Talking Talmud

How much flour needs to be measured out for the grain-offering? A minimal amount, so that even the poorest sinner can manage the offering. And that flour? It's dough, not just loose, powdery flour. Also, fresh figs vs. dried figs in terms of figuring out the volume or number when it comes to giving terumah (and the question of whether that's terumah gedolah or terumat ma'aser).

Chapter 5! On preparing the dough... with a new mishnah that explains that all of the grain-offerings are matzah (unleavened), with two exceptions. Plus, a discussion on how leavening was used. Plus, an important genealogy on the descendants of Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah (who himself could trace back to Ezra). Also, a gripping aggadic story about Abraham (the patriarch), the Destruction of the Templ...

More on the griddle-cakes... which were brought together with the daily offerings of the morning and of the afternoon. This raises the question of how much flour went into each offering - was the 10th of an efah of flour divided between the two daily offerings, or per each of them? Plus, the same question as applied to the frankincense, in terms of quantity with regard to each daily offering of th...

On Rava's opinion about the kohen gadol's griddle-cake offering. The griddle-cake involves flour and oil, but the measurements of each are not clear -- and are therefore subject to interpretation and deriving the details, whether from the verses or logic. Note the recipe that doesn't address taste, but rather learned inferences. Also, a new mishnah! The commitment to the offering of th...

More on the incense - including differences between communal incense vs. individual's incense. Also, the parallel is drawn between the gifts of the 12 tribes' princes, as told in the Book of Numbers (Parshat Naso) and the offering of this incense. Also, back to grain-offerings! And a specific recall of the "havitin" brought by kohanim, and the special one offered by the kohen gadol -- that were of...

More on Shavuot and its lambs... If older animals were brought - it's a dispute, whether they would count for the offerings of Shavuot or not. That is, if the intent is correct; if not, then not. Also, if the kohanim made something pigul - then that is invalid, even if it was done inadvertently. Plus, a new mishnah - with more on essentiality: the daily offerings and the additional offerings o...

The case of slaughtering 4 lambs with the 2 loaves of Shavuot (instead of 2 lambs), then how is that error handled? Two of those lambs are not offered for their own sake, since they aren't presented in the right context, as, for example, a generic peace-offering. That is, the first two lambs have already fulfilled the Shavuot requirement. Also, Rav Yitzhak comes from the land of Israel to the...

More on the loaves and lambs of Shavuot and how the slaughtering of the lambs with the proper intent consecrates the breads too. Plus, the possibility of possible consecration (which is not possible according to everyone, but it is in the view of some). Also, the strength of the connection between the lambs' slaughter and the consecration of the loaves. What happens if that bread is lost? Plus...

The bond between the animal sacrifices of the holiday of Shavuot and the "Shtei ha-Lechem" loaves of the same holiday, and when they are both required, as essential, and when one could be offered without the other, if need be. Also, a deeper dive into the the loaves of the Shtei ha-Lechem to begin with, and how they have to be changed in appearance (and if and when they are to be eaten)....

More on aspects of Temple worship that are not essential to each other. Also, the treatment of the Temple offerings for Rosh Chodesh from the Book of Yehezkel (Ezekiel) - which is not the same thing as that which is commanded in the Torah. And once the Gemara is talking about a source from Ezekiel, it opens the discussion to other challenges -- including an important story of Rabbi Haninah ben Hiz...

On the "hilazon," the crustacean whose blood is used to make the tekhelet: the murex trunculus, and its form, function, and impact. Also, the Gemara tells the story of a sage who was particularly careful about the mitzvah of tzitzit, and, indeed, they end up protecting him from sin (and then in reward for his resolve to not sin, he is given the very opportunity that was prohibited - but...

More on tzitzit and the garments they are to be tied to. Also, all men need to wear tzitzit on a 4-cornered garment. What about women? Slaves? Those questions are subject to dispute - including the argument that they are positive, time-bound commandments, from which women are exempt. Plus, the parallel between tzitzit and sha'atnez, and the role of kohanim in wearing sha'atnez. And what ab...

Where should the tzitzit be attached to the 4-cornered garment? How long do tzitzit need to hang down? But they don't have a measure... or at least not as long as they are long enough to count as being "strings." A point upon which Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai agree. Plus, is there a blessing made upon tying tzitzit or only upon wearing them? Also, diving into the details of the dyin...

