Daily Daf Differently: Recent Episodes
JCast Network
Join a wonderful group of liberal rabbis and teachers as we take part in the cycle of the Daf Yomi. Each week a different teacher presents short episodes on the daily daf “differently”.
In this episode of The JCast Journey, host Darone Ruskay acknowledges with regret the end of one of the most important shows on the Network Daily Daf Differently. After explaining the ins and outs of the issues with keeping the show going, Darone thanks Jeremy Kalmanofsky and The Conservative Yeshiva for all of their help […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Mordecai Schwartz looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 15. What do we do when the values between two of our commitments conflict? To view the text of Nazir, Daf 15 on Sefaria, please click here. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Mordecai Schwartz looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 14. In today’s episode we ask how can a person fulfill two obligations at the same time? To view the text of Nazir, Daf 14 on Sefaria, please click here. The opening and closing music for this podcast […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Mordecai Schwartz looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 13. What is the obligation to fulfill a Nazir’s vow, if it was made in a moment of bargaining for the life or health of a child?” To view the text of Nazir, Daf 13 on Sefaria, please […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Mordecai Schwartz looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 12. A meditation on the limits of language and knowledge when we depend on others. To view the text of Nazir, Daf 12 on Sefaria, please click here. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Mordecai Schwartz looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 11. When someone makes a vow in order to prevent others from forcing them into an action, does that vow have validity? In other words if I make a vow to avoid peer pressure do I remain accountable […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Mordecai Schwartz looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 10. What are the limits of frustration as an explanation for extreme statements? If a person makes a Nazarite vow under the stress of frustration does that vow have validity? To view the text of Nazir, Daf 10 […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Mordecai Schwartz looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 9. Can an individual modify the Nazarite vow to fit their personal preferences? We will look at the limits for individuals altering religious ritual described in the Torah. To view the text of Nazir, Daf 9 on Sefaria, […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 8. Yesterday’s daf focused on the implications of the person’s vow on the length of his or her n’zirut if the vow mentioned duration. Today’s daf focuses on the implications of the person’s vow if it specifies the n’zirut […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 7. Although Chapter 1 of Tractate Nazir has led us in many interesting directions, we have to remember that the internal theme of the chapter is on the implications of the specific language of the vow on the person’s […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 6. The ceremony at the end of the nazir’s term is called “hitgalachat” because that is when his or her hair is cut (galach). Daf 6 focuses on the question of when hitgalachat takes place. If the term of […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 5. Today’s daf is focused on a Mishnah that states that if a person vows to be a nazir without setting a specific time limit, then the term of his or her n’zirut is 30 days. This term is […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 4. Today’s daf focuses on a vow to be a nazir like Samson and a vow to be a nazir for life; neither of these corresponds to the nazir described in Bamidbar (Numbers) since that nazir has a fixed […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 3. Following up on a question in the previous daf, this episode discusses the question of why the nazir might be considered a sinner? This leads us to discuss the ceremony at the end of a period of n’zirut […]
The first chapter of Tractate Nazir focuses on the implications of the actual statement made by a person on whether and for how long he or she becomes a nazir. We begin today’s episode, dealing with the first page of Tractate Nazir, with a description of the three prohibitions of the nazir in Bamidbar (Numbers). A nazir is a person who vows not to partake of the fruit of the vine, not to be in contact with a corpse, and not to cut his or her hair. The episode continues with a discussion of the various perceptions of the nazir, and a set of questions that will be discussed in the first seven episodes of Tractate Nazir, including, Is there any link between the three prohibitions? Why would a person choose to be a nazir? What role did the nazir have in society? Was the nazir regarded favorably or unfavorable in Jewish history? The first Mishnah of the tractate includes a number of euphemisms and abbreviations that would make a person a nazir, including one that provokes the question in the gemara of whether a nazir is a sinner (!)
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 91. Hadran Alach Masechet Nedarim! We will return to you, Tractate Nedarim! We give thanks to God for the Talmud kopp, the Talmudic mind, that we cultivate through this study. To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 91 […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 90. To a modern eye, the rabbis seem to have some blind spots when it comes to women and to marriage. But in other areas, as when they deal with real communities and their propensity for gossip, the […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 89. The rabbis understood that the vows we make that damage our most intimate relationships actually threaten our own happiness as well. Thankfully, they put some protections into place to prevent us from wreaking havoc on ourselves and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 79. Today we focus on the categories of vows that a husband may annul. To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 79 on Sefaria, please click here. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 78. This daf shares some reflections on what God does on God’s own and what people contribute to holy calendar. To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 78 on Sefaria, please click here. The opening and closing music […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 77. Today we ask what the grounds are for a sage to nullify vows? Are vows serious business? Or a mere formality? To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 77 on Sefaria, please click here. The opening and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 76. This podcast episode focuses on the intersection of laws about vows and the restrictions of Shabbat. To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 76 on Sefaria, please click here. The opening and closing music for this podcast […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 75. A husband may annul his wife’s religious vows when he hears of them. Can he annul them before she makes them? To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 75 on Sefaria, please click here. The opening and […]
In this episode, Rabbis Daniel and Hillary Chorny delve into the complex mishnah that began on the previous amud. This mishnah features several scenarios over which the chachamim of the mishnah and Rabbi Eliezer Yaakov disagree.
In this episode, Rabbis Daniel and Hillary Chorny conclude the fourth chapter of Nedarim and begin the fifth chapter, which is concerned with the implications of mutual vows on two partners who share property.
In this episode, Rabbi Daniel Chorny delves into the fundamental disagreement between Rabbi Yosi and the chachamim in answering the question: when does a renunciation of ownership (hefker) go into effect?
In this episode, Rabbi Daniel Chorny explores the limits, challenges, and relationship between one who vows that his fellow may not enjoy any of his property, and the one who is subject to the restrictions of that vow.
In this episode, Rabbis Daniel and Hillary Chorny explore the effectiveness of vows made before and during the sh'mita year. The daf begins with the fifth mishnah of chapter four of Nedarim.
On this page, continuing the theme of the mitzvah of bikkur holim, we focus on three statements today. One regarding the relationship between forgiveness and healing. One regarding how illness can impact our intellectual capacity. And one regarding the extraordinary, though every-day, miracle of people moving from illness to health.
In this episode we take a break from some nitty-gritty material regarding vows and promises, and learn about the great mitzvah of visiting the sick, reminding us that when we choose to make ourselves vulnerable to others’ pain and discomfort, we can contribute to enormous healing.
Some notes on variations in Talmudic manuscripts and how they relate to our daf -- where we see a strange phrase that doesn’t seem to fit and indeed isn’t found in other manuscripts.
Are all nazirim sinners? And why seem some of the rabbis convinced that anyone who does take the oath of nazirut is indeed a sinner? What is Judaisms relationship to self-imposed stringencies?
We look at the difference between nedavot and nedarim, we learn about the "oath of the wicked" and the "oath of righteous" and why the first one is valid and the latter is not.
Can you swear an oath to fulfill a mitzah? And what happens if you fail to fulfill it -- would you have to bring a sin offering? How can you even swear to fulfill something for which you are obligated in the first place?
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 7. Certain transgressions bring the punishment of “nidui” — excommunication. What does this mean? And can a person revoke a “nidui” that he placed on himself or herself? To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 7 on Sefaria, […]
Is a partial declaration, a "yad" valid in the case of kiddushin? There are all kinds of misunderstandings that can happen as some of the sages will point out. And what are some other examples where a "yad" might have more than one meaning -- and are these declarations valid?
What becomes forbidden and what remains permitted in a vow? What effect has a vow that is in some sort “shortened” in the way it was articulated -- a "yad b'nedarim". Is such a "yad" valid or not?
