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

Today’s daf teaches us that we can derive 4 laws from just 2 . . . and itstarts by talking about hair!

And for marring the edges of his beard there are two edges from here, on one side of his face, and two from there, on the other side, and one from below.

According to Adin Steinsaltz:

According to the Torah (Vayikra 19:27) – lo takifu pe’at roshkhem ve-lo tash’hit et pe’at zekanekhah – a man cannot round off the edges of his head, nor can he destroy the growth of his beard. The Mishnah in Masechet Makkot (20a) teaches that the prohibition against rounding off the edges of one’s hair applies to the two sides of his head, while the prohibition regarding the beard relates to five different points – two on each side and one on the chin. The former forbids cutting the hair at the temples so that the back of the ear and the forehead are “evened out”; the latter forbids the points on the face where there is an accumulation of hair.

So, today’s gem are pictures of what this means! But first, an aside that the Rambam said this means you cannot use a raiser, but you can use scissors. So, he is our first picture:

Notice, he has a nice trimmed beard . . . and no payot! (Those are the long curls by the temples that many orthodox jewish men wear.)

Not shaving the forlocks ususally looks like this:

If you do shave them, you might look like this:

Of maybe they are trying to avoid this look?

I found an entire diagram! I want to share it with you.

Fun times! I wonder what the rabbis would have to say about these:

Welcome to a new tractate! Tractate Shevuot literally means “Oaths.” While the first two chapters tell us about the sacrifices brought to atone for entering the Temple or eating from a sacrifice while impure, the remaining six chapters discuss different types of oaths, like those taken by litigants in court or a false promise made by an individual. (I am referencing Sefaria’s intro here – FYI.)

Before i get to my gem, I want you to think of a time where you learned something and then was embarrassed because you realize, looking back, you did something wrong without realizing you had.

Apparently, Yom Kippur has you covered for such sins, so don’t worry.

For cases in which one did not have awareness at the beginning that they were sinning but had awareness at the end, the goat whose blood presentation is performed outside the Sanctuary, i.e., the goat of the additional offerings of Yom Kippur, and Yom Kippur itself, atone, as it is stated with regard to the offerings brought on Yom Kippur: “One goat for a sin-offering aside from the sin-offering of the atonements” (Numbers 29:11).

So, even though you hadn’t realized your error on Yom Kippur, Yom Kippur is so powerful, it atoned for you. So, let it go Elsa!

Now, if you did it on purpose, that’s another matter . . .

How many commandments are there? On our daf today, we get the total . . . and it’s not 10.

Rabbi Simlai taught: There were 613 mitzvot stated to Moses in the Torah, consisting of 365 prohibitions corresponding to the number of days in the solar year, and 248 positive mitzvot corresponding to the number of a person’s limbs.

That’s right kiddoes! 613. That’s a lot! Don’t worry, it’s actually impossible to keep them all. But, what a lesson with the breakdown! 365 “don’t do” commandments for each day of year and 248 “do” commandments for each bone in the body. The lesson? Let the commandments guide every part of you every day of the year. Embody them!

Today we get down to the nitty-gritty of how exactly someone receives lashes (seems like it’s about time the daf actually discusses lashes as we are three week’s into the tractate called “lashes”). We learn that a doctor assesses the person to see how many they can withstand, that you reassess along the way so as to prevent permanent damage and death. We learn the number of lashes has to be divided by 3, will never be over 40 (so, 39), and that they use three parts of the body. And then we get this little line at the end, which is my gem for the day:

If the one being flogged involuntarily sullies himself, due to fear or pain, whether with excrement or with urine, he is exempt from further lashes. Rabbi Yehuda says that the threshold of shame for men and women is different: The man is exempted if he sullies himself with excrement, and the woman is exempted even with urine.

I like this because, even when we are lashing someone as a punishment, we don’t want to humiliate them. If they sully themselves, that’s enough. They are no longer going to be lashed. The point being that the lashes are not the goal – feeling bad about what we’ve done is the goal. This lets us imagine that maybe the rabbis would be open to other punishment methods if they accomplish the goals of contrition and stopping the harmful action.

Who wears short shorts? If you dare wear short shorts . . .

On our daf today, we learn that one who creates bald spots on his head receives lashes. Then they ask if one who makes five bald spots is lashed for each spot, or just once if they were all done at the same time?

Rather, say that he created five bald spots with one forewarning; is one liable in that case? The Gemara answers: No, this halakha is necessary only with regard to one who, after one forewarning, smeared his five fingers in a depilatory agent [nasha] and then placed his fingers simultaneously on his hair, thereby creating five bald spots, as in that case, it is tantamount to a forewarning for each and every bald spot that he created. The novel element is that each bald spot is an independent transgression.

What? Did they have Nair for hair removal in the ancient world? Apparently it’s been a product we can buy in the US since 1940, but our rabbis had this same product way back in the day.

On our daf today the rabbis are discussing bringing bikkurim, first fruits. This ritual is done in a particular order with bringing elevating and reciting a story. (Yay story telling!!) the debate comes along to ask what happens if we bring the bikkurim but fail to say the required schpeil?

Rabbi Elazar says that Rabbi Hoshaya says: With regard to first fruits, the lack of placement alongside the altar invalidates them, and they may not be eaten by the priest; the lack of recitation of the accompanying Torah verses does not invalidate them.

Wait? So this opinion is that you can still offer the bikkurim without the story.

The Gemara asks: And did Rabbi Elazar say that? But doesn’t Rabbi Elazar say that Rabbi Hoshaya says: If one set aside first fruits before the festival of Sukkot and the Festival elapsed over them while they remain in his possession, they shall be left to decay, as they cannot be rendered fit for consumption. What, is it not that they cannot be rendered fit due to the fact that he can no longer recite the Torah verses over them, as one may recite the Torah verses only until Sukkot? And if it enters your mind to say that the lack of recitation does not invalidate them, why must they be left to decay?

Oh contrere min frere

So we see that there is a debate. Why I like this is two fold – first, it lets us know that we might be able to do things in a not ideal way if we need to. And 2) ritual means a lot less without the story behind it.

Tell the stories. 🙂

My favorite moment on the daf today is the following passage. Rava is so impressed with Rabbi Shimon that he says every mother should want to have a kid like him! (But there’s more – read on)

Rava says with regard to Rabbi Shimon’s statement in the baraita: With regard to anyone whose mother is bearing a child who is like Rabbi Shimon, she should bear that child, and if not, it is preferable that she does not bear him at all. Rava was so impressed by Rabbi Shimon’s statement that he praised him and characterized him as the model of a wise man. Rava added: And I say this even though there is a refutation for each of his conclusions.

So Rava is blown away he is so impressed with Rabbi Shimon . . . even though he thinks everything Rabbi Shimon just said was wrong! He then goes on to say why he is wrong with various refutations. Why I love this so much is that we can be impressed with people, think they’re smart and they’re amazing – and still think they’re wrong!

We should all learn to take criticism without losing our sense of self wroth.