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
Shabbat 145: Don't Yuck My Yum, or: There's No Accounting for Taste
More on squeezing fruit on Shabbat, specifically over food, and not over an empty bowl - salad dressing! Also, hearsay testimony (one witness) is accepted only…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 144: Pomegranate Juice
That ongoing discussion about liquid that unintentionally comes out from fruit on Shabbat... Blood is also one of the liquids that can grant the food it comes…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 143: Toss the Date-Pits behind the Couch
More on moving muktzah. Removing bones and husks from the table - or removing the board of the table altogether. Crumbs and left over pods are less…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 142: Put a Child on the Brick and Carry Them Both
More on moving muktzah, for the sake of needing its place or the item itself. Specifically, terumah, where some is pure and some is impure, in the same basket…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 141: New Shoes!
Moving muktzah - when and how can you manage that? When you need the space where the muktzah item is, or when you need the muktzah item for a non-muktzah use…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 140: The Advice of R. Hisda
A brief comment on the range of homegrown practices of amud alef. And then the wisdom of R. Hisda (Who's Who), including the general advice and then his…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 139: Leadership and Leniencies
Cause and effect: If there are troubles in your world, look to what's wrong with the judges of Israel. The rebuke here is explicit, even if we are less…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 138: Forgetting Torah
How straining wine for its sediment is a concern of making a tent. More, the range of opinions in the dispute about that wine is fodder for concern (on the…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 137: Possible Confusions in Brit Milah
Finishing off this chapter on brit milah. What if you do a brit milah on Shabbat that wasn't supposed to happen until Sunday? Or Friday? Interestingly, the…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 136: The Significance of 30 Days
Warning: Infant mortality. In the world of the Talmud, a baby was viable if carried to term at 9 months, and also viable at 7 months, but not those delivered…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 135: Born Circumcised
More on brit milah... When a child is born circumcised, what to do? You can take a drop of blood. Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai seem to disagree. R. Adda bar…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 134: Talmudic Neonatalogy
Dedicated by Lisa Droski, in memory of her parents Bertrand and Florence Sandweiss. || A story about Rabbi Meir not keeping the halakhah he himself had…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 133: "Metzitzah BaPeh"
[With apologies for the audio issues at the beginning. They do diminish pretty quickly.] The Gemara asks why verses are needed when logic should be enough, in…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 132: The Rock Paper Scissors of Overriding Shabbat
More brit milah on Shabbat - everyone accepts that milah overrides Shabbat: it's Halakhah! From brit milah, we infer that saving a life also overrides Shabbat…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 131: Overriding Shabbat
Gezerah shavah again. The Omer sacrifice and the Shtei HaLechem sacrifice - both of which involve grinding of flour to prepare. Not all gezerah shavahs are…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 130: Peacock Parmesan
A mohel who needs to perform a circumcision on Shabbat should make sure his tools are at the site of the brit from before Shabbat. If he has to bring the tools…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 129: Lenient about Shabbat, Strict about Health
To be stringent or lenient when it comes to not quite a case of pikuach nefesh? Note that lenient with regard to Shabbat in this context means being stringent…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 128: Ostriches and Elephants and Chickadees (Oh My!)
Food for ravens - muktzah or no? Food for deer? For doves? What about food for ostriches? Or elephants? Who knew?! Plus: All of Israel are the children of…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 127: Giving Credit Even If It Isn't Due
Muktzah does appear! R. Yehudah HaNasi cleared the baskets, but not actually himself - an example of what it meant to be the Nasi. Also: That passage about…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 126: Hanging Doors, Container Covers, and Cleaning Up for Guests
The distinction on practice at the Temple vs. outside of it. In this case, door bolts that are not tied to the door - which is fundamentally the melakhah of…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 125: Leaving Muktzah
What do you do with the broken shards of an item that was (or wasn't) designated before Shabbat? The daf follows the process of argumentation that emerges on…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 124: Turning Broken Vessels into Vessels
The term "muktzah." Shabbat vs. yom tov - when it comes to items with a permissible purpose on yom tov that is prohibited on Shabbat. But shouldn't all details…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 123: The Extreme Origins of Muktzah
The mishnah on daf 122 explains that every item is permissible to move on Shabbat - and provides permitted activities to do that designate items that otherwise…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 122: Light One Candle
Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi - a man of great wealth, and why that matters. Even the non-Jews wouldn't think of starting up with him; such was his power and influence…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 121: The 5 Dangerous Creatures
A footnote to the Who's Who on Rabbi Yosi ben Halafta. And: Amira le-Akum, and how Jews are not responsible for non-Jewish activities on Shabbat. But Jews are…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 120: (Not) Burning Down the House
Getting the community in on rescuing foods from the fire, and calculating who owns whom what. But are pious people going to take payment for this helping out…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 119: Preparing for Shabbat
The source for Kabbalat Shabbat is here - going out to greet the Sabbath - and the implicit honor to the day. And a list of rabbis attests to what each of them…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 118: The Five Sons of Rabbi Yosi
Eating the 3 meals of Shabbat protects you from 3 harsh periods of travail - inspirational fear, if you will. Also: What happens when people don't keep…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 117: Literally, a Bun (or Several) in the Oven
More rescuing from a fire on Shabbat - this time, food: for the 3 meals of Shabbat (or maybe all food), and enough to feed your animals. Also: An example of…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 116: Fighting Evangelism
NOTE: Something went wonky with the audio for the first few minutes - then it clears up. Apologies! Now: What about breaking Shabbat to save blank folios that…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 115: Holy Letters
