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

Today’s daf has a long discussion (and disagreement) about what is considered public verses private space. In particular it focuses in on the question of a covered space within the public arena (think beach umbrella – it’s a public beach but the umbrella marks that part of the beach as occupied and – perhaps – private).

Public verses private is a interesting topic during these times of corona. We are in our private homes, but we are zooming into a public forum . . . a public forum where people can see our intimate spaces.

This daf also has me thinking of our return to normal and how we need to stay 6 feet apart in public spaces, in a way, making an invisible circle around ourselves that serves as our private domain, even though it’s public.

My gym has opened. While I am asthmatic and therefore prefer to work out outside, in the parking lot, many are returning and working out in the gym. Only, now, the attendees need to stay far from one another, so there are designated “spots.” This week, a woman who was used to working out in one spot, came late. The spot was taken. what did she do? She walked over and stood by the woman who was in “her space” trying to get her to move. Talk about feeling like a public space is your private domain!

As we try and figure out the balance between public and private,my space and public space – perhaps we can relate to why it was hard for the rabbis on this daf to peg an answer down.

Today’s daf is an interesting one. While on 96 we learned that we should not slander people through our Torah study, the beginning of today’s daf uses the same method of interpretation that got Akiva in trouble to prove Aaron had slandered Moses (interesting as it’s gossip about gossiping)! Then, we go one step further an accuse Moses himself of slander. Who did he slander? The people:

Reish Lakish said: One who suspects the innocent of indiscretion is afflicted in his body, as it is written: “And Moses answered and said: But they will not believe me and will not hearken to my voice, for they will say, God did not appear to you” (Exodus 4:1), and it is revealed before the Holy One, Blessed be He, that the Jewish people would believe. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: They are believers, the children of believers; and ultimately, you will not believe.

They are believers, as it is written: “And the people believed once they heard that God had remembered the children of Israel, and that He saw their affliction, and they bowed and they prostrated” (Exodus 4:31). The children of believers, as it says with regard to Abraham our Patriarch: “And he believed in God, and He counted it for him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Ultimately, you will not believe, as it is stated: “And God said to Moses and to Aaron: Because you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel” (Numbers 20:12). From where do we know that Moses was afflicted in his body? As it is written: “And God said to him further: Bring your hand to your bosom, and he brought his hand to his bosom and he took it out and behold, his hand was leprous like snow” (Exodus 4:6).

Despite God telling Moses God would wipe out the people and start over with Moses after the incident of the Golden Calf – God does not like it when the leaders give up on the people. God punishes Moses with tzora’at (here translated as leprosy, but really a skin disease that afflicts those who gossip) in this passage because of Moses’ expressed lack of faith in the people.

This reminds me of Elijah.

We all know Elijah as the prophet who comes to our Passover Seder and comes to the bris or simchat bat of every child. Elijah is welcomed when we end Shabbat. But, we often don’t know why it is Elijah attends all of these affairs.

Elijah lost faith in the Jewish people. In I Kings 19:10, Elijah says to God: “The children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant”. God’s response? “How dare you cast aspersions on My children! You will be in attendance when every Jewish child is entered into the covenant!”

Elijah’s punishment for thinking we had abandoned our faith is to attend every Seder where we retell our history as our personal story, to have to attend every baby naming where we welcome a child into the Jewish family.

And perhaps too, at the end of Shabbat, while we sing and pray for Elijah to bring the peace of Shabbat into the week, to announce the coming of the Messianic age – perhaps too God wants Elijah to see that we still keep the Sabbath.

So, watch what you say about others – you may end up eternally being proved wrong.

Today’s gem teaches us an important lesson about tact. When do we put our desire to show off our smarts, humor, cleverness over the feelings of others? When do we make ourselves bigger at the expense of others?

The wood gatherer mentioned in the Torah as being stoned to death for violating Shabbat was Zelophehad, and it says: “And the children of Israel were in the desert and they found a man gathering wood on the day of Shabbat” (Numbers 15:32), and below, in the appeal of the daughters of Zelophehad, it is stated: “Our father died in the desert and he was not among the company of them that gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but he died in his own sin, and he had no sons” (Numbers 27:3). Just as below it’s Zelophehad, so too, here, it’s Zelophehad; this is the statement of Rabbi Akiva.

Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira said to him: Akiva, in either case you will be judged in the future for this teaching. If the truth is in accordance with your statement that the wood gatherer was Zelophehad, the Torah concealed his identity, and you reveal it! And if the truth is not in accordance with your statement, you are unjustly slandering that righteous man.

