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

Makkot 5

Sometimes, when I read the daf, I think that secular writers must also have read it for their story lines.

And Rava says: If two witnesses came and said: So-and-so killed a person in Sura in the morning on Sunday, and two other witnesses came to court and said to the first set: In the evening on Sunday you were with us in Neharde’a, we see: If one is able to travel from Sura to Neharde’a from morning until evening they are not conspiring witnesses, as conceivably they could have witnessed the murder in Sura and traveled to Neharde’a by evening. And if it is not possible to travel that distance in that period of time, they are conspiring witnesses. The Gemara asks: Isn’t that obvious? The Gemara answers: Lest you say: Let us be concerned about the possibility that these witnesses traveled on a flying camel, i.e., one that runs so quickly that it enabled them to traverse the distance faster than the typical person. Therefore, Rava teaches us that one need not take that possibility into account.

Did you read Where the Crawdad Sings? If not, this daf is so on point with the story line. There is a question of if the main character could have done something if she was witnessed being somewhere else.

I will leave it at that, it’s such a good book and I wouldn’t want to give it away.

I will say that she did not have a flying camel . . .

Makkot 4

Happy Passover! A great little gem on our daf that I think holds up for Passover as well.

The rabbis are debating if a certain amount of contamination falls into a body of water if you can still use it for mikvah (or if it’s water in wine if it’s till wine etc) and we get this gem: And Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri comes to say: Everything follows the appearance, (meaning that even in that case, if its appearance is that of wine it does not invalidate the ritual bath.)

Okay. Why do I love this? Besides it being practice (hey that water looks dirty, maybe it should work as minkah?) I love how appearances are important.

It’s Passover. Guess what? We live in a different time than when I was a a kid. We can eat gluten free bread and cereal and basically it may appear as though it’s just another week – but it’s not! I love that it’s easier AND for appearances sake we should still make it different and special form other weeks.

I know I am excited for cream cheese on matzah for breakfast.

Happy Passover!

Mallot 3

Today’s daf gives a fun mental exercise! If two conspiring witnesses come and say that a borrower agreed to repay a loan within 30 days and the borrowed says – no it’s a 10 year loan, what do we do? 10 year loans are not a thing as the shmitah year cancels all debts (and that happens every 7 years!). So, two issues:

The conspiring witnesses would usually have to pay what the borrower would have if found guilty. However, the debt would have been forgiven! So… they pay what?
Can you make a 10 year loan?

The rest of the daf tries to answer these questions. I think it’s fun! (Lots of math.) There are two work around when it comes to the loan.

Rava said: What are we dealing with here in our mishna? We are dealing with debts that are not abrogated with the passing of the Sabbatical Year, e.g., in the case of one who lends money on the basis of collateral, or in the case of one who transfers his promissory notes to the court for collection. As we learned in a mishna (Shevi’it 10:2): In the cases of one who lends money on the basis of collateral and one who transfers his promissory notes to the court for collection, the Sabbatical Year does not abrogate those loans. In those cases, the debt would not have been forgiven during the Sabbatical Year. Therefore, the conspiring witnesses are not liable to pay the entire sum.

So, a happy work around for those who need long term loans (hey home owners)- transfer money or use collateral.

This leads to the most interesting question of all: how do we hold Torah as binding and then make work arounds?

Perfect question for Passover as we make matzah out of flour then grind that matzah back down into matzah meal to make cakes and fry foods so they seem breaded…

Makkot 2

Welcome to Makkot! Sometimes smacked right onto the end of Sanhedrin, Makkot discusses court administered punishments. In Sanhedrin we learned of how to punishe capital crimes, “Makkot” means lashes, one of the punishments described in this tractate. We will also learn about the Cities of Refuge, places for people who commit accidental manslaughter – but that’s for later. On to today!

