sight) I went

Just in Case (San 39a)

2010-03-24T23:54:00.002-04:00

So lucky for us, all the talk about the death penalty in the Talmud is just in case we start ordaining judges/Rabbis to the Great Sanhedrin again. Turns out these Rabbis had a special power that Rabbis today don't have; they had the power to decide who would live and who wouldn't. Nevertheless, the Rabbis felt so odd about the idea of death penalty that they put a number of provisions on it that

The Dangers of Drinking (San 38a)

2010-03-22T23:28:00.001-04:00

Today's Daf is one of the best I've studied in a long time. I want to share one of its many stories that I think speaks for itself. However, i'll provide commentary in italics. Judah and Hezekiah, the sons of R. Hiyya, once sat at table with Rabbi and uttered not a word. I imagine they were shy in the presence of such a great scholar Whereupon he said: Give the young men plenty of strong wine,

Driving Slow, Judging Slow (San 36b)

2010-03-20T23:22:00.001-04:00

I've heard that when I have kids, I'll stop speeding. I've heard that having kids makes you slow down and think about your actions: maybe being five minutes late to that meeting, isn't actually worth the heart ache of an automobile accident? Oddly, this sentintiment comes up in today's daf. In it we learn that judges of a capital case cannot fall into three categories: they cannot be old, they

God’s Do-over - Haftarah Vayikra

2010-03-19T16:27:00.002-04:00

Isaiah 43:21-44:23Deutero-Isaiah is the Isaiah of comfort and compassion while the Israelites are exiled in Bavel. Contrasting to First Isaiah, the prophet of destruction and woe, this guy is a little nicer to listen to.Since the people are in Bavel, they cannot fulfill their duty to sacrifice. Unlike the Elephantine Jews, they did not build their own temple. God seems to be ok with this