Shows / Talking Talmud
Talking Talmud
Learning the daf? We have something for you to think about. Not learning the daf? We have something for you to think about! (Along with a taste of the daf...) Join the conversation with us!
Episodes
- Talking Talmud
Yevamot 13: Disagreements without Factions
How we derive the exemption of the co-wives with regard to the yavam. Plus, a new mishnah! The 6 cases that are more stringent than the original mishnah's 15…
- Talking Talmud
Yevamot 12: Birth Control, Talmud-style
More cases of yibum, of course, including that of the eylonit. Also, 3 cases where an attempt, such as it was, at contraception was recommended - including…
- Talking Talmud
Yevamot 11: The Case of the Inadvertent Adulteress and the Case of the Divorcee's Remarriage
Two complicated yibum situations, with regard to the co-wife, and whether there are other relationships that would exempt the co-wife. Say, the sotah. Or a…
- Talking Talmud
Yevamot 10: Six Brothers and a Double Yibum
Another yibum case - including when one brother dies before the other is born leads to a mnemonic how to keep this particular complication straight: "died, was…
- Talking Talmud
Yevamot 9: How Rape Can Affect Yibum
Disturbing daf: Warning - discussion of rape. The question if the strange case of a wife who is raped by her father-in-law, which yields all kinds of…
- Talking Talmud
Yevamot 8: Better to Be Stringent (ahem)
The way yibum is pulled out of the category of "arayot," the illicit sexual relationships. Where the prohibitions seem to add up, until we realize how narrow a…
- Talking Talmud
Yevamot 7: When the Extreme Case Is Practical
More on the contradictory cases where a positive commandment overrides a negative commandment that has a punishment of karet - until that very line of inquiry…
- Talking Talmud
Yevamot 6: The Temple Is Not for Practice
What specific mitzvot can override Shabbat? Shouldn't one fear the Beit HaMikdash itself? That would theoretically have impact on what you can/have to do…
- Talking Talmud
Yevamot 5: Shaatnez as a Classic Contradiction
When the mitzvah and the prohibition essentially come together, as with shaatnez and tzitzit - such that the positive commandment overrides the prohibition…
- Talking Talmud
Yevamot 4: The Witch Must Die
How do we interpretation biblical verses that are juxtaposed, or simply in proximity to each other? Do we extrapolate details from one verse and apply to the…
Talking TalmudYevamot 3: When "Exempt" Means Forbidden
Why are the co-wives described as "exempting" one another from yibum, when really those potential cases of yibum are prohibited? One suggestion is that that…
- Talking Talmud
Yevamot 2: Ervah by Association
Diving right in... Introducing Masekhet Yevamot and Seder Nashim! Defining the case of yibum, the Levirate marriage. Defining halitzah. Defining tzarot. Also…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 27: The Scholars, the Sinners, and the Fire of Gehenna
The backup vessels of the Beit HaMikdash did not include a backup mizbeach (altar). But they assumed everything was impure because of the kohanim who were amei…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 26: Trusting the Am Ha’aretz
The daf discusses a variety of different scenarios where an Am Ha’areaz can or cannot be trusted. What happens to all the Keilim in the Beit HaMikdash after…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 25: Navigating Purity Diversity at Home
Why the Galileans weren't considered reliable with regard to purity and impurity. And possible solutions that would have enabled them to bring their goods to…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 24: When One Hand Isn't Relevant to What the Other Hand Is Doing
4 more stringencies for kodesh over terumah, including what happens when only one hand is pure and the other hand impure, and how consecrated foods that are…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 23: The Shoe-Bomber and Ritual Impurity
More on the purity/impurity stringencies... Trying to make sense of the list of them, by their numbers. One who carries something that has impurity because of…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 22: Who Can You Trust?
The daf discusses how the Chaver and Am HaAretz interact with each other. How many different parts of a klei are there?
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 21: Inside Outside
The starts the delve into the maalot. Why does kodesh have extra stringencies over terumah?
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 20: Paying Attention for Purity's Sake
More on the purity/impurity issues with regard to clothing. What does it mean to have a constant awareness of your garments? And how little inattention it…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 19: The Wave
More on intent when immersing in a mikveh -- and just how far that goes. Specifically, will dunking one hands in a mikveh, for example, render one's hands…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 18: When Purification Requires Intent
A new mishnah: Washing hands prior to eating non-kodesh food, for ma'aserot, for terumot; and for kodesh (korbanot) or for a chatat, you need to dunk. But what…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 17: Keep Your Goals Modest
A new mishnah! With a dispute between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai (with some background on their disputes), over whether semichah - the laying of hands on the…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 16: It Was What It Was
On demons, angels, human beings, and animals. Also, on how people should not attempt to look in the prohibited 4 directions, or aspects of the functioning of…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 15: "From Him I Will Learn": Rabbi Meir and Acher
Such a rich daf! First, the story of "Pardes," the four who entered the Pardes and came out with very different reactions (Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Elisha ben…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 14: Creating Angels
How angels were created, daily, for the purpose of singing the praises of God... Or via the utterances of God. Plus, R. Akiva's foray into aggadic…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 13: A Select Few
Delving into Ma'aseh Merkavah, when we're not supposed to learn it at all... Who should not be studying Ma'aseh Merkavah? Perhaps everyone, but broad strokes…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 12: The Taboo Topic of Creation
Delving into "Ma'aseh Bereishit" - including the order of creation, heavens or earth first? It's debatable, by Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel: top down or bottom…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 11: A Discussion of Those Topics That Should Not Be Discussed
On the illicit sexual relationships bring explicitly listed in the Torah - even that list leaves out some prohibited relationships. Plus, a statement by the…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 10: When the Oral Law Is Hanging by a Thread
A range of mitzvot, beginning with hatarat nedarim, that the mishnah claims are not well sourced in the text of the Torah. The Gemara than contradicts this…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 9: Second Chances - Sometimes
Tashlumin - making things up, from sacrifices and beyond. What happens if you can't make it up? Plus, how tashlumin play out after Sukkot, at the point when…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 8: What If You Don't Have Money for a Lot of Sacrifices?