We had learned a hard and fast rule about conspiring witnesses (two people who hatch a plan to give false testimony against someone) and that’s that whatever punishment the person they were conspiring against would have gotten for being found guilty then gets heaped onto the false witnesses! (So, if I accused you of stealing an apple and you would have gotten a week’s jail time and a fine, then I, as a conspiring witness, would have to go to jail for a week and pay the fine.) On our daf today, we get exceptions to this rule of thumb:

The Sages taught in a baraita: Four matters were stated with regard to conspiring witnesses, i.e., there are four cases in which their punishment deviates from the norm. They are not rendered the son of a divorced woman or the son of a ḥalutza; they are not exiled to a city of refuge; they do not pay the ransom if they testified that the forewarned ox of someone killed another; and they are not sold as a Hebrew slave in a case where they testified that one stole property and he would be sold into slavery if he lacked the means to repay the owner. The Sages said in the name of Rabbi Akiva: They also do not pay based on their own admission. If they were rendered conspiring witnesses in one court, and before that court managed to collect the payment that they owed, they appeared in a different court and admitted that they had been rendered conspiring witnesses, they are exempt from payment.

Okay! So, if I said Joe should not serve as a priest because his mom is a divorcee, the court can’t rule my mom a divorcee – it doesn’t work (people know these things) plus it effects more than just me, it effects my mom, siblings, and (as the daf points out) my offspring. Also, don’t send the false witness to a city of refuge reserved for man-slaughterers, again, it effects not just the person but a whole eco-system of people. Don’t sell them into slavery, make them pay for a goring ox . . . but my favorite is the add on by Rabbi Akiva – if they fess up before (and it has to be before) the sentence is carried out, let it go.

This is my favorite as we want people to admit mistakes. More than anything, all these laws are trying to instill in us a conscience. So, the law needs to be set up in a way to encourage us putting justice first.

Makkot is a short tractate, we have 3 more weeks of this! See you tomorrow.

Sanhedrin 113

We are about to have Seder with the cup of Elijah. On our daf today, we learn a little bit about Elijah. He is a man gifted with prophecy and powers from God, and yet, he seems to often lack faith in people. It’s because of this lack of faith that Jews will keep the Torah that he is forced to attend every bris, every Shabbat, and every Seder. On our daf today, that plays out a bit in new ways.

Ahab was Hiel’s close friend and groomsman. He and Elijah came to inquire about Hiel’s welfare in the house of mourning [bei tamya]. Hiel sat and said: Perhaps when Joshua cursed, this is what he cursed: Not to build Jericho even after changing its name to the name of another city, and not to build another city after giving it the name of Jericho. Elijah said to him: Yes, that is the curse.

Okay, so what you need to know is that Jericho was the first city the Jews conquered when entering the promised land. Ahab was an evil king and Heil is his buddy. They rebuild Jericho as a city of idolatry – and it doesn’t go well. Hence them seeing it as “cursed.”

Ahab said to Elijah: Now the curse of Moses is not fulfilled, as it is written: “And you go astray and worship other gods,” and it is written: “Then the Lord’s anger will flare against you, and He will close the heavens, and there will be no rain” (Deuteronomy 11:16–17). And that man, referring to himself, established an object of idol worship on each and every furrow in the kingdom of Israel, and the rain is so plentiful that it does not allow him to go and worship it; will the curse of his student, Joshua, be fulfilled?

Wow! So, Ahab says – I have filled the entire kingdom of Israel with idols! And yet the curse for that was no rain – and it’s raining!

So, what does Elijah do?

Immediately: “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab: As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew or rain these years, but according to my word” (I Kings 17:1). Elijah prayed for mercy and they gave him the key to rainfall enabling him to dictate when it would rain, and he arose and went. It is written about Elijah: “And the word of the Lord came to him, saying: Go from here, and turn eastward, and hide yourself by Wadi Cherith…And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning” (I Kings 17:2–3, 6). The Gemara asks: From where did they bring him bread and meat? Rabbi Yehuda says that Rav says: They brought it from the slaughterhouse of Ahab. And it is written: “And it came to pass after some days, that the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land” (I Kings 17:7).

Okay, so Elijah takes the keys to rain and runs away! So much so that the wadi dries up. Elijah though is fine as a raven brings him food.

But this world is suffering, and Elijah doesn’t seem to care.

Since God saw that there is suffering in the world and Elijah was insensitive to it, it is written: “And the word of the Lord came to him, saying: Arise, go to Zarephath” (I Kings 17:8–9), to initiate a chain of events that would lead Elijah to return the key to rainfall to God. And it is written: “And it came to pass after these matters, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick” (I Kings 17:17). Elijah prayed for mercy, for God to give him the key to the resurrection of the dead.

So, when Elijah does show compassion, God gives him special powers, like the key to resurrection.