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noam Raucher looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 4. By letting us know how certain vows can be understood, specifically or generally, distinct or related to something else, the Talmud reminds us that we should have intent behind our words. Not only do the words we […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noam Raucher looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 3. On this page we address the differences between “equivalent terms” and “partial declarations.” Both hold weight within the concept of vows, but have different methods of enactment. To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 3 on Sefaria, […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noam Raucher looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 2. Nedarim kicks off a discussion about different types of vows and their consequences. Here we introduce four different types of vows with overarching similarities. Words have a great deal of weight our tradition. They can obligate us, […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 112. We follow a sage who feels impelled to come to live inIsrael. But is he doing the right thing? What does it mean to love Israel? Does it mean extolling its uniqueness only? Or can it mean […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 111. We are supposed to yearn for life in the land of Israel. Yet some would argue that the possibility of a more vibrant Jewish life in the Diaspora would justify staying away from Israel. Are those who […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 110. How shrewd does one have to be in order to protect one’s rights, in order to get justice done? Can we take shortcuts if we can get a fair outcome without going through all the steps of […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 109. We explore a number of situations in which people find themselves in difficulty. How much do we assume that it is their own fault and how much is just bad luck or the fault of others. Even […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 108. When is a favor not a favor? How do we measure a benefit that one derives from the unbidden generosity of others? Can we put a monetary value on the prevention of embarrassment? To view the text […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 107. What assumptions can we make about a person who does not tell us what in on their mind? How does our concept of the “standard” marital relationship color our assumptions about what each partner cares about? How […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 106. We continue to examine the issue of bribery. We learn of the many problems caused by a seemingly innocuous gift of a basket of fish. Then we return to considering the proper use of public funds, originally […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 105. We learn of early arrangements of judiciary authorities from Temple times, arrangements that may reflect the changing of the guard from priestly leadership to leadership by lay scholars. Within the overall topic of judicial integrity we explore […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 104. We examine a heart-wrenching story about the death of Rabbi Judah the Patriarch. This one also involves a roof. And it raises hard problems: How shall we cope with difficult issues raised at the end of life? […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 103. What was the real sin of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah? What are the benefits of living together under one roof? Can these benefits be compelled? And speaking of roves, we ponder an emotionally challenging story […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 102. The new chapter raises questions about undertaking and meeting one’s obligations. When can a verbal commitment be taken as binding and when is it to be dismissed? Another question raised regards custody arrangements for children after parents […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 101. The discussion examines various scenarios of terminated marriages. In what ways do the rabbis intervene to preserve the rights of the parties and when is one or the other party penalized for entering or ending the marriage? […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 79. Real estate is often considered to be the best investment, and it certainly functions that way in a usufruct arrangement where a husband manages his wife’s property and benefits from the income. Thus it makes sense that […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 78. Today we begin Chapter 8 of Ketubot, HaIsha Shenafla, which addresses cases in which a woman inherits property around the time of her engagement or marriage. Rabbinic law gives husbands ownership of their wife’s property acquired during […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 77. Settle in for an expanded presentation of a very rich daf. Enough about the blemishes of women–what about the guys? Our daf has two mishnayot that address men’s blemishes–were they present before marriage, in which case perhaps […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 76. The feminist critique of kiddushin is that it is ultimately about treating women as chattel—the sages are anxious to know whether the kinyan or purchase was valid, or whether it was a false sale. Daf 76 gives […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 75. Who is more eager to be married—a man or a woman? In the world of the sages, the answer is obvious. A woman wants to be married, even to a flawed man, since he provides food and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 74. Who has more power, a lawyer or a doctor? How do men feel about sending their wives to court? Whose character is more in question—the wife who makes vows, or the husband who can’t abide them? To […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 73. Our chapter deals with unpleasant surprises after the wedding. First with things the husband discovers about his wife, and then with things the wife discovers about her husband. But let us not thing that this is an […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 72. Do we bury the dead for them or for us? While we often teach that taking care of the dead is a chesed shel emet, a kindness that cannot be repaid, our daf suggests otherwise. Instead, caring […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 71. In the middle of the discussion on vows made between husband and wife, and all the potential problems that might arise in any marriage, the Talmud brings verses that remind us of the relationship between God and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 70. A husband may vow not to support his wife for 30 days, but only if he gets a steward to do what he is forbidden to do. In this case as in others, the legal loophole is […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 69. When is it okay to refer to someone as “chaver?” Certainly not when the “buddy” is someone greater than you in knowledge or status! To view the text of Ketubot, Daf 69 on Sefaria, please click here. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 68. Of course, the Gemara recognizes, it’s not ideal to give Tzedakah to a swindler who is only pretending to need it. But it is far worse to harden our hearts and miss giving to those who actually […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 67. When it comes to Tzedakah, some of the needy may be used to a more comfortable style of living than others. Is it our responsibility to fill each person’s different level of need? Today’s daf brings a […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 66. What happens when an argument can’t be resolved in the Talmud? “Teiku”– a beautiful word with many different meanings– suggests that one day, perhaps, all will be resolved. To view the text of Ketubot, Daf 66 on […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 34. Today’s episode continues with the topic of the collision of different punishments, monetary and corporal. In one particularly revealing sugya, we discover something unique about the nature of fines. The opening and closing music for this podcast is […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 65. Is wine good for women? Today the Sages discuss whether wine might sexually arouse women too much. We’ll also learn the story of a famous siren named Homa, who buried three husbands, but is still so sexy […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 63. This episode focuses on the story of Rabbi Akiva, the married monk, and the Talmudic law – sadly fallen out of practice – that women could initiate divorce with the claim that “he is repulsive to me.” […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 62. Today’s episode focuses on the required regular sex in marriage, and subtle stories about “married monks” who abandon their wives in order to study for years on end. The opening and closing music for this podcast is […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 61. In this episode we ask about the economic arrangements surrounding nursing, and sharing banquets with the waiters who work there. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. To […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 60. Today we ask the question “How long should nursing continue? Is breast milk kosher for people older than babies?” The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. To view […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 59. Today we focus on the economic contributions women made to ancient households. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. To view the text of Ketubot, Daf 59 on […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Roth looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 58. Chapter One of a complicated issue: the financial responsibilities and rights of a married couple toward each other. What are they? Can they be overridden? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Roth looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 57. How much time does a couple get to plan a wedding? What’s involved? What happens if it gets postponed? And, the art of biblical derivation. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Roth looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 56. How does the Talmud handle an apparent contradiction between statements of the same sage? How does our Gemara understand an extreme statement of our Mishnah? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Roth looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 55. How does the Talmud go about determining what view a specific sage holds in a dispute between two sages in which it is not stated which sage holds which view? The opening and closing music for this […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Roth looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 54. As we begin a new chapter, we will clarify the stages of getting married, whether the amounts in the marriage contract are fixed or not, whether deals can be made to reduce the amount, and whether collection […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Roth looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 52. Today we will look at one more court-mandated stipulation for a marriage contract, and understand both it and what motivated its promulgation. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 51. Ketubot 51 discusses a deep-seated tension over whether rape should lead to dissolution of marriages. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. To view the text of Ketubot, Daf […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 50. Ketubot 50 discusses educational expectations – when should children start to be educated in Torah, and what happens if you push too hard too soon? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 49. Ketubot 49 discusses the economic obligations of parents towards children, and how to balance personal responsibility, moral persuasion, and legal obligation in the face of limited resources. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 48. Ketubot 48 discusses the obligation of a husband to pay for his wife’s burial, involving throny issues of relative social class, expectations for funerals, and ultimately how to deal with rich people who try to defraud society. The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 47. Ketubot 47 discusses support obligations of husbands toward wives, sets up the economic framework of rabbinic marriage, and grounds those obligations in the text of the Torah. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 46. Ketubot 46 features a fascinating debate about reading the Torah “literally” or “metaphorically” and, I argue, tries to break down the distinction between those reading strategies. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 45. Ketubot 45 continues the discussion of motzi shem ra, opening up the possibility of false pre-coital accusations, and asking whether the Torah’s punishments should apply to a case not discussed explicitly in the Torah itself. Featuring more reflections […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 44. Ketubot 44 discusses whether orphaned young women receive the same treatment as other young women, and what that might tell us about the web of family relationships. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 43. Ketubot 43 examines the emotional relationship to orphaned daughters and widows and the legal implications of those relationships. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. To view the text […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 42. Ketubot 42 further discusses the nature of fines, whether they are about deterrent or punishment, and whether the court’s imposition of the fine changes that nature. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 41. Ketubot 41 discusses whether someone who confesses to a crime has to pay a fine, revealing the underlying logic of what fines are really about. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 40. Ketubot 40 discusses when positive commandments override negative commandments and when they don’t. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. To view the text of Ketubot, Daf 40 on […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 39. Ketubot 39 discusses rape and how to punish it legally. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. To view the text of Ketubot, Daf 39 on Sefaria, please click […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 38. Ketubot 38 discusses exegetical consistency and maintaining two conflicting versions of a Sage’s opinion. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. To view the text of Ketubot, Daf 38 […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 37. Ketubot 37 provides an opportunity to discuss the Talmud’s principle of Scriptural omnisignificance – the idea that every verse in the Torah must teach something unique. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 36. Ketubot 36 contains a fascinating and troubling discussion of whether kidnapped women are assumed to have been raped. We see that two sages, Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Dosa, fight back against this presumption in order to prevent such […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 35. This daf discusses whether serious crimes committed accidentally, that result in property damage, are subject to repayment. We discover in the course of the Talmud’s consideration the relative importance of compensation for damages and maintenance of important social […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 33. Today’s episode tries to figure out the Biblical basis for why monetary compensation for victims in cases of assault is preferred to lashing the assailant. Along the way, we see some interesting psychological claims about the preference for […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 32. This daf discusses, among other things, how we know whether to choose monetary fines or lashes to punish crimeshis that could receive either. In the course of discussing this question, we once again encounter a tension between analogical […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, William Friedman looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 31. This daf discusses, among other things, how to think about whether two violations of different severities should both be punished. We unpack this debate and try to think about what the consequences of each side are. The opening […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 30. Conclusion of discussion about the difference of opinion between a woman who can become a wife and a woman who can remain a wife. Distinguishing the Mishnah, which requires a q’nas for sleeping with one’s sister, from […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 29. Beginning of Chapter 3. The monetary penalty for sleeping with na’arot, women between the ages of 12 and 12 ½ against their will, in particular, those groups of women who are either not full members of the […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 28. End of Chapter 2. Restrictions on where a man may live after divorcing his wife. Restrictions on business dealings between a divorced man and woman to guard against sin. Mishnah and Talmud on what a person may […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 27. Exploration of when a captive woman or captive women may be returned to their husbands. What happens to the wives of kohanim when a city is conquered by siege. Who may testify about captive women. The opening […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 26. Conclusion of the long sugya on indirect testimony. Consideration of when eating t’rumah is a presumption for being a Kohen and when it is not. When a captive woman can return to her husband. The opening and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 25. Continuation of sugya on when we can presume a Kohen is a Kohen based on his participation in priestly behavior. Cases in which a Kohen and Levi were elevated on the basis of being called to the […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 24. The principle of שהפה שאסר הוא הפהשהתיר, the mouth that forbids is the one that permits, and the rationale for mentioning so many specific cases. The disagreement between R. Yehudah and the Sages regarding chazaqah, presumption. The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 23. Two women return from captivity. What are the legal consequences when one of them testifies about what happened to each of them in captivity? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 22. Another example of “the mouth that confined is the mouth that permits.” Also, why would a woman, even (or especially?) a prominent woman, lie about her marital status? The opening and closing music for this podcast is […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 21. Sometimes, you can learn important lessons when people say the most obvious things. Also, why would a judge act with greater care and precision than the law demands? The opening and closing music for this podcast is […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 20. The dangers of refreshing a witness’s recollection. Also, when a witness confirms his signature on a document, what is he really doing? Is he testifying that the contents of the document are true and/or that it was […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 19. The principle of “the mouth that confines is the mouth that releases.” Also, three kinds of promissory notes that it is best not to keep in your home. The opening and closing music for this podcast is […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 18. In order to make use of a ketubah or other note to recover funds, it must first be authenticated. In this episode, we discuss one challenge that can arise when witnesses come forward to authenticate their signatures […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 17. How honest should we be when asked to describe a bride at her wedding? How indeed should we sing the praises of the bride? And what do we have to play at a wedding, anyway, if we’re […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 16. Is a marriage an expression of love between two people, or is it a business transaction? There’s nothing like the dissolution of a marriage to make it seem more like the latter. On this page, we begin […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 15. If we are not sure what happened in a given case, should we legally assume that what most likely happened is what actually happened? In other words, do we follow the majority? The rabbis do not provide […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 14. The second part of this chapter is largely about how does a legal system deal with cases of doubt, in which we cannot know which party is telling the truth. Here I discuss a few principles that […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 13. The mishnah says that the woman was seen “talking” with a certain man and yet it clearly describes suspicions that she had sex with him. I discuss the use of sexual euphemisms in Ketubot and even in […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 12. The mishnah seems to allude that in Judea husbands may have had sex with their betrothed wives before marriage. I compare this mishnah with other tannaitic sources and conclude that in Judea far from being lax about […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 11. This daf discusses the conversion of a minor. In Second Temple and in tannaitic times conversion was not a process that required a court. This was an innovation of the amoraim, and it may have first occurred […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 10. There are six stories on this daf about men who come in front of rabbis with a virginity claim against their wives. In each case the man seems to lose his claim. I discuss the function of […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 9. R. Elazar says that a man who claims to have found his virgin wife’s “opening, open” is believed and she is prohibited to him. I discuss the background of this law in the development of the laws […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 8. On this daf the “blessing of the mourners” is discussed. These were blessings recited either in the town square on the return from the burial or during Birkat Hamazon. I will discuss what these blessings were and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 7. Betrothal and then marriage: When were the two conflated into one ceremony? We will also discuss the formula of the “birkat erusin” the blessing recited upon betrothal. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 6. Sex with/for a female virgin on Shabbat: Permitted or not? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. To view the text of Ketubot, Daf 6 on Sefaria, please […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 5. Why is it is so important that the first sex occurs right before the court sits? Why the urgency for the husband to come to the court should he have a virginity claim? The opening and closing […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 4. This daf is about mourning that occurs during the week of marriage. Specifically we will address the topic–over whom does one mourn? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 3. Among the topics we will cover today is the folklore concerning the so-called “Right of the First Night”–the right of the ruling governor to have sexual relations with a woman on the night of her marriage. The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Ketubot, Daf 2. Today we will introduce the topic of Virginity Claims and especially the difference between the biblical version and the rabbinic version. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 122. We can trace, in the positions of Rabbi Akiva, the evolution and expansion of types of testimony which are accepted to show that a husband has died to allow the wife’s remarriage. Are non-Jews a bridge too […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 121. If someone falls into the water, under what you assume that they drowned? Even some of the most rigid rabbis bend with changing realities in coming up with the answer. Also, how is getting through Daf Yomi […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 120. I was suprised to find out that CSI- Crime Scene Investigation, is still on. Our sages wrestled with a lot of the same questions of how to identify a body, what physical evidence is considered sufficient, and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 119. When do you use circumstantial evidence to decide that an unlikely possibility is actually worth worrying about? Why should the chances of a co-wife having a baby matter more than those of a mother-in-law? The opening and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 118. It’s Schrodinger’s husband- one wife says he’s alive, the other says he’s dead. Why would someone lie about such a thing to harm another person, even though they are harming themselves at the same time? What do […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 117. How suspicious should we be of someone’s motivations based on the questions they ask, or the concerns that they express? Do you have to be Sherlock holmes to conclude that someone whose first concern is for the […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 116. What kind of argument would a husband and wife have that would make a woman’s testimony suspicious? The rabbis consider every possible scenario! The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 115. When is a woman’s testimony to be believed? Our daf today questions the specific kinds of testimony that a woman may bring about her husband’s death, but the fact that she may act as a witness in […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 114. Must we prevent a Jewish child from eating treif? Where is the line between not holding them liable for adult commandments and our own desire to pass on the tradition? Our daf today explores this question. The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 113. The rabbis offer different approaches for different categories of individuals, doing their best to protect the most vulnerable in society. If we combine their approach with the actual perspective and voices of those very people, we may […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 112. The Talmud offers a record of society’s attitudes in the ancient world. In today’s Mishnah, we see the rabbinic approach to the deaf and/or the deaf-mute. It’s good to know that Jewish law has changed in the […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 111. If a woman vowed not to receive any benefit from her brother-in-law, would this vow prohibit him from performing Yibum? It’s good to see a case where a woman’s word was taken seriously, even when her vow […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 110. The ancient world of the rabbis sounds like it was a dangerous place for women. Perhaps, then, the rabbinic treatment of women in this Masechet was their best attempt to protect women from the hazards of the […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Esther Israel looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 109. The G’mara is about rambly on this page, ending up with a bunch of recommended practices and norms for individuals and community, from halitsah to loan guarantors, from restrictions on vowing to questioning whether should Jews warmly welcome […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Esther Israel looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 108. Having explored yesterday the questions when – and under what circumstances – a minor girl can reject, or object to a marriage or betrothal that have been arranged for her, we turn today to the question: what does […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Esther Israel looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 107. With דף ק”ז , 107, we begin a new chapter of the Mishna and G’mara; Yevamot chapter 13. The first topic covered in this chapter is an offshoot of the allowance of betrothal of minors. (קידושי קטנה): This […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Esther Israel looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 106. What if the court feels they must resort to extreme measures to procure a halitsah for a case where there is, in there eyes, a clear incompatibility between the yabam and y’vama?
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Esther Israel looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 105. Today we will discuss the ability of a minor girl to perform Halitsah, and who has interests in her being able to do so, or not. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Esther Israel looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 104. The Halitsah ceremony involves three main components: The removal of the man’s shoe, her spitting, and her recitation of her line “thus shall be done to the man who will not build up a line/ house for his […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Esther Israel looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 103. Today we’ll learn a barraita and the g’mara’s discussion of it, in which we are testing how far one can stretch what we understand to be the reality the torah was describing, regarding a certain commandment and the […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 94. Although in most cases Jewish law demands two witnesses, with respect to marital law, one witness is enough. Why? To prevent women from being “agunot” or chained to absent husbands. The opening and closing music for this […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 93. Can you buy and sell something that doesn’t exist? Or do you have to hold it to sell it? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 92. What happens when the court makes a mistake? Must the parties to the case suffer if the judges err? Or is it the judges own fault? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 91. The Mishna and early post-Mishnaic authorities ruled somewhat leniently, permitting some mistakenly re-married women to return to their first husbands. But post-Talmudic authorities took a stricter stance, requiring double divorces in every case. Today’s page documents the […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 90. We continue our discussion of whether the Sages have the power to “uproot a law from the Torah.” The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 89. The Talmud’s sad story of a woman who remarries, mistakenly believing her husband is dead will become a modern Hebrew classic in Agnon’s novella “The Crooked Will be Made Straight.” In our page we begin discussing whether […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Josh Buchin looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 88. A plug for people to buy and read The Story Of My Wife, by Milan Fust. Also, what happens if a woman, whose husband is overseas and presumed dead, remarries, only to discover that her first husband […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Josh Buchin looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 87. A woman who returns to her Priestly family can once again eat Teruma. This is a great example of the Gemara’s concern for and the Jewish tradition’s ability to mark transitions, and to offer support for those […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Josh Buchin looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 86. We’ve inherited a Prophetic tradition that asks us to be better and to make the world a better place. The Gemara talks about this chain of transmission and the interpretation of Biblical verses in the context of […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Josh Buchin looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 85. Who can priests marry? Who can anyone marry, for that matter? The Gemara weighs in on communal anxieties around marriage. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Josh Buchin looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 84. Is it possible for the Mishnah or the Gemara to ever be completely comprehensive? Any act of inclusion is also an act of exclusion. A discussion about the editing of the Gemara. The opening and closing music […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Josh Buchin looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 83. Everything belongs to God. Agriculture laws, duties towards neighbors, and accepting God’s sovereignty. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Josh Buchin looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 82. Is Torah still relevant? Terumah, Seder Olam, and problematic mixtures. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 67. Is a fetus enough of a person to own something? Or enough of a person to impart a right to another person? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 66. Husbands have two different kinds of property obligations regarding their wives pre-marital property: “iron sheep” are debts he must pay to her no matter what happens to the property, and “pluckings, ” property rights the wife retains […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 65. Are women obligated to “be fruitful and multiply?” The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 64. What happens if a couple cannot have children? Should they stick it out, even if they will never have kids, or divorce so they can have children with others? The opening and closing music for this podcast […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 63. Today the Sages expound the idea that full human life requires marriage, not celibacy, and claim that failing to have children is like shrinking God’s presence on earth. The opening and closing music for this podcast is […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 62. Today we study the commandment to procreate. Can you ever have enough children? Or should you always try for more? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 61. Today we learn one of the Talmud’s ugliest teachings: are only Jews really human? What about gentiles? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 55. In today’s episode we ask “does every action really count?” The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 54. Today we ask do unintentional actions count for anything? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 53. Is a second get needed once a halitza was performed and then the Yibum does ma’amar? A proper halitza and a deficient halitza and its consequences and can there be a condition to a halitza? The gemarra […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 52. The proper way of acquisition is “betrothal” and then one may have intercourse. Even though we know that intercourse itself is also a valid form of betrothal the rabbis prohibited this and made it a punishable offense. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 51. Two yevamot that fall to one levir – which are the forbidden relationships resulting from it once halitza has been performed? Does it matter with which sister halitza was done? The opening and closing music for this […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 50. We will discuss various aspects of the validity of a get, a divorce document in connection with Yibum. In the case of two sisters-in-law does each sister require a get and does each sister need halitza? The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 49. This daf discusses the very difficult topic of a mamzer: “A mamzer shall not enter the congregation of the Lord…” our mishna discusses who falls under the category of mamzer and what are the implications of it. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 48. Once a person has converted, even if he regrets and returns to his old faith or converts to another religion, in Jewish law he is considered nevertheless a Jew. Is there such a thing as forced conversion […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 47. If someone comes from far away and claims that he converted – is he believed or not and does it matter where he converted? And what is required of a prospective convert and should he be encouraged […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Chava Evans looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 41. Today we ask how do the Ramban and the Rashba differ in their understanding of the mishnah at the top of Yevamot 41a? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Chava Evans looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 40. In what sense in yibum a mitzvah? In which we encounter a scrambled baraisa and two opinions on the matter. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Ezra Balser looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 33. In today’s daf we will continue the sugya we started to learn yesterday about Rabbi Yosi’s position on sentencing and the disagreement between Rabbi Hiya and Bar Kapara over Rebbe’s teaching of Rabbi Yosi’s position. Then we will […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Ezra Balser looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 32. In today’s daf, we will be discussing R. Yosi’s philosophy on criminal sentencing, followed by an argument showcased in a lively beit midrash scene over the true meaning behind his words. The opening and closing music for this […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, JCast Network Executive Producer and Executive Director shares that the DDD will be on hiatus for the next week as episodes for this week of pages were not recorded when these episodes were first created seven and a half years ago. We encourage you to consider […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 25. Just how strict should society be about rumors of adultery? Should society worry more about marital breakdown? Or how the rumors will effect the children from the first marriage? The opening and closing music for this podcast […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 24. What kind of motives should Judaism demand from conversion candidates? Must a new Jew’s motives be only a matter of faith in God and Torah? Or can a gentile convert for love and money? The opening and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 23. Why does traditional Jewish law hold that Judaism is passed through the mother? On today’s page, one sage offers an answer. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 22. When a gentile chooses to become a Jew, what is the halakhic status of his or her biological family? Or, to put it bluntly, can new Jews marry their siblings? The opening and closing music for this […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 21. How Rabbenu Tam cancelled a misbegotten wedding in 12th century Provence. And the relative importance of sexual ethics and business ethics. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 20. Today’s tale: “The Curious Case of the Virgin Widow, or What Happens When Two Mitzvot Conflict.” The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 19. Today’s episode explores if a levirate marriage is like a regular marriage, in that it demands a woman’s consent? Or does the Torah demand that she marry the brother-in-law whether she wants to or not? The opening […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noam Raucher looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 18. This page brings a new mishnah, which mimics the one provided on 17a, but with one alteration at the end. It offers a dissent to say Levi, the third, non-contemporary brother may take either wife, whichever he […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noam Raucher looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 17. This time our rabbis discuss that even though the marriage between a Jew and and idolatrous tribe member might stand, it leaves the identity of their children in question. The opening and closing music for this podcast […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noam Raucher looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 16. The Jew in the Pew. The Gemara eventually leads to a conversation regarding accepting converts from certain tribes. It goes on to list a few, all of which are prohibited from converting to the Jewish people because […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noam Raucher looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 15. Today we try to determine if Hillel and Shammai actually followed their own rulings. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noam Raucher looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 14. Today we continue with the idea of “Lo Titgodedu” which means to “don’t separate into factions”, different groups of Jews, giving the appearance of different Torahs – different Judaisms. Their concern is primarily over differing or even […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noam Raucher looks at Masechet Yevamot, Daf 13. Today includes a new Mishnah that is discussed that addresses different women one whose relationship to a man makes them subject to more stringent rule that the 15 before- Since they must be married to others and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Ezra Balser looks at Masechet Yevamot Daf 11. Today we will be looking at and discussing the phrase “אין מקרא יוצאמידי פשוטו” that appears on today’s daf and its greater implications on our continued study of Torah. The opening and closing music for this podcast is […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Miri Fenton looks at Masechet Yevamot Daf 10. This daf is in the middle of a long sugiyah that deals with halachic limit cases of Levirate marriage. Reading a mahloket between Reish Lakish and Rabbi Yochanan illuminates some of the legal problems and potential solutions around […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Esther Israel looks at Masechet Yevamot Daf 9. In today’s learning we’ll be tasting the way the sages picked up on Biblical hints as part of the process of Halakhic Midrash, or, Midrash Halakha. This is part of a process one could view as Biblical archaeology, […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Levy looks at Masechet Yevamot Daf 8. Today we look at the dangers of religion. Rabbi Levy considers why he needs to be taught not to sleep with his daughter. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Gail Diamond looks at Masechet Yevamot Daf 7. In this podcast, Rabbi Gail Diamond talks about how this difficult first sugya of Yevamot shows the creativity of our sages in developing Jewish law. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Daniel S. Kaiman looks at Masechet Yevamot Daf 6. This episode (and daf) is still dealing with whether a positive mitzvah can override a negative prohibition, let’s see how heksher mitzvah impacts this debate. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Daniel S. Kaiman looks at Masechet Yevamot Daf 5. Today we continue the exploration of if a positive mitzvah can override a negative prohibition. How do we balance a system that feels fragile? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Jeremy Tabick looks at Masechet Yevamot Daf 4. Too much emphasis is placed too often in the study of midrash on the literary methods our sages use in order derive the halakhah from the Torah. But today’s daf reveals a crucial argument between Ben Azzai and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Avi Killip looks at Masechet Yevamot Daf 3. In this daf, Abba Shaul give us his opinion of two biblical rituals: “Yibum” and “Chalitza.” The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Avi Killip looks at Masechet Yevamot Daf 2. Today we begin Seder Nashim with Tractate Yemavot. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 27. Today we end the massekhet with the conclusion of sugya about the basis for the altars in the Temple not being susceptible to ritual imourity. Concluding sugya comparing the fire of the sacrifices with the fire of […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 26. Today we have additinal sugyot about who and where one can rely on claims of ritual purity. Sugya on the purity of keilim in the Temple. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 25. Today’s episode includes more sugyot about the relationship between chaverim and ammai ha’aretz and when the am ha’aretz can be trusted or not with regard to purity law. The opening and closing music for this podcast is […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 24. This episode includes the remaining talmudic discussion on the last few of the 11 rabbinic stringencies introduced to purity law in the opening mishnah of chapter 3. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 23. Today we will explore how an actual event shapes purity law regarding carrying midras at the same time as qodesh. An investigation of why a vessel which has just been finished requires immersion. How this case is […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 22. This episode begins with the conclusion of discussion of the difference between Rava and R. Illa. The tracing of this dispute back to the tannaitic period.. How the relations between chaverim and ammai ha’aretz [the knowledgeable and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 21. This episode begins with the conclusion of mishnah from previous daf. Discussion of how to understand 2 cases which seem to teach the same issue, interposition. R. Illah believes it is interposition in both cases and both […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 20. We ask “can hullin, which is treated as if it were qodesh, become like qodesh and transmit impurity to other objects or people?” We then focus on the role of guarding in keeping objects ritually pure and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 19. Today we ask “is intention necessary for immersion in the miqvah to be effective for the eating of hullin?” Then we look at the principles of gud achait and gud asaiq as they pertain to the requirements […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 18. This episodes contains the conclusion of discussion of the derivation of compensation sacrifices for Shavuot. Ma’aseh in which Jews were not permitted to eulogize on the Day of Slaughterhing which seems to contradict the mishnah on the […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 17. Today we focus on a mishnah with disagreement between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai regarding the propriety of offering sh’lamim sacrifices and olot r’iyah on the Holiday and whether one may do s’micha, the laying on of […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 16. Today we’ll learn a little bit about Angels and Demons (with apologies to Dan Brown). Then we will return to law, as we pick up on what may well have been the very first dispute in rabbinic […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 15. Rabbi Elisha Ben Abuya is one of the tragic figures of rabbinic literature- he entered the realm of esoteric knowledge and was drawn into heresy, becoming “Acher”- “the other.” More recently, there has been new interest in […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 14. Four entered the Pardes, the orchard of enlightenment, and only one emerged whole. How did Rabbi Akiva do it? What’s the real danger of mystical exploration? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 13. The sages forbad study of Ma’aseh Merkavah- Ezekiel’s vision of the divine chariot. Why did he picture God surrounded by strange, 4-faced beasts? We’ll find answers from ancient archeology and later mysticism. But be careful, one person […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 12. Don’t listen to today’s podcast. It’s forbidden by Jewish law. If you must, make sure you do it alone, and not with another person, and you’ll learn about some of the basics of Jewish mysticism, what would […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 11. You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth! There are areas of knowledge that are too dangerous to be taught in public? I can understand why esoteric mystical knowledge might fall into that category, but why […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 10. Some laws are floating in the breeze, some are hanging by a thread! Are all Jewish observances based in Biblical law, or are some the product of rabbinic creativity? How do we feel about the answer to […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 9. Qohelet says that “the crooked cannot become straight,” which the Sages understand to mean that some mistakes cannot be repaired. For example, missing out on an entire holiday. And worse, an act of incest or adultery, or […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 8. Vegetarians be warned! The Sages say you can “be happy on your holiday” only when eating red meat, since that was the type of festive offering. Rav Ashi says this is obvious–only red meat satisfies. This leads […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 7. In tractate Peah we learn that some mitzvot have no fixed measure–any amount is good, and no amount is ever too much. One of those is the appearance offering, yet our Mishnah sets an amount. Rabbi Yohanan […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 6. Back in the Mishnah we heard of a debate between the schools of Shammai and Hillel on which class of festival sacrifice deserved priority–the burnt offering or the whole offering. In the Gemara we learn arguments to […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 5. Continuing the theme of weeping sages, we learn of Rabbi Yohanan’s sorrow that God holds Israel responsible even for minor mistakes, and not only for intentional crimes. For example, gross behavior like smashing a bug or spitting […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 4. Gender identity and roles are contentious topics in contemporary society, but we assume that the ancients had a simpler sense of male and female. Actually, it seems that they knew about various intersex genders, and debated the […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 3. How is a Talmudic page organized? Sometimes the editor explains the Mishnah systematically, but sometimes it is more like a string of associations, recording numerous sayings of a single sage, or examining similar expressions from different angles. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 2. We open our study of Tractate Hagigah, the 12th and final volume of Seder Mo’ed, with a discussion of the two sacrifices brought by individuals on the festival–the “face time” burnt offering, and the “happy meal” whole […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 29. This short daf completes Tractate Moed Katan. We learn what a person should say when departing from a dead person and what he should say when departing from a live person. Learn this daf carefully and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 28. Is death meaningful? That’s one of the questions this daf asks. What I mean by this is can one observe how a person died, quickly or slowly, at an old age or at a young age, […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 27. Burials and funeral can be expensive procedures. They can also be a moment where members of the community use the opportunity to show off their wealth. This happened during Talmudic times and it still happens today. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 26. Everybody knows that if a Torah falls to the ground people have to fast. Correct? But there is no source for this custom in the Talmud. Today we shall see the source in the Talmud that […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 25. Today’s rather long daf contains a series of stories of rabbis’ funerals, how the burial processions were conducted, what eulogies were recited and other various tidbits. In the podcast we’ll tell the fascinating story of the […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 24. There are several passages in the tractate about mourning on Shabbat and opinions vary. Some sages hold that on Shabbat all mourning customs are suspended, whereas other sages hold that only some mourning is suspended, but […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 23. One issue addressed on this daf is remarriage after the death of close relative. Here we see an interesting difference between the death of most relatives, even father or mother, and the death of a spouse. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 22. When a parent dies, the mourning practices are more stringent than when another person dies. This daf lists such differences. Specifically we will examine the issue of attending a celebratory feast–how long must one refrain from […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 21. A mourner is not allowed to study Torah. In today’s Daily Daf we look at some rabbis who despite this prohibition continued to teach Torah even when their own children dies. What does this teach us […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 20. In today’s daf we will explore the history of the halakhah that if one observes only one hour of shiva before the festival begins, there is no more shiva after the festival. This is one of […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 19. Today we will look at a mishnah which finally gets into the laws of mourning, which are the main topic of the rest of the tractate. The Mishnah begins with the intersection of mourning and a […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 18. In this daf we explore the fascinating topic of determinism. Is what happens to us determined by our actions and our initiatives? Do we create our own destiny? Or is what happens to us dictated by […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 17. Today we look at a fascinating aggadah concerning a rabbi who seems to have engaged in some misconduct, perhaps even sexual misconduct. Does his leadership role in the rabbinic community gain him a pass for his […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 16. It is often difficult to use the Bavli to see how Jews/rabbis actually lived their lives during the Talmudic period. Today’s daf gives us the opportunity to see how the sages used the power to excommunicate […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 15. This daf lists fourteen practices of mourning, and compares them with laws related a person who has been excommunicated or a person with skin disease (tzaraat). Most of these mourning practices either deprive the person of […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 14. Today’s daf is the first daf of the third chapter, a chapter which is concerned mostly with the laws of mourning. The passage upon which I focus today deals with the issue of standardization of halakhah. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 13. Should the sins of the fathers be visited upon the children? Theologically, perhaps, but the rabbis have a different understanding of how things should work–practically and ritually– in the world of here and now. The opening […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 12. May a non-Jw do work on Shabbat or Yom Tov that is forbidden for a Jew to do? Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi imagines a world where Jews and non-Jews do favors for one another, and where the […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 11. The concept of “Marit Ayin”– how things look to the eye of the observer– can be traced back to the idea on our daf. Even when we may be acting within the law, we have to […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Sarah Shulman looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 10. In Moed Katan 10 we will study the power of intention in actions during and beyond the festival week– what do our actions look like and how do we intend them? The opening and closing music for […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Sarah Shulman looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 9. In Moed Katan 9 we will explore what happened to the people of Israel when they broke Yom Kippur and the surprising response of the bat kol, a heavenly voice. The opening and closing music for this […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Sarah Shulman looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 8. In Moed Katan 8 we will explore the essence of simcha and how we mind find joy even in mourning. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Sarah Shulman looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 7. In Moed Katan 7 we will look at the power of the priest to pronounce the status of someone with leprosy and the power of not saying anything. Additionally we will explore where the patient and we […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Sarah Shulman looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 6. In Moed Katan 6 we will study ways we may and may not transfer water during the festival week and during the sabbatical year. Do we have a responsibility to sink nature to our Jewish calendar, or […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Sarah Shulman looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 5. In Moed Katan 5 we will look at the responsibility the public has for repairing damaged works and waterways even during the festival week and how this is relevant for our cities today. The opening and closing […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Sarah Shulman looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 4. In Moed Katan 4 we will be exploring two paradigms: a) the distinction between taking care of plants to be eaten during the festival week vs. taking care of them to improve their appearance; and b) digging […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 3. Is it possible that Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel would plan to have their rulings overturned by later generations? According to our daf, that’s exactly what they wanted! The chain of tradition depends upon it. The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 2. The rabbis send important messages in the proof texts they choose for even the simplest matters. Here, they are reminding us what an important privilege it is to be able to irrigate land of our own. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Michael Bernstein looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 32. That’s how we roll! Fittingly, the Tractate comes to an end with a discussion in part about the rolling of the Torah for its return to the ark. Why does the one who performs the rolling receive […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Michael Bernstein looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 31. Blessings, curses, and Who Wrote these Verses? In the time of the Gemara there was a custom to read from various verses outlining curses and punishments on a fast day. The question is raised about when it […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Michael Bernstein looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 30. Remember, then act. The ritual question of whether Parashat Zachor comes before or after Purim when it falls on a Friday highlights the importance of the commandment to Remember that which Amalek did, as well as to […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Michael Bernstein looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 29. Measuring the Divine presence. We are used to thinking of G*d as everywhere at all times, but we see here that the shekhina, the Divine Dwelling can be seen as resting and traveling in a particular way. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Michael Bernstein looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 28. Whose honor is greater? We will see how the hierarchy shifts from the honor due to the kohanim , the priests to the honor due to the scholar of Torah. And within the world of scholars how […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 27. Can a synagogue be made into a beit midrash or vice versa? This is the discussion between Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi and Raba. And how do we treat sifrei kodesh – sifrei torah, chumashim, siddurim etc. What […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 26. Ma’alin bekadosh v’lo moridin – one may increase in holiness but not decrease. When sold, the proceeds these objects may be used to acquire objects of greater holiness and sometimes equal holiness. Where does this come from? […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 25. Everything is in Heaven except fear of heaven – the quote from Rabbi Hanina and how the relationship of love and fear of God and the role of free will has been interpreted and changed by some […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 24. The mishna explains to us the minimum amount of verses that can be read in any aliyah and introduces the ancient custom of reading and translating the torah and haftarah readings. We will then move on to […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 23. We will briefly revisit the discussion of whether a woman may receive an aliyah and also see the opinion of the Maharam on the subject before moving on to discuss for which prayers a minyan of 10 […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 22. Whether or not people need to go to work decides how many aliyot are read on days that aren’t yom tov: Rosh Hodesh is an occasion when 4 aliyot are read but on Public Fast days only […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 21. Today we learn about the weekly torah reading cycle: Monday, Thursday, Shabbat and also why Mondays and Thursdays? We also learn about the ancient practice that only the first and last person would recite a blessing over […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 20. On this page we examine the question: When does day begin? Is it sunrise, or is it when light first appears in the eastern sky? There are arguments for both opinions. The halachic (Jewish legal) issue is: […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 19. On this page we explore the tension between uniformity and variety in religious practice. According to the Talmud, different communities read the Megillah (the Scroll of Esther) on different days. Yet all read the entire Megillah—even though […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 18. There are two related issues raised on this page: language and memory. The Hebrew language (the language in which Jewish sacred texts such as the Megillah and the Torah are preserved) is clearly important, but how important? […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 17. With this page, we begin chapter 2 of Megillah, which focuses on how the megillah is supposed to be read. The very first rule is that the megillah is to be read in order. The text goes […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 16. This page is filled with interesting midrashic explanations of curiosities in the text of the Book of Esther (the “megillah” that is read on the holiday of Purim). In this Daily Daf Differently presentation, I focus on […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 15. The Talmud is an associative work, and this page of Talmud illustrates this. On the page there is an interpretation of the meaning of an expression in the Megillah offered by Rabbi Eleazar in the name of […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 14. Page 14 of Megillah continues a discussion (that can be found in the previous few pages) of the Book of Esther and the significance of reading the book (i.e., the “megillah”) on the holiday of Purim. We […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Levy looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 13. Today’s podcast asks two questions. What’s in a name? What is her name? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Levy looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 12. In this episode we look at Realpolitik at the start of Megillat Esther. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Levy looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 11. Today we ask the questions “What is the theological back-story to Megillat Esther?” The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Levy looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 10. The focus today is on the making of offerings outside Jerusalem. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Levy looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 9. On today’s daf we focus on the question of whether a Torah scroll may be written in English? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Levy looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 8. Today we will focus on the binding nature of vows. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Levy looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 7. In this episode we explore Esther’s quest for permanence. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 6. Should a person confront a wicked person when fate is shining on them? In this episode we see how the Talmud responds to that question. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 5. Today we ask the question “Why do they read Megillah in the city of Tiberius on the 14th and the 15th of Adar?” The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 4. Today we explore why we read the Megillah both day and night? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 3. In this episode, we focus on the battle between sacrifices and the study of torah. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein looks at Masechet Megilah Daf 2. What does the first Mishnah of Megillah tell us about the Mishnah, authority and the justification of the law? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Roth looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 31. Tu B’av: A Jewish Sadie Hawkin’s Day, a day of great joy. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Roth looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 30. A comparative look at the laws of personal mourning and the laws of Tisha B’av. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Roth looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 29. Discussion of the prohibitions against haircuts and laundry during the week in which Tisha B’av occurs. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Roth looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 28. Analysis of the five causes of mourning and fasting on 17 Tammuz. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Roth looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 27. How does the biblical quotation in the Mishnah prove its point? And, what were the Israelites of the Ma’amad fasting about? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Roth looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 26. How is the Jewish community represented in relation to the communal daily sacrifices being offered at the Temple? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Roth looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 25. When does fasting for rain end, and who deserves the credit when the rain actually comes? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Roth looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 24. Whose fault is it when a communal leader fails to achieve the desired result, the leader’s fault or the community’s fault? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joel Roth looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 23. What does Honi HaMe’agel mean? And are there limits to the acceptable behavior of a proven miracle worker? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 22. In today’s episode, we’ll continue to explore what it means to be holy and more specifically address the question, what does one have to do to secure a place in olam ha’ba, the world to come. We’ll eavesdrop […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 21. In today’s episode, we’ll meet the righteous man Nachum Ish Gam Zo, a great rabbi seemingly condemned to a difficult life of suffering. What has he done to deserve this fate? By unpacking his story and understanding how […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 20. In today’s episode, we’ll learn the classic aggadic story of Rabbi Elazar’s encounter with a strange fellow on his way home from a great day of Torah learning. Through that story, we’ll explore what it means to be […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 19. In today’s episode, we learn the famous aggada of Honi the Circle-Maker who stands before God and boldly demands rain for a community in drought. We’ll think about what we can and cannot ask God for, focusing on […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 18. In today’s episode, we’ll learn about Megillat Taanit, the scroll that details 35 celebratory, historical events that the rabbis declared should be observed as holidays for all generations. We’ll unpack what it means to observe these days as […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 17. In today’s episode, we explore why Cohanim were forbidden to drink in the days of the Temple and whether this prohibition would apply to Cohanim in our times. We’ll think about how our lives are different today in […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Avi Strausberg looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 16. In today’s episode, we’ll delve into the ritual fasts that a community takes upon themselves when suffering from lack of rain and fearing for the harvest to come. We’ll explore the theology of reward and punishment and reflect […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 15. The fast day Amidah used to include 6 additional blessings (24 instead of the usual 18) We don’t add all of those blessings today, but phrases from each have been merged together to create a new piyyut […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 14. Is any kind of prayer or supplication beneath our dignity? Does it matter whether we pray with words or actions, sackcloth or bowing? What do Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb, the wicked king Jehoram have to tell […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 13. In some cultures, people would bathe once a week, whether or not they needed it! Bathing is prohibited on some fast days, but not others. Mourners aren’t supposed to bathe during shiva either, but there are some […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 12. How fast can you fast? 25 hours? Is 12 hours enough? How about 6.5? Fasting a “half day” for minor fasts is a common Conservative practice. Where did it originate? The opening and closing music for this […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 11. Is fasting a good thing or a bad thing? Is it rude to eat or enjoy one’s self while others are suffering, or is it wrong to waste blessings that God may have sent our way? The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 10. Most prayer books have a cryptic reference to beginning new prayers for rain around December 5th. Why choose a date from the secular calendar and not the Jewish calendar. And why that date? The answer will take […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 9. On this daf, we ask the question of whether blessings can come to a whole community on the basis of one person’s actions, or whether, perhaps, sometimes rain may fall on one person, and not his neighbors. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Aaron Alexander looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 8. Wholeness in Prayer – The rabbis explore the difference between communal and individual prayer, and whether sincerity matters at all… The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Aaron Alexander looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 7. The Singularity of Rain and the double-edged sword of Torah. See how the rabbis have always known what we know today – be careful how you teach and preach. The opening and closing music for this podcast […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Aaron Alexander looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 6. Is there an appropriate and powerful way to offer a personal blessing after a meaningful encounter? Here’s one rabbi’s suggestion… The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Aaron Alexander looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 5. Is it possible for God to be both here and not here, there and not there? Let’s explore ‘between heaven and earth’! The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Aaron Alexander looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 4. Students, Fire and Swords – What are the pitfalls of Torah Study? Opportunities? The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead. This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Aaron Alexander looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 3. What’s in a name? An obscure question with no practical utility asks us to reflect on the moments we become our truest selves. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Aaron Alexander looks at Masechet Taanit Daf 2. The opening Mishnah and subsequent questions offered straightaway in this tratcate uncover deep tension about the nature of God’s power, humanity’s power, and their intersection. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 35. Before considering the question discussed on the brief Daf 35, we review what has been said over the week on the general theme of how the understanding and observance of Rosh Hashanah have changed over the ages, […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 34. Daf 34 discusses the questions of when the shofar is actually blown on Rosh Hashanah, why the blessing over the shofar is said earlier in the service, what kinds of sounds are made by the shofar, how […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 33. Before looking at Daf 34, we complete the discussion of a Mishnah on Daf 33 that states explicitly that Hallel was recited on Rosh Hashanah and note that between the early Talmudic period and the later Talmudic […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 32. Daf 32 returns to the discussion of Rosh Hashanah. We focus on a Mishnah that discusses the Musaf Amidah and reveals both how it was recited in earlier times and how it was expanded in later times […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 31. Daf 31 continues the discussion of the changes made by Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai after the Temple was destroyed. First however there is a brief detour to the question of why the psalms that we recite on […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 30. Daf 30 continues the discussion of the changes made by Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai after the Temple was destroyed. One topic is the lulav ceremony on Sukkot, where his ruling resulted in decentralizing the Temple practice. Another […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 29. Chapter 4 of Masechet Rosh Hashana begins on Daf 29 and its focus is on the shofar and the liturgy. The first question it discusses is whether the shofar may be blown if Rosh Hashanah falls on […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Steve Kane looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 28. What if you ate matzah on Pesach, but didn’t do it to fulfill the mitzvah? What if you happened to pass by a synagogue on Rosh HaShanah and heard the shofar sounded? Have you still fulfilled […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Steve Kane looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 27. When two people speak at once, can we truly hear either? What if God were to speak two words at the same time, would both words be heard? We look into the practical implications of “trei […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Steve Kane looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 26. On this page we examine the question as to why a cow’s horn cannot be used as a shofar. The Gemara states that “an accuser cannot become a defender”. What are we accused of, and what […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Steve Kane looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 25. The page begins with one of the most famous stories of rabbinic authority. There is a disagreement between Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabban Gamliel (the head of the Sanhedrin) as to when the month began. To assert […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Steve Kane looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 24. After discussing what kind of questions one asks witnesses about Rosh Hodesh, we look at the declaration of the new month. What did the Bet Din say, and how did the people respond to the declaration? […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Steve Kane looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 23. The Gemarah compares one who learns and teaches Torah to the hadas (myrtle) tree in the desert. Why is this beautiful tree used in the comparison, and what are the implications of it being found in […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Steve Kane looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 22. We discuss on this page the question of why certain individuals or groups are unreliable to give testimony for Rosh Hodesh (and in general), and what is the theory behind their rejection. What is the Talmud […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 21. We only keep one day of Yom Kippur because it would be too much of a burden on the community to keep a second day of yom tov shel galut on account of Yom Kipur. The […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 20. “Maleh” and “chaser” months and is it necessary to desecrate Shabbat for them? We look at the fascinating case of a Beit Din coercing witnesses to prevent them from testifying for the benefit of the community. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 19. Megilat Ta’anit and whether it is still valid after the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash. What is the status of certain holidays: divrei torah or divrei sofrim? Do they need chizuk or not and where do […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 18. The story of Beluria the convert who asked Rabban Gamliel a question regarding a legal interpretation of Scripture and we encounter the principle of “beyn adam l’makom” and “beyn adam l’chavero” The opening and closing music […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 17. We learn about the three groups of people that are judged on the final Yom Din: completely righteous, completely wicked, and those in-between and what role suffering plays to atone for one’s wrongdoings. We look at […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 16. The four occasions on which judgment is passed on the world and the beginning of the discussion about the moral judgment of mankind on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kipur. Which things can change the final decree? […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 15. The new year of trees and what determines it? The tithing cycle and how it is determined which fruits are tithed for the past year and the coming year. The opening and closing music for this […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 14. Is consistency a requirement for a religious legal system? Today’s daf addresses this very important question. What are the rules according to which rabbinic law work? Autonomy as a value is central to many modern approaches […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 13. Today’s daf addresses a number of issues relating to the Sabbatical Year. One is how much does something have to grow before it is considered to have grown during the Sabbatical year. Specifically, if towards the […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 12. Have you ever looked up at the stars and wondered what lies beyond all of those stars and constellations? Well, according to today’s daf, beyond the constellations and stars were the waters that flooded the Earth […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 11. On today’s daf we go read a detailed list of special dates within Jewish history. We’ll learn on what day the world was created, when were the patriarchs born, and during which month the Children of […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 10. I hope that you enjoyed the concept that we are obligated to add to the holy time period of the Sabbatical Year that we learned on yesterday’s daf, because we speak more about it today. Today’s […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 9. Listen to today’s daf in order to learn how a discussion of the starting point for the Sabbatical Year, the Shemittah year, is used in order to teach an important concept that applies to Shabbat and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 8. Tithing a cattle? Who would have thought. Well, Masekhet Rosh Hashana is very interested in the tithing of cattle and any deadlines that were involved. Our daf addresses these questions along with other important dates in […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbbi Daniel Goldfarb looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 7. A rabbinic statement adding “months, leap-years and, some say, housing rental agreements” to the matters for which the first of Nisan is the “new year” gives us the opportunity to look at each of these and […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 6. A statement by one rabbi that Charity pledges should be paid immediately, and not within the longer time period allowed for pledges to the Temple, leads us to explore the place of charity as a value […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 5. A statement by one rabbi that Charity pledges should be paid immediately, and not within the longer time period allowed for pledges to the Temple, leads us to explore the place of charity as a value […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 4. We will study the Talmud’s difficulty with a “Rosh Hashana for the Festivals” and see how it deals with a Biblical text that it understands but that lacks any operative guidance and with a Mishna text […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 3. We will look at the first few words of the opening Mishna of the tractate, regarding the First of Nisan as the New Year for the Kings. We will consider the statement that this is for […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb looks at Masechet Rosh Hashana Daf 2. For the opening page of this tractate we will look at some of the unique aspects of Rosh Hashana, both the holiday and the Talmud tractate. We will also do an overview of the Jewish calendar, […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 40. Enjoying the sacred time of the festival is influenced by the spaces we inhabit. How far can we stretch the boundaries of space and still share a common experience? By applying the criterion of space to measure […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 39. We examine the use of materials on festivals that may be available to many people, each going their own way. Do we apply any notions of ownership to such things as a flame or a natural source […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 38. The concept of “breirah” – do we accept a notion of predestination? Defending the rights of persons – in theory and in practice – the difference between a talmudic dictum and an episode in the study hall. […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 37. How much leeway do we grant with regard to restrictions on activities during a festival? What counts as an extenuating circumstance? And another case of competing claims: One person wants to study and one person wants to […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 36. We examine the relative values of human dignity, property values and the sacred atmosphere of Shabbat and Yom Tov. When such values come into conflict, which must make way before the other? The Talmud relates a story […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 35. We explore some legal implications that may follow from the power of sacred time of Shabbat. Hillel’s unique position in this regard. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 34. In order to create a special holiday experience we take into consideration appearances, thoughts and intentions, as well as actions. How much should we worry about things going wrong? How seriously should we take the thoughts of […]
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi David Greenstein looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 33.
How many ways can wood be put to use? Are they all appropriate for the holiday? What are the broad considerations that the Sages took seriously when limiting activities on Yom Tov? How definitive are the legal determinations of the Talmud?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Simeon Cohen looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 32.
This daf recounts some interesting aggadic teachings of Rav Natan bar Abba, including what the nature of one’s character should be in order to be considered a true descendent of Abraham, and what types of behavior will lead one to live an unsatisfying life.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Simeon Cohen looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 31.
Can one make a hole in a house on יום טוב? Is the ruling here different than the ruling for how one should behave on שבת? This daf deals with the question of making a hole as a means to ultimately discuss the bigger question of distinction in practice on יום טוב and שבת.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Simeon Cohen looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 30.
Can one carry a vessel on יום טוב? If so, how should one go about it? This daf makes clear that the rabbis understood that commerce needs to proceed on a Festival, but it also emphasizes that it is important to distinguish your behavior from that of a normal weekday in acknowledgment of the special nature of the day.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Simeon Cohen looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 29.
Can one obtain food from a butcher, grocer or shepherd on a Festival? This daf acknowledges that people’s basic needs still need to be met on יום טוב; here, the rabbis devise a system through which people can get food from a grocer or butcher on a Festival, while still maintaining the integrity of the day. This daf is a good illustration of rabbinic pragmatism and makes clear that the rabbis were not only concerned with הלכה; they were also deeply concerned with our basic human needs.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Simeon Cohen looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 28.
Can one sharpen a knife on a Festival? If so, what are the stipulations which dictate how the sharpening can be performed? This daf uses these questions as a means to explore the idea that it is significant to change your behavior on a Festival; even if sharpening is permitted, one should sharpen differently than one generally would on a regular weekday.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Simeon Cohen looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 27.
This episode deals with the question of what to do if an animal dies on יום טוב. Can it be cut up? Can the carcass be moved? And to what degree are the answers to the questions contingent upon whether or not the animal was sick before the Festival began? This page asks some interesting questions which provide insight into how the rabbis thought about the significance of one’s psychological state on a Festival.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Simeon Cohen looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 26.
This daf deals with the question of what to do if a first-born animal, a בכור, falls into a בור on a Festival. Is it permitted to descend to save it? Can one examine it for blemishes? And how does the principle of צער בעלי חיים, which deals with preventing the suffering of animals, come into play here?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 25.
What’s the most polite way to drink a cup of wine? The rabbis cared about social manners, and these manners become the basis for Jewish law.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 24.
Which is more important: the details of Talmudic debate or the mystical quest for holiness? An interaction on our daf suggests that one may lead to the other.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 23.
Creating a day that is a taste of eternity takes attention to detail and careful planning. Perhaps this is the reason the Gemara brings so many debates about what constitutes Melacha (prohibited work) on Shabbat and Yom Tov.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 22.
The principle of Marit Ayin (for the sake of appearance) has its origins in Talmudic thinking. What we are seen doing can influence the actions of others, and the rabbis remind us that we need to be careful about how we are seen.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 21.
Look! A raven! Even the greatest rabbis are not above using any tactic to avoid an unwanted discussion.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 20.
In trying to understand the debate between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel from yesterday’s mishnah, the Talmud presents a sampler of different types of argument. Each one offers us the opportunity to access the excitement –and the holiness– of Talmudic study.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 19.
Which is more central to the Chag, the celebration with family and friends or the connection that we make with God? According to Beit Hillel, both are essential. Moadim l’Simcha!
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 18.
“I been out riding fences, for so long now.” Unbeknownst to many, that classic Eagles’ lyric from the song Desperado is not a metaphor for loneliness or heartbreak, but instead a subtle allusion to the rabbinic practice of making gezerot, rabbinic measures which prohibit a certain activity lest it lead us to transgress a Biblical prohibition. As luck would have it, that is also the topic of today’s poscast!
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 17.
Which holiness is most holy: the people of Israel, Shabbat, or perhaps the Festivals? A seemingly picayune question about the wording of the blessing for the Amidah inspires some far reaching thinking on the subject.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 16.
How much can we count on God’s blessing? Should we follow Shammai the Elder and set aside that which has been given us in preparation for the lean times, or should we say, with Hillel the Elder, “Blessed is the Lord, day by day”? As usual in the Talmud, no answers, only questions.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 15.
Do our lives belong to God, to us, or can the life we live be divided between the two? This fundamental question is asked, but only after the lecture goes on too long.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 14.
How do we create community when the rules we follow may differ from those of our neighbors or our families? How do I know if I can eat pearl barley in the house of the Exilarch? These questions turn out to be more connected than you might think.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 13.
Is it ever okay to estimate? Or do we always need precision when fulfilling the commandments? At the Passover season, the answer seems to matter.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 12.
How much of a distinction do we make between Shabbat and Festivals? Does the permission given for certain activities on a festival day constitute a blanket allowance, or need we be more careful. Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai discuss, and we have a front row seat.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ben Kramer looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 11.
Yet even more dovecotes – and two more principals of rabbinic jurisprudence: majority and proximity. Both principals have their place, but how to decide which one to apply when they lead to different rulings?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ben Kramer looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 10.
More dovecotes — and another principal of rabbinic jurisprudence: bereirah, the ability to retroactively clarify one’s choice.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ben Kramer looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 9.
Dovecotes, ladders and the importance of avoiding the appearance of wrongdoing.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ben Kramer looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 8.
What happens when a positive commandment and a negative commandment devolve upon the same person in the same moment? The answer is one of the foundational principals of rabbinic jurisprudence.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ben Kramer looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 7.
A digression into the laws of buying and selling, where we learn that, in determining the validity of a sale, assumptions are everything.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ben Kramer looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 6.
What happens when someone dies on Yom Tov, when burial is forbidden? How do we balance the value of celebrating Yom Tov by refraining from forbidden labor with the value of honoring the deceased by performing a timely burial?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ben Kramer looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 5.
