Being that we no longer offer physical sacrifices (such as animals and spices), it’s no wonder that we know so little of the rituals. Today’s gem is to notice that there are not one, but two altars for sacrifice! The first is the Golden Alter (Mizbeach Hazahav), which is also known as the Altar ofContinue reading “Zevachim 39”
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Zevachim 38
There is so much beautiful symbolism in the holiday of Sukkot. One of my favorites is derived from a teaching on the top of today’s daf. Yesterday, when determining how many corners (horns) the priest needed to sprinkle the blood of sacrifice upon, there was an argument made that if a word was written inContinue reading “Zevachim 38”
Zevachim 37
I remember being a child and reading from the Gate of Repentance, the red prayerbook we used on the High Holidays, and asking my mother what xenophobia meant. It was on our alphabetical list of sins. Years later, when it was on my GRE exam, I still remembered (it’s fear of foreigners). Today’s daf introducedContinue reading “Zevachim 37”
Zevachim 36
We have a tendency to take sides. If two friends divorce, most often, we stay close with only one member of the couple. We choose sides when watching sports, even when “our team” isn’t playing. And, yes, in war, we take sides saying one side is just and the other isn’t. And that can beContinue reading “Zevachim 36”
Zevachim 35
Today’s gem is the disgusting image of what the Temple courtyard must have looked like on Passover when everyone brought a lamb to be sacrificed. They had been discussing the blood that takes the life of the animal verses any blood that drains after. Just FYI. These bloods are not mixed and only the bloodContinue reading “Zevachim 35”
Zevachim 34
Doing extra seems to always be a good idea. But maybe there are times when it’s not? On today’s daf, there is a question of bringing “extra” sacrifices. First they question bringing an “kosher” animal. Once they determine that can’t be the situation, the question is if one can bring an undomesticated kosher animal. ItContinue reading “Zevachim 34”
Zevachim 33
We learned about the Gate of Nicanor earlier in our daf studies. The Nicanor Gate was one of the main gates of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, located on the eastern side. It was named after Nicanor of Alexandria, a wealthy Jew who donated the two massive, ornate gates made of Corinthian bronze. According toContinue reading “Zevachim 33”
Zevachim 32
Today’s daf is brought to you by “The Hokey Pokey” where you put your right hand in, put your right hand out, and shake it all about! We learned in the Mishnah, that non-priests can ritually slaughter sacrificial animals. The issue is: How can an impure person (who was included in the list of whoContinue reading “Zevachim 32”
Zevachim 31
And then a hero comes along . . . and the hero is a woman. Okay, today’s daf was boring me out of my mind. The entire daf discussed a hypothetical question of what’s the ruling if a person has a series of three intentions, the first: to eat half an olive bulk of sacrificialContinue reading “Zevachim 31”
Zevachim 30
We are living in a divided time, so this little gem is very important. When discussing two rabbis who seem to have differing rulings on sacrificial designations, the gemara says: They disagree where they disagree, but they do not disagree where they do not disagree. Right now, we all feel so divided. People are tooContinue reading “Zevachim 30”
2,711 pages of Talmud. A gem a day. 