2,711 pages of Talmud. A gem a day.

My gem is a little bit of “what goes around comes around.” We are, this far into the Talmud, very aware that the rabbis will give each other a hard time. Today Rabbi Zeira puts down Rabbi Yirmeya . . . .

Rabbi Yirmeya said to Rabbi Zeira: And are the Sages able to discern precisely between produce that reached one-third of its growth and produce that reached less than one-third of its growth? Rabbi Zeira said to him: Do I not always tell you that you must not take yourself out of the bounds of the halakha? All the measures of the Sages are like this; they are precise and exact!

He then goes on to reiterate all the very precise measurements the Sages give. I will spare you as much is repetition from previous dapim (pages), but you get the picture.

I don’t know about you, but I feel for Rabbi Yirmeya in this exchange, he was shamed by his teacher.

But as I said, there is some what goes around comes around . . . after Rabbi Zeira teaches and is on a high horse, Rabbi Hanina comes and proves him wrong:

Rabbi Zeira said about this: This matter was in our hands, i.e., I thought that we had solid proof that the years for produce follow the first third of its growth, but Rabbi Ḥanina came and cast an axe upon it, cutting it down, as Rabbi Ḥanina’s objection has totally nullified the proof.

It just shows the banter and mood of the Beit Midrash – that they all give each other a hard time and in doing so, push each other to be better and create more clarity on Torah.

Before I moved to Miami, I thought there was nothing south of South Beach (besides the keys). What those who don’t live here don’t realize is the vast amount of farm land we have in the Redlands south of the city. When Covid hit, so many farms ended up with crops and no way to get their produce to their normal distributors. So, many farms struggled to get the food harvested (no workers) and distributed (no drivers) and tons of food rotted and was wasted.

Our whole family piled into the car (we had not left the house in months, this was an adventure) and drove to a farm where we popped the trunk and the farmer and her family filled it with 10 pounds of blueberries and, yes I counted, 80 cucumbers. Besides learning how to pickle and how many cucumbers it takes to make “cucumber pants” as we buried each other in the green tubes, I also learned a lot about food waste.

We are more familiar with food waste that comes from not “cleaning your plate” or the stuff that spoils in the fridge. But a lot of food is wasted during each step of the food production process. There are books written on this, so I will just point you to one easy to read website and share one fact “If one quarter of the food currently lost or wasted could be saved, it would be enough to feed 870 million hungry people.” https://www.ozharvest.org/food-waste-facts/

Today’s daf discusses tithing our food. Tithing makes us think about how every grain, every grape, ever pea, is measured, counted, and distributed. None is wasted.

The mishna taught: And the first of Tishrei is the new year for vegetables. . . The Gemara asks: What is meant by the term: For vegetables? . . . But let him teach: Vegetable, in the singular. Why teach: Vegetables, in the plural? The Gemara answers: He means to include two categories of vegetables, as we learned in a mishna: With regard to a type of vegetable that is usually made into bundles before being sold, the time of tithing is from when it is bundled; and with regard to a type of vegetable that is not usually made into such bundles, the time of tithing is from when one fills a vessel with it. . . If it was the second year of the Sabbatical cycle going into the third year, the halakha is: From what he picked in the second year he must set aside first tithe, which he gives to a Levite, and second tithe, which he eats in Jerusalem; from what he picked in the third year, he must set aside first tithe and poor man’s tithe, which he gives to one who is needy.

We actually give even more than tithes to the poor when we harvest. We also have the categories of LEKET, SHIKHHAH, AND PE’AH (Heb. לֶקֶט, שִׁכְחָה, וּפֵאָה; “gleanings, forgotten produce, and the corners of the field”). Leket refers to ears of corn that may fall to the ground when reaping – those have to stay on the ground for the poor (the equivalent for grapes is called peret). Shikhḥah means forgotten and refers to one or two sheaves forgotten in the field by the harvester, which now belong to the poor (this also applies to trees that are missed in the harvesting). Pe’ah are the corners of your field. (There is a fascinating connection between pe’ot, or how the Ashekenazi pronounce it, pe’as, in that the men don’t cut he corners of their hair and how it’s a reminder not to harvest the corners of your land). We are biblically required to leave these for the poor so they can gather the food they need easily.