Here Rabbi Akiva is called out by Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira for slandering Zelophehad. If only we all had colleagues and friends who would call us out when we hurt others with our words – even if that was not our purpose.

Today’s gem: God braids hair. Today’s sound track: Adam Ant’s Goody two Shoes, “Put on a little make-up make-up, make sure they get your good side good side . . . “

Amidst a discussion that began on the end of yesterday’s daf and ends on today’s about how much primping and preening is allowed on Shabbat, we get a few real gems:

1. God braids Eve’s hair before bringing her to Adam. I am sure that Eve did not need this extra gussying up to look like the most beautiful woman in the world – as she was the only woman in the world. Why I like it is the intimacy of the moment between Eve and God. If you have ever had your hair braided, or had your hair washed by another person, you know that it’s an incredible feeling to have someone else’s fingers in your hair. And while they are doing it, you feel transported, cared for, beautiful. I love the image of God having this moment – likely talking to Eve about Adam, comforting her saying “Don’t worry, he’ll be crazy about you.” God reassuring her, helping her feel her best.
2. “Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: With regard to a woman who braids her hair and who applies eye shadow or blush on Shabbat, if she did it for herself, she is exempt; if she did it for another, she is liable.” While Steinsaltz reads this in a different manner, I read this as saying: When we do things for ourselves – to build ourselves up, to give ourselves confidence, to feel good – then no harm is done by doing your hair and make-up. But, when we do it for others . . . when we try and look good for other people, so they will like us, when we need others’ approval to feel good about ourselves – well, that’s a problem. Shabbat is about knowing, if only for a day, that you are created in the image of God. It’s a day to just celebrate who you are, who your kids are, the world, and notice the glimpses of perfection. It’s a day to be real, not put on a show for others.

The Gemara asks: For what prohibited labor is a woman who braids her hair, or who applies blue eye shadow, or who applies blush on Shabbat liable? Rabbi Avin said that Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: A woman who braids her hair is liable due to weaving. A woman who applies blue eye shadow is liable due to writing. A woman who applies blush is liable due to spinning. The Rabbis said before Rabbi Abbahu: And is that the typical manner of weaving, and is that the typical manner of writing, and is that the typical manner of spinning? Rather, Rabbi Abbahu said: This matter was explained to me by Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina: A woman who applies eye shadow is liable due to dyeing; one who braids her hair and applies blush is liable due to the prohibition against building. The Gemara asks about this: And is that the typical manner of building? The Gemara answers: Yes, braiding one’s hair is considered building, as Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya taught that the verse states: “And the Lord God built the side that He took from Adam into a woman” (Genesis 2:22), which teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, braided Eve’s hair and brought her to Adam. From where is it derived that this is the meaning of built? It is because in the islands of the sea they call braiding building. It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: With regard to a woman who braids her hair and who applies eye shadow or blush on Shabbat, if she did it for herself, she is exempt; if she did it for another, she is liable. ( Steinsaltz: This is because a woman cannot perform these actions for herself in as complete a fashion as she can for someone else.) And, so too, Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar would say in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: A woman may not apply rouge to her face on Shabbat because by doing so she is dyeing, which is one of the prohibited labors on Shabbat.

Today’s daf is a long discussion about if someone is liable for carrying when they carry an item with a partner. One of the frames discussed is when two people carry somethign together – that both are capable of carrying on thier own.

This is an interesting thought process for me – when do we do things with a partner that we are capable of doing on our own – but likely wouldn’t?

One of the ways I am ensuring I go through daf yomi is meeting with colleagues once a week. That meeting, and this blog, holds me accountable to the daf.

My husband has thanked me for being the impetus for our tithing and, this week, our attendance at protests. They are things he loves, but things he likely would not have done without my being his partner.

So, I guess the message would be – who are the partners in your life that propel you to do good in the world that might not? (And maybe avoid those partners who encourage you to do bad that you would not do without them.)

The Master said: The Divine Presence only rests upon a person who is wise, mighty, wealthy, and tall.

What could this mean? Well, on the one hand, it could be incredibly offensive and repulsive. It could look like a prosepertiy gospel teaching that those who have money, brains, strength and height – are more beloved by God. But it can’t mean this, because the rest of Torah teaches us otherwise.

