Mishna Accomplished

In this episode, I overview the second half of the tractate. Our two mishnas continue to discuss things you are allowed to do or not do on Friday afternoon, close to Shabbat. Here we see a fundamental split between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai. You can find these mishnas here . There’s still time to sign up for my class at the Valley Beit Midrash on the topic of “What does the Mishna Teach us abou...

In today’s episode, we discuss decrees the rabbis made to keep people from absent-mindedly violating other prohibitions, such as carrying work tools on Shabbat. We are introduced to the idea of “Bo Bayom”, a day where the student of Shammai outnumbered the students of Hillel and made 18 laws in the beit midrash. You can find these mishnas here .    I’m excited to announce that I’ll be teaching a c...

Today we start our new tractate, Shabbat! I explain why I chose Shabbat and some of the considerations when picking a longer tractate. I talk about how we want to frame our learning about Shabbat and how the mishna’s focus on “don’t” creates an imperative for us to add elements to remind ourselves of the joys of Shabbat. We learn the first mishna, about transferring, and I heavily recommend simpli...

We finish Tractate Yoma with the only two mishnayot that discuss Teshuva, 8:8-9. You can read these mishnas here . I’m excited to announce that I’ll be teaching a class for the Valley Beit Midrash on the topic of “What does the Mishna Teach us about the People who Wrote it?” on Thursday, September 10 at 10am PST/1pm EST. You can register here . You can dedicate an episode of Mishna Accomplished fo...

Shira Eliaser joins me as we continue to talk about life-threatening situations that override existing Jewish laws. We also move into cases of doubt, focusing specifically on a rockslide or building collapse. What do we need to know about who is trapped under the rubble in order to violate Shabbat laws to clear it away? This is one of those challenging mishnas that should not be read without some...

Sarah Osborne from A Mitzvah to Eat joins us again as we discuss what the mishna says about children, pregnant people and sick people on Yom Kippur. Sarah shares her experience and suggestions for people who may not be able to safely fast on Yom Kippur. You can find these mishnas here . You can read Sarah’s Lehrhaus article here . You can dedicate an episode of Mishna Accomplished for $18 by going...

Sarah Osborne joins me on the podcast today as we discuss the five prohibited activities of Yom Kippur and minimum amounts for legal liability as well as some exceptions for a king and a bride. You can find these mishnas here . Sarah tells us about her work with A Mitzvah to Eat , and we talk about choosing our words carefully to make it clear that people who can safely fast are commanded to fast,...

The mishna tells us about the ending of the service, where the Kohen Gadol puts on his white clothing again to go back into the Kodesh Kodashim to retrieve the ladle and the fire-shovel. He puts the golden clothing on and finishes the afternoon service. We then see him change back into his street clothes and is accompanied home for a post-fast celebration that he made it through the service succes...

Our first mishna today informs us which events of Yom Kippur happened at the same time, which can spark great discussion about making choosing between important events. Our second mishna starts the sprint to the finish by having the Kohen change back into gold clothing and finish up the remaining offerings. A dispute between the Tannaim muddies the waters about which offering happened when. You ca...

Today, we study the final mishna of chapter 6 and learn about how the Kohen Gadol knew when the goat had reached the wilderness and the service could continue as a result. Then we begin chapter 7 and learn about the Torah reading and tefilot offered by the Kohen Gadol at this stage in the service. You can find these mishnas here .   Today’s episode is dedicated in support of Malka Rivka bat Yehudi...

Today, the goat goes over the cliff and I make a terrible pun about it. Then, back at the temple, the sacrificial parts are burned and the rest of the animal is taken out to the place of burning. In both mishnas, we discuss at what point the Kohen’s clothes become Tameh. You can find these mishnayot here .  You can dedicate an episode of Mishna Accomplished for $18 by going to BuyMeACoffee.com and...

Special guest Rivka joins as we see the goat depart for the wilderness with the people plucking at its hairs. We talk a bit about violence in the mishna and see how far the goat and its chaperone have to walk and what supports are provided along the way. You can find these mishnas here . You can dedicate an episode of Mishna Accomplished for $18 by going to BuyMeACoffee.com and searching for "Rabb...

The He-Goat that is Being Sent Away (AKA The Se’ir La’Azazel) is brought forward. The Kohen Gadol does semicha, which is laying his hands on the goat’s head, says words of confession and then the goat is ready to be sent off. We learn about who is eligible to take the goat out to the wilderness. You can find these mishnas here . You can dedicate an episode of Mishna Accomplished for $18 by going t...

