Today we get a new Mishna that asks: Who has the greater power? The Altar of the Priest? MISHNA: The meal offering of priests, the meal offering of the anointed priest, i.e., the High Priest, and the meal offering brought with libations that accompany burnt offerings and peace offerings are burned in their entirety onContinue reading “Menachot 74”
Tag Archives: god
Menachot 71
The Shema consists of three paragraphs: Deuteronomy 6:4–9, Deuteronomy 11:13–21, and Numbers 15:37–41. But, if you ask your average Reform Jew, we would only say one line, “”Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad). The rest we call the “v’ahavta” prayer. Today’s daf makes meContinue reading “Menachot 71”
Menachot 70
Do you eat rice on Passover? Growing up, I was not allowed, but the rabbis on the daf seem to make it clear that rice does not count as Chametz (items with leaven)! While discussing which grains require separating challah (not the loaf, challah actually refers to a percentage of dough/bread taken from your dough/breadContinue reading “Menachot 70”
Menachot 62
Fabulous text today!! The mishna teaches that the two loaves and the two lambs are waved in the following manner: The priest places his two hands below the lambs, extends them to each of the four directions and brings them back, then raises and lowers them. Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says:Continue reading “Menachot 62”
Menachot 55
When we were dating, my husband and I used to fight all the time. Then we made a rule, when we started to fight, we needed to pause and write down what we thought we were fighting about. This kinda put a stopper on our arguments! Often we were talking past one another, not evenContinue reading “Menachot 55”
Menachot 50
On today’s daf, the Gemara discusses the morning and afternoon sacrifices (the korban tamid). If the morning tamid/sacrifice wasn’t offered, the afternoon one can still be brought. According to Rabbi Shimon, even if the morning was deliberately neglected, the offering isn’t canceled — the negligent kohanim are punished, but the sacrifice goes on – teachingContinue reading “Menachot 50”
Menachot 49
Jewish law still grapples seriously with what can be salvaged when reality falls short of ideal. On our daf today, we again return to a serious discussion of what to do when we know what we have to offer will fall short. Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Avin raised a dilemma before Rav Ḥisda: In the caseContinue reading “Menachot 49”
Menachot 44
Today’s daf has one of the most memorable stories in the Talmud. I will past the entire passage below, but to sum it up the daf tells the unforgettable story of a man who is meticulous about the mitzvah of tzitzit but who also loves to sleep with prostitutes. He saves his money and travelsContinue reading “Menachot 44”
Menachot 36
From wearing signs to being living signs, today’s gem is a good one. The Gemara answers: Rabba bar Rav Huna derives the exemption from the obligation to don phylacteries on Shabbat from a different source, the source where Rabbi Akiva derives it from, as it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Akiva says: OneContinue reading “Menachot 36”
Menachot 35
“See something say something” is currently a national campaign run by homeland security wherein the public is supposed to report suspicious behavior. But for the rabbis of the Talmud, it applies to breaking halakhah (Jewish law). The Gemara cites the continuation of that baraita. Rabbi Yehuda said: There was an incident involving Rabbi Akiva’s student,Continue reading “Menachot 35”
2,711 pages of Talmud. A gem a day. 