There is such a disconnect in our world today between the amount of food we waste and the amount of hunger in our world. There is enough food to feed everyone on the planet. Our tradition has brilliant ideas about how to fulfill “there shall be no needy.” What might that look like today?

Another great day for Talmud!

Today’s daf has lots of interesting pieces, including the Gemara noting that the time line that these rabbis give for conceiving and giving birth are impossible (thanks rabbis). A short gem on the connection they make between God remembering a woman and her becoming pregnant is how deep the pain of infertility is for those who struggle, how you can feel forgotten by God.

My feature today though is a blessing. Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehudah disagree on when the patriarchs were born, when the world was created, and when the patriarchs died. Eliezer says Tishrei. Yehudah says Nisan.

Rabbi Yehoshua says: From where is it derived that the world was created in the month of Nisan? As it is stated: “And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree yielding fruit” (Genesis 1:12). Which is the month in which the earth is full of grass and the trees begin to bring forth fruit? You must say that this is Nisan.

Now here is the gem:

The Gemara asks further: And according to the other tanna, Rabbi Eliezer, isn’t it written: “In the month of Ziv”? The Gemara answers: Ziv is not an allusion to the Patriarchs. Rather, it means that Nisan is the month in which there is radiance [ziv] for the trees. As Rav Yehuda said: One who goes out during the days of Nisan and sees trees that are blossoming recites: Blessed…Who has withheld nothing from His world and has created in it beautiful creatures and beautiful trees for human beings to enjoy. בָּרוּךְ שֶׁלֹּא חִיסֵּר מֵעוֹלָמוֹ כְּלוּם, וּבָרָא בּוֹ בְּרִיּוֹת טוֹבוֹת וְאִילָנוֹת טוֹבוֹת לְהִתְנָאוֹת בָּהֶן בְּנֵי אָדָם.

What a beautiful blessing.

Every time I pray the yozeir, I make sure to look out the window when I say “mah rabu maasecha adonai, kulam b’chochma aseeta, maal haaretz kinyanecha – how beautiful are your creations Adonis, in wisdom you created them all, the world is full of your creations.” There is so much beauty in the world. Do you ever sit and really look at a tree? examine it’s bark? Try to mentally untangle it’s root-system.

It’s wonderous. How blessed are we that God has not held back this glorious creation.

Now, let’s take care of them to make sure future generations will be able to say the same blessing.

So many New Years and so little about what we think of as Rosh Hashanah! Today’s daf is largely a debate about when to count a tree as being a year old, on Tu B’Shevat or on Rosh Hashanah? If it’s one day old before Rosh Hashanah (or was it Tu B’Shevat) or one month old? I love trees, but it wasn’t the most riveting of reads.

Then, at the end of the daf, we get this (which is much more interesting and will continue to be discussed on tomorrow’s page):

It is taught in a baraita that the tanna’im disagreed about this point: Rabbi Eliezer says: In Tishrei the world was created; in Tishrei the Patriarchs were born; in Tishrei the Patriarchs died; on Passover Isaac was born; on Rosh HaShana Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah were remembered by God and conceived; on Rosh HaShana Joseph came out from prison; 11a on Rosh HaShana our forefathers’ slavery in Egypt ceased; in Nisan the Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt; and in Tishrei in the future the Jewish people will be redeemed in the final redemption with the coming of the Messiah.

A beautiful loving testament to these important days on the calendar – heaping joy upon joy.

It’s my gem for two reasons. The first is that it bares it’s own inaccuracy. It says that both Sarah and Rachel conceived on Rosh Hashanah – but this would put their birth 9ish months later. It clearly says that Isaac (Sarah’s son) was born in Nissan and that Jacob (Rachel’s son) was born in Tishrei. So, both can’t be true – or the way the rabbis interpret “remembered” is wrong. I like this because, with all the focus on math and fighting internal contradictions, they give one in the same breath! Also, because it shows that the accuracy is less important than the idea of it – that Rosh Hashanah is a time where the righteous are remembered for blessing. That holidays wake us up to the blessings in our lives, including children.

The second reason I love this passage is it’s end: “and in Tishrei in the future the Jewish people will be redeemed in the final redemption with the coming of the Messiah.”