Some unusual cases pose questions for tzitzit - for example, when a 4-cornered garment is folded in half. That is, is the garment obligated in the tzitzit or is the person obligated in wearing them? Plus, the plausibility of getting out of wearing tzitzit at all, followed by an encounter with an angel - who acknowledges that, in a time of God's anger, even unfulfilled positive mitzvot might be...

A dispute between Beit Hillel and Beit Shamai on whether a linen cloak is obligated in tzitzit (including tekhelet, that is, which has to be a wool thread). Is that a problem of sha'atnez? The halakhah follows Beit Hillel. So what is the rabbinic decree and how should they publicize it? From what garments need the tzitzit, the Gemara moves to the concern of indigo, which is a plant-based dye a...

On how to tie tzitzit (another one of those very "visual" descriptions in words). Including the winding and knot-tying of the 8 threads on the corner. Also, the interaction of colors of blue and white, and which is considered holier - for an increasing level of holiness in how they are tied, with symbolism and deeper meaning as implied. Plus, how wool strings will cover the mitzvah of tz...

Chapter 4! With a new mishnah. On tzitzit, and the verses that pertain to this mitzvah, including the prohibition against sha'atnez. Note that neither the tekhelet string nor the white strings prevent the fulfillment of the mitzvah of tzitzit. Plus, the rediscovery and use of tekhelet in the modern era. Also, the white strings are used first, but if they're added to the garment out of orde...

After discussion of the tefillin shel yad - including which arm - the Gemara turns to what is received as an impossible case: for a person with two heads, which one gets the tefillin? But if a two-headed tefillin-wearer was an impossibility, what about a first-born male infant who needed a pidyon ha-ben? Would that be 5 sela'im or 10? Will such a baby make it to the 30-day mark when a pidyon h...

If one who is in the process of laying tefillin makes the blessing on the arm, puts the "tefillin shel yad" on, and then speaks, interrupting himself before laying the "tefillin shel rosh," what must he do? Make a new blessing? A different blessing? Is he fresh outta luck? Also, what was the timing of laying tefillin - from when until when? Plus, the parallel between the laying of tefillin at nigh...

More on tefillin, of course. The base of the box of the tefillin, the letter Shin on the tefillin, the black straps, among other details - are all "halakhah le-Moshe mi-Sinai" (not subject to dispute). Plus, a story about a few people who wore tefillin that did not follow the basic rules (blue wool instead of black leather, for example), and they were somehow not rebuked accepted. Also,...

More on mezuzot and the entrances that need a mezuzah. What about a sidepost that doesn't need a mezuzah? Plus, how the mezuzah goes up on the right side. Also, tefillin! 4 passages in 4 sections of the tefillin boxes. Plus, the lettering of tefillin, and how all letters must be present, and not connect (as script connects). Plus, the derivation of "totafot" as indicating the 4 segme...

More laws on mezuzot, specifically placement of the mezuzah on the doorjamb - the Gemara's basic example is of a door on a pivot, not hinges, in contrast to modern day doors. Also, what was one to do if the entrance around the door itself couldn't take nails, etc., to affix the mezuzah? With creative solutions, depending on the material of the doorjamb. Plus, the doorposts need to be there...

On the writing of a mezuzah - in terms of the scribe's method of holding the parchment, leaving space at the top and the bottom, and so on. Including shifts in the application of varying views with regard to the writing of the text itself. How was that dispute resolved? The Gemara introduces the determinant of Eliyahu the Prophet -- in the non-mezuzah example of the halitzah shoe, and when eve...

More from Rabbi Shimon Shezuri - with a question of untithed produce that was mixed with a greater portion of tithed produce. Rabbi Tarfon gives him a solution - and the Gemara suggests several other solutions Rabbi Tarfon could have made (though the Gemara also then explains why he didn't make them). Also, going back to the scribal requirements - when a tear requires replacement, with recogni...

On the last 8 verses of the Torah - who wrote them? That is, how could Moshe have written them when the text itself recounts his death at the beginning of them? Plus, what does it take to "get the mitzvah" of getting the Torah at Sinai? (Spoiler: Any writing of any letter of a Torah scroll). [Who's Who: Rabbi Shimon Shezuri] Plus, the case of the shechitah of a pregnant animal - what...