Cities that have ascents and descents within it take a toll on their residents. And: The rest of the day is as challenging as we've seen. That is, one way of measuring the location of your city's edges to determine the city limits is by using the constellations... And the daf addresses how to do so. Also: Adding the extra space to make the city shapes smooth is *a lot* of extra space. Note that the cities of the leviim - which were also cities of refuge - included extra space, even beyond the ad...
Oct 04, 2020•19 min•Season 3Ep. 56
A final piece of aggadah before going back to the halakhic details of eruvin: the idea that the Torah is not in the heavens - it's right here for the taking, or, alternatively, it's not going to be accessible for one who is too haughty and refuses to approach Torah with humility. Moreover, don't rely on merchants and traders who may not have the time to study sufficiently. Back to halakhah: how do we determine the boundaries of a city. Filling in bumps and crevices to make smooth shapes for the ...
Oct 03, 2020•22 min•Season 3Ep. 55
Back to the story of Beruriah. Note that she is in (brief) conversation with a Galilean, and she is presumably a Judean, which shifts the focus of the "women" discussion wholly. Besides which, she goes on to kick a student in the next line - if you were worried that she was promoting hypermodesty. Also, on the "248 limbs of the body." And if you don't feel well - in your head, your throat, your stomach, etc. - you'll find your healing in learning Torah. Which is a comment on experience and value...
Oct 02, 2020•26 min•Season 3Ep. 54
How do you "me'abrin" - extend the city for the sake of its eruv? If you were to draw a straight line around your city, and the actual footprint is a bit more jagged, the idea is to smooth out that line, filling it in, as if it were square, with its added area as compared to a circle. But is "me'abrin" spelled with an aleph or an ayin? The meaning is different, the practical halakhic difference at this point, not so much. Which leads to a discussion of Machpelah (the Cave of the Patriarchs in He...
Oct 01, 2020•28 min•Season 3Ep. 53
A person who sets out of the place where he's establishing his eruv, and he's somehow detained or delayed, he can still continue to that place, but nobody else can rely on that eruv. This seems to be the diminishment of eruv techumin - meaning, all you need to do is set out on your way, and not even get there, to establish residence. And then just one step seems to be enough... Though this is more demonstration of intent than many other mitzvot require. Now, if you've set foot out of techum, wit...
Sep 30, 2020•16 min•Season 3Ep. 52
Rava and R. Yosef needed to set up an eruv, so Rava plans to set up a residence under a specific tree. R. Yosef doesn't know which tree, but Rava assures him that his familiarity is enough. And he credits R. Yosi as the tannaitic authority upon whom he relies for this. It's not clear, however, whether R. Yosi had anything to do with this view. Plus: The source for 2,000 amot for eruv techumin, and many-verse chain of links to get there.
Sep 29, 2020•15 min•Season 3Ep. 51
Rav's statement that one who tries to establish his residence under a tree, with an aim to 4,000 amot, hasn't said anything. Namely, the statement is too vague. And not actualizable. The language and the place's identity needed to be more clearly defined. Plus, the tree itself was massive, which makes the location all the more vague. "Underneath the tree" should be clear for a smaller tree, for example. Also, a beraita wherein one who made an eruv in two directions -- becomes problematic. But ma...
Sep 28, 2020•23 min•Season 3Ep. 50
The traits of Sodom. And other ways that eruvin may or may not take hold, but aren't really in the spirit of eruvin: one who doesn't allow others to eat from the eruv he has set aside. Or one who divides the content of the eruv. Both flout the essence of eruv, which is to bring people together, joining, sharing, into a unity. The Gemara also fleshes out why we need both of these cases. Also: Does the essence of eruv work because of the collective kinyan (formal act of acquisition) or because of ...
Sep 27, 2020•23 min•Season 3Ep. 49
Some inner workings of the beit midrash: Amoraim on tannaitic statements - a need to separate a residential area and a water-cooled ditch. And then R. Yosi bar R. Hanina laughed at the manner of separation... leaving the Gemara to figure out why he was laughing. Also: Among the discussion of how far one has to carry, the Gemara address the basis for "4 amot" - 3 amot for a person's space and an extra amah to bend and maneuver as needed. But are those amot objective distances or specific to each ...
Sep 26, 2020•18 min•Season 3Ep. 48
The halakhah discussion that is framed by the methodology question of rules of thumb of whose p'sak holds away. Cases pertain to women who were required to wait 3 months before getting married, lest she be pregnant from a previous marriage. This delay assures sure knowledge (presumably) of paternity. Also: One who buys from non-Jews, when in the Land of Israel, redeems all kinds of things. A kohen can leave the Land of Israel and make himself impure if he needs to legislate something in a court....