They said to him from Heaven: Three keys were not typically passed to an agent: The key to a woman in childbirth, the key to rainfall, and the key to the resurrection of the dead. You already have the key to rainfall; do you also request the key to the resurrection of the dead? People will say: Two keys are in the possession of the student and one key is in the possession of the Master! Bring Me this key to rainfall, and take this key to the resurrection of the dead.

Elijah can’t have more keys than God!

Due to Elijah’s request, he was forced to revoke his oath, as it is written: “Go, appear before Ahab; and I will give rain” (I Kings 18:1).

Then we get a great little parable:

A certain Galilean taught before Rav Ḥisda: There is a parable for the actions of Elijah; to what is this matter comparable? It is comparable to a man who slammed his door and lost his key. Elijah first prevented the rain from falling, and then no longer had possession of the key to enable it to fall again.

Then we learn that, even in after Elijah left this world, he is still judgmental and temperamental when it comes to people:

Rabbi Yosei of Tzippori taught: Father Elijah, a deferential and affectionate characterization for Elijah the prophet, was difficult. Elijah was accustomed to coming and revealing himself before Rabbi Yosei each day. He was obscured from him for three days and did not come. When he came again, Rabbi Yosei said to him: Why did the Master not come? Elijah said to him: You denigrated me when you called me difficult. Rabbi Yosei said to Elijah: This example that is before us illustrates the point, as my Master was being difficult by not coming during those days.

So, even that great man Elijah has faults. May he visit your Seder, and may he, who is to announce the Messianic age, help us to make our world a better place.

Today is the end of Sanhedrin! Mazal tov. See you tomorrow for Makkot.

Sanhedrin 112

“You like my hair? Gee thanks! Just bought it.” -Ariana Granda

Today’s daf discusses the need to destroy idolatrous cities, which says a lot about how a corrupt society can corrupt all the individuals as they see corruption as normal. Within the command to destroy the city, we are told to get rid of the property oft he inhabitants . . . but what about the wigs of the righteous women? I am sure that’s what you were wondering. Well, read on!

Rabbi Shimon said: For what reason does the Torah say that the property of the righteous that is in it shall be destroyed? Why must they suffer for the sins of others? The reason is: Who caused the righteous to live in this city inhabited by wicked people? It is their property that tied them to this city; therefore, their property is destroyed.

Bam! Love this. How much corruption do we put up with in order to pad our own wallets? If you might have said something but your financial interests outweighed your conscience, well, bye bye stuff.

But the wigs? What about the wigs?

Rav Yosef raises a dilemma: What is the status of the hair of pious women in the idolatrous city; must it be destroyed? Rava says: Is that to say that the hair of wicked women is forbidden and must be destroyed? “And you shall gather…and you shall burn” (Deuteronomy 13:17), is written, and it is derived: An item that is lacking, i.e., that requires, only gathering and burning must be destroyed, excluding this hair, which is lacking detaching, gathering, and burning. Therefore, even the hair of a wicked woman is not forbidden. Rather, Rava says: This dilemma is raised with regard to a wig. The Gemara asks: What are the circumstances? If the wig is attached to her body, its status is like that of her body. The Gemara answers: No, this dilemma is necessary only in a case where the wig is hanging on a peg. Is its status like that of the property of the righteous inside the city and therefore it is destroyed, or perhaps, since she enters and exits with the wig, its status is like that of a garment, and it is not destroyed? This dilemma shall stand unresolved.

Okay, so we don’t know if we destroy the hair or not, but we learned about wigs and hair extensions on the daf! This is apparently nothing new. In fact, wigs go back to 3400 BCE in Ancient Egypt, where wigs were worn by both men and women.

Wigs protected the head and served as symbols of status and were often adorned with gold, jewels, and beads. The tradition of wig-wearing also extended to ancient Rome and Greece, where wigs were associated with power, prestige, and authority.

Today, wig wearing and extensions have become a multi-billion dollar industry. So, toss that hair (but never toss that hair into the trash).

Sanhedrin 111

One of the things I love about Moses is that, while he himself falls on his face and is frustrated by the Jewish people, he fights for us when he talks to God. That’s family! you get frustrated with them, but don’t want anyone else to speak badly about them.

Today, we get a taste of how Moses was different . . . and how he might have taken it too far.