There is a concept in Talmud study that you have to read everything before you can understand anything. Read in this way we think of this descriptive words differently, after all, Ben Zoma teaches:

who is wealthy – one who is content with his lot

who is wise – one who learns from everyone

who is mighty – one who conquers his evil impulse

And while Ben Zoma did not comment on height – carrying ourselves with dignity, knowing our self worth – well, that is the kind of person the Divine presence dwells within.

So, this verse teaches something radically different than it appears to: if you want the Divine presence to rest upon you, be grateful for what you have, learn from everyone, use your will power and treat yourself and others with the dignity befitting the image of God.

Today’s daf discusses, yet again, what are we allowed to carry on Shabbat.

While there were some ideas on this daf that deserve further reflection (for me, that the original intention of an item – what you though you woudl use it for when you got it – is what determines if you can carry it or not, not what you woudl use it for now) thinking about carrying on Shabbat hit home today.

I am posting this a day late, but this morning, while it was still Shabbat, my family and I went downtown for a protest – holding signs. Carrying thing from one domain into another. Violating Shabbat, in more than that way. We went to protest amongst people of all faiths. A mobile minyan. As Heschel said – praying with our feet.

And, while I was violating Shabbat, it felt good. Good to protest. Good to speak out. Good to see non-Jews carrying signs with our prophets, our scripture. Good to carry mine from Leviticus, my son’s from the Mishnah, my husband’s from Genesis. Good to be a visually Jewish presence. And people sang hymns I did not know. And some prayed to a man I don’t recognise as a son of God anymore than you or I. And I was carrying, but it lightened my load.

There is no peace right now, but this was a glimpse of coming together to be God’s hands, a glimpse of Shabbat Shalom.

At Universal Studios last year, my husband came out of a store with cheese flavored meeley worms and roasted crickets. My children looked at them and gleefully wanted to try them. My husband (clearly) did as well. Me? They made my stomach turn.

Strangely enough. The topic of eating bugs comes up quite frequently on today’s daf. (While washing your laundry in urine only comes up once!)

1. Rabbi Yehuda said: These insects, the mekek that destroys scrolls, the tekhakh that attacks silk, and the ila that eats grapes, and the pe that eats figs, and the ha that eats pomegranates, all pose danger to one who swallows them. The Gemara relates: A certain student was sitting before Rabbi Yoḥanan and was eating figs. The student said to Rabbi Yoḥanan: My teacher, are there thorns in figs? Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: The pe killed that fellow. The insect in the fig had punctured the student’s throat.

That’s right. In our first story, we see the danger of certain bugs: they eat your scrolls, they attack your cloth, they eat your food! And,if you’re not careful, you may accidentally eat one in a fig and die!

2. What is tzipporet keramim? Rav said: It is the locust called palya biari. Abaye said: And it can be found in a palm tree that has only one vine, and it is used as a talisman for wisdom. One eats its right half, and casts its left half into a copper tube, and seals it with sixty seals, and hangs it on his left arm. And the mnemonic reminding you which half to eat and which half to hang on the arm is the verse: “A wise heart to his right and a foolish heart to his left” (Ecclesiastes 10:2). And one then grows wise as much as he wants, and studies as much as he wants, and then eats the other half, as if he does not do so, his learning will be forgotten.

Here, you can eat half a locust and become incredibly smart! (And this is a smart person saying it -so strange!)

3. People do not give children non-kosher locusts for play. What is the reason for this? Due to the concern that perhaps the child will eat it. And the Gemara asks: If so, it should also be prohibited to give a child a kosher locust, lest the child will eat it, as the Gemara related that Rav Kahana stood before Rav and passed a live kosher locust near his mouth. Rav said to Rav Kahana: Put it down, so that people will not mistakenly say: He is eating it and violating the prohibition of “You shall not make yourselves detestable” (Leviticus 11:43). (Apparently, eating a kosher locust is prohibited while it is alive.) Rather, perhaps it will die and he will eat it. And Rabbi Yehuda, If the locust dies, the child will eulogize it and mourn its death, and certainly would not eat it.

Will a child eat the bug it is playing with? I doubt it, even mine who enjoyed the bugs that came from the box.

Will eating bugs improve your memory? I doubt it. Kill you? I also doubt it. Work as a snack for the kids? Not likely.

But, bugs do have plenty of protein. And breeding and feeding them is not nearly as harmful for the environment as meat and poultry farms (in fact it can be beneficial for the environment). So, maybe instead of being grossed out, we shoudl give this whole eating bugs thing a closer look.

