Shallow Dive Daf Yomi

It is the thought that counts • Successful results are not a function of righteous intent, but rather depend on the resonance of our strivings with the Divine Will • A degenerative consequence of the tragedy of Adam and Eve, exacerbated by the tragedy of Cain and Abel, was the engenderment of spiritual blemish warranting mortality to become a ubiquitous human experience to achieve rectification

What activities are prohibited during the intermediate days of the festival? • Understanding the prohibition of breeding a first born animal and other invalidated sacrificial animals • Is working during the intermediate days permitted to prevent losses? • If a person did prohibited work during the intermediate days, are his inheritors similarly restricted from benefiting from that labor?

From our perspective, there is no reliably discernable congruity between fortune and worthiness, misfortune and guilt • When is it permitted to become an informant?

What types of renovation and construction projects may be done on Chol Ha'moed? • Road maintenance is a high priority public need • We are encouraged to pray for divine mercy for suffering penitents • How do we know that various sites transmitting Tumas Ohel (ritual impurity engendered through sharing a covered enclosure with a corpse) must be marked? • Laws pertaining to fields with a grave whose...

Fortune is decreed from heaven • In this world the righteous and wicked can share the same fate • Their divergence of experience becomes apparent in the World of Truth

Who interrupts Torah study to accompany a bride to the wedding canopy or a body to the grave for burial? • The Divine Presence dwells among the Jewish nation even in exile • The sanctity of synagogues and study halls • The four special Torah readings before Passover

How many people ascend for the public Torah reading on fast days? • What restrictions on work are in force on Rosh Chodesh? • Various forms of bowing and prostration and their appropriate expression • May women and children ascend for public Torah readings?• May women and children be included in the quorum of ten for public Torah and Megillah readings?

When is rejoicing praiseworthy? • How can a person enhance their resilience? • How can one cultivate satisfaction with one's lot? • One's toil to fulfill God's Will is a continuous source of protection

How was it permissible for Yehoshua to marry Rachav, a Canaanite convert? • Who were the four most beautiful women in history? • Can God be a crown for the righteous? • Why did Esther invite Haman to her party?

True unmitigated good is not the experience of the wicked • Living without the fear of God is at the root of every branch of evil • Good deeds that are done without the fear of God are inherently inferior, and are rewarded accordingly

Differences between restrictive vows • Differences between various impure discharges • Differences between a quarantined Metzorah and a definitively pronounced Metzorah • What languages and alphabets may be used in Sifrei Torah, Nevi'im, Kesuvim, Tefillin and Mezuzos?

God does not necessarily punish in this world • His patience ensures free will, and affords ample opportunity to repent • Only those who fear God and fulfill His will shall experience the ultimate pleasure

What types of meats and wines are prohibited in the final meal preceding Tisha B’Av? • Why is Tu B'Av such a great celebration? • Sensitivity in the shidduch process • Marketing of shidduchim

Our choices have the power to sanctify or debase even inanimate objects • True Justice and The Judge are temporarily obscured to endow us with free will in this world

The potency of prayer • Sometimes what we perceive as the obstacle is not the problem • One should generally abstain from praying for and benefitting from open miracles • Special donkeys

There's no silver lining in sinfulness; the miser will go broke pursuing his passions • Human brutality often cycles viciously, falsely elevating might to right

Of all the actions incorporated in a fast day, the active ingredient is Teshuva • May Kohanim drink wine today? • May Kohanim allow their hair to grow long today? • Which people serving in the Temple are granted the dispensation to take care of their hygiene on Thursdays?

This world is filled with choices, the next world is filled with experiencing the realization of those choices • Generalizations about consequences can be easily surmised, accurately teasing out the details requires true depth of perception

How cramped is Purgatory? • When should we pray for rain? • When do we fast over drought? • Travel etiquette • The importance of solidarity with the community

Temporal government powers reflect the metaphysical channels of Divine power of their time • A world emperor reflects Divine power in a manner that commands radical obeisance • Divine service is not subject to the filter of human reason • Absolute fidelity to the Almighty's Will can never be a catalyst of misery

We are required to articulate praises to Hashem for phenomena that are subject to fluctuations; blessings and curses • Various rains offer varied benefits • The power of God's fiery word imbues the Torah scholar with discipline and resolve to be tough as iron, with freedom from the domination of the iron-like evil inclination • A righteous father may be confident that only worthy suitors approach...

Do not rebel against legitimate authority; God is the ultimate Authority • Do not pray in a state of confusion, the potency of prayer demands that in times of Divine wrath, one offer focused supplication in beseeching Divine mercy • All Divine commandments are inherently meaningful • Accept Divine rebuke, for His sake; anything less is akin to cursing God

When can the Shofar be blown on Shabbos? • The Lulav is taken seven days of Succos as a unique rabbinic enactment in memorial of Jerusalem • Bringing the Omer offering permits consumption of the new crop, what about after the destruction of the temple?

How can the righteous mediate Divine patience? • Why are the deaths of the righteous and the charitable sustaining of wayfarers comparable to sacrifice? • How can the death of the righteous be the harbinger of suffering? What type of sin requires sacrificial atonement?

A false witness telling tall tales has important messages to share • The procedures of sanctifying the new month changed when rogue forces sought to sabotage the truth • Coral harvesting • Teaching Torah in a spiritual desert is precious