Talking Talmud

NOTE: Tomorrow, we start a new chapter, for those who want to start dad yomi - or start again! || More on how peah isn't relevant for vegetables. Also, the negative history of the kohanim, after corruption crept in. Several examples, including the way they became a disappointment, and worse. Plus, the archeology that backs the Gemara up. Also: 4 times that the Temple courtyard cried out... with a...

Establishing practices as authoritative, by whom, and how? For example: Grafting palm trees on Erev Pesach. Bundling Shema. Trimming hekdesh. Setting aside peah for fields of vegetables. Also: 6 things that Hezkiyahu did, including his famous water tunnel. Plus: A focus on the "bundling of Shema," the famous story on the placement of "Baruch Shem kavod malchuto le-olam va-ed," and whether it shoul...

More on talmidei chachamim, and whether everyone should try to practice as per the approach for them. [What's What: Yuhara] With regard to the bridegroom on his wedding night, as well as the previous case of not working on Tisha B'Av in a place where people do work. Also, an abundance of mishnayot, on what was allowed as per different people's practice on Erev Pesach, etc., including calling in a...

The blessing on fire comes through Havdalah, which was reportedly created after Shabbat. Which brings us to a list of 10+ things that were created Erev Shabbat, on twilight. Why these things? Why at that time? Also, 7 things created before the world was created. Plus, the creation of tongs - for which you need tongs. Also: That which was created in partnership with man. Fire... and the mule! Also:...

Defining Israel's topography based on what grows where. Also, more on different practices in different places. Beginning with commerce between Jews and non-Jews, in the context of animals - more taboo than we might have thought. And back to Pesach practice - whether you intentionally eat roasted meat on seder night, or intentionally do not. Plus: Making sure not to specify that your meat is for Pe...

More on practices that change from place to place. Including travel on the second day of yom tov. [What's What: Makat mordot] And transporting shemitah produce. Also: Consistency in following rabbinic authority, rather than taking on only leniencies. Plus: When is a fruit not (yet) a fruit.

Following the practice in the place that you're in: 3 examples, including a certain kind of wide shoes. As discovered by those who violate those norms, and how they conduct themselves afterwards. Also: Another such example, specifically a difference between the Land of Israel and Babylonia, as per Rabbah bar bar Chanah's experience - and how he conducts himself (another few examples). [Who's Who:...

A side conversation that explicates a verse from Zachariah, on light and dark and priorities. Plus: The Gemara's presentation of a near-death experience. Also: Minhag in Halakhah, and "the chumrahs of both places." Plus: 4 jobs that are not blessed. Including scribes and scholars, to ensure that they keep working.

A long daf with much to discuss. When Erev Pesach falls out on Shabbat - do you get rid of chametz before Shabbat or on Shabbat? It may depend if your chametz is terumah or not. [Who's Who: R. Tzadok] Also: Nullifying chametz in your heart (mind), by saying out loud that you negate its existence - various cases when involvement in mitzvot or trouble necessitates this approach. What about consecrat...

More on "ho'il" - how the Gemara line up the rabbis in trying to understand how far this logic can apply. Working through the tannaitic sources to figure out the rationale. Also: How do you bake bread (or matzah) with regard to the mitzvah of challah? One family separates its dough in small amounts that don't require challah to be taken - but also speed up the process, and sidesteps the worry of c...

Lechem Ha-Panim, the "shewbread," and the restrictions on when it can be eaten. And when it can be baked in preparation for when it will be eaten. With an attempted comparison to the Shavuot bread offering of "Shtei ha-Lechem." Also: More on the "ho'il" rationale, and a discussion of how far it can be used. Plus: Muktzah - could it be a Torah-level requirement?!

"Deaf dough" - the halakhah that pertains to it, and why it's called "deaf." Plus, the origins of the 18-minute time frame for rising in a walk along the Sea if Galilee. Also: Separating challah from dough that is already impure - can you take it after the dough is baked? Can you slow down leavening with cold water? Do you even need to worry about this dough becoming chametz? Also: "Tovat hana'ah"...