Sep 25, 2020•18 min•Season 3Ep. 47
How did the Amoraim view the Tannaim, and the process of halakhic development? Transmission from the previous generations, or inference? The Halakhah is lenient when it comes to eruvin. And that has to be a specific uttered statement, not inference - because it's too easy to think that the opinion of the "many" would prevail against the opinion of the one (R. Yochanan ben Nuri) - but it doesn't. Eruvin is rabbinic in any case! The daf continues to explore these principles of how the sages establ...
Sep 24, 2020•19 min•Season 3Ep. 46
Dedicated in memory of Chava bat Eliezer v’Sarah, Rabbanit Chava Schindler Oles on 5 Tishrei. || Who's Who: Rabban Gamliel the Elder. Regarding those whose activities legitimately take them out of techum Shabbat (emergency workers, protectors, and so on) can go home afterwards. One time, there was a melee with the enemies that they were trying to protect against... and they ended up killing more of each other instead of the actual enemy, in the chaos. Which leads to a discussion of when you can ...
Sep 23, 2020•33 min•Season 3Ep. 45
Can you use living creatures as a partition? What if those creatures are human beings? Can a person become part of a wall of the sukkah? What if the person doesn't know about it? Shabbat and sukkah appear to be different in this regard. Plus: If a person set off to leave the techum, and it is allowed! - and along the way, he get word that he's not needed, where does he go now? Is he allowed to return home? We can't penalize people (by not allowing them to return home) for sticking their necks ou...
Sep 22, 2020•18 min•Season 3Ep. 44
Does the concept of techum apply to a space that's over 10 tefachim? Again the overlap with eruv chatzerot, and so on. Seven teachings were taught twice, first in Sura, and then in Pompedita. How could that happen - at that distance? Eliyahu HaNavi! He could fly and bring the information. Alternatively, a demon. Pertaining to the vow of a Nazir. And the eruv and 10 tefachim. But can the messiah come, if he has to travel out of techum? Eliyahu has to travel and also the messiah to come the follow...
Sep 21, 2020•21 min•Season 3Ep. 43
THIS IS SUNDAY'S DAF. Eruv techumin vs. Eruv chatzerot - note that they're really different (which means that there's no carrying for the distance of eruv techumin). What if you don't know exactly how far the 2,000 amot of the techum takes you? What if your extended techum runs into a non-Jewish private domain? What if you need an eruv chatzerot to be able to carry where you're going? Plus: Another discussion of the partitions on a ship. If the walls are broken... But how does a boat function? i...
Sep 20, 2020•18 min•Season 3Ep. 42
THIS EPISODE IS SATURDAY'S DAF. What happens when Tisha B'Av falls out on Friday (which cannot happen in the era of a fixed calendar)? Namely, nobody should enter Shabbat in a state of affliction. But how can one eat on a fast day?! Note also that we do not have public fast days on Rosh Chodesh or Chanukah or Purim, with exceptions that don't establish a fast on one of the happy days. And then some rabbinic intrigue in terms of whose p'sak to follow - when Rabban Gamliel was alive, but does his ...
Sep 20, 2020•27 min•Season 3Ep. 41
On R. Dosa's statement that the person who davens on behalf of the congregation should pray conditionally, depending on the true date. The sages had gathered and were deliberating whether to mention Rosh Chodesh in the Rosh Hashanah liturgy. They disagree, of course, but the dispute us over the conditional factor, not the Rosh Chodesh factor (R. Dosa always favored the conditional approach!). Plus: An investigation into Shehechyanu, which can be an especially poignant blessing at the time of the...
Sep 18, 2020•18 min•Season 3Ep. 40
The establishment of Rosh Chodesh, based on witness testimony, and the implications of that for Rosh Hashanah, which, by definition, falls out on Rosh Chodesh, as it were. The Gemara says, set up two eruvin as possible for each day that might be the day of the new moon, vs. the day that retroactively will have been determined to be a regular day. But the sages reject this approach of dividing the holiness of Rosh Hashanah into two. With implications to separating terumot and maaserot as a condit...
Sep 17, 2020•27 min•Season 3Ep. 39
When yom tov is next to Shabbat... Making one eruv going to the west, and another one going to the east. From there, he follows the procedure for two days of eruv. When can he leave the eruv in the direction he's walking? And what if he ate the eruv on the first day? He won't have an eruv on the second day, because it's been eaten! Does that have implications for the holiness of the day? The significance of whether the two different days have one blended holiness, or are they separate? This disc...
Sep 16, 2020•17 min•Season 3Ep. 38
Terminology/What's What: Bereirah. Can an eruv techumin kick in retroactively, as determined by whether it is used? This kind of planning and thinking ahead, with a verbal declaration that designates a change at another time may be uniquely human, certainly far-ranging. Plus: A complete reversal of the sages' opinions, apparently after the fact - a "Fokh." A fluidity in the text itself that is no longer in evidence.
