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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
Avodah Zarah 14: White Roosters
Another mishnah placed on the previous daf: Commercial prohibitions when attempting business with idolaters - but specifically all year long, and not just at…
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Avodah Zarah 13: Tax Reductions for Wreaths of Roses
Again, with the relevant mishnah on the previous daf: Buying from shops that are adorned for the non-Jewish pagan holiday was prohibited. Especially when the…
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Avodah Zarah 12: Traveling and Leniencies
Starting with a new mishnah from the previous daf.... A festival for the non-Jews in the next town can allow for business if the celebration is not right…
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Avodah Zarah 11: How Rome Falls to Onkelos
On Onkelos the convert, who is known for translating the Torah, and also for his ability to convert Romans to Judaism, as his "gift of gab" shows on this daf…
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Avodah Zarah 10: Circumcision under the Romans
More on the festivals of the non-Jews, including, specifically, the coronation of their kings. With specific focus on the coronation of a king born of a king -…
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Avodah Zarah 9: The Timeline of the Universe
On the idea that the world's entirety is said to last 6,000 words. Also, if you aren't sure which year of the 7 years of the sabbatical cycle is current, the…
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Avodah Zarah 8: Saving Torah's Penalties
A new mishnah! Listing the non-Jewish holidays, by name. Plus, other more local celebrations, based on the locale or a given family's rejoicing. Also, the…
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Avodah Zarah 7: Was the Mishnah Written Out of Order?
Organizing the halakhah from the mishnah, in accord with its various opinions. Including the principle of a single unattributed view that follows a machloket…
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Avodah Zarah 6: Pre-Holiday Business
Are the "3 days before the non-Jews' holidays" inclusive of the day of the holiday itself? Or really not? What about Sundays? Other holidays are named…
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Avodah Zarah 5: Repentance Leaves Sin in the Dust
On sin and the purpose of sin! God allows sin to happen so that future sinners can repent. Consider the story of King David with Batsheva, with the implication…
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Avodah Zarah 4: When God Is Indignant
More on Jews and non-Jews -- how does God anger and how does He mete out punishment? Also, God's indignance during the day, which only Balaam the prophet knew…
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Avodah Zarah 3: God's Special Jewish People and Their God
On the special relationship between God and the Jewish people, there's a recognition of the Jews as having kept the Torah -- and criticism by the non-Jews that…
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Avodah Zarah 2: Preventing Non-Jewish Celebration
A new tractate! A lot of material that is relevant when Jews live among non-Jews -- without delving into idolatry necessarily per se (though it will come up in…
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Shevuot 49: Guardian Oaths
The last daf of the masekhet! And, interestingly enough, a new chapter (8)! With a new mishnah delineating the levels of responsibility for each of the 4…
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Shevuot 48: Collecting Debts (and Their Disputes)
Cases from the mishnah - when a customer asks the shopkeeper for X amount of produce. And then they dispute whether the customer every actually paid for the…
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Shevuot 47: No Oaths? Divide the Funds
If one or both parties to litigation are suspect with regard to oaths, they can't take oaths, so they divide the funds and carry on. But Rav Nachman said he…
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Shevuot 46: Workers' Rights
Rabbi Yehudah's opinion is that a worker could take an oath for an employer (and collect the funds), and the Gemara works to figure out the source for this…
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Shevuot 45: Rabbinic Oath-taking
A very long mishnah beginning on the previous daf to open chapter 7 -- about oaths that are rabbinic in nature. Also, some Gemara on the mishnah - that on who…
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Shevuot 44: The Role of Collateral
What happens to a loan on collateral if the collateral is lost? A discussion that leads into an application of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer to Shmuel's…
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Shevuot 43: Snippets from the Mishnah - including Lending on Collateral
In the interest of catching up, we're foregoing the description here... (this daf was (is!) for Friday, and we appreciate your cooperation and forbearance at…
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Shevuot 42: Promissory Notes and Imposing an Oath
In the interest of catching up, we're foregoing the description here... (this daf was for Thursday, and we appreciate your cooperation and forbearance at this…
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Shevuot 41: Suit and Countersuit
NOTE: We are still dedicating our study of daf yomi to the speedy and complete recovery of בילא פריידא בת העניא מינא - Baila Freyda bat Henya Minna (with…
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Shevuot 40: You're Right, But Only in Part
When person A claims that person B owes him 2 things, and person B agrees that he owes part of the claim, but not both parts - which brings us to the claim of…
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Shevuot 39: Sinners, Punishment and Righteous Oaths
This episode and our future learning for the time being are dedicated to the speedy recovery of בילא פריידא בת העניא מינא - Baila Freyda bat Henya Minna (with…
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Shevuot 38: Partial Claims
The end of chapter 5: Someone says: Give me my deposit that is in your possession - and the response is one oath that seems to stand for 5 separate denials…
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Shevuot 37: Swearing Falsely with Intent for the Oath of Deposit
An oath on a deposit - to make it clear that it's not in the person's possession, for example. A deliberate false oath of deposit means a korban asham - a…
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Shevuot 36: More Curses - and Oaths for Monetary Matters
Finishing chapter 4 and beginning chapter 5! The term "Amen" has an element of an oath to it. As does "No." And "Yes." With support from God's promise to never…
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Shevuot 35: In the Name of God
2 mishnayot and a good amount of Gemara! 1 - Administering an oath to one who could testify about a plaintiff, but instead denies that he saw anything - the…
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Shevuot 34: Mocking Rabbi Shimon
Different opinions about the oath of testimony on monetary matters and monetary matters only. Note the example of camels and their propensity to bump into each…
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Shevuot 33: Monetary Cases vs. Status Cases
2 mishnayot! The administration of witnesses taking a false oath of testimony, apparently along with an oath that they know nothing about what they're being…
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Shevuot 32: Simultaneous Denial
When 2 potential witnesses deny any knowledge of the event(s) they're asked to testify about, the claim is that they need to deny at exactly the same time. And…
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Shevuot 31: Distance Yourself from Falsehood
After 4 ways to keep yourself away from falsehood on yesterday's daf, we have another 9 ways here (13 in total) - and all of them fall under this category…
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Shevuot 30: Men Swearing on a Stack of Bibles
Chapter 4! On the "oath of testimony" - the witness swears on the Bible that his testimony is correct, as rooted in a verse in Vayikra/Leviticus, as formal…
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Shevuot 29: Flying Camels
2 mishnayot! 1 - If someone swears that something is factually incorrect is in fact true, or if someone swears about something that is impossible to have seen…
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Shevuot 28: Learning Shevuot in the Beit Midrash
What about conditional oaths? That means one oath forbids something, but the second may not. Unless he engineered the events of the first one, and neglected…
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Shevuot 27: An Uttered Oath or an Oath in Vain
A new Mishnah! With exceptions to the basic laws of oaths - for example, if one swears not to fulfill a mitzvah. Rabbi Yehudah ben Beterah says that one who…
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Shevuot 26: So Much Forgetting of Things
More on the tannaitic dispute of the previous daf. Delineating the logic of amplification - ribui u-miyut vs. kelal u-prat u-kelal. They're two different…
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Shevuot 25: Formulating Oaths
A new mishnah! Taking a false oath about the past, or an oath about the future, which is not upheld, which turns it into a false oath, about tangible or…
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Shevuot 24: When Is Eating Not Eating?