A discussion of the permissibility of an egg laid on Yom Tov leads to an even more important question: Do rabbinic laws remain in force even after they are no longer necessary?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 4.
The Sages who lived in Babylonia kept two days of holidays, as diaspora Jews have done for centuries. What is the status of the second day of Passover, Shavuot or Sukkot?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 3.
Today we consider the Sages’ approaches to rabbinic versus biblical legislation. When are they strict and when are they lenient?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 2.
We begin the tractate known by its first word “Beitza” or “egg,” but whose true name is “Yom Tov,” concerned with “holiday” legislation, specifically surrounding the permission to prepare food on the holiday. Our first question: Can you consume an egg laid on Yom Tov?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 56.
We conclude the tractate with the story of one priestly clan’s apostasy during the reign of Antiochus.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 55.
Today we review some liturgical “history” of the psalms recited in the Temple, and how the sacrifices are memorialized in today’s liturgy.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 54.
If you have two mitzvah-opportunities before you, something special and something prosaic and “everyday,” which should you do first?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 53.
Today’s page contains rich and mysterious lore about the divine name and primordial chaos.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Robert Scheinberg looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 52.
One of the talmud’s classic stories about sexual self-control. When the Babylonian sage Abbaye appoints himself as the “modesty police” and follows a couple to prevent them from engaging in appropriate conduct, he ends up learning an uncomfortable truth about himself.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Robert Scheinberg looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 51.
What does true celebration look like? And what is the original textual basis for the practice of separation of men and women in prayer?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Robert Scheinberg looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 50.
What is the right balance between vocal music and instrumental music? What was “Moses’ flute”? And should you be worried that a snake might have deposited some of its venom in your water?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Robert Scheinberg looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 49.
The Talmud’s classic discussion on the important question: What’s better: Tzedakah (financial generosity), or Gemilut Hasadim (acts of lovingkindness)?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Robert Scheinberg looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 48.
Why would the ritual of Nisuch Ha-Mayim (water libations) become a flash point for disagreements among different groups of Jews? Why would a misstep in such a ceremony so bother the people at the Temple that they would pelt a priest with their etrogs? And the peculiar story of the two heretics, Sasson and Simcha, and how they feel that the entire Bible is really about them.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Robert Scheinberg looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 47.
What is the holiday of Shmini Atzeret? What makes it different from the rest of Sukkot — and in what ways does it resemble the rest of Sukkot? (And should we even refer to “the rest of” Sukkot, if Shmini Atzeret is really its own separate holiday?)
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Robert Scheinberg looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 46.
What are the blessings for dwelling in the sukkah, for using the lulav and etrog, and for lighting Hanukkah candles? How have these practices changed over time?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Miriam-Simma Walfish looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 45.
What can Sukkot teach us about different ways of being in relationship with God? Today’s daf will explore this question through the ritual of hoshanot.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Micha’el Rosenberg looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 44.
Why do things sometimes matter to us more than they’re “supposed” to? On Sukkah 44, we explore the tension between the official, authoritative sources for a practice, and the visceral, lived experience of performing that practice.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Micha’el Rosenberg looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 43.
What value is there to having a single Temple? And what have we lost with its destruction? Thinking about the lulav might offer an answer that doesn’t require fundamentalist assumptions.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Miriam-Simma Walfish looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 42.
We see Bar/Bat Mitzvah time as an induction into religious obligation, but today’s daf will provide an alternative view, leaving us with a question: How do we know when it is time for children become participants in Jewish ritual life?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Miriam-Simma Walfish looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 41.
Today’s daf explores the question of personal ownership of lulavim on Sukkot. Why is such ownership required? Why is giving a lulav to a friend as a temporary gift okay? What do these rules tell us about the purpose of the ritual?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Miriam-Simma Walfish looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 40.
Today’s daf engages in the question of what sabbatical produce may be used for leading to the question of what the primary purpose of the ban on agricultural labor during the sabbatical year. Is it to give the land a rest or is it to serve as an economic equalizer?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Miriam-Simma Walfish looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 39.
What assumptions should we make about the religious practice of others? In what ways should these assumptions inform our interactions with them? Today’s daf engages these questions through a discussion of purchasing a etrog in the shmitta (sabbatical) year.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 38.
What happens if one is travelling and didn’t have time to wave the lulav – may one do so even late afternoon? Is a person exempt from Hallel by listening to someone else? And what if that someone happens to be a slave, minor or a woman? Is Hallel and Birkat Hamazon d’oraita or d’rabbanan?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 37.
A kal v’chomer that starts out as a stringency but results in a leniency and why such a kal v’chomer is invalid. How to tie the four species and the different customs of various Jewish communities. The mishna about waving the four species during Hallel, when and when not to wave.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 36.
The different parts of an etrog. What happens when an etrog gets damaged, how much of damage and what is the location of a damage that makes it pasul, or what happens if an etrog gets eaten by mice. How much scrutiny should we pay to pick the best etrog?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 35.
An etrog that is Orlah or Ma’aser Sheni and the mahloket between Rabbi Hiya bar Avin and Rabbi Assi as to the reason an etrog is pasul: is it because of “heter achila” or because of “din mammon”?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 34.
The laws of arava. The principle of “hilkheta gemirei lehu” and “halakha leMoshe meSinai”, although these principles have no actual scriptural source they are still considered of equal authority as laws that have a scriptural basis. The number of species required and can one add to them or is one considered ba’al tosif and finally, the Mishnah of the laws of etrog.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 33.
What are the requirements for a kosher hadas and what species is meant when we are talking about a Hadas. What is meant with “dichuy etzel mitsvot” – the concept of “dichuy” (disqualification) in regards to mitsvot — can something that is unfit become fit again?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 32.
Requirements of a lulav. Difference between a lulav that is “nisdak” “nifredu” and “nitzretu”, a lulav that is split, spread out or has torn off leaves.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 31.
More on mitzvot of and sins, and what thieves owe to those from whom they steal.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 30.
Can you pursue a sacred end with sinful means? Today we discuss the concept of Mitzvah ha’baah ba’aveira, a commandment achieved through a sin.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 29.
Should Jewish norms treat every individual equally, demanding the same behavior of each person or should Jewish norms expect different things from different folks?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 28.
Is rabbinic teaching primarily conservative, a project about maintaining the tradition we’ve received? Or is it about creativity, tapping as yet unexpected sources of meaning?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 27.
How is Sukkot like Passover? And how many Sukkot should there be? Should we each have our own, or should all Israel share one gigantic Sukkah?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 26.
What exempts us from sitting in the Sukkah? A little rain? An illness? An — in a tangential topic — why should a man not sleep in Tefillin? A hint: one answer is a little gross and the other a little sexy.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 25.
Today we explore the Rabbinic principle that “one who is busy with one mitzvah is exempt from other mitzvot.”
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 24.
This episode includes further exploration of the opinions of R. Meir and R. Yehudah regarding the use of an animal for a wall. Exploration of conflicting opinions on whether a divorce document can be written on an animal. How R. Yosi Ha-glili and Rabbis drash the verse in Deuteronomy 24. Mishnah about using a tree for the walls of a sukkah and beginning discussion of it.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 23.
A general principle in the mishnah is that if the tree is removed and the sukkah can stand, then the sukkah is considered valid. The mishnah about building a sukkah about a boat is R. Aqiva’s. The mishnah about a sukkah on a camel is R. Meir’s. Conflicting opinions [R. Meir and R. Yehudah] about the use of an animal for a wall of a sukkah and an exploration of the issues.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 22.
This episode includes a clarification of the mishnaic term sukkah mduvlelet and application of the principle of havot rami, lower and cast, by which a roof composed of beams at different levels is said to collapse into one kosher roof for a sukkah.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 21.
Is an ohel any structure or must it be a man-made structure. Exploration of this issue, in particular the ramifications of R. Yehudah’s opinion, and its limitations with reference to a practice related to the red heifer which comes from Tractate Parah; why does the Mishnah specify conversation rather than teaching with regard to learning from Rabban Gamaliel.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 20.
This episode begins with the conclusion of a sugya about large and small reed mats being used for s’khakh; as well as a sugya about mats of different materials and whether or not they constitute vessels for the purposes of contracting impurity> We also begin the 2nd perek with mishnah about sleeping in a sukkah and the story about Tavi, Rabban Gamaliel’s servant sleeping in a sukkah, and what we learn from Rabban Gamaliel’s conversation; beginning of a sugya about whether or not a bed constitutes an ohel, a shelter, by which sleeping underneath it would mean one was not in the sukkah.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 19.
This episode includes the conclusion of a sugya about the columns of a covered porch being used a wall for sukkah; explanation of a baraita which notes that a sukkah whose kosher s’khakh extends beyond the sukkah is treated like a sukkah; mishnah about the validity of a sukkah without a flat roof; story about Rav Yosef and Abbaye in which Rav Yosef uses a bridal bed in a sukkah; mishnah about a large reed mat being used for s’khakh; sugya about the difference between large and small mats.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 18.
Does lavud, the legal fiction by which empty space of a small enough area is said to be filled in, exist on the side adjacent to the wall, or also in the middle; 2 drashot of R. Yehudah bar Ila’i; may the columns of a covered porch be used for the walls of the sukkah?
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 17.
The Talmud continues its creative understanding of the walls of the sukkah, with the imaginary “dofen akumah,” the crooked wall. Once again, we learn that a life of emunah–a life of faith and religious meaning– must be willing to go beyond common sense!
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.
Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 16.
Is Sukkot the holiday of illusion? Two principles which are applied in our mishnah suggest that what matters is not the actual structure of the Sukkah, but the halachic imagination which underlies it.
The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.