Today we end the massekhet with the conclusion of sugya about the basis for the altars in the Temple not being susceptible to ritual imourity. Concluding sugya comparing the fire of the sacrifices with the fire of God’s words.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Today we have additinal sugyot about who and where one can rely on claims of ritual purity. Sugya on the purity of keilim in the Temple.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Today’s episode includes more sugyot about the relationship between chaverim and ammai ha’aretz and when the am ha’aretz can be trusted or not with regard to purity law.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

This episode includes the remaining talmudic discussion on the last few of the 11 rabbinic stringencies introduced to purity law in the opening mishnah of chapter 3.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Today we will explore how an actual event shapes purity law regarding carrying midras at the same time as qodesh. An investigation of why a vessel which has just been finished requires immersion. How this case is related to the preparation of the red heifer.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

This episode begins with the conclusion of discussion of the difference between Rava and R. Illa. The tracing of this dispute back to the tannaitic period.. How the relations between chaverim and ammai ha’aretz [the knowledgeable and punctilious vs. the ignorant] affect purity law. Some additional teachings about the 11 stringencies.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

This episode begins with the conclusion of mishnah from previous daf. Discussion of how to understand 2 cases which seem to teach the same issue, interposition. R. Illah believes it is interposition in both cases and both are necessary, Rava believes that interposition is learned from the 2nd case and the 1st case is actually based on a principle related to what constitutes a miqvah.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

We ask “can hullin, which is treated as if it were qodesh, become like qodesh and transmit impurity to other objects or people?” We then focus on the role of guarding in keeping objects ritually pure and some cases where objects become impure as a result of a break in the guarding. Concludision of chapter 2. Opening mishnah in chapter 3 about the stringencies of qodesh relative to t’rumah.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Today we ask “is intention necessary for immersion in the miqvah to be effective for the eating of hullin?” Then we look at the principles of gud achait and gud asaiq as they pertain to the requirements of 40 sa’ot for a kosher miqvah.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

This episodes contains the conclusion of discussion of the derivation of compensation sacrifices for Shavuot. Ma’aseh in which Jews were not permitted to eulogize on the Day of Slaughterhing which seems to contradict the mishnah on the previous page. Shift in topic to purity law with the mishnah for the rest of the chapter and the