Enjoying the sacred time of the festival is influenced by the spaces we inhabit. How far can we stretch the boundaries of space and still share a common experience? By applying the criterion of space to measure availability of animals for Yom Tov use – the topic of “muqtzeh” – the tractate returns to the topic it started with on page 2. But it does not really achieve closure.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

We examine the use of materials on festivals that may be available to many people, each going their own way. Do we apply any notions of ownership to such things as a flame or a natural source of flowing water? When we find something that is ownerless, can we assign it to someone else’s ownership?

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

The concept of “breirah” – do we accept a notion of predestination? Defending the rights of persons – in theory and in practice – the difference between a talmudic dictum and an episode in the study hall.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

How much leeway do we grant with regard to restrictions on activities during a festival? What counts as an extenuating circumstance? And another case of competing claims: One person wants to study and one person wants to party, and they only have one shirt between them – what to do?

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

We examine the relative values of human dignity, property values and the sacred atmosphere of Shabbat and Yom Tov. When such values come into conflict, which must make way before the other? The Talmud relates a story of an idealistic student and a pragmatic teacher. Who is right?

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

We explore some legal implications that may follow from the power of sacred time of Shabbat. Hillel’s unique position in this regard.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

In order to create a special holiday experience we take into consideration appearances, thoughts and intentions, as well as actions. How much should we worry about things going wrong? How seriously should we take the thoughts of children?

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

How many ways can wood be put to use? Are they all appropriate for the holiday? What are the broad considerations that the Sages took seriously when limiting activities on Yom Tov? How definitive are the legal determinations of the Talmud?

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

This daf recounts some interesting aggadic teachings of Rav Natan bar Abba, including what the nature of one’s character should be in order to be considered a true descendent of Abraham, and what types of behavior will lead one to live an unsatisfying life.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

Can one make a hole in a house on יום טוב? Is the ruling here different than the ruling for how one should behave on שבת? This daf deals with the question of making a hole as a means to ultimately discuss the bigger question of distinction in practice on יום טוב and שבת.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

Can one carry a vessel on יום טוב? If so, how should one go about it? This daf makes clear that the rabbis understood that commerce needs to proceed on a Festival, but it also emphasizes that it is important to distinguish your behavior from that of a normal weekday in acknowledgment of the special nature of the day.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

Can one obtain food from a butcher, grocer or shepherd on a Festival? This daf acknowledges that people’s basic needs still need to be met on יום טוב; here, the rabbis devise a system through which people can get food from a grocer or butcher on a Festival, while still maintaining the integrity of the day. This daf is a good illustration of rabbinic pragmatism and makes clear that the rabbis were not only concerned with הלכה; they were also deeply concerned with our basic human needs.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

Can one sharpen a knife on a Festival? If so, what are the stipulations which dictate how the sharpening can be performed? This daf uses these questions as a means to explore the idea that it is significant to change your behavior on a Festival; even if sharpening is permitted, one should sharpen differently than one generally would on a regular weekday.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

This episode deals with the question of what to do if an animal dies on יום טוב. Can it be cut up? Can the carcass be moved? And to what degree are the answers to the questions contingent upon whether or not the animal was sick before the Festival began? This page asks some interesting questions which provide insight into how the rabbis thought about the significance of one’s psychological state on a Festival.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

This daf deals with the question of what to do if a first-born animal, a בכור, falls into a בור on a Festival. Is it permitted to descend to save it? Can one examine it for blemishes? And how does the principle of צער בעלי חיים, which deals with preventing the suffering of animals, come into play here?

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

What’s the most polite way to drink a cup of wine? The rabbis cared about social manners, and these manners become the basis for Jewish law.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

Which is more important: the details of Talmudic debate or the mystical quest for holiness? An interaction on our daf suggests that one may lead to the other.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

Creating a day that is a taste of eternity takes attention to detail and careful planning. Perhaps this is the reason the Gemara brings so many debates about what constitutes Melacha (prohibited work) on Shabbat and Yom Tov.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

The principle of Marit Ayin (for the sake of appearance) has its origins in Talmudic thinking. What we are seen doing can influence the actions of others, and the rabbis remind us that we need to be careful about how we are seen.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

Look! A raven! Even the greatest rabbis are not above using any tactic to avoid an unwanted discussion.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

In trying to understand the debate between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel from yesterday’s mishnah, the Talmud presents a sampler of different types of argument. Each one offers us the opportunity to access the excitement –and the holiness– of Talmudic study.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

Which is more central to the Chag, the celebration with family and friends or the connection that we make with God? According to Beit Hillel, both are essential. Moadim l’Simcha!

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

“I been out riding fences, for so long now.” Unbeknownst to many, that classic Eagles’ lyric from the song Desperado is not a metaphor for loneliness or heartbreak, but instead a subtle allusion to the rabbinic practice of making gezerot, rabbinic measures which prohibit a certain activity lest it lead us to transgress a Biblical prohibition. As luck would have it, that is also the topic of today’s poscast!

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

Which holiness is most holy: the people of Israel, Shabbat, or perhaps the Festivals? A seemingly picayune question about the wording of the blessing for the Amidah inspires some far reaching thinking on the subject.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

How much can we count on God’s blessing? Should we follow Shammai the Elder and set aside that which has been given us in preparation for the lean times, or should we say, with Hillel the Elder, “Blessed is the Lord, day by day”? As usual in the Talmud, no answers, only questions.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

Do our lives belong to God, to us, or can the life we live be divided between the two? This fundamental question is asked, but only after the lecture goes on too long.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

How do we create community when the rules we follow may differ from those of our neighbors or our families? How do I know if I can eat pearl barley in the house of the Exilarch? These questions turn out to be more connected than you might think.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

Is it ever okay to estimate? Or do we always need precision when fulfilling the commandments? At the Passover season, the answer seems to matter.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

How much of a distinction do we make between Shabbat and Festivals? Does the permission given for certain activities on a festival day constitute a blanket allowance, or need we be more careful. Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai discuss, and we have a front row seat.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

Yet even more dovecotes – and two more principals of rabbinic jurisprudence: majority and proximity. Both principals have their place, but how to decide which one to apply when they lead to different rulings?

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

More dovecotes — and another principal of rabbinic jurisprudence: bereirah, the ability to retroactively clarify one’s choice.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

Dovecotes, ladders and the importance of avoiding the appearance of wrongdoing.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

What happens when a positive commandment and a negative commandment devolve upon the same person in the same moment? The answer is one of the foundational principals of rabbinic jurisprudence.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

A digression into the laws of buying and selling, where we learn that, in determining the validity of a sale, assumptions are everything.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

What happens when someone dies on Yom Tov, when burial is forbidden? How do we balance the value of celebrating Yom Tov by refraining from forbidden labor with the value of honoring the deceased by performing a timely burial?

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

A discussion of the permissibility of an egg laid on Yom Tov leads to an even more important question: Do rabbinic laws remain in force even after they are no longer necessary?

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

The Sages who lived in Babylonia kept two days of holidays, as diaspora Jews have done for centuries. What is the status of the second day of Passover, Shavuot or Sukkot?

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

Today we consider the Sages’ approaches to rabbinic versus biblical legislation. When are they strict and when are they lenient?

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.

We begin the tractate known by its first word “Beitza” or “egg,” but whose true name is “Yom Tov,” concerned with “holiday” legislation, specifically surrounding the permission to prepare food on the holiday. Our first question: Can you consume an egg laid on Yom Tov?

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.