Talking Talmud

Counting the years for kings... How does the mishnah know that the kings' rule is counted from Rosh Chodesh Nisan? The Gemara tracks through biblical verses... Twice. Once, via a beraita. Plus, the fact that non-Jewish kings' rule is counted via Tishrei, and why that is. But what about Koresh (Cyrus)? He's a non-Jewish king whose rule seems to have been counted according to Nisan. Ah, but he was g...

Some introduction to Rosh Hashanah, and why we mark time. The term "Rosh Hashanah," meaning the head of the year, is not really used in the Bible, yet in the rabbinic literature, there are 4 "new years." Some time is marked by astronomy (and math) - imposing structure from the outside - and others are based on the physical reality of growth and development. Diving in to the first mishnah, we find...

If someone has someone who owns produce in another city can make an eruv techumin to be able to have his produce brought to him - but that is not allowed. Rather, he needs to make his own eruv techumin. Likewise, guests who live beyond techum shabbat and couldn't get home, so they made an eruv. (the audio for Anne is a little wonky, but please bear with - the points are clear and then the audio se...

2 mishnayot on the daf. First, if one borrows a coal on yom tov, the coal can only be taken as far as its original owner - in contrast to flame (a similar parallel to consecrated items vs. flame). 5 different teachings were said about coal... and how a flame has to be burn something to exist altogether. Second, a pit or well that is owned privately - the water within it can only be drawn and carri...

R. Abba left Babylonia for the Land of Israel, and he prays that he (and his words of Torah) will be well-received. When he sits among the sages, they discuss our mishnah (from the previous daf). And the notion that secondary ingredients can be nullified with regard to carrying, etc. But the other sages do laugh at him. The question of what can be nullified depends on whether the different items o...

The practices that are prohibited on yom tov, as on Shabbat, whether because they are optional for that time or mitzvot - beginning with yibum and halitzah, as well as sanctifying produce and other to the Beit HaMikdash. Because what if one comes to write? What if it appears to much to be business practices? Also, how terumot and maaserot "fix" produce, and how this can become an issue on yom tov...

Spreading a mat over a beehive to protect it from the weather - the mishnah says it's acceptable; the gemara raises questions as to when and to what extent that is the case. The Gemara also makes it clear that the focus is the needs of people - to protect the honey, for example, whereas when there's little or no honey to be found, the question of the permissibility of protecting the beehive become...

A long discussion on R. Nachman's position from the previous daf regarding how one demonstrates intent to tithe. Including timing. And the manner the fruit is used (dried vs. fresh). Which converges on "demai." And when we say food is ready to be eaten, before which point, the requirement for terumot and maaserot doesn't kick in. Also, a new chapter: one who dries fruit on the roof and then lowers...

A series of halakhot of what is permitted and not permitted on yom tov. Beginning with some details of shechitah - with concern that it should not appear to be done in the same way as during the week. Also, handling of an urn. And a baker's oven. How much apparent labor did they do back in the day on yom tov itself?! Also, when produce has been set aside, making it muktzah, but it's a shemitah yea...

A couple of puzzling aspects to the daf today: a woman should not enter a storage place for wood to take a firebrand. But this formulation is a little unexpected. Also, a new mishnah: A person can remove a small piece of wood to use as a toothpick. Likewise, items in the courtyard may be considered already prepared for use - or not, as compared to the items in one's home. Plus, the gemara on this...

Two mishnayot on the daf. First, one cannot hollow out clay to make a lamp because that is making a vessel. Ditto making charcoal or a wick. Plus, Bar Kapra - all kinds of laws about wicks! Also, Rav Nathan bar Abba on several things cited in his name, including commentary on the Jews of Babylonia. [What's What: The eruv rav] Also, you can't cut paper to roast fish. And you can't set up barrels to...

First, a couple of announcements. || A new mishnah: gathering (already chopped) wood for firewood is acceptable, depending on where you are gathering it from. How open to the public or wild is the space? In the end, of course, it's a machloket. Also, you can't chop wood on the holiday itself, or not with a tool that would regularly use for that purpose. This seems to contradict itself - so the Gem...

