Shabbat 146: A Legacy from the Serpent
(Recorded in advance of Tisha B'Av) The Gemara claims that non-Jews were considered contaminated - why? They never had the contamination from the Garden of Eden serpent removed, as Bnei Yisrael did. It's a difficult presumption in a world where we generally claim that people are born good, or at least innocent (which would mean not contaminated!). And what about converts? The implication is that they were always going to be part of the Jewish people. Also: Making a hole in a cask of dates - depending on how it's done, either you're strengthening the cask or your preserving it. Likewise…
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