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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
Shevuot 2: Two That Are Four
A new - and long - mishnah: Those who violate their oaths need to bring a sacrifice for not following through on their commitment (2 such cases). But is that…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 24: The Promise of the Foxes
More on the 613 mitzvot - and ways of encapsulating the most essential mitzvot into many fewer. Plus, the way one prophet follows the next, supplanting the…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 23: The Heavenly Court Supporting the People (Even King Solomon)
Details of the whip itself are derived or inferred from verses in the Torah -- specifically to focus on the process of flogging the sinner. Also, the last…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 22: Not 40 Lashes, But 39 - And More Difficult Details
3 mishnayot, but first: more on plowing, in such a way that leads to lashes. Then: details of lashes -- how many, where on the body, in numbers divisible by 3…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 21: The Tattoo Taboo
A daf with 2 mishnayot: 1. One who tattoos a tattoo is liable for lashes -- if the person both engraved in the skin and also added the ink. But maybe that's…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 20: Real (Jewish) Men Don't Shave (in Mourning)
Finishing out ma'aser sheni - determining when one would be subject to lashes if the produce is eaten outside of Jerusalem. That measure is derived from the…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 19: Why Ma'aser Sheni Needs the Temple
More on Bikkurim - first fruits: Rav Sheshet says that not placing the produce in the right place next to the altar will prevent it from counting as first…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 18: When Offerings Are Invalid for Kohanim to Eat
A case of a kohen who eats from a korban olah before the throwing of the blood on the altar... but even kohanim aren't allowed to eat from an…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 17: Everyone Should Have a Child Like Rabbi Shimon
A new mishnah! Bikkurim - first fruits - and other special offerings where one who eats incorrectly and gets lashes. NOTE CLARIFICATION TO THE AUDIO: The issue…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 16: 8 Foodie Prohibitions
With regard to the mitzvah of sending away the mother bird when you come to take the eggs (or the fledgling birds), if one took the mother bird instead of…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 15: When a Positive Commandment Corrects a Violation
A difficult daf. When a combination of mitzvot (positive and negative) and the violation thereof lead to lashes vs. when the result is no lashes. Plus, Rabbi…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 14: Generational Violations
Reviewing the opinions of Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Yishmael, and Rabbi Yitzchak on lashes and more severe punishments from the previous daf, with some focus on Rabbi…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 13: And Now... Lashes
The end of chapter 2, and the beginning of chapter 3. First, a killer who goes into exile must be upfront about why he's in exile. And in the event of people…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 12: Timing Matters
If the verdict comes from the court that an inadvertent killer has to go to the city of refuge to exile, but there is no kohen gadol at that time - the killer…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 11: The Mothers of the High Priests
The verses of the Torah suggest that Joshua wrote part of the Torah - which might just be the passages about the city of refuge (since he later implemented the…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 10: Not Too Big, Not Too Small
More on the cities of refuge -- what kinds of cities are suitable for this purpose? Medium-sized cities, with water available, and marketplaces, and a sizable…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 9: Is Ignorance of the Law a Good Defense?
Are people responsible for doing the wrong thing when they thought it was permitted at the time that they did it, or to what extent is a person responsible for…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 8: The Eternal Torah, and the Time It Was Given
A new mishnah! But first - the written form of the Torah's verses, as compared to the read/pronounced form. Now, when one throws a stone into a public…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 7: Murder and Degrees of Unintentional Killing
Last mishnah of the chapter: After the witnesses have testified, and the court has issued its verdict (a death sentence), and the defendant runs away... and he…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 6: Basics of Witness Testimony (and some quirky cases)
A new mishnah - a long one, including discussion of verses that provide the key details about witness testimony (not conspiring witnesses, though). For…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 5: How Bad Conspiring Witnesses: Unto 100 Rounds
3 mishnayot! 1 - Conspiring witnesses who plot to impose monetary penalties on their victim. The witnesses can divide the payment that they are then required…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 4: Well Water in the Sea
If a barrel of well water falls into the Mediterranean and a person comes to immerse where that water fell into the sea, that dunking is not effective - on the…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 3: Talmudic Actuary Tables
How to assess the damage that the conspiring witnesses would have caused if they hadn't been determined to be conspiring: especially with monetary cases, such…
- Talking Talmud
Makkot 2: Introducing the Lashes of Conspiring Witnesses
An introduction to the tractate Makkot, and to chapter 1: lashes as punishment for middle-level transgressions. Also, conspiring witnesses who cannot be given…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 113: Wickedness Brings Anger; Righteousness Brings Joy
More on the idolatrous city - specifically, how to handle the sacred scrolls that cannot be burned (namely, bury them). How little prevents an ir ha-nidachat…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 112: Destroying Consecrated Property
More on the city of idolaters... Including how to determine how at least half of the city was involved, and the process by which each was put to death in an…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 111: Destroying a City of Idolaters
A story of an old man in Egypt who recounted what his ancestors had done to the Israelite ancestors, which leads to a presentation of Moshe's questioning God…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 110: Mrs. Korach, Mrs. On, and Moshe's Authority
The sin of Korach (who didn't have a portion in the World to Come)... including a focus (and blame) on the wife of Korach and the wife of On (who names Korach…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 109: Sins of the People of Genesis
[Who's Who: Nachum Ish Gamzu] (He turned dirt into gold, after all!). The generation of the Tower of Bavel - and what they did so wrong that they lost their…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 108: Animal Rescue
A new mishnah - it's very long - listing the groups of people who have no share in the World to Come. Such as, the generation of the flood (those who were not…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 107: Jesus Leaves the Jewish Path
