Moed Katan 9

Today’s daf is packed with goodies! We get the derivation of the principle that one may not mix one joy with another joy. We get this fabulous line: There is no complete rejoicing without eating and drinking. We get God pardoning David and all of Israel who are celebrating the returning of the Ark of the Covenant and so feast for a week (over Yom Kippur) being pardoned by a Divine voice: The words “for all the goodness” indicate that a Divine Voice issued forth and said to them: All of you are designated for life in the World-to-Come, which is the ultimate good.

We get God forgiving Solomon in this wonderful story: Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: When Solomon sought to bring the Ark into the Temple the gates clung together and could not be opened. Solomon uttered twenty-four songs of praise, and his prayer was not answered. He began and said: “Lift up your heads, O you gates, and be lifted up, you everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in” (Psalms 24:7), but once again his prayer was not answered, and the Temple gates remained closed. Once he said: “Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into your resting place, You, and the Ark of Your strength; Let your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with victory and let Your pious ones rejoice in goodness. O Lord God, do not turn away the face of Your anointed; remember the faithful love of David Your servant” (II Chronicles 6:41–42), he was immediately answered. At that moment the faces of David’s enemies turned dark like the charred bottom of a pot, and all knew that the Holy One, Blessed be He, forgave him for that sin involving Bathsheba, as they saw that it was only in his merit that the gates of the Temple opened.

I love this because he had to try 24 different Psalms and another blessing before he was answered – and all that teaches us about perseverance and what real success looks like (trying and failing and trying again and again).

But this one might be my favorite. In a discussion about how women are allowed to put on make up and wear jewelry during the intermediate days of the festival we get Rav Hisda’s hot wife:

The Gemara relates that Rav Ḥisda’s wife would adorn herself on the intermediate days of a Festival in the presence of her daughter-in-law, i.e., when she already had a married son. Rav Huna bar Ḥinnana sat before Rav Ḥisda, and he sat and said: They taught only that a woman is permitted to engage in cosmetic treatments on the intermediate days of a Festival only with regard to a young woman, as such treatments bring her joy, but in the case of an old woman, no, the treatments are not permitted, as she does not need them.

Rav Ḥisda said to him: By God! Even your mother, and even your mother’s mother, and even a woman so old that she is standing at the edge of her grave are all permitted to adorn themselves. As people say in the popular adage: A woman of sixty years, like one of six, runs at the sound of the timbrel [tavla], implying that women of all ages are young in spirit; since they all take pleasure in their adornments, they are allowed to adorn themselves, regardless of age.

Ladies should be allowed to dress how they want throughout their lives. They should be able to wear what makes them feel good.

Go get ‘um Rav Hisda’s wife.