A new chapter: If holy writings are threatened by a fire, save them on Shabbat, no matter what language they're written in. Also: A story to Rabban Gamliel…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 114: Torah Scholars Who Build the World
Honoring the Torah scholar, the talmid chacham. In the context of defining "Derekh Eretz" - the Torah teaches us manners, etiquette, and how to be a mentsch…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 113: The Spirit of Shabbat
When there's no dispute... really. Also: A new topic: folding your garments and bedclothes in Shabbat, as long as you're not preparing for Saturday night…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 112: The Donkeys Who Kept Kosher
Tying knots: professional, unprofessional, and knots that won't last. The Gemara says: well, obviously (!) a woman is permitted to knot her robe, and goes on…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 111: All of Bnei Yisrael Are Princes
Are people permitted to castrate themselves (with a potion)? What about indirect castration? What about drinking such a potion if you're already sterile? What…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 110: A Snake Who Desires a Woman
Is the Gemara talking in code? For part of this daf, it seems so. Beginning with remedies to cure someone who was bitten by a snake - presented as an event…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 109: A Cornucopia of Talmudic Pharmaceuticals
Talmudic medicinal treatments, on Shabbat - some of them sound quite in line with practices today. Also, the first-thing-in-the-body spirit that we wash out of…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 108: When Rav Curses Shmuel and It Works
Shmuel and Karna, and Rav. Sniffing a keg to make sure it's doing well. The word of God should be "in your mouth," so kashrut. Similarly, fruit trees and orlah…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 107: Would You Rather Be a Camel or a Louse? (with apologies to Dr. Seuss)
The 3 cases where "exempt" means not "no korban, but don't do it," but "no korban, and it's even allowed." Also: The new chapter of "8 crawling animals" -…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 106: Fly High, Free Bird
When a destructive act can actually constitute "melekhet machshevet," even though it's not constructive in the least. Also: Trapping, which can depend on the…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 105: When You Rend, in Anguish or Anger
Abbreviations - in the Torah itself?! Apparently so, and with the claim that it's part and parcel of the Torah itself. Then: moving on to "sewing 2 stitches,"…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 104: Writing (and Not-Writing) the Name of God
From the melakhah of writing to the Hebrew alphabet. Discussion about the letters themselves, and letter-play, apparently in the hands of the young students…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 103: A Chicken without Its Head May Run Around, But Then It Surely Dies
A closing general note that emerges from the discussion on the previous daf. And: plowing, etc. In any amount incurs a korban -- because it is inevitable that…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 102: Sticking the Landing
Finishing off HaZorek, the chapter, and our (current) discussion of carrying on Shabbat. A reminder of the two-part requirement for "carrying" to take place…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 101: Boats and Little Goats
Can walls extend into the empty space near them to establish a private domain? The answer lies in the little goats who can run around in that space. Also…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 100: 4 Mishnayot and a Hanging Question
Tannaitic halakhah... What happens when you throw an object 4 amot within the public domain? 4 different scenarios that fulfill this description.... When would…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 99: When a Rabbi's Answer Doesn't Sit Well with Another Rabbi
More on the Mishkan, but more concrete: the colorful curtains, made of goat hair. Spinning goat hair required exceptional taken or skin, especially because…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 98: For the Visual Learners among Us (and Also for Everyone Else)
The Mishkan, in glorious description of its architecture - what it means to turn the inherently abstract words into a concrete physical structure. Constructing…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 97: The Road to Gossip
The suggestion that Rabbi Akiva's interpretation on Miriam and Aharon goes too far. Which leads into a discussion of "choshed be-kesherim" - speaking I'll of…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 96: Catch!
The new chapter, HaZorek: Throwing an item between public and private domains; throwing an item from a private domain to another private domain, through a…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 95: God Created Eve from the Rib of Adam
Wait, how is braiding your hair the same as building? The Gemara makes sense of exactly this. Plus: Slice of Talmudic Life - making cheese. homegrown insults…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 94: We Are Very Hygienic Today
Can a Jew lend a horse to a non-Jew for use on Shabbat? Ben Beteira says yes, even despite the strong requirement that the entire household rest on Shabbat…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 93: Making a Show of Support
When two people go carrying.... A case where one person was capable to carry and the other was not - who is obligated to bring a korban and why? Being nice may…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 92: "Regular" Carrying - Right Hand, Left Hand, Lap, Shoulder... Head?
Shifting focus from the object that is carried to the subject who is doing the carrying. Right hand, left hand, in your lap, on your shoulder. Alternatively…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 91: Carrying Is Never Just Carrying
Purpose and intent, when it comes to carrying tiny amounts. And how that differs across people, and across plans, which change. Plus: Lining up the opinions of…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 90: Chasing Crows
Back to Shabbat topics, and minimums for carrying to be obligated in bringing a sin-offering - including a list of items that require an offering no matter how…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 89: Where the Satan Goes, There Go Questions That Best Mankind
When the Satan went to God, asked for the Torah, searched the world for it, and finds it, as per God's instruction, with Moshe Rabbenu. What is this all about?…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 88: Who Needs Free Will Anyway?
Were Bnei Yisrael forced to keep the Torah? That seems inappropriate. But was there any other way for God to give the Torah? An encounter between humanity and…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 87: Which Do You Want First -- Good News or Bad News?
When did the giving of the Torah actually take place? Figuring the precise date of the first year. Also: preperatory separation between husbands and wives. And…
- Talking Talmud
Shabbat 86: No Comfort Hugs at Mount Sinai?
The fourth of the four asmakhtah mishnayot, with four topics within the one mishnah: polatet shikhvat zera, bathing an infant who has undergone brit milah on…