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 mountain where God provided him the Ten Commandments carved in stone. As he came down the mountain, Moses saw the Jews sinning by worshiping a golden calf. In his anger, Moses throws the tablets with the Ten Commandments down and shatters them. Eventually, Moses receives a second set of tablets that are stored in the Holy Ark. The fragments of the first set are also stored in the Holy Ark.

We are to treat those scholars who are past their prime like the fragments of the first tablets of the Ten Commandments. They are to be revered as much as the in tact tablets even though they may not be able to teach us anymore. As I grow older, the people I revered and loved have grown older as well. We need to treat them with the highest love and respect, even if they can no longer teach us as much.

Today’s Daf also includes the first examples of two logical phenomenon we will encounter throughout this journey. In Hebrew, there are no numerals. Instead, letters are assigned numerical values, which means that words have a numerical value. We can interpret meaning by comparing the numerical values of different words. Also, we can get deeper levels of meaning by understanding the numerical value of the word. This level of analysis is known as “gematria”.

We encounter Gematria for the first time in today’s Daf. Psalm 68:21 states, “God is for us a God of deliverance; God the Lord provides many avenues to death.” [Actually, I have seen so many different translations of the Hebrew. You should consult your own translation.] The Hebrew word for “avenues” in this case is “totza’ot”. The numerical value of this word is 903. Therefore, the Talmud states that there are 903 forms of death and then goes on to describe the harshest and the easiest. The harshest for on death is having our soul yanked from us like a branch of thorns is yanked from a ball of wool, The mildest is like having a hair removed from milk.

Another phenomenon we encounter for the first time is the Talmud finding a matter of debate that cannot be resolved. The Talmud simply states “Let it stand.” The Hebrew word “Teekoo” is also read as an acronym for the phrase “The Tishbi [Elijah] will resolve all the difficulties and questions.” Meaning when the Messiah comes, all unresolved questions will be answered. In this case, the unresolved question concerns when we can leave the synagogue during the Torah service. We are forbidden to leave the synagogue while the Torah is open and being read. The Rabbis cannot resolve if we can leave the synagogue after a verse is read in Hebrew while it is being translated in the vernacular before the next verse in Hebrew.

One other notable first in this Daf: We get the first extended discussion of the exiled Jewish communities relationship to the non-Jewish world around it. The Talmud discusses the social habits of the Medes and the Persians. The Medes were a tribe in modern day Iran who overthrew the Babylonians, The Medes were replaced by the Persians under the leadership of Cyrus the Great. Herodotus relates these events in his Histories. In general, the Talmud has more respect for the Medes and the Persians than it has for the Babylonians. The Babylonians conquered Israel, destroyed the first Temple and exiled the Jews. Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple.

At the end of today’s Daf, the Rabbis discuss the social graces of the Medes and the Persians that they admire. In the case of the Persians, the Rabbis admire that they are modest when they eat, modest in the privy and modest about their sexual relations.

Today’s Daf also returns to the theme of community. The Talmud notes that it is better to pray together in synagogue then alone, even if that means we pray with sinners. Indeed, one commentator, The Maharal, believes that when we gather to pray, we defeat the exile because we deny other nations’ dominance over us. Attending synagogue will merit long life.

At the end of today’s Daf we return to our original debate. The Rabbis decide that Rabbi Gamliel’s position is the law (halacha in Hebrew). We can recite the evening Shema until the light of dawn appears! Nevertheless, we should try to say it before midnight. There is then a debate about the period between dawn and sunrise. Can we say the morning Shema in this period? Yes, because this is when people “rise up”. But can we say the evening Shema in the