That’s a picture of Denali, also known as Mount McKinley. Gorgeous. Makes one understand mountain worship. Mountain Worship is common in many cultures. Japanese have a faith called 山岳信仰, sangaku shinkō that regards mountains as sacred objects of worship. Korea, Tibet, Napal, China, and Andean people (and so many more) have mountain worship as well. In Judaism, we canContinue reading “Avodah Zarah 45”
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Avodah Zarah 44
Today’s daf is graphic! We get people doing (let’s say) interesting things with idols. A wise gentile, Proclus ben Plospus, once asked a question of Rabban Gamliel in the city of Akko when he was bathing in the bathhouse of the Greek god Aphrodite. Proclus said to him: It is written in your Torah: “AndContinue reading “Avodah Zarah 44”
Avodah Zarah 43
On our daf today, we get a great story about a rabbis quest to annul the idolatrous status of a ring he finds. From it, we learn three laws, but also a lesson about what we might need to do when we find something that could be harmful for others. Rabba bar bar Ḥana saysContinue reading “Avodah Zarah 43”
Avodah Zarah 42
Do Jews believe in dragons? On our daf today, we get a new Mishna that tells us that we cannot repurpose items of idol worship with the following depictions on them: MISHNA: In the case of one who finds vessels, and upon them is a figure of the sun, a figure of the moon, orContinue reading “Avodah Zarah 42”
Avodah Zarah 41
What do we put our faith into? Avodah Zarah, the name of our tractate, means idolatry. Today, the rabbis debate if a statue that was the object of idolatry breaks, if the fragmented pieces are still prohibited as objects of idolatry, or if they are now permissble to use in other contexts. It was stated:Continue reading “Avodah Zarah 41”
Avodah Zarah 40
Today we get a dramatic story of … a stomach ache! And we get a true bonafide remedy 🙂 The Gemara cites a relevant incident: The Sages taught: Once Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi felt discomfort in his stomachand knew that apple wine would alleviate it. He said: Isn’t there any person who knows whether apple wineContinue reading “Avodah Zarah 40”
Avodah Zarah 39
I remember my grandfather, who was an orthodox rabbi, telling me he didn’t learned most of the halakha (laws of Judaism) just by watching his dad. On today’s daf, we see how the members of a learned rabbis’ household are trusted to know the laws . . . ant that when we don’t live inContinue reading “Avodah Zarah 39”
Avodah Zarah 38
Today’s daf is focused on the question of when it is permitted to eat something when a non-Jew was involved in the process of cooking it. I will spare you the details and only share one ruling. But oddly enough, this piece on cooking has me thinking a lot about the “kosher” status of workContinue reading “Avodah Zarah 38”
Avodah Zarah 37
Yesterday, we learned that the rabbis need to follow the lead of the people and not make rules no one can follow. They do not want to be considered to restrictive. Today, we learn that they also don’t want to be perceived as too permissive. The Gemara relates a relevant incident: Rabbi Yehuda Nesia wasContinue reading “Avodah Zarah 37”
Avodah Zarah 36
Today’s daf reminds us that rabbis make mistakes too! I have two short gems, one that shows us that sometimes that fault is one of character and sometimes the fault is in expectations of what laws people can follow. First fault: Talking behind another rabbi’s back: Rav said to him: Was it Rabbi Simlai ofContinue reading “Avodah Zarah 36”
2,711 pages of Talmud. A gem a day. 