I love reading history. I love finding continuities with the past that echo through our lives today. I particularly love to find the antecedents for something we find natural today,…
Month: January 2020
Interruptions – Berakhot 14
A central concern of the Talmud is to analogize the prayer service to the Temple sacrifices elucidated in the bible. Once the Temple in Jerusalem is destroyed and the Jews…
An Apology – Berakhot 13
I want to apologize for falling behind this week. I am trying to maintain the pace of the Daf Yomi, but this week life intervened. I plan to use the…
The Shema and Its Blessings – Berakhot 12
Today's Daf picks right back up with yesterday's debate about whether both blessings before the Shema are required to fulfill one commandment or whether they are independent commandments. Ultimately, no…
Respectful Debate – Berakhot 11
Throughout the Mishna there are debates between two rival schools - The House of Shammai and the House of Hillel. In the majority of cases, Shammai would take a more…
Me Too and the Talmud – Berakhot 10
Women come to the fore in today's Daf - not as objects to be regulated, not as objects of desire, not as mothers, but as scholars and heroic confederates. For…
A Hard Verse – Berakhot 9
Some verses in the bible are hard for us to relate because of the content. I always cringe when I read that people with disabilities are not allowed to serve…
The Sandwich Generation and the Talmud – Berakhot 8
Today's Daf has several teachings famous sages gave their children, but it also has a beautiful passage about how we treat the elderly. If you remember Exodous, Moses ascended a…
Do I Deserve Suffering Redux – Berakhot 7
I was troubled in a previous post when the Talmud argued that tragedy was punishment for sin. To be fair, the Talmud also said that suffering might be evidence of…
The Joys of Community – Berakhot 6
My favorite Jewish song, which I learned in kindergarten is Hinei Ma Tovu. The song is actually the first verse of Psalm 133 in Hebrew. "How good and how pleasant…