What if one takes an oath not to eat, and then ingests non-food items, does that break the oath? What about eating non-kosher food? The key is the "isur…
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Shevuot 23: How Precise an Oath
When we talk about eating and drinking - is drinking included in an oath about eating, or not? With practical implications for whether offerings would be…
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Shevuot 22: Talking and Eating and Talking about Eating
A discussion about speech and eating. Which includes defining when one's speech incurs a requirement to bring an offering -- like the blasphemer? A nazir?…
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Shevuot 21: Don't Take God's Name in Vain
Rabin brought the Torah of Rabbi Yochanan in Israel to Babylonia to establish the difference between a false oath, not keeping one's word, and swearing in vain…
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Shevuot 20: Why Women Making Kiddush Matter to Oaths in Vain
Starting chapter 3 with a Mishnah - and the new topic of uttering oaths. Plus, the question of taking oaths, and getting tripped up by them. Something that is…
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Shevuot 19: Two Paths Diverged (in a Wood)
Finishing chapter 2! If there are 2 paths, one with a known source of impurity and the other ostensibly pure, and you don't know which is which, and he walked…
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Shevuot 18: Meriting Sons
The case of a couple who are engaged in sexual intercourse when she realizes she has begun menstruating -- which makes their intimacy a violation of niddah…
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Shevuot 17: Access Paths Out of the Temple
One who discovers that he is impure after entering the Beit HaMikdash needs to depart as quickly and/or directly as possible. But what if he used the shortest…
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Shevuot 16: Everlasting Sanctity - Or Not?
More on adding to the city of Jerusalem or the Temple courtyard - where Rav Nachman says one of the factors listed in the mishnah is necessary (as compared to…
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Shevuot 15: Expanding Jerusalem
Sourcing the process of adding to the city of Jerusalem and/or the Temple's courtyard -- in verses. With discussion of whether Moshe's sanctification of Temple…
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Shevuot 14: Hidden Impurity
The end of chapter 1! Does the goat that is sent to "Azazel" atone for kohanim? Unclear, but they have other means of atonement. Plus, the dispute between…
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Shevuot 13: Does Yom Kippur Atone for Violating Yom Kippur?
On Yom Kippur atoning for sin, regardless of a person's regret. With a dive into Rabbi Yehudah vs. Rebbe (Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi), as to the extent of the…
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Shevuot 12: Dessert on the Altar
What can be done with an animal designated for offering that is no longer needed for whatever reason (that does not include a blemish to the animal)? For…
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Shevuot 11: The Red Heifer and Unconditional Sanctity
More on the animals that were consecrated for a year, yet not used within the year, and now what? The case of grain offerings is brought to determine what…
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Shevuot 10: Even More Goats
Parsing the specific goats - Rosh Chodesh, festivals, Yom Kippur - where each atones for specific things, and is where each thing can't usurp the atonement…
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Shevuot 9: More Goats
Continuing on the question of atonement and how one way to atone doesn't necessarily atone for other needs for atonement. In this case, the he-goats of Yom…
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Shevuot 8: Atonement or Suspended Punishment on Yom Kippur?
Does the goat-offering atone for 3 different kinds of impurities? The verse indicates it won't atone for all kinds of impurities, only some of them. But what…
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Shevuot 7: Offerings and Atonement
An investigation into the verses that teach that the sliding scale sacrifice is offered to atone for bringing impurity into the Temple, or the consecrated…
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Shevuot 6: White on White
On the shades of white of tzara'at, in terms of color and brightness, and how they were to be compared, and perhaps even mixed. With various analogies to help…
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Shevuot 5: Pathways of Interpretation
Beginning on the previous daf - we have a deep dive into the halakhic approach, when it comes to interpreting the biblical text. Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi uses…
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Shevuot 4: Mishnaic Authorship -- and Lashes
More on whose opinion is represented in the mishnah - Rabbi Yishmael vs. Rabbi Akiva, and why each would be the opinion represented. Plus, the underlying…
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Shevuot 3: Sacrifices on a Sliding Scale
The Gemara's introduction to Shevuot seems far afield - in its sidestepping to tzara'at blemishes and Shabbat details. So it explains the connection to lashes…