What monies can be used to pay for the korbanot of a festival, in particular, the Chagigah shelamim? And when you you need to lay out money, can you combine…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 7: To Bring or Not to Bring a Hostess Gift
A dispute between R. Yochanan and Resh Lakish on the mitzvah here of seeing and being seen. Note the parallel passage to Masekhet Peah, on those mitzvot which…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 6: Why Women Made Holiday Pilgrimages
Who is a minor? The Gemara follows the mishnah's discussion of the abilities of the child - to ride on his father's shoulders to the Temple, or to walk holding…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 5: Seeing the Pain in God's Hidden Face
The story of R. Yochanan who encounters a man who is picking less ripe figs and leaving the ripe figs. And the rationale and value of picking the figs that…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 4: To Be Seen by God
A halakhic discussion and an aggadic discussion. First, a study of why those who are excluded from the mitzvah of Re'eiah, even when the exclusions are rather…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 3: Radical Empathy
On the list of people who are not obligated in the mitzvah of Re'eiah is the "deaf" person, a category which is expanded to include those who cannot hear but…
- Talking Talmud
Chagigah 2: Making an Appearance
Introducing the closing, shortest tractate in Moed. On the holiday pilgrimages to Jerusalem with the specific sacrifices that were required for those days…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 29: Going from Strength to Strength
Departing the body upon burial becomes the purview of the mourners and the deceased, both. We say: Go in peace, in contrast to the good wishes for the living…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 28: Death Comes to All
Lifespans, by the sages' estimation, and the biographical detail that we are lucky enough to happen upon, now and again, in the Talmud. Plus, the encounters of…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 27: Excessive Grief
The daf continues to discuss mourning rituals and can and cannot be done in the house of an Avel. What do these descriptions teach us about daily life in the…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 26: When We Rend
Tearing keriya - rending one's clothes. For whom do we tear? Starting with father, mother, and teacher - as learned from the prophet Elisha and his…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 25: Eulogies, by and for the Sages
The mourning practices are not put into play during Chol HaMoed, though if the person who died is a sage or a righteous person, the Chol HaMoed exemption…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 24: The Worst
NOTE: This episode discusses infant mortality. But first, additional discussion of the rites of mourning, and how some become optional on Shabbat. This rites…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 23: "Go Take Care of Your Sister's Children"
Do we actually mourn on Shabbat? Some things are cancelled because of Shabbat, while some things are upheld. And some measures depend on the practices of the…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 22: Mourning Our Leaders
What is the significance of the thirty day mourning period? How do we mourn our community leaders?
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 21: The Calamities That Befell the Sages
Outlining the practices (and prohibitions) of the mourner - including some that are very familiar - and a notable exception to accommodate the needs of the…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 20: When Bad News Makes Its Way Home
How does the mitzvah of rejoicing on the holidays align with the sorrow during a period of mourning? And how does these conflicting emotions play out over the…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 19: A Master Torah Scroll
Collecting on a debt, or to pay a poor scribe - either is permitted writing on Chol HaMoed. Other scribal issues are left until after the holiday. [What's…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 18: Is There Fire Where There's Smoke?
Cutting nails on Chol HaMoed - and the implications of seeing long nails on another person. Plus, the connection to covenant, even going back to Abraham and…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 17: Excommunicated for Life (and then some)
[Who's Who: R. Yehuda bar Yehezkel.] How should the sages handles an excommunicated Torah scholar who was out of line in what must have been a serious way…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 16: Multiple Intelligences
Narratives of cases that align with the halakhic details of daf 15. What happens when one is ostracized, and what kinds of ethics do we expect from the sages?
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 15: Organizing Moed Katan
A systematic approach to the various statuses of people and the range of activities that those same categories of people may or may not do, or must do. Plus, a…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 14: The Prison That Is the Womb
Chapter 3. Who can shave and take a haircut on Chol HaMoed? Who can do laundry? And what items can be laundered? Plus, oddly, a newborn who can have a haircut…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 13: Better to Do Mitzvot!
A Canaanite slave and the value for such a person to be a member of a Jewish household. Plus, 3 mishnayot. So, no large purchasing land or large animals, etc…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 12: Protecting against Financial Loss
The atmosphere of Chol HaMoed, and what can be done by whom... Sometimes, even that which is technically permissable isn't advisable, especially depending on…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 11: Amateur Hour
Constructing a layman's railing, or plaster the oven, and other such labors at the amateur level, even if a professional might also do them, where the…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 10: The Grooves of a Millstone
Can one build or refurbish a millstone on Chol Hamoed? How does intention play a role on Chol Hamoed?
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 9: Eating on Yom Kippur
The daf discusses how Bnei Yisroel were allowed do eat and celebrate during the dedication of the Beit HaMikdash. Why does a Bat Kol come to reassure the…
- Talking Talmud
Moed Katan 8: No Mixing One Simcha with Another
3 mishnayot: Burial over Chol HaMoed, with a real difference of approach as to what it means to bury over the holiday. Also, digging a crypt or building a…