As someone who feels called by these texts to work on making the world a better place – as we pray in the Aleinu: l’taken olam b’malchut Shaddai,  “when the world shall be perfected under the reign of the Almighty” – I find putting the Messiah on the calendar as comforting.

It’s not hard to be depressed about the state of the world. Just look at what I wrote about yesterday – modern day slaver, hunger, devastation of the land and the perilousness of the planet! But Jewish wisdom gives us a vision of a better world, a better society, a better humanity. And, most of all, it gives us hope. Hope is a precious thing and a thing that can keep us going even when we are overwhelmed by how far we have to go.

The Jubilee year is one of the most radical ideas in the Torah. It adds to the radical idea of Shabbat (a day off for EVERYONE), the outlandish idea of Sabbatical/Shmitah (a year off for the land, all debts forgiven), and takes it one step further. The land gets the year off, debts are forgiven, the shofar is sounded, all slaves are set free.

Our daf today struggles to understand this year in their present circumstances. Is it still a Jubilee year if we don’t have any slaves to set free? If we have no land to return? If liberty is not ours to give? Is sounding the shofar enough to say we have fulfilled the Jubilee?

The Sages taught in a baraita: The verse states: “And you shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants; it shall be a Jubilee for you” (Leviticus 25:10). The words “it shall be a Jubilee” come to teach that although they did not release property to its original owners, and although they did not sound the shofar, it is nevertheless a Jubilee Year, and the halakhot of the Jubilee year apply. One might have thought that although they did not send free the slaves it is also still a Jubilee Year. Therefore, the verse states: “It shall be,” this being a term of limitation. This teaches that at least one of the essential halakhot of the year must be observed, and if not, it is not a Jubilee Year. This is the statement of Rabbi Yehuda.

Rabbi Yosei says: “It shall be a Jubilee for you”; although they did not release property to its original owners, and although they did not send free the slaves, it is nevertheless a Jubilee Year. One might have thought that although they did not sound the shofar, it is also still a Jubilee Year. Therefore, the verse states: “It shall be.”

Therefore we learn that some act must be performed. In this case, the shofar must be sounded, otherwise it is not a Jubilee Year.

The laws of Jubilee remain radical. What does it mean to free slaves when 20.9 million people are subject to human trafficking world wide? Florida has the third-most human trafficking cases in the country, and Miami has the highest concentration in the state, what does that mean for my community?

What does it mean to allow the earth to rest? (Instead of milking her to death.)

What does it mean to forgive debts? (credit card, student loans, auto, mortgage . . . )

The Jubilee tackles the biggest problems of the time of the bible, and our time today.

Let’s grapple with these questions.

And not just stand around blowing our horns and saying we’ve done enough.

Today’s daf gives us a glimpse of the Rosh Hashanah we know and love . . . the one of judgement, dread, where the next year is written and sealed either for blessing of for curse:

§ Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: When the mishna says that the first of Tishrei is the New Year for years, it is with regard to judgment, as on that day God judges the world for the whole year, as it is written: “A land that the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year until the end of the year” (Deuteronomy 11:12); from the beginning of the year judgment is passed as to what will happen at the end of the year.

The Gemara raises a question: From where is it known that the day of judgment is in Tishrei? As it is written: “Blow a shofar at the New Moon, at the covered time for our Festival day” (Psalms 81:4). Which is the Festival day on which the moon is covered, i.e., hidden? You must say that this is Rosh HaShana, which is the only Festival that occurs at the beginning of a month, when the moon cannot be seen. And it is written in the next verse: “For this is a statute for Israel, a judgment of the God of Jacob” (Psalms 81:5), implying that this is the day of judgment.

It is taught in another baraita: The verse states: “For this is a statute for Israel.” From here I have derived only that this is the day of judgment for the Jewish people; from where do I derive that it is also the day of judgment for the gentile nations of the world? Therefore, the verse states: “A judgment for the God of Jacob,” Who rules over the entire world. . .

So that might be something new! We often describe the High Holy Days as days of judgement for Jews, but in our tradition, it is a day of judgement for all of God’s creatures, Jew, Gentile, even animals and angels.

A gem in that it’s a reminder that, no matter what we call our higher power, there is one God for all of creation. And a gem within this discussion of other “New Years” that we would not call new years. (Today’s daf gives even more than the 4 in the Mishnah!)

