Chagigah, Daf 8

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 him to teach that one may not get married on the holiday, since the joy needs to be communal, not personal. A new Mishnah considers the situation of different families–rich but small, poor but large, poor and small, and large and wealthy. A contrast is apparent, since in our day “successful” families are often rich and small. Our ancestors valued many children, even when there was not enough money to indulge them.

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.