First, defining some terms of armor. Then, a new mishnah introduced several topics: starting with balsam oil, and the absence of a decree when there's no post-Temple joy in the item (how recent the destruction must have seemed). Plus: additional Torah prohibitions for women, in terms of wearing them on Shabbat... In contrast to what a man cannot wear. From shepherds to every man. Also: Are women a nation unto themselves? Plus: Tefillin as an example for what women do not wear....except that here...
May 07, 2020•23 min•Season 2Ep. 62
Going out on Shabbat with one shoe and an injured foot: why do we wear shoes? Plus: Amulets! (What is going on with them?? How are they okay? How do they heal? And reliably, no less? Nonetheless, they seem to have been used without critique.
May 06, 2020•20 min•Season 2Ep. 61
Parallel structuring, on what a man cannot wear out on Shabbat. The hobnailed sandal and the reason it was prohibited get the focus of this daf. This decree follows tragic events, and finds a culprit in this shoe, with 3 versions of the narrative that led to the decree. The lessons go beyond the danger of the shoe, however. For starters, why would you ever wear something to injure people on Shabbat?! Yet the prominence seems clear, given the attention of this daf. Also, the specificity of Chazal...
May 05, 2020•21 min•Season 2Ep. 60
The city of gold, which is to say, more ornaments, to be worn (or not) in the public domain. Rabbi Akiva's gift to his wife, Rachel. But in this case, the korban hatat might be required, in contrast to the previous ornaments, this far. The difference that being a particularly distinguished woman makes. Plus, the discussion of the kelilah, that tiara-like adornment, and which of the sages are cited as permitting the item as one of clothing. Including: Levi, his identification, arrival in Babylon,...
May 04, 2020•18 min•Season 2Ep. 59
What's What: "Atarot Kallot." More on clothing that is decreed against wearing on Shabbat, lest one come to carry. Extending the discussion to focus on a bell - that is worn, that's a "kli," and the importance of the clapper. The value of adornment, including decorative elements in the home - which may not have "kli" status.
May 03, 2020•16 min•Season 2Ep. 58
A new chapter! The decree against women wearing certain kinds of adornments on Shabbat - lest they take them off to show them off and forget to put them back on, and thereby carry. Plus how all that relates to tevilah, immersion in the mikveh. Also: Sussing out what an unfamiliar name is for one such clothing item, for which multiple halakhot apply.
May 02, 2020•15 min•Season 2Ep. 57
On the practice of close reading of the biblical text, and the strong interpretive tradition of Chazal. Understanding biblical personalities via the reinterpretation of them. Focus on reinterpreting King David, as a non-sinner, despite the biblical text, and because of it. Who's Who: R. Shmuel bar Nachmani.
May 01, 2020•21 min•Season 2Ep. 56
Selecting good people to be protected from the angels of destruction and wicked people to be identified for them. But Justice asks: how different are they really?! The Gemara goes on to explain the rebuke in place here. The discussion as to how and why the the tzaddikim were marked at all emerges from why it was done with the Hebrew letter Tav. Also, Zekhut Avot, and what it means to not rely on it. Plus: the story of Reuben and Bilhah in the biblical text as prep for tomorrow's daf, which elabo...
Apr 30, 2020•26 min•Season 2Ep. 55
First, an addendum to the one-armed woman of yesterday. Next: limits on what animals can wear, as it were, on Shabbat -- and the implication of those limits on the animals' human owners. Plus: R. Elazar ben Azariah, and how he apparently let his cow go out on Shabbat wearing exactly the prohibited item - how can that be? A refresher as to who he was and the implications of this decision. Also: wishing you a happy Yom HaAtzmaut! Dedicated in memory of Anna Rutner Sara bat Yom Tov v’Rachel. (Some ...
Apr 29, 2020•23 min•Season 2Ep. 54
First, the distinction between medicine for a person as compared to an animal; next, no medicine on Shabbat at all. Plus: 2 very strange stories, one involving the miracle of a nursing man, and the other, a man's hypermodesty (are either of these things good? we discuss). Also: a meaningful Yom HaZikaron to you all - may Israel know no more pain.
Apr 28, 2020•24 min•Season 2Ep. 53
Animals in the public domain - what can they wear, what counts as "carrying"? We focus on the parah adumah, the red heifer, and today what extent wearing some bridle, bit, reins, etc. would invalidate its status as a parah adumah (or what it doesn't). The means to control the animal does not "work" the animal, which would invalidate it. Also, questions of definition with regard to Shabbat, as compared to tumah and taharah - rings, and their function, their composition, etc. Plus: observing the r...
Apr 27, 2020•19 min•Season 2Ep. 52
Can you insulate to keep things cold? R. Yehudah HaNasi contradicts himself - until Abaye resolves the contradiction. Also, a lesson in rabbinic authority, and just how oral the Talmud was. Plus: Perek 5: What about your animals' melakhah on Shabbat?
Apr 26, 2020•22 min•Season 2Ep. 51
Again, the overlap of hatmanah and muktzah, and again, the importance of intent, as we set items aside... for use on Shabbat. Also: Pursuing beauty, in celebration of God's world Dedicated in memory of Chaya Bayla bat Yeshayahu Yaakov v'Sarah Tziporah
Apr 25, 2020•21 min•Season 2Ep. 50
More hatmanah/insulation. Elisha (not the prophet). Explaining why the dove. Plus: The important discussion of the 39 Melakhot and their ostensible source in the Mishkan, with its attendant machloket and absolute agreement.