Ever notice that the Torah always refers to the months of the year by number (e.g.”in the seventh month”) while the Talmud names the months of the year? Where did these names come from? We still use them today! Studying today’s daf, I learned that the names of the months are . . . wait for it . . . Babylonian!

In his commentary to our daf, the Ramban teaches that the names commonly used for the months (Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, etc.) originated only after the Jews returned from Babylonia. The Ramban suggests that the Babylonian names of months were adopted in commemoration of the redemption from the Jews exile in Babylonia. The mention of the month’s Babylonian name reminds a person of God’s kindness when God saved the Jews from Babylonia. (according to https://www.dafyomi.co.il/rhashanah/insites/rh-dt-007.htm)

Here is the Babylonian names of the month vs the Hebrew.

	Babylonian	Hebrew
I	Nīsannu	Nīsān
II	Ayyāru	Iyyār
III	Sīmannu	Sīwān
IV	Duʾūzu	Tammūz
V	Ābu	Āb
VI	Ulūlū	Elūl
VII	Tašrītu	Tišrī
VIII	Araḫsamna	Marḥešwān
IX	Kisilīmu	Kislēw
X	Ṭebētu	Ṭēbēt
XI	Šabāṭu	Šebāṭ
XII	Addāru	Adēr

Daf 6 is treating us to two gems today! I will put the second first as it’s a reiteration of yesterday’s:

When discussing how you cannot delay giving charity (while you might delay a Temple sacrifice) you promised to give we read: What is the reason for this halakha? It is that poor people to whom the charity may be given exist in all places, and so the charity can be distributed to them immediately, unlike an offering, which must be brought to the Temple.

Lovely!

But we need something new, so today’s new gem is a good one. In the continuation of the discussion of not delaying offering a sacrifice, the rabbis interpret what the Torah text means when it says “sin in you”:

. . . rather, the explanation of the verse is as follows. The phrase: “And it would be sin in you” comes to teach that there would be a sin in you, but there would not be a sin in your wife.

That’s right – whoever sins, the sin is on them (if they’re adults), not their wife, nor any members of their household.

I love this, and let me give two examples.

The first is personal. I love music. My son dies of embarrassment when I sing in public (meaning the grocery store, waiting rooms, etc.). I understand that, in his eyes, my singing is not “cool.” However, life is short and I am done with “cool” stopping my joy. One day he will get that. What I try to explain to him now is that I am not him. People may see me and think I am not cool, but they won’t think that about him as they can clearly see we are not the same person. – The Gemara supports me.

The second story is that of Neshama Carlebach. Neshama is a phenomenal singer, composer, performer, teacher, spiritual presence. Her father, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, was as well . . . he also sexually harassed and attacked teenaged girls and women. Congregations grappled with what to do when this news became public knowledge as so many congregations sang his tunes, especially as part of Kabbalat Shabbat (Friday evening services). Some congregations stopped singing his music all together in solidarity with the victims. During the time that the press began to expose Shlomo Carlebach, Neshama, his daughter, found herself being uninvited to congregations. She struggled, suddenly, to fill her calendar as an artist. People were putting her father’s sin on her.

The Gemara teaches it was his sin.

It’s hard enough to get it right for ourselves. It’s good to know we don’t have to bear the guilt of the sins of our ancestors, nor do our children have to bear the guilt of ours.

(When it comes to what we do to the environment and our failures to fight for justice, they have to bear the consequences along with the rest of society, but the sin itself is not theirs.)

“Don’t delay” is a mitzvah, in Hebrew it’s Bal Te-acher. Our daf focuses in on how much time can pass between making a vow to offer a sacrifice and fulfilling it before it’s considered a violation of Bal Te-acher, don’t delay:

The Gemara asks: From where are these matters derived that all the offerings and vows listed above in the baraita are subject to the prohibition against delaying? As the Sages taught in a baraita: The verse states: “When you shall vow a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay paying it; for the Lord your God will surely require it from you, and it would be sin in you” (Deuteronomy 23:22).

The daf goes on to explain why. But reading this, in a world where the Temple no longer stands and the sacrificial system is no longer in place, we have to wonder: How is this relevant to us today?

