Talking Talmud

More on the very tall 20+ amot high - what if you build a platform within it, raising the ground, as it were, so that it's less than 20 amot high on the inside? In what ways does this work to make the sukkah kosher? (via a few different cases, including some with a curved wall, no less). Also, what about a very small sukkah? Then you want more sunshine than shade, to make sure the shade isn't from...

Who's Who: Helene HaMalkah - Queen Helene - and her very high sukkah. Was it too tall to be a kosher sukkah? And how are women supposed to handle the sukkah? Also, a discussion over whether there's a machloket between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai, in terms of a large sukkah and a small sukkah - regarding the minimums and where is kosher. [What's What: Chisurei mechsera] Plus, how a tiny house can...

An introduction to the tractate: Sukkah. Plus, the historical component, as compared to the ritual aspect. Note that the Talmud jumps right in, with the basic principles of what makes a sukkah. Plus, some observations on how sukkah and eruvin compare - recall the alleyway, and a slew of other details. Recall also that eruvin is deRabbanan, where sukkah is de'Orayta. Plus, the 20-amot rule, and how...

Concluding Yoma - with a return to a discussion of impurity on Yom Kippur, with the case of one who sees a seminal emission over the course of Yom Kippur. Plus, how potential impurity plays a role in one's experience of Yom Kippur. Also, the possibility of reassurance that one's teshuvah, repentance was accepted, a positive close to the tractate - albeit a very different experience of Yom Kippur,...

[Some brief audio weirdness from the app at the beginning] Mechilah, forgiveness, and prayer: first, several stories of people getting insulted and then varying degrees of efforts to move past it. Also, a discussion of the confession and Neilah.

More on atonement, with a focus on repentance. For any number of lesser sins, repentance itself atones for them. But for more severe sins, such as taking God's name in vain, repentance is necessary, but atonement will only come through the experience of Yom Kippur as well. And we determine which sins are which in accord with the severity if the respective punishments. Also, a study of "chilul Hash...

More on pikuach nefesh. The case of the person who is buried under a collapsed building. Painful, today, in the context of the ongoing search in Surfside, Florida. The discussion becomes a more abstract, yet very practical discussion of how we know when a person is alive. Which brings is to the development of a fetus and the question of the beginning of life in utero. And yet, the conditions may d...

Fake medicine and real medicine. First, the "fake" (or more home remedies): one who is in contact with a rabid dog, or bitten by one. What do we do for that person? It's a real ailment with a folk cure. And as for the "real medicine," one main issue is taking medicine over Shabbat - and not deferring doing so, even when we're so concerned about Shabbat. Note that if health is on the line, then get...

A person who is I'll and might need food on Yom Kippur is fed according to the recommendations of experts. But if the person who sick contradicts the doctors, we trust the sick person more even than the doctors. Unless the more lenient position comes from the doctor - what if a sick person doesn't realize the degree of illness.. so then the experts win. And if there are no experts? Trust the sick...

Children are not supposed to fast, but we help them learn to fast and train them in it a couple of years before they reach the age of bar/bat mitzvah. Is that training a requirement? Does it mean the kids must fast in preparation, or are they easing into fasting by eating later than usual. Also, a pregnant woman who has a strong craving - you can feed her the food she wants, even on Yom Kippur. Ce...

Can one measure that would violate Yom Kippur be combined from food and drink? The claim is no, and that is not disputed, apparently. R. Yehoshua says that if two different items are identical in volume and also in the type of impurity, they can combine for the sake of impurity - but only if both factors of sameness are in place. Also, the new mishnah. If one forgot it was Yom Kippur, and both ate...

More on the measurements. First, the classic olive: k'zayit. Note that the measurements are presented as Halakhah le-Moshe mi-Sinai. They are not the subject of dispute. What does come to the fore is a question of how we know that these undisputed measurements are the measurements. Plus, determining the liquid measure of one's cheekful. Also, the essential question of whether (or when) the measure...

On the "large date," which is thr amount of food it would take to violate eating on Yom Kippur. R. Pappa asks whether the large date measure includes the pit or not. R. Ashi compares it to a discussion about a barley grain, with or without it's husk, but that comparison is dismissed. Plus why additional measure, why not just the measure of en egg? How does the egg pertain to eating in a sukkah, an...