It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Yosei, says: One time I entered Alexandria of Egypt. I found one old man and he said to me: Come and I will show you what my ancestors, the Egyptians, did to your ancestors, the Jewish people. Some of them they drowned in the sea, some of them they killed with the sword, and some of them they crushed in the buildings.

Wow! That’s bad.

And it is over this matter, Moses’ protest of the afflictions suffered by the Jewish people, that Moses, our teacher, was punished, as it is stated: “For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people, neither have You delivered Your people at all” (Exodus 5:23).

Moses was punished for protesting our afflictions?

The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: Woe over those who are gone and are no longer found; as several times I revealed Myself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty [El Shaddai] and they did not question My attributes, and did not say to Me: What is Your name?

Ah, Moses is the one who wanted to know God’s name. Who demanded to see God . . .

I said to Abraham: “Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for unto you I will give it” (Genesis 13:17). Ultimately, he sought a place to bury Sarah and did not find one until he purchased it for four hundred silver shekels, and he did not question My attributes and did not protest that I failed to fulfill My promise to give him the land.

So, Abraham had a lot to complain about! God made promises that he did not see fulfilled – but he didn’t complain like Moses!

I said to Isaac: “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you” (Genesis 26:3). His servants sought water to drink and they did not find it until they started a quarrel, as it is stated: “And the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen saying: The water is ours” (Genesis 26:20), and he did not question My attributes.

Wow! Isaac was told to stay in the land and was robbed, had the wells he dug fulled in, and never complained! He never asked to see God’s attributes, but Moses did!

I said to Jacob: “The land upon which you lie, to you I will give it” (Genesis 28:13). He sought a place to pitch his tent and he did not find one until he purchased it for one hundred coins, and he did not question My attributes, and did not say to Me: What is Your name?

You get it.

And you, Moses, ask Me: What is Your name, initially, after witnessing My greatness more than they ever did! And now you say to Me: “Neither have You delivered Your people” (Exodus 5:23). The verse then states: “Now shall you see what I will do to Pharaoh” (Exodus 6:1). One can infer: The war with Pharaoh and his downfall you shall see, but you will not see the war with the thirty-one kings in Eretz Yisrael, as you will not be privileged to conquer Eretz Yisrael for the Jewish people.

The squeaky wheel may get the grease, but people hate a squeaky wheel . . .

Sanhedrin 110

How do we reconcile? Especially if we are the one who has been hurt? What if the person who hurts us makes no effort to apologize?

On our daf today, we learn from Moses.

With regard to the verse: “And Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram” (Numbers 16:25), Reish Lakish says: From here we derive that one may not perpetuate a dispute, as Rav says: Anyone who perpetuates a dispute violates a prohibition, as it is stated: “And he will not be like Korah and his assembly, as the Lord spoke by the hand of Moses to him” (Numbers 17:5). Even the aggrieved party must seek to end the dispute. Dathan and Abiram accused Moses and by right should have initiated the reconciliation. Nevertheless, Moses was not insistent on this; he went to them.

Moses could have simply escalated the situation, but he did his best to try and reconcile. It may not have worked . . . but we still learn a valuable lesson in that we can be the bigger person.

Sanhedrin 109

Gam Zo is introduced on our daf today. This is a man who says that everything, everything, is ultimately for the good – hence the name Gam So which means “also this.” But, is it for the good when he is robbed? When what he was to give the emperor is replaced with dirt? Let’s see . . .

First, you need this textual proof from Isaiah. In it, Isaiah refers to Abraham’s battles against kings:

“Who has raised up one from the east at whose steps victory attends? He gives nations before him, and makes him rule over kings; his sword makes them as the dust, his bow as driven straw” (Isaiah 41:2). Apropos Abraham’s miraculous weapons, the Gemara tells our fabulous story of Gam Zo.

Naḥum of Gam Zo was accustomed that in response to any circumstance that arose in his regard, he would say: This too [gam zo] is for the best. One day the Jewish people sought to send a gift [doron] to the emperor. They said: With whom shall we send the gift? They decided: We will send it with Naḥum of Gam Zo, as he is experienced in miracles. When he reached a certain lodging, he sought to sleep there. The residents of that lodging said to him: What do you have with you? Naḥum said to them: I am taking the head tax to the emperor. They rose in the night, opened his chest and took everything that was in it, and then filled the chest with dirt.