One who carries wine jugs from one place to the next cannot do so in the usual, everyday way of carrying, but can in other ways. Likewise, wood and straw. But if there's only way to carry the thing, you can manage that way. The Gemara shifts to a discussion of women in particular singing and dancing and playing musical instruments when they really were prohibited to do so, but they weren't rebuked...

2 mishnayot on the daf. One is not permitted to fill vessels at the grocery store to a measuring line on yom tov. Abba Shaul ben Botnit (short Who's Who) measured foodstuffs out in advance. The shopping on yom tov seems very foreign, but it seems to have been the norm. Plus, Abba Shaul ben Botnit and other grocers prepared jugs of oil and wine to check with the Temple treasurers that they weren't...

3 mishnayot on the daf. If you're selling meat on yom tov (yes), you still need to avoid the weekday manner of doing so. For example, using a balance scale to weigh out the meat. Also, you can't sharpen a knife on the holiday in the usual weekday manner. But in unusual ways, one can - for example, if a knife is nicked over yom tov to begin with. That is, even though it's part of food preparation,...

More on the first-born animal - figuring out whether you can check for a blemish on yom tov itself. But what a temptation - to blemish your animal so you could have it for yourself (not the way it's supposed to be). Also, an animal that drops dead on yom tov can't be moved. Challah that has been rendered impure likewise has no value on yom tov. What was the status of the animal before it died? The...

A case of the first-born male animal - bekhor - that is dedicated and given to kohanim to eat, unless it has a blemish. When is checking for such a blemish permitted, on yom tov? Also, can something be muktzah for only part of Shabbat, whether it gains or loses that status?

A new mishnah - an animal that is in danger of dying should not be slaughtered on yom tov. Or rather, there must be enough time in the day to eat from the meat after the slaughtering. Also, if you slaughter an animal out in the field, you can't bring it home as you usually would on a weekday. Plus, comparable stipulations regarding how garlic and onion are to be eaten, to avoid the appearance of b...

Chapter 3 - It is prohibited to trap fish from fish ponds on yom tov, as is feeding the fish, but taking an animal from an enclosure for food on yom tov is permitted. But there's a direct contradiction to this statement regarding the animals, which the Gemara needs to resolve. Likewise, an apparent contradiction about birds, and when they are considered to be in an enclosure. Also, any catch in tr...

Keturah - a type of melakhah that needs definition and application. Specifically, fire and incense. Plus, R. Elazar's leniencies vs. the sages. And the politics of leadership and wealth. Plus a new read of the Mishnah, in the light of the principle that "silence is an endorsement." Plus, the impurity of a 3-part pepper mill. Also, a child's wagon can be rendered impure. Plus, whether that wagon ca...

A story about Ulla - regarding Beit Shammai's stringency regarding a candelabra and vessels... and extinguishing a fire. Plus, Rabban Gamliel's leniencies.

The case of an animal that is jointly owned by a Jew and a non-Jew, is it permissible to slaughter that animal on yom tov (for yom tov)? And how does that relate to the discussion about animals that are nedavot - gifts to the kohen? Plus, the case of an ancient Jewish twin that has a non-Jewish army garrisoned there, relying on certain aspects of Jewish labor - but what about on yom tov? Also, a c...

Bringing an obligatory korban, as compared to a voluntary offering. Can one korban fulfill both? Which leads to a discussion on different implications of different phrasings of conditions. Also, the laying on of hands on a korban - where the students of Shammai bother Hillel. And Shammai's side actually got the upper hand.... which plays out in somewhat dramatic fashion, including ending on the ma...

Further explication of the most recent mishnah: a vessel that has been immersed... and then dunked again. A dunking that does nothing is allowed, of course. And "from one group to the next" - brings us back to the Korban Pesach. But these superfluous immersions are puzzling. Also, a new mishnah: laying on of hands on a korban - on yom tov - permitted? It's another dispute between Beit Hillel and B...

Immersing a vessel on Shabbat - a problem of carrying. But what if the immersion was possible in one's own courtyard? Or what about on yom tov, when carrying isn't an issue? Abaye probes all the possibilities, and permutations of the prohibition. Also, suggestions why dunking on yom tov would be prohibited, in its own right. Plus, another instance of ho'il, since.