Sep 15, 2020•14 min•Season 3Ep. 37
How accessible does the food in the eruv need to be? What if you're a kohen, and you know that some of your food is terumah, and some is terumah that has been rendered impure? What can you eat? What happens if the status of your food is about to change (the next day, for example)? Is it sufficient to be available before Shabbat? What about the case of "tivul yom" (What's What)? It seems that the pre-Shabbat timing is critical for determining the accessibility of the eruv itself. Plus: The new Mi...
Sep 14, 2020•25 min•Season 3Ep. 36
A detour: When someone becomes a "zav" and is impure, that impurity can be transferred to an item simply by moving the item. But only if it's a kli, utensil, not if it's a tent that moves. And depending on what makes it move. Back to Eruvin: What happens if your eruv techumin is no longer available to be an eruv - if it rolls outside of the techum, if it's been destroyed, or rendered impure... Plus: The eruv meal - symbolic or your main food?
Sep 13, 2020•21 min•Season 3Ep. 35
Do you really need to bring the eruv techumin to the place where you want to set up the eruv? (In the case where Shabbat follows yom tov) Perhaps the concept of the eruv is sufficient, without having a physical eruv set up. But the case of when yom tov falls *after* Shabbat is exactly one that poses a difficulty for that theoretical eruv approach - the theoretical has to be possible! Also, if you put an eruv deep in the ground, that makes sense if it's a private domain, which goes up to the sky,...
Sep 12, 2020•19 min•Season 3Ep. 34
If you put your eruv good low in a tree, note that if it within 3 tefachim of the ground, it's as if it were on the ground itself. What if you put the eruv food in a basket that hangs from the tree? Will that hanging make a difference? Will it be valid? Can you move the food? Perhaps the eruv first must be in a makom patur, in its own defined domain. Also, how Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi uses the opinion of Rabbi Meir. Plus, when yom tov falls out on Friday, and you want an eruv techumin that will work...
Sep 11, 2020•19 min•Season 3Ep. 33
Following from the discussion of shlichut, sending an emissary - when can you trust that the system will function the way you've set it up to run? When you appoint a shaliach, can you act thereafter as if the shaliach has done his (or her) job? Or so you need to check in before you take the next step? For example, a woman who has given birth and offers a korban before she can dunk in the mikveh to purify. Namely, her dunking presumes that the kohen did his assignment. Plus the case of the "chave...
Sep 10, 2020•21 min•Season 3Ep. 32
The case of an eruv for a kohen who can eat the terumah (which is pure), and he himself is pure, but the location for the eruv is on a grave (which is impure). Ah, but the terumah has to be prepared or readied to be eligible to be rendered impure. The Gemara gets into a number of details pertaining to the care the kohen must take - an example of the far-reaching permutations for the case, the kind that we have seen fewer of in Eruvin. Also, the Gemara makes the point that we do not do mitzvot fo...
Sep 09, 2020•23 min•Season 3Ep. 31
When the eruv meal is made on food that the person using the eruv cannot eat (a Nazir and wine, a Yisrael and terumah). That's acceptable to Beit Hillel, but not to Beit Shammai. And then, for a change, Beit Hillel actively attempts to convince Beit Shammai, making a logical argument about an eruv for an adult on Yom Kippur. But Beit Shammai has an answer why they agree with Beit Hillel for the Yom Kippur case, and not for the Nazir/Yisrael scenarios. Also, Beit Shammai insists that if you are e...
Sep 08, 2020•19 min•Season 3Ep. 30
How much of certain foods do you need for them to be part of the meal upon which an eruv is established? 2 meals worth of the given food, now jointly owned (for eruv chatzerot), or left in the place of extending your distance (even if you don't eat it). We focus on the beverages this time. First, wine. Depending on the wine, you might need more or less of it. For beer, the discussion revolves around how beer is not water (it was drunk as though it was). How much beverage do you need to make an e...
Sep 07, 2020•16 min•Season 3Ep. 29
More on the food that is not just food, when it comes to establish an eruv. Greens, herbs, however they are identified by the Gemara's names (which Anne stumbles over): cress and sweet clover and more. Unused (for people) parts of wheat and unripe dates are not eligible for the eruv meal. But what about that sweet clover? It's not good for everyone, so how can it be eligible for this meal? The Gemara limits the statement to those who can eat it. Or maybe the clover is a different clover.... How ...
Sep 06, 2020•18 min•Season 3Ep. 28
The 3rd perek of Eruvin - beginning with a mishnah that ranges many topics. A joined meal to establish an eruv, also for Eruv Techumin (to extend one's city environs by another 2,000 amot). What about a meal made on maaser sheni?! You sell that produce, and use that money down the road (I'm Jerusalem). [What's What: They cycle of maaser sheni and maaser ani in the shemittah cycle]. What about someone who swore off food? That oath doesn't include water or salt, by definition. Note that establishi...
Sep 05, 2020•31 min•Season 3Ep. 27
