Talking Talmud

Reading the last daf.... More on Musaf of Rosh Hashanah. And how to pray: fix your prayer in your mind before you begin. [Who's Who: R. Yehudah bar Yehezkel] R. Yehudah davened intermittently... And a shaliach tzibur could fulfill the prayer obligation of those working in the fields.

Figuring out the order of the various shofar blasts. Which depends on biblical verses and the sounds of each blast - what makes a teruah a teruah? Also, the requirements of who blows how many shofar blasts over the course of how long. And where multiple shofar blasts may be completely fine for filling one's obligation - indeed, it is the obligation - or may contradict it and require another round....

Going back to the mishnah that says water and wine can be used on Rosh Hashanah, to clarify the sound of the shofar. But urine is prohibited for the same case. Also, are women included with the kids who are allowed to blow a shofar for fun on Rosh Hashanah, or are they prohibited from doing so? Also, how the shofar is blown - how many blasts, what did they sound like, how long were they, android i...

A 5-mishnah daf. Opening with the structure of the Amidah for Musaf on Rosh Hashanah, including the shofar-blowing that takes place interspersed during this prayer. Also, the configuration of each section for Rosh Hashanah (malkhiyot, zikhronot, shofarot) - and the obligation for each. Also, the verses of these sections do not mention punishment, by design. Also, moving on from the content of Musa...

The daf opens with the Levites' Shir shel Yom, which are in our siddur today too. Also, the Shechinah, as exiled with the people - with real changes to the Second Temple because of those shifts. The Sanhedrin was exiled too, if course, with the list of locales here. Also, a new mishnah, on another if Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai's decrees. Specifically, the court stays in its seat even if its head ha...

More of R. Yochanan ben Zakkai's decrees. Lulav, Yom Henef (Omer). The changes are made to remember the Mikdash, but how is that allowed to begin with? There's a verse for that. Also, the witnesses on Rosh Hashanah have far more complications than the usual Rosh Chodesh. Including the special psalms as sung by the Levites. And, of course, the daily sacrifices. When they accepted the witnesses all...

The shofar-blower must also have intent to dispatch the community's mitzvah obligation. Plus, a mishnah that describes the Israelites' successful war against Amalek, and what causes what. Plus, the serpent on the banner. Plus, praying for the sick. And then back to halakhah, and who can blow shofar for others? Also, opening the 4th chapter: the difference between how the shofar was blown in the Te...

Blowing shofar in a pit or elsewhere with an echo - distinguishing between who fulfills the obligation and who does not. Plus, a Gemara revision. Also, what happens if one hears part of the shofar blast in the pit and part out of the pit...or if it's just at the break of day... And can a tekiyah be divided to count for two? Bringing us back to the question of intent, which is most discussed in the...

First, a comment on the maidservant from yesterday's daf. Then, more on the trumpets and shofarot, and why we blow a longer blast on the shofar when it is accompanied. How do we relate to sound, and our experience of listening. Also, a new mishnah on both the physical shofar and its sound. A cracked or broken shofar is invalid for the mitzvah of shofar. Also, one who blows from the bottom of a pit...

The key mitzvah of Rosh Hashanah: shofar! And we start with the "instrument" itself. And why the horn cannot come from a cow. Plus, a lot of word play and puzzlement regarding unusual terms that are then defined by R. Yehudah HaNasi's maidservant. Also, the different types of shofar used at different times of year - from different animals. And chatzotzrot vs. shofarot.

Parallel to a story in Berakhot, the mishnah here has an episode starring R. Gamliel and R. Yehoshua, about new moon testimony. Where one day's testimony seems contradicted by the next day's experience. How do we handle the human capacity for error? Also, how we can't compare courts, especially across generations, with biblical examples (it's not an insult to today; it is about authority). Plus, a...

The court asks witnesses about what they saw, regarding their testimony about the moon - and the celestial bodies change position over the course of a year, so the answers really would be different. How the sky actually looks makes a difference for the sake of accurate testimony. Plus, the formal sanctification of the new moon: Mekudash! But how critical is that part. Also, using a pre-fab poster,...