Okay, so the optimist Gam Zo was sent to the emperor with a chest full of money, the taxes from the people in his town. He spends the night somewhere and tells them he has all this money and they rob him! Now, he unwittingly takes the chest of dirt to the emperor in Rome.

When he arrived there, in Rome, earth was discovered in the chest. The emperor said: The Jews are mocking me by giving me this gift – kill him! They took Naḥum out to kill him. Naḥum said: This too is for the best.

Really? This too is for the best?

Elijah the prophet came and appeared to them as one of Naḥum’s traveling party. Elijah said to them: Perhaps this earth is from the earth of Abraham our forefather, who would throw dust and it became swords, and who would throw straw and it became arrows.

Elijah the Prophet, here to save the day!

They examined the dust and discovered that it was indeed the dust of Abraham. There was a province that the Romans were unable to conquer. They threw some of this earth upon that province and they conquered it. In appreciation for the gift that Naḥum of Gam Zo had brought on behalf of the Jewish people, they brought him into the treasury and said: Take that which is preferable to you. He filled his chest with gold.

So, it all worked out! But, what about those who robbed Gam Zo?

When he returned to that lodging, those residents said to him: What did you bring to the king’s palace? Naḥum said to them: What I took from here, I brought to there. The residents heard the story and concluded that the earth with which they had filled the chest had miraculous properties. They took more earth and brought it to the emperor. But guess what? That’s right. It did not work the second time. Once the Romans discovered that the earth was ineffective in battle, they executed those residents.

So, this too is for good . . . but maybe only the good of Gam Zo.

Sanhedrin 108

Two fabulous passages on the daf! The first is an argument about just how righteous Noah was (there are other places that argue maybe he wasn’t so righteous). The second is also about Noah, and it’s a quote I teach often (including in my chapter on climate justice in Moral Resistance and Spiritual Authority). So, including them both!

First, just how righteous is Noah?

With regard to the verse: “These are the generations of Noah; Noah was a righteous man, and wholehearted in his generations” (Genesis 6:9), Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Relative to the other people of his generation he was righteous and wholehearted, but not relative to those of other generations.

Boom! Okay, he was good compared to those horrible people of his time, but compared to Abraham? Moses? Forget about it. But, Reish Lakish does not agree (and remember, he was a reformed gang leader, so he knows how hard it is to be righteous in a corrupt world).

And Reish Lakish says: In his generation he was righteous and wholehearted despite being surrounded by bad influences; all the more so would he have been considered righteous and wholehearted in other generations.

Now parables!

Rabbi Ḥanina says: There is a parable for the statement of Rabbi Yoḥanan; to what is this matter comparable? It is comparable to a barrel of wine that was placed in a cellar where vinegar is stored; in its place, its fragrance diffuses, i.e., is noticeable, relative to the odor of the vinegar. When it is not in its place surrounded by vinegar, its fragrance does not diffuse, and its pleasant odor is not sensed. Rabbi Oshaya says: There is a parable for the statement of Reish Lakish; to what is this matter comparable? It is comparable to a flask of perfume [palyaton] that was placed in a location of filth. In its place its fragrance diffuses despite the ambient odor, and all the more so is its fragrance noticeable if it is placed in a location where there is perfume.

So, if something smells good in the bathroom – imagine how nice it would smell somewhere else! LOVE the parable. Noah was great, and to be great when everyone around you is terrible is extra dificult.

Now, my climate change text.

This teaches that Noah the righteous would rebuke the people of his generation, and he said to them statements that are harsh as torches [kelapidim], and they would treat him with contempt. They said to him: Old man, why are you building this ark? Noah said to them: The Holy One, Blessed be He, is bringing a flood upon you. They said to him: A flood of what? If it is a flood of fire, we have another item and it is called alita, and it is fireproof. And if it is a flood of water that He brings, if He brings the water from the earth, we have iron plates with which we can plate the earth to prevent the water from rising. And if He brings the water from the heavens, we have an item and it is called ekev, and some say it is called ikkesh, which will absorb the water.

Noah! He tells the people that they have to change the way they’re living or the world will be destroyed by a flood. (Sound like 99% of scientists? We need to change how we are living of the planet will no longer be able to sustain us?) And the people brush him off! They say, “we have technology for that” and that God can’t hurt them. (Sound familiar?) The lived in denial and refused to change.

So, what will you do to change how you live to show that you believe?

Be righteous. Do the right thing. Even is those around you refuse.