Today, we finish chapter 5 by learning about how the service of Yom Kippur had to be performed in order. The mishna reviews a number of situations where the service went wrong and tells us how to rectify them. We begin chapter 6 with some guidelines for acquiring the pair of goats. You can find these mishnas here . You can dedicate an episode of Mishna Accomplished for $18 by going to BuyMeACoffee...

Special guest Ren returns to talk about the Kohen Gadol sprinkling the blood on the golden altar. We talk about how to handle mishnas that are not the most exciting ever and how to power through a slump. You can find today’s mishnas here . You can dedicate an episode of Mishna Accomplished for $18 by going to BuyMeACoffee.com and searching for "RabbaAliza" or by using this link . ( buymeacoffee.co...

Today’s episode sees the Kohen Gadol complete the blood service for the ox, then take the designated he-goat and slaughter it. He then sprinkles the blood of the he-goat inside the Holy of Holies and in turn sprinkles the blood of both animals on the Parochet curtain from the outside. That’s a total of four sprinklings, and the mishna repeats a lot of sentences verbatim here in these two mishnas....

Today’s mishnas take us back to Yom Kippur morning, where the Kohen Gadol does the incense offering in the Holy of Holies. Since he walks to where the Ark of the Covenant stands, we digress into a discuss of what happened to the Ark and what stood in its place during the Second Temple. You can find these mishnas here . You can dedicate an episode of Mishna Accomplished for $18 by going to BuyMeACo...

Today’s mishnas continue drawing distinctions between every other day in the mikdash versus the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur. We learn about how the kohanim would go up and down the ramp of the altar, how the Kohen Gadol washed his hands, and how many fires were kept at the top of the altar. Along the way, we consider the larger role of glorifying the Kohen Gadol - is it to honor him or for some larg...

The Kohen Gadol finally slaughters the ox he’s confessed over twice and performs the required parts of the service, leading into the morning incense service. We get another digression into differences between Yom Kippur and other days in the Temple, which will continue until the end of this (short) chapter. You can find these mishnas here . We refer back to Yoma 3:4-5 twice, catch that episode her...

Today, the Kohen Gadol uses the lottery box and lots to determine which goat will be to Hashem and which will be to Azazel. Then the goats are tied up in their respective locations and the Kohen returns to his ox. He makes almost the same confession again. You can find these mishnas here . In this episode, I quoted Leviticus 16:8 and Isaiah 1:18 . The first time we learned about the rings was in S...

Today, Dr. Sara Ronis returns to the pod as the mishna digresses into listing individuals who are remembered favorably for their contributions to the Temple, and those who are remembered unfavorably for not sharing Temple skills. You can find these mishnas here . You can dedicate an episode of Mishna Accomplished for $18 by going to BuyMeACoffee.com and searching for "RabbaAliza" or by using this...

The Kohen Gadol does semicha and vidui over his personal ox Korban, laying his hands on the ox’s head and confessing his sins. Then we see the Kohen move to a different part of the Temple courtyard to encounter the two he-goats, the lottery box and the lots. Before we continue with the action, we learn about an important donor.  You can find these mishnas on Sefaria here . Up to now, I have typica...

Today, I welcome Dr. Benji Davis to the pod as we continue to discuss the Yom Kippur service. The Kohen Gadol immerses and puts on the special Yom Kippur white linen clothing, and the mishna gives us guidelines for the cost of the special white clothing. You can find these mishnas on Sefaria here . Today’s podcast is dedicated in the memory of Michael Levin, z”l, who fell in battle on August 1, 20...

Today, we see the Kohen immerse for the first time and dress in his ‘Bigdei Zahav’ — golden clothing. We detour briefly into Maimonides’ Laws of Vessels of the Sanctuary and Those who Serve Therein and explain the eight items of clothing the Kohen Gadol wears. We see the Kohen Gadol offer the Tamid and learn a bit about where the incense fits into the daily service. We conclude with a note about h...

Today’s episodes explain further the process of verifying that the sun has risen before the Yom Kippur service commences. These mishnas also talk about when the Kohen Gadol (and everyone else) needs to immerse in a mikvah or sanctify hands and feet. You can find these mishnas on Sefaria here . Up to now, I have typically chosen the dedication myself. You can dedicate an episode for $18 by going to...