Burning wood for the Rosh Chodesh torches, including from coral wood, which leads to a tangent, including a story about diving, and sinking a ship to get down there and pull up the coral. Plus, individuals contributed to the torch notifications. And a discussion about blocked roads making the way longer to travel in Babylonia. [And some brief audio wonkiness, with our apologies - nothing was off w...

Father and son who saw the new moon should both go to testify, even though it's not clear that they can be paired together as witnesses. Which leads into a discussion about who can't be witnesses. Including the discussion about women. And what can be done on Shabbat to facilitate the witnesses' travel to the Beit Din. Also, the second chapter of the masekhet: How important is it that the court tru...

What happens if a community misses the notification about Rosh Chodesh? One can keep track to some extent to which months would be "full," and which incomplete. Plus, Levi's trip to Babylonia. Also, the connection to the second day of yom tov, and how this sanctification of the new moon affects Tishrei and Nisan. Also, desecrating Shabbat to get to the court to testify about the new moon. And gett...

Ulla traveled from Eretz Yisrael to Bavel, and he told the Babylonians how the Beit Din in Israel had added a day to Elul, which would insert a weekday between Rosh Hashanah and Shabbat, which would be so great for them in Babylonia. The questions are: why having that extra day would make a difference, and why especially in Bavel. Also, how are those witnesses treated? Namely, a process of intimid...

Update with information on the 17 Tammuz (clarification on yesterday). On the holidays that are written in Megilat Taanit, as compared to other holidays... It seems that the Torah holidays have fewer stringencies around them as compared to the rabbinic ones found in the megillah. Why?

Is one's judgement or sentence mutable? The Tannaim dispute this - in a concrete way, regarding two people who had the same circumstances, yet one was saved and the other was not. What was the difference between them? Perhaps the way they prayed. Perhaps the timing of the decree against them. Plus, the same concerns for the collective, as compared to the individual. Also, a decree against Eli's de...

Those who sin against God in a variety of ways go down to Gehinnom, and what happens after that (how long and for what degree) depends on the sin. With all the fear that that induces. Plus, a dig by Rava at Mehoza as sinners. Also, and acknowledgement of God's kindness, and His tipping the scales with mercy, when possible. Plus, leaders who inspire fear for the wrong reasons, and their comeuppance...

The second mishnah of the masekhet: 4 judgements of the year, on grain, fruit, water, and people. Which leads into a greater discussion of the judgement of each, including the timing of that judgement. Also, the call out to God, whether via water libations or the voice of the shofar. Indeed, why the shofar? Why the blasts that we know well? Including the concern of confusing the Satan, and what ha...

More on the new year for an etrog... Specifically, on etrogim that are from the 6th and 7th years of the shemitah cycle. And the 8th year. Including the concerns of removing the produce from your possession, as needed. And the ongoing efforts to puzzle what's required for each year. Also, trees that bear fruit twice in one year. And those trees that bear fruit before the 15th of Shevat - specifica...

Tracing a sugia... on the specifics of tithing produce that takes root before Rosh Hashanah, and the question of tithing produce that is "mixed." Can the produce be combined for the purpose of tithing? Which question opens up reason to delve into Shmuel's position, and that of R. Shimon Shezuri. For example, how solids and liquids may not be the same with regard to mixtures. Also, the new year for...

The Gemara's premise have a tradition that grain that has reached 1/3 of its growth before Rosh Hashanah, and is then harvested on Sukkot, is credited to the previous year. But how do you know when it has reached a third of what it will come to grow? But R. Zeira stipulates that the sages were precise and exact and always correct in their measurements. Which is a strong statement, that needs some...

When do we start counting the date for vegetable ma'aser? And does that date work? [What's What: Terumot and Ma'aserot, an overview] Also, nedarim - taking oaths, to swear off something - and how they are counted against a yearly calendar. Namely, is that year counted according to Nisan or Tishrei? (There's no machloket, as it turns out).

When is the future redemption going to happen? Tishrei or Nisan? It's a machloket! Which basically means 2 models of redemption, going beyond timing. Plus, a study of the creation of the world, and how that worked - specifically, or especially, how the fruit trees came to have fruit, and what that means about the way we relate to and experience God in this world. Also, regarding that cancellation...