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

Today’s gem just reminded me of dates/going out… so that’s why I picked it. The rabbis are debating if one says “I will not eat” and they drank, are they liable? What if they say “I will not drink” and they ate? The comparison they use is if you invite someone over for dinner:

Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Avin says that Shmuel says: If one said: On my oath I will not eat, and then he drank, he is liable. If you wish, you may propose a logical argument for this ruling, and if you wish, you may cite a verse to explain it. The Gemara explains: If you wish, you may propose a logical argument for this ruling: It is clear that drinking is included in eating from the fact that a person will say to another: Let’s have a taste of something, and they go in and eat and drink. And if you wish, cite a verse as the source for this ruling, as Reish Lakish says: From where is it derived that drinking is included in eating? It is derived from that which is stated: “And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place that He shall choose to cause His name to dwell there, the tithe of your grain, of your tirosh, and of your oil” (Deuteronomy 14:23). And since the Hebrew word tirosh mentioned in the verse is wine, and it is written with regard to it: “And you shall eat,” this indicates that drinking is an activity included in eating.

Inviting someone over for dinner surely includes drinks. But inviting them over for a drink?

That’s what reminds me of dating. If you say “Let’s get a drink,” you know that, if the drink goes well, maybe you will propose getting some food next – but food is not included. But if you say “Let’s get dinner” then drinks with dinner are assumed.

The gem? First, this daf helps us read date etiquette, and second – don’t be that person who invites someone over for dinner and doesn’t supply drinks (haha).

What might we compare the Torah to? Usually, water, or the tree of life – today, a crouching lion.

The Gemara is wondering: if someone vows not to eat something, how much of that thing do they need to eat to be liable? An olive bulk? What if it’s something no one woudl eat? Like dirt? Or, like something forbidden by Torah?

Resolve the dilemma that Rava raises with regard to one who says: On my oath I will not eat dirt, asking how much he must eat in order to be liable? Resolve the dilemma by saying that he is not liable unless he eats an olive-bulk, since a carcass resembles dirt, and the reason he is liable is that he specified that the oath prohibits him from eating even a half-measure, indicating that if he did not specify, his intention is that the oath refers to an olive-bulk. The Gemara answers: No, the dilemma cannot be resolved based on this comparison. Dirt is entirely inedible. A carcass, by contrast, is edible, but a lion crouches on it, i.e., eating it is prohibited by the Torah. Therefore, one cannot derive the halakha concerning dirt from the halakha concerning a carcass.

Yuck and yuck. But, within the yuck, a gem.

The Torah is compared to a lion crouching. It fiercely protects us from acting in debasing ways. It protects us from living lives of emptiness. It’s a beauty. A scary, awe-inspiring, beauty.

We learned in our last Tractate, Makkot, that the courts only punish people for committing an act forbidden by the Torah (doing a “don’t do”). If you are passive and don’t to a positive commandment, you don’t get punished by the court (if you don’t do a “do do”). Today, the daf asks about oaths. We know we have to keep them, but what if our not keeping the oath is passive? We don’t do what we said we would do?

With regard to any prohibition in the Torah, if it is a prohibition that involves an action, one is flogged for violating it. But with regard to a prohibition that does not involve an action, one is not flogged for violating it.

This we learned. Here is the new information:

With the exception of one who takes an oath, and one who substitutes a different animal for one that is consecrated to be sacrificed (see Leviticus 27:10), and one who curses another using the Divine Name (see Leviticus 19:14).

So, cursing someone in God’s name, substituting a animal for a consecrated animal, and BREAKING YOUR OATHS will get you punished. Again we learn how important it is to follow up on your word when you give it.

“Shamor v’Zachor b’dibur echad” says the lyrics of Lecha Dodi. What is it saying? The Ten Commandments are given twice in the Torah. But in one location is says “guard” Shabbat while in the other it says “remember” Shabbat. How do we solve this discrepancy? We learn on the daf . . .we also learn why women are obligated to sanctify the day with kiddish.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8), and: “Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Deuteronomy 5:12), were spoken in one utterance, in a manner that the human mouth cannot say and that the human ear cannot hear. The Gemara asks: Granted, there, “remember” and “observe” were spoken in a single utterance in order to teach the halakha that Rav Adda bar Ahava says; as Rav Adda bar Ahava says: Women are obligated to recite kiddush sanctifying the seventh day, by Torah law, even though it is a positive, time-bound mitzva, since the verses state: “Remember,” and: “Observe,” indicating that anyone who is obligated to observe, i.e., is prohibited from performing labor on Shabbat, is obligated to remember, by reciting kiddush. And these women, since they are obligated to observe, they also are obligated to remember.

So now we know that God said both at once, and that a woman can make kiddish (it doesn’t have to be a man). Shabbat Shalom (oh wait it’s Wednesday).

Today’s gem is that there is no such thing as repetition for no reason in the Torah. Each repetition is there to teach something we wouldn’t have otherwise known.

This is in accordance with what was taught in the school of Rabbi Yishmael: Every passage in the Torah that was stated and repeated was repeated only for the novel element introduced therein.