Marking a (solar) year of daf yomi. || When dough gets into the cracks of your mixing bowl. Is it a kezayit's worth? Does it have value for the bowl itself? Also: When 2 half-kezayits do not make a whole kezayit - specifically in the kneading bowl. But this seems counterintuitive - and indeed the case is left unresolved (teiku). Plus - food that is not fit for human consumption, but a dog would ea...

First, "mayim shelanu"! Now, the time component of eating. Plus the quantity component of eating. And the fact that terumah and non-kodshim do not combine to make that volume. Also, the combination of bread soaked in wine. How does this compare to meat and milk? Or rather, why isn't meat/milk the example that is brought to begin with? [What's What: Ta'am ke-Ikar] Note the rule against extrapolatin...

A general rule about grains that become leavened violates the mitzvah of not having chametz on Pesach. And then, on top of the rule, specific examples are listed. Which leads to the importance of knowing the basic terms of many dishes. Also: another example of an apparent general rule that should apply across the board, followed by specifics, in this case, women and their obligations regarding bot...

Finishing chapter 2... An interpretation of a very common phrase in the Torah. Also: kneading dough with water that must be "rested" water. And making sure that the dough (and the water used to do so) does not warm up, and risk leavening faster. Noting that not all cases are the same, and parameters for one case do not necessarily apply to another. Is the default permitted unless there's a prohibi...

The concern of non-chametz food items coming in contact with something that will become chametz. For example, water used by a baker can easily contribute to leavening. Which connects to methods of cooking and what is acceptable as roasting. What about the hot springs of Tiberias? When cooking isn't quite cooking, roasting over a fire is quite specific. Also, what happens if the korban Pesach is no...

Additional concerns about foods becoming chametz - specifically, soaking barley or wheat kernals, and the moment at which that soaking becomes a problem, even if you did it inadvertently. But isn't all of this prohibited? The Gemara hazards a distinction between those who look to be more stringent and everybody else. The Gemara establishes several viewpoints, leaving us to ask: So is it prohibited...

Maror! 5 vegetables that are listed as effective to fulfilling one's obligation of maror. And what kind of preparation (or lack thereof) leaves them still fit for the obligation. And what kind of status is permitted. What ARE these 5 vegetables? And why horseradish, since it's not on the list and the Gemara is very clear on details about this list that make it clear that it doesn't include horsera...

Matzah that is made from ma'aser sheni produce, an etrog that is ma'aser sheni produce... doesn't work (following the opinion of R. Meir). Albeit for different rationales for each. Plus, the logic of the formulation of "since" (ho'il) in the Gemara. Also: The Nazir and the matzah of his offering. And the dynamic between R. Ilai and R. Eliezer, as evident in the discussion on these "rekikei nazir"...

How do we ensure that when we bake our bread, we don't end up with chametz? Firstly, no "thick bread." But how thick is thick? Do you need to be an expert to make sure you know what you're doing at all? And be sure to use dry wood (would wet wood really make chametz)? What about the difference between a metal oven and a clay oven? How much can we apply these elements of baking the lechem ha-panim...

"Lechem oni" - what does it mean? Why is it used for matzah? (Several different possible explanations) Followed, of course, but what it means to enrich matzah in ways that may make it prohibited on Pesach, in part because additions can make the dough leaven more quickly that water alone does (excepting warm water). Also, why are the kohanim considered more likely to prevent the dough from leavenin...

Stringencies with regard to kodshim - specifically, as they emerge from the biblical text. Also, what can matzah be made from - to fulfill the mitzvah of eating matzah on the first night of Pesach. And also what can you *not* use for matzah (beyond the obvious chametz, which is not under discussion here). Including the different options that kohanim have, which the rest of the people cannot partak...

Who's Who: Abba Shaul. Also, terumah that becomes impure - what happens if you replant that terumah? The Gemara focused on the issue of "hesach ha-da'at" - a break in paying attention to the terumah (or what had been terumah), and the implications of that shift of focus. Plus: The judging of the sages of Babylonia by... the sages of Israel, and their harsh language. And also: the water of the wate...

Why can't that which has no value be designated as terumah? Why must terumah have a value - to the recipient? Also - when it comes to squeezing grapes, for example, is their juice considered an integral part of the fruit, or separate. And most importantly, specifically, what are the implications of that difference of perspective once it comes to tumah? Also, implications of what happens with the j...