Today’s daf reminds me of magic portals and doorways where you transform when you walk through them. Basically, the rabbis are discussing when someone becomes impure when carrying animals and/or hides out of the temple courtyard. Once someone leaves their clothes are rendered impure. But if they’re connected to people helping to carry the animalContinue reading “Zevachim 105”
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Zevachim 104
What’s a bira? Rabba bar bar Ḥana says that Rabbi Yoḥanan taught that it was a particular spot on the Temple Mount, while according to Reish Lakish the entire Temple was called Bira The gem? Bira in modern Hebrew is either an apartment or, you might have guessed it: beer.
Zevachim 103
Just because you haven’t ever seen something doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen or doesn’t exist. On our daf today the rabbis are discussing what happens to the hides of the sacrifices. Rabbi Hanina says he never saw a hide leave the Temple so it would indicate the priests had exclusive rights to the hides. IfContinue reading “Zevachim 103”
Zevachim 102
A beautiful gem today that shows that God really does tend to the sick and isolated. When Miriam became a leper (see Numbers 12:10), who diagnosed and quarantined her? If you say that Moses quarantined her, that is difficult, as Moses was a non-priest, and a non-priest may not inspect the shades of leprous marks to diagnose them. And if you say that Aaron quarantined her, that is difficult, as Aaron was a relative, Miriam’s brother, and aContinue reading “Zevachim 102”
Zevachim 101
The Torah (Numbers 12:3) tells us that “Moses was very humble, more so than any other human being on earth.” On our daf today, this idea is reinforced. The daf has been discussing acute mourning and sacrifices. Our biblical example of this is Aaron, Moses’s brother and the High Priest, serving the Temple while mourningContinue reading “Zevachim 101”
Zevachim 100
Do you have your priorities in order? On today’s daf we meet a priest who is reminded by his colleagues that work isn’t everything. From here it is derived that it is a mitzva for a priest to become impure in order to bury his deceased relatives, and if he did not want to doContinue reading “Zevachim 100”
Zevachim 99
In Zevachim 99, Rabbi Shimon offers a striking interpretation of a familiar offering. The Torah calls the peace offering shelamim, he says, to teach that it is brought only when a person is shalem—whole. Someone in a state of acute mourning does not bring this offering. The Gemara counters: But isn’t it taught in aContinue reading “Zevachim 99”
Zevachim 98
When one visits the mikvah (Jewish ritual bath), there is supposed to be nothing between you and the water. No clothing, hair tie, shoes, make up, jewlery, contacts . . . nothing. When I went for the first time in New York City, the nail trimmers and scrapers and small combs all emphasized that beforeContinue reading “Zevachim 98”
Zevachim 97
The Torah teaches that contact creates consequence. When ordinary food comes into contact with a sacrifice and absorbs its “flavor,” it is no longer neutral. It takes on the status of the sacrifice itself, with all of its restrictions and sanctity. If the sacrifice becomes invalid, the food becomes forbidden. Even when the sacrifice isContinue reading “Zevachim 97”
Zevachim 96
Who is your teacher? Your mentor? On our daf today, we see a teacher become upset when his student goes to learn from someone else. At first it seems perhaps the student left because the teacher has shady dealings with the tax collector. But when confronted the student just says that he isn’t a veryContinue reading “Zevachim 96”
2,711 pages of Talmud. A gem a day. 