So every time a word is repeated or a phrase – the rabbis derive more meaning out of it. Each word is precious and each word is completely necessary, just like each of us.

On today’s daf we see a rabbi throw dirt at another rabbi for asking a stupid question and the rabbis repeatedly talking about flaccid penises. But the gem is the magical thinking of what to do to ensure you have boys when conceiving:

Concerning this matter, Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Anyone who separates himself from his wife near the expected date of her menstruation will have male children, as it is written: “To distinguish between the impure and the pure” (Leviticus 11:47), and it is stated near it: “If a woman conceive and bear a male child” (Leviticus 12:2). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: He will have sons who are worthy of teaching halakha, as it is written: “To distinguish…between the impure and the pure, and to teach the children of Israel all the statutes” (Leviticus 10:10–11). The Gemara continues to expound these verses: Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Anyone who recites havdala over wine at the conclusion of Shabbatot, and not over some other beverage, will have male children, as it is written: “To distinguish between the holy and the unholy, and between the impure and the pure” (Leviticus 10:10), and it is written there once again: “To distinguish between the impure and the pure” (Leviticus 11:47), and it is stated near it: “If a woman conceive and bear a male child” (Leviticus 12:2). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: Anyone who recites havdala over wine at the conclusion of Shabbatot will have sons who are worthy of teaching halakha, as it is written: “To distinguish between the holy and the unholy…and to teach” (Leviticus 10:10–11). Rabbi Binyamin bar Yefet says that Rabbi Elazar says: Anyone who sanctifies himself with modest conduct while engaging in sexual intercourse will have male children, as it is stated: “You shall sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy” (Leviticus 11:44), and it is stated near it: “If a woman conceive and bear a male child” (Leviticus 12:2).

Oy vey. I hate to say it, but the science does not prove this one right. But, it’s pretty funny.

While not having sex with your partner except in a certain window between menstrual cycles does NOT guarantee boys, it does help with fertility!

When is a woman most fertile? Apparently about 5 days before ovulation to the day after ovulation. A woman typically ovulates 14 days before her period. So, if your thinking about a man staying away from his wife if she is menstruating – it’s more likely he will be having sex with her while she is ovulating. So, it won’t guarantee a boy, but it does help with conception. (And thank God. What would we do without girls?)

Short gem today. Rabbi Oshaya, said said: I wish to say something, but I am afraid of my colleagues.

I get it! Wow. I love this. How often are we afraid to speak up because we don’t want to look stupid? Rabbi Oshaya, you do your thing. Don’t let them intimidate you.

How do you bow? Usually we associate a bow in services as straight from the waist, or maybe with a knee bend followed by a bow from the waist. But I see people swooping back and forth as well. And then there is the Great Aleinu where we go prostrate. Today, we see that there are different kinds of bows one might give based on the Tanakh.

The Gemara discusses the different forms of bowing in greater detail. The Sages taught: The term kidda indicates falling upon one’s face, and so the verse states: “Then Bathsheba bowed [vatikkod] with her face to the ground” (I Kings 1:31). Keria means descending upon one’s knees, and so the verse states with regard to Solomon: “He rose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling [mikero’a] upon his knees” (I Kings 8:54). Hishtaḥava’a, this is prostrating oneself while spreading one’s arms and legs in total submission, and so the verse states that Jacob asked, in response to Joseph’s relating of his dream: “Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down [lehishtaḥavot] to you to the ground” (Genesis 37:10), i.e., spread out completely on the ground.

When I would bring home my report card, my mom would always ask me if it was the best I could do. She just wanted to know that I was trying my best.

It seems she may have gotten this idea from the daf:

The Gemara challenges this: Is the size of the offering of any importance before Heaven? But isn’t it taught in a mishna (Menaḥot 110a): It is stated with regard to an animal burnt-offering: “A fire offering, a pleasing aroma” (Leviticus 1:9), and it is also stated with regard to a bird burnt-offering: “A fire offering, a pleasing aroma” (Leviticus 1:17), and it is also stated with regard to a meal-offering: “A fire offering, a pleasing aroma” (Leviticus 2:2). The same term is used in all three cases even though the three offerings are of different value. This teaches that one who brings a substantial sacrifice and one who brings a modest sacrifice have equal merit, and both offerings are accepted as having a pleasing aroma, provided that one directs his heart to his Father in Heaven.

God doesn’t care if we give an expensive or cheap offering as long as it’s our best and done with the best intentions. A beautiful lesson for us.

On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, clergy say a confession before we lead the service. The origins are on our daf…

The Gemara answers: Two confessions are necessary, one for the High Priest himself, and one for his household, i.e., the priests, as the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: The High Priest must first confess his own transgressions and only afterward those of the priests, because that is how the attribute of justice functions: It is better that the innocent come and atone for the guilty, than that the guilty come and atone for the guilty. When the High Priest confesses the transgressions of those in his house, it is better that he already be considered innocent, having confessed and been absolved of his own transgressions.

No leader is perfect. But a good leader should at least have the humility to know they’re not and admit their faults.