Daf Yomi with Rabbanit Dr. Tamara Spitz

This week we will learn about caesarean-born animals and the animal born after them: Rabbi Tarfon treats both as doubtful firstborns, while Rabbi Akiva says neither is a bechor. Chapter 3 then deals with an animal bought from a non-Jew whose birth history is unknown, using Rabbi Yishmael’s age brackets and Rabbi Akiva’s physical signs of a prior birth to decide. The section ends by assuming a nurs...

This week we will learn about which animals are and are not obligated in bechor, the first born of a kosher animal,  including animals born from cross-species unions, animals bought from non-Jews, and cases where the fetus emerged unusually, with the underlying principle that only an animal that truly “opens the womb” in the normal sense acquires kedushah,  sanctity. We will also learn about cases...

This week we will continue learning about the sanctity of the first-born donkey, and why the donkey requires redemption. We will also learn that one may not derive any benefit from the carcass of a donkey killed by arifah (neck-breaking, the alternative to redemption), and that even a small sheep fulfills the mitzvah of redemption. For more info or to visit the main shiur page please visit ⁠⁠ http...

We will begin Masechet Bechorot and learn that there are 3 types of firstborns: Kosher animals, Donkeys and Humans. Each type is redeemed in its own unique way. We will begin to learn about the first-born donkey this week. For more info or to visit the main shiur page please visit ⁠ https://webyeshiva.org/course/daf-yomi-one-week-at-a-time-bechorot

This week we will finish Masechet Chulin with the twelfth perek on shiluach hakan (sending away the mother bird), establishing that the mitzvah applies only to kosher birds encountered incidentally in the wild ( ki yikarei ). The Gemara asks the major question of whether one must proactively seek out a nest to perform the mitzvah or whether it only applies when one actually wants the eggs. We end...

This week, we will learn about the laws of  matnot kehunah,  the priestly gifts (the foreleg, jaw, and stomach) that anyone slaughtering a kosher animal must give to a kohen. We will learn what each gift is, who is obligated to give it, and who is exempt. We will then begin the final chapter in this masechet and learn about the mitzvah of Shiluach HaKen, the sending of the mother bird when collect...

This week we will learn about  tumat neveilah  (the ritual impurity of animal carcasses) and  tumat ochalin  (the impurity laws governing food), including the special case of  ever min ha-chai,  a limb hanging from a still-living animal.  The Gemara also teaches about a dangling limb or piece of flesh still attached to a live animal, weighing whether it counts as food susceptible to impurity versu...

This week we will learn about the rules of  tumat ochlin  (food impurity), which requires a minimum egg-sized amount but can be supplemented by the animal’s skin, solidified meat juice, bones, sinews, horns, or hooves, contrasted with  tumat neveilah,  which requires a kezayit (olive volume) of actual meat and cannot be supplemented. The Gemara also teaches about the concepts of  yad  (handle) and...

This week we will continue learning the laws of  basar b’chalav  by introducing two critical principles: first,  nat bar nat  (a secondary transferred taste), and second,  davar charif  (sharp foods), teaching that a radish or onion cut with a meat knife absorbs the meat taste throughout its entire mass due to its sharpness. The Gemara also examines the Biblical scope of the  basar b’chalav  prohi...

This week we will continue discussing the rules for separating meat and milk, establishing the requirements for transitioning from cheese to meat. The Gemara teaches the rules of  basar b’chalav  mixtures, analyzing when a forbidden taste transferred through salting, cooking, or contact renders a mixture forbidden. We will also learn how to properly eat an udder and a heart without eating forbidde...

This week we will continue learning the laws of  bitul  (nullification), establishing that the standard ratio for nullifying a forbidden substance in a mixture is 60:1. The Gemara also discusses whether the prohibition of  gid haNasheh  applies to non-kosher animals. The seventh perek concludes with a discussion of  ever min ha’chai  (the limb of a living animal), debating whether it applies to no...

This week we will learn about gid ha-nasheh (the sciatic nerve prohibition from Jacob’s injury). The Gemara continues with the concept of geneivat da’at, that misleading people is forbidden even when no financial loss results. We will then learn about meat that was out of sight and therefore forbidden. For more info or to visit the main shiur page please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://webyeshiva.org/c...

