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

Zevachim 54

We all have in our minds the image of Moses looking at the Promised Land from the other side of the Jordan River. But he is not, by far, the only person who worked for years for something, to envision it, but didn’t get to live it. On our daf Today, we see King DavidContinue reading “Zevachim 54”

Sanhedrin 107

Oh what a daf!! It’s a good one. It starts with Dvid asking why we say “God of Abraha, God of Isaac, God of Jacob” in our prayers, but we don’t say “God of David.” Let’s see: Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: A person should never bring himself to undergo an ordeal, as David,Continue reading “Sanhedrin 107”

Sanhedrin 95

The famous story of David sleighing the giant Goliath has been captured in art and told and retold. But did you know that Goliath had a brother? On our daf today, we meet a family of giants! We also see a strange negotiation between God and David – apparently, even kings are held accountable forContinue reading “Sanhedrin 95”

Sanhedrin 49

Even when we work alone, we rely on others. We sometimes like to think we are completely self reliant, but, as they say “no man is an island.” I may lead a service by myself, but I rely on many others to make sure the building is ready, the airconditioning on, the prayer books outContinue reading “Sanhedrin 49”

Sanhedrin 16

King David is famous for many things, including playing the lyre. Our gem is the playing of this lyre at midnight. . . A lyre hung above David’s bed, and once midnight arrived, the northern midnight wind would blow on it and cause the lyre to play on its own. David would immediately rise fromContinue reading “Sanhedrin 16”

Bava Batra 147

We have been learning about deathbed requests or who gets what. Today, we get a very interesting proof . . . from someone who is a victim of suicide. Rami bar Yeḥezkel says: The halakha with regard to the gift of a person on his deathbed is derived from here: “And when Ahithophel saw thatContinue reading “Bava Batra 147”