David ben Solomon ibn Zimra (1479–1573) also called Radbaz, in his hilchot teshuvah uses the idea of Bal Te-acher to answer questions about giving tzedakah in Jerusalem. He teaches that somebody who is outside of Israel who makes a vow to give money to the poor people in Jerusalem but fails to do so is in violation of Bal Te-acher. However, he says that if someone outside the land of Israel vows to give money to a synagogue in Jerusalem but fails to do so there is no Bal Te-acher. Why? Our rabbis base the concept of Bal Te-acher on biblical commandments. There is no biblical commandment to give money to the synagogue but with respect to the poor person then you are obligated to send the money immediately. (Note that the Rambam says it applies to both situaitons).

This is my gem today because 1) it makes this page and the concept of Bal Te-acher, do not delay, relevant and 2) it reminds us of the urgent need of those who are living in poverty. We should never delay in giving tzedakah.

Now if you will excuse me I am going to go donate some money instead of waiting till the end of the year.

We are continuing the discussion around counting years based on the reign of kings. At the end of the daf yesterday, our Gemara noted that, when it came to King Cyrus (also called King Darius), the prophet Haggai counted his years as though he were a Hebrew King while Nehemiah counted his reign as a gentile king. The Gemara wants to know what is going on!?

Rabbi Abbahu said in answer to this objection: Cyrus was a virtuous king, and consequently Haggai counted the years of his reign like those of the kings of Israel, i.e., from Nisan. . . but if he was virtuous, we may ask, then why didn’t Nehemiah count his years the same way?

Rabbi Yitzḥak said: This is not difficult, as it can be explained as follows: Here, where his years are counted from Nisan like the kings of Israel, it speaks of him before he became corrupt, whereas there, where his years are counted from Tishrei, it speaks of him after he became corrupt.

Thus today’s daf begins with an argument wondering how Cyrus could ever be considered corrupt when he was so good to the Jewish people. And within this argument we get a real gem:

Rav Kahana strongly objects to this explanation: Did he really become corrupt after Ezra went to Eretz Yisrael? But isn’t it written: “And that which they need, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt-offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the word of the priests who are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail” (Ezra 6:9)?

Doesn’t Cyrus’ contribution to the Temple demonstrate his fear of Heaven? That he is a good person?

Rabbi Yitzḥak said to Rav Kahana: My teacher, a refutation can be brought from your burden, from the text you yourself cited, as the next verse continues: “That they may sacrifice offerings of sweet savor to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and of his sons” (Ezra 6:10). This shows that Cyrus did this solely for his own benefit, so that the Jews would sacrifice offerings and pray for him and his sons.

So, yes it looks like Cyrus is being generous, but it’s really only for his own benefit, so that the Jews will all pray for him and his son. But the Gemara wonders if this is such a bad thing:

The Gemara asks: And one who acts in this manner, is he not acting in exemplary fashion? Isn’t it taught in a baraita: If one gives charity, saying: I give this sela for charity in order that my children may live, or: I give it in order that through it I may merit life in the World-to-Come, he is still considered a full-fledged righteous person? If so, what was wrong with the king bringing offerings so that the Jews would pray for his life and the life of his children? What’s the difference?

The Gemara answers: This is not difficult. Here, it’s referring to a Jew. There, it is referring to gentiles.

Offended? You’re not alone. But the gem comes in the explanation about what is the difference. It really has nothing to do if the person is a Jew or a gentile, it’s about our cultural expectations around the giving.

Rashi writes, and Steinsaltz reiterates, that the real issue is, that if I give charity so that my children might live, or so that I will be blessed – if it doesn’t happen (meaning, if my children get sick, if I die, etc.), a “Jew” would still know that it’s not the fault of the person to whom the charity was given, that it’s not that God doesn’t exist or is not powerful. But someone who believed in multiple gods might come to suspect the people offering prayers on his/her behalf or complain about the God of the Hebrews or complain to God.

It’s more about belief in God even when our prayers aren’t answered.

And (and this is the gem), giving is supposed to be about giving, not about expecting a reward in return for your gift.

We give because it’s the right thing to do. Not because we expect anything in return. We give with no strings attached. We give to make the world a better place.

Cyrus was a righteous king. He freed Jewish captives and allowed us to return to our land. Our rabbis struggle to find any reason why he would not be considered righteous. Within their struggle we learn to give tzedakah with no strings attached.