This week we will discuss the mitzvah of covering the blood of a slaughtered undomesticated animal or bird with earth or similar things that promote growth. We will then begin Chapter 7, and learn ahout the mitzvah of Gid HaNasheh, dealing with the prohibition of eating the sciatic nerve of an animal. For more info or to visit the main shiur page please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://webyeshiva.org/cou...

This week we will learn which joint of the hind leg determines whether an animal that had its legs severed is a treifah and then discuss what happens if the placenta is found in a slaughtered animal. We will then begin the fifth perek with the mitzvah of  oto v’et beno,  the Torah’s prohibition against slaughtering a parent and its offspring on the same day. For more info or to visit the main shiu...

This week we will learn about the status of a fetus found inside a slaughtered mother, establishing that the mother’s shechita generally permits the fetus along with her other internal organs, but with limitations. We will then discuss the laws of  tumah belu’ah  (swallowed impurity), establishing that a dead fetus inside a living mother does not transmit tumah on a Torah level since it is conside...

This week we will learn how to identify kosher birds, since the Torah only lists the 24 non-kosher species rather than giving positive signs. We will also learn that eggs of non-kosher birds are Biblically forbidden. The Gemara also teaches the simanim for kosher fish (fins and scales), followed by a discussion of forbidden creeping creatures including snakes, scorpions, beetles, centipedes, and t...

This week we will continue learning about  treifos , focusing on internal organs, debating whether missing or diseased kidneys render an animal a treifah, and then transitioning to the treifos unique to birds, including piercing of the  kurkevan  (gizzard) versus the  zefek  (crop).  We will then learn about the simanim (identifying signs) of kosher animals, birds, locusts and fish. For more info...

This week we will continue learning which injuries, diseases, and organ defects render an animal a  treifah  and which do not. The Gemara examines specific cases organ by organ: lungs, stomach, kidneys, spine, and more, debating the precise thresholds of size, location, and severity that determine kosher status. For more info or to visit the main shiur page please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://webyeshiva.or...

This week we will begin to examine treifot (conditions that render an animal forbidden even after proper slaughter), particularly defects or injuries to internal organs like the trachea, esophagus, and other vital structures. Throughout, the Gemara debates the criteria distinguishing a wound that’s survivable from one that’s fatal, often citing cases brought to sages for rulings. For more info or...

We will learn about the laws of purity as they apply to food, focusing on the requirement that food be “prepared” through contact with one of seven liquids before it can become susceptible to impurity. We will then learn about the role of owner’s intent in designating something as food. The Gemara then discusses shechita performed for the sake of idol worship, with a dispute about whether one pers...

This week we will begin Perek Ha’Shochet (the second chapter), establishing the foundational rules of how much of the simanim (windpipe and esophagus) must be cut for valid shechita, a majority of one siman for birds and two for animals. We will then learn the precise technical requirements of the cut itself, analyzing what counts as a “majority,” whether half equals a majority for purposes of tre...

This week the Gemara contrasts shechita with melikah (nape-nicking of bird offerings), detailing what is kosher for one but invalid for the other. We will then learn about disqualifications of Kohanim versus Leviyim (blemishes vs. age), and then shift to the tumah laws of earthenware vessels.  The Gemara then debates the status of temed (water soaked through grape residue), whether it is treated a...

This week we will discuss three main areas within the laws of shechita: the role of intent (focusing on whether a minor’s actions and kavanah have Torah or Rabbinic validity, and whether conscious intent is required for kodshim), the requirements for a valid slaughtering instrument (the knife must be detached, with debate over wheels and re-attached knives, alongside a historical discussion of whe...

This week we will discuss issues of ritual slaughter, including the reliability of people performing shechita, invalid methods of slaughter, and the status of knives used for shechita and prohibited foods. The Gemara also discusses the principles of relying on majority ( rov ) and presumptive status ( chazakah ) in kashrut, especially regarding slaughter and determining whether an animal is kosher...

This week we will begin Masechet Chulin. We are going to learn the laws of Shchita, ritual slaughter, and what makes an animal kosher and what renders it not kosher. This week we will learn who may perform shchita and who may not, and why. For more info or to visit the main shiur page please visit ⁠https://webyeshiva.org/course/daf-yomi-one-week-at-a-time-chulin/⁠