In 1971 Cat Stevens released the song "Moonshadow". I have no idea if Cat Stevens has studied Talmud or not. In 1977 he converted to Islam and changed his name…
Dreams and the Talmud – Berakhot 55
Honestly, I wanted to title this entry something to do with toilets. In today's Daf we get a fascinating discussion of bathroom habits of ancient Babylonia (not our first time…
Rabbi Kushner and the Talmud – Berakhot 54
Rabbi Harold Kushner's son died of a genetic disorder at age 14 in 1977. Rabbi Kushner poured his grief into a book published in 1981 called When Bad Things Happen…
Non-Jews and the Talmud – Berakhot 53
I am fascinated by what we can learn about the relations of Jews and non-Jews from reading the Talmud. 21st Century American Jews by and large take for granted that…
Democracy, Divine Intervention and the Talmud – Berakhot 52
Talmudic debates rarely have agreed outcomes. The laws derived from the debates follow a majority rule principle that is so engrained in the Talmud that a majority of scholars can even overrule…
Weird Beers and the Talmud – Berakhot 51
When it comes to beer, I am fairly plain Jane. I like a lager, with no lime added - even in Mexican beers. I really do not like IPAs or…
Food Fights and the Talmud – Berakhot 50
In today's Daf, we finally come to the law of food fights - and like many Talmudic discussions, the laws are complex and very context specific. We debate which foods…
The Oral Tradition and the Talmud – Berakhot 49
I am not sure we understand an oral tradition today. Specifically, in the Jewish context, mass printing has allowed us to standardize texts and rituals across time. Today, a Jew…
Bad Kids and the Talmud – Berakhot 48
Today's Daf opens with a really troubling passage, "Small pumpkins are discernible when they burst forth from their sap." This aphorism comes in a discussion of whether minors may be…
Uneducated People and the Talmud – Berakhot 47
Although I consider myself Jewish, I do not strictly follow the rules of Rabbinic Judaism. I do not keep kosher. I am not Shomer Shabbos. I could go on and…