A long discussion of the sins of King David... and yes, it's a long list. Largely, and perhaps unsurprisingly, related to issues of lust. (In contrast to other…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 106: The Wicked Moabite and the Wicked Edomite
More on Balaam, and how was truly just so wicked, at least in the rabbinic literature. How bad was he in the Torah? Plus, he was a true prophet, regardless of…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 105: Why the "Wrong" Reasons Are the Right Reasons
Why are the people of the Jerusalem perpetually backsliding (in their observance)? Jeremiah asks the question and the people provide a convincing answer - in…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 104: The Blind Camel
An investigation and interpretation of verses from Eikhah/ Lamentations playing off the word "eikhah," as well as the alphabet, given the acrostics in the…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 103: No, the Wicked Kings Were Really That Bad
Resh Lakish bounces off the wicked kings of Yehudah to talk about wickedness in general. With playing on the spelling of words as implying the way bad things…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 102: Maybe the Wicked Kings Weren't So Bad
An approach to the Golden Calf that blames God for giving the Israelites gold and silver upon their departure from Egypt -- because they suddenly had the means…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 101: Good in This World, Good in the World to Come
More on those who have no portion in the World to Come -- starting with those who whisper incantations over a wound. The problem seems to be magicking up God's…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 100: Rabbinic Disrespect - and the Wisdom of Ben Sira
One of the sages presents an interpretation, describing the beauty of a vision of a plentiful river surrounded by delightful growing things that emerges from…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 99: Sing Every Day
Different opinions from the sages on the length of the "messianic era": 40 years? 70 years? 3 generations? Or Rabbi Hillel's shocking statement that the…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 98: In Every Generation, Every Day
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi - on the messiah, and when he will come, with regard to the people awaiting his arrival. Including Eliyahu (Elijah), of course. Also…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 97: Not Everyone Lies
Is there truth in the world? Rava thought not, until he encountered one truth-telling sage and heard his story of truth-tellers, and how that sage's own lie…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 96: When Evil Prospers
From Sennacherib to Nebuchadnezzar - and why the latter was able to conquer Jerusalem (that is, what good deed did he do that he got his way of breaking…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 95: Stories of War and a Hidden Message of Hope
Compare this part of the daf to the stories in Shmuel Bet (Second Samuel) -- the son of Goliath is armed to go take vengeance on David. Ishbivenov is this same…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 94: The Writing of the Verses of Biblical History
A focus on the Assyrian king Sennacherib, and the Jewish king, Hizkiyahu (Hezekiah). Why is the wicked king given an honorific, asks the Gemara. And answers…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 93: Who Will Say He Is the Messiah?
If you dream about a white horse (thanks to Zechariah's prophecy), that's a good thing (alluding to God's anger abating). Also, more on Hananiah, Mishael, and…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 92: Bringing Back the Dry Bones
A small corrective on Cleopatra and Rabbi Meir (we know they couldn't have actually spoken to each other; they didn't live at the same time!). From there…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 91: Cleopatra and Antony
Sharpening the questions asked of the sages by secular figures (of leadership), such as Cleopatra -- who wants to know if the resurrection of the dead will…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 90: The World to Come
Finishing the 10th chapter - and beginning the 11th. First, the dispute between the sages and Rabbi Shimon for the details and timing of execution for someone…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 89: When God Hides His Reasons
The daf begins with two mishnayot, basically, and they begin with a dispute between Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yehudah over when to put the rebellious elder to…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 88: Accepting Majority Rule
On the 3 courts identified in the previous mishnah: delving into the dispute between the courts and the individual who is being questioned as a possible…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 87: Disagreeing Rabbis Aren't Rebellious Elders (unless they cross that line)
The Gemara specifies what kinds of cases need to be brought before the experts on the court. Plus, discussion of "going up" to the land of Israel, and then…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 86: Retranslating the Ten Commandments
In the discussion of kidnapping, the source is connected to the "don't steal" of the Ten Commandments (at least, according to a prominent opinion), which seems…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 85: The Prohibition against Hitting One's Parents: Extra Ramifications
Since a son cannot hit his parents, can that son sit on a court that would decide the case of his father being subject to lashes, for example? Rav Sheshet says…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 84: Sentenced to Strangulation
First, finishing chapter 9: If a non-kohen served in the Temple, that would be punishable by death "in the hands of heaven." But that opinion seems to be…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 83: The Amora Who Was Like a Tanna
In the context of death that is meted out in the hands of heaven, the Gemara presents a list of those in this category - specifically, pertaining to the…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 82: Zealotry
Rav Dimi traveled from the land of Israel to Babylonia: The Hasmonean court isn't decrees against a man sleeping with a non-Jewish woman that puts him in…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 81: When the Court Can't Execute Those Who Deserve It
Mishnayot! 1 - Someone who has incurred two different kinds of death penalties (but can only be killed once) - he is killed with the worse of them. Someone who…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 80: Talmudic Forensics (and Word Problems)
Ongoing discussion of a guilty party intermingled with innocent people (for example). Beginning with a case of two people standing together - and an arrow…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 79: Force, Intent, and What It Takes to Convict
Two new mishnayot! First, one with the case of one who intends to kill an animal, but kills a person, or a non-Jew and then Jew, etc. Disturbing cases, but in…
- Talking Talmud
Sanhedrin 78: Killing a Dead Man
With partial or shared causation, who is culpable? Which leads to a discussion of someone who is already mortally wounded or ill or injured, and then someone…