An interesting side discussion leads into a focus on what kinds of shoes are not considered halakhic shoes for the purpose of keeping the affliction of Yom Kippur. Plus, the case of the amputee, and whether a wooden prosthesis (leg) would count as a shoe on Yom Kippur or not. Also, remedies to help stay cool on Yom Kippur. And what can kids do or not do to keep some semblance of Yom Kippur?

Aggadot on Daniel and his dealings with some angels, including Gabriel. God's anger cools down enough to assure the continuation of Bnei Yisrael. More, Gavriel seems to have acted of his own accord - an oddity, apparently, for an angel - and is then subject to 60 curses, pulsei de-nura, with fire. Also, back to halakhah - some exceptions to the afflictions of washing and anointing.

More on the manna. Why did the manna come every day, instead of getting the full dole once a year, for example? 3 possible answers are given. Plus, a rejected interpretation by R. Elazar HaModai that is defended in full detail. Also: A shift back to Yom Kippur, and the 5 afflictions of the day. Which leads into an investigation of how we know 5 afflictions, and that these are they, with some other...

A two-pronged talmudic plan to ease anxiety. In the context of the Israelites waiting for the manna in the wilderness. Also, when Bnei Yisrael complained about the wildness, and yearn for the "fish" that they had "for free" in Egypt, is that a literal or metaphorical complaint? If metaphorical, the analog is sexual promiscuity, which raises questions about the presumed behavior of Bnei Yisrael in...

Dedicated to Robin Katcoff by Jason Katcoff in honor of their 20th wedding anniversary. || Rounding out the end of Yoma, the Gemara turns to how Yom Kippur is to be observed "for the generations" - in the absence of the Beit HaMikdash. The mishnah on Daf 73 lists what we call the "inu'im" - eating, drinking, washing, anointing, wearing leather shoes, and conjugal relations. And then provides the m...

On the kohen gadol, and his colleague, the kohen who is anointed for war (mashuach milchamah). The kohen gadol is excepted from certain practices, specifically with regard to mourning, because of the importance of his office and how he represents it. Also, who is the mashuach milchamah, and how does his role fit into our understanding of the kohanim? Also, the Urim ve-Tumim -- how does it work? Ho...

Preparing the holy fabrics for their use, given that they've all just been in use (the parokhet, the ephod, etc ). The fabrics are very lush and fine, with many-stranded threads. Sky blue and purple and red and gold... Also, how important Torah and scholars thereof are in the world, beginning with crowns in the Beit HaMikdash. Why this shift to focus on Torah now, though? We have some ideas.

The next day, after Yom Kippur, the man who accompanied the goat to Azazel meets with the kohen gadol, whether in the marketplace or at home, and confirms that the goat had been dealt with. His phrasing is different in the public vs. private places, however. Plus a discussion of how God brings life and supports it. Also, a new mishnah, this time on the bigdei kehunah without the Yom Kippur factor....

On how the kohen gadol read from the Torah, especially given that part of what he reads is in Leviticus and part is in Numbers. He is careful to recite the latter by heart, so as not to burden the people there for the occasion, or a misleading appearance of something wrong in the text. Including how the Torah reading when Rosh Chodesh falls out on Shabbat Chanukah (3 Torah scrolls) is considered l...

The story of Shimon HaTzadik, kohen gadol, and Alexander the Great! Can bigdei kehunah be worn outside the Beit HaMikdash? Also, how do we handle the historicity of this narrative? And what messages does it have for the Jews themselves. Also, the position that God is great should be obvious enough, but a verse in Nechemiah suggests that the concept needs a little more unpacking... How is it that G...

Ending the 6th chapter. With mention of the focus on "outside of the camp." And the last mishnah if the chapter, and the attention paid to this part of the schedule of the day. How did they know when the goat reached the wilderness? 3 different takes on how and what was done. Also, the new chapter, which opens with the kohen gadol's choice of which clothing he wears... And the Torah reading if the...

Continuing the schedule of the day... Following the man who leads the goat out to the wilderness. He is accompanied along his way, with stops (10) along the way. And they offer food and water along the way, never mind that it's Yom Kippur. At the last booth, however, he stands alone, without the crowd. He then pushes the goat off the cliff, described in truly gory detail. He is observed, as a chec...