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

Chullin 24

How long do you pursue something before giving up/switching gears? The daf gives us an idea by pointing out an inconsistency in the age the Torah says a Levite serves. . . The baraita notes that one verse states: “From twenty-five years old and upward” (Numbers 8:24), and one verse states: “From thirty years oldContinue reading “Chullin 24”

Chullin 23

There’s a passage in Talmud Chullin 23 that, on the surface, feels almost painfully technical. Rabbi Zeira raises a dilemma: With regard to one who says: It is incumbent upon me to bring an animal burnt offering of a ram, which is a sheep that is at least thirteen months old, or of a lamb,Continue reading “Chullin 23”

Chullin 15

One of the things I love about the Gemara is that sometimes, buried inside a technical legal discussion, is a really profound insight into human nature. Today’s daf discusses food prepared on Shabbat for someone who is dangerously ill. Of course, saving a life overrides Shabbat. But then the Gemara asks: what about everyone else?Continue reading “Chullin 15”

Chullin 5

Very few people are good through and through. And very few are evil through and through. We all want to believe in people who are consistent, who live with total integrity. And it’s genuinely painful when that image cracks—when someone we admire turns out to have a serious moral failing, even if it’s in anContinue reading “Chullin 5”

Chullin 4

This piece of today’s daf grabbed me right away—not just for the halakhic question, but for the people behind it. The Gemara is debating whether you can eat matzah made by Samaritans on Passover, and even fulfill your obligation with it. The Master said: It is permitted to eat the matza of a Samaritan onContinue reading “Chullin 4”