Apr 24, 2020•23 min•Season 2Ep. 49
The new perek! Insulating food on Shabbat, without cooking it. What substances protect the heat without increasing it and cooking. Plus, two stories that happened in the house of the Resh Galuta, specifically regarding violations of Shabbat (different practices, rightly and wrongly, seems to have been an age-old problem).
Apr 23, 2020•19 min•Season 2Ep. 48
First, an unusual use of a biblical verse that we found delightful. Next: Carrying ashes on Shabbat - muktzah, no? Which leads into an important discussion about the value of clothing for the poor and the wealthy. Also, "mi'us" in the text! Plus: the final mishnah of the perek, with a new contraption to accompany the ancient candles that leads to concerns of muktzah (they get resolved, not to worry).
Apr 22, 2020•25 min•Season 2Ep. 47
Stories of Hazal - how they kept the laws of Muktzah themselves, as per the Gemara's account. Sussing out halakhic positions from observed practice. Also: undoing vows on Shabbat, specifically those that a husband undoes for his wife, and the vow and its nullification relates to Shabbat, Plus: how sha'atnez connects to this discussion of Muktzah. Also: keep in mind the maximalist/minimalist divergence of approach.
Apr 21, 2020•23 min•Season 2Ep. 46
More on Muktzah. Including the case in the title, and how it relates to bein hashmashot. Plus: R. Shimon's minority opinion on the dried figs and raisins that are on the category of "muktzah" (a minimalist approach) vs. R. Yehudah's majority opinion (a maximalist approach).
Apr 20, 2020•22 min•Season 2Ep. 45
More Muktzah. Still no statement to that effect by the Gemara. That which is disgusting, that which is designated not for use before Shabbat, and that which serves as a "basis" for other things that cannot be moved.
Apr 19, 2020•10 min•Season 2Ep. 44
Some overview, and some cases from this daf - of these things that are prohibited to carry on Shabbat. Also: Defining "nolad," which is, of course, muktzah too.
Apr 18, 2020•13 min•Season 2Ep. 43
So many ways of not *meaning* to do melakhah. Partially defining "melekhet machshevet," and its requirements. Intent (davar she'eino mitkaven). And needing the physical outcome of the action (melakhah she'ainah tzerichah legufah) (as per the dispute between R. Shimon and R. Yehudah (and everyone less). Plus: Cooking spices indirectly, away from the heat source. That is, kli rishon, sheni, etc. And what happens when herbs cook very rapidly.
Apr 17, 2020•21 min•Season 2Ep. 42
Who's Who: Rabbi Zera. Also: What the Gemara learns from Rabbi Yehuda's conduct in the bathhouse. Plus: Warming devices for heating on Shabbat.
Apr 16, 2020•15 min•Season 2Ep. 41
The decree against full showers or baths on Shabbat, even when the water has been heated prior to Shabbat. Plus: the hierarchy of rabbinic authority, in which " Tannaim trump Amoraim. Two caveats from Anne: 1) when I said 3 days of yom tov in "America," I did not intend to exclude the rest of the Diaspora!; 2) in the discussion of long-haired bathing, yes, I'm well aware that there are women with short hair and men with long hair. Also: Who's Who: Rabbah.
Apr 15, 2020•13 min•Season 2Ep. 40
Still more cooking - frying your egg on the sidewalk ( is the sun)? Acceptable or not? What about-face hot springs. Also: Drawing inferences vs. a tradition handed down -- and who gives in in matters of dispute?
Apr 14, 2020•16 min•Season 2Ep. 39
More cooking! A decree that sheds light on halakhic cooking - and human nature. Defining terms: acting be-mezid, be-sho-geg, or forgetting. Also: Why intention matters, and how forgetting means you're not cooking anyway. How completing the prohibited action doesn't automatically mean the outcome (cooked food) is prohibited too - except it is. Plus: Ovens - the cooking apparatus, if you will - and how heat matters, as does an oven's structure.
Apr 13, 2020•18 min•Season 2Ep. 38
Cooking! When more time on the fire is better or worse for the food. Also: Understanding the variables in cooking as a melakhah. Including how Yardaena likes her steak (just so you know) and why that matters.
Apr 12, 2020•15 min•Season 2Ep. 37
Shofar, aravot, and the name of Babylonia - definitions in the absence of the Temple and losing the nuances of language. Also: Cooking! We begin the discussion of leaving food on fire on Shabbat, or returning it to fire on Shabbat.
Apr 11, 2020•12 min•Season 2Ep. 36
Erev Shabbat preparation, beginning with the 6 shofar blasts announcing the coming day. And the 5 shofar blasts of the Babylonian diaspora - of some concern to those in Israel.
Apr 10, 2020•11 min•Season 2Ep. 35
A brief mention of "hatmanah" and crock pots. More: The checklist going into Shabbat. Keeping tension in check, and welcoming Shabbat well. Also: Bein Hashmashot - between the suns - and different kinds of definitions for this amorphous time.
Apr 09, 2020•15 min•Season 2Ep. 34
One of those dapim we were eager to get to - it's got drama and conflict and religious pathos; it's got spying and flighty women; it's got the ability to provoke a serious discussion about whether Judaism is ideally integrated into the world, or held apart from the world. Namely, the story of how Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son came to live in a cave for more than a dozen years. Plus the connection to Shabbat that makes the placement of this narrative in this tractate logical.
Apr 08, 2020•27 min•Season 2Ep. 33