A story is told at the bottom of 88 and the beginning of 89. In it, the angels are upset that God is going to give the Torah to human beings. Luckily, Moses is there to talk some sense into the angels. Moses asks God, what do the commandments say? and then asks the angels – do you need a reminder that Adonai is your God?! Do you work that you need to be commanded to rest? Are you dishonoest with one another that you need to be reminded how to treat your fellow?

The Torah is not for angels, it for us: the imperfect.

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: When Moses ascended on High to receive the Torah, the ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, what is one born of a woman doing here among us? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: He came to receive the Torah. The angels said before Him: The Torah is a hidden treasure that was concealed by you 974 generations before the creation of the world, and you seek to give it to flesh and blood? . . .

The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: Provide them with an answer . . . Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, the Torah that You are giving me, what is written in it? God said to him: “I am the Lord your God Who brought you out of Egypt from the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:2). Moses said to the angels: Did you descend to Egypt? Were you enslaved to Pharaoh? Why should the Torah be yours? Again Moses asked: What else is written in it? God said to him: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). Moses said to the angels: Do you dwell among the nations who worship idols? Again Moses asked: What else is written in it? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: “Remember the Shabbat day to sanctify it” (Exodus 20:8). Moses asked the angels: Do you perform labor that you require rest from it? Again Moses asked: What else is written in it? “Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7). Moses asked the angels: Do you conduct business with one another that may lead you to swear falsely? Again Moses asked: What else is written in it? “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). Moses asked the angels: Do you have a father or a mother that would render the commandment to honor them relevant to you? Again Moses asked: What else is written in it? God said to him: “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal” (Exodus 20:13) Moses asked the angels: Is there jealousy among you, or is there an evil inclination within you that would render these commandments relevant? Immediately they agreed with the Holy One, Blessed be He, that He made the right decision to give the Torah to the people, and as it is stated: “God our Lord, how glorious is Your name in all the earth” (Psalms 8:10), while “that Your majesty is placed above the heavens” is not written because the angels agreed with God that it is appropriate to give the Torah to the people on earth.

One of my favorite midrashim is on today’s daf. It notices the strange wording of the Torah’s description of the people waiting to recieve revelaiton at Mt. Sinai. It says we were “tachat haHar”, which we read in the English as around the base of the mountian, but means “under.” What were we doing under the mountain?

And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the lowermost part of the mount” (Exodus 19:17). Rabbi Avdimi bar Ḥama bar Ḥasa said: the Jewish people actually stood beneath the mountain, and the verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, overturned the mountain above the Jews like a tub, and said to them: If you accept the Torah, excellent, and if not, there will be your burial. Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: From here there is a substantial caveat to the obligation to fulfill the Torah. The Jewish people can claim that they were coerced into accepting the Torah, and it is therefore not binding. Rava said: Even so, they again accepted it willingly in the time of Ahasuerus, as it is written: “The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them” (Esther 9:27), and he taught: The Jews ordained what they had already taken upon themselves through coercion at Sinai.

This Midrash pictures God as holding the mountain over our heads. We only agreed under duress. As the result of a threat.

Bu tthis isn’t the only thing the mountain might have been raised above our heads for.

And they took their places – they were huddled together. This teaches that the people of Israel were afraid of the meteors, the quaking, the thunder and lightening . . . under the mountain . . .teaches that the mountain was unearthed from its place and they drew near and stood under the mountain.

Mechilta d’Rabbi Yishmael teaches the moutnain was help above our heads to protect us from the thunder lightening and quaking. We were scared, it was our shelter from the storm.

But my favorite is from Mechilta D’Rabi Yishmael Yitro:

Rabbi Yosi said, Yehuda would expound, (Devarim32:2) ‘And he said, Hashem came from Sinai’ don’t read it this way, rather [read it as] Hashem came to Sinai to give the Torah to the Jewish people or perhaps: He came from Sinai to accept the Jewish people, as a groom who goes out to greet his bride. And they stood, they pressed together […] we learn that the mountain was uprooted from its place and they encroached and stood beneath the mountain as it says (Devarim 4:11) ‘and you came close and you stood under the mountain’.

In this understanding, we are the bride, God is the groom, and the mountain is our chuppah.

This is how it is with faith. Sometimes we feel we have to do it “or else.” Sometimes it is our shelter from the storm.

At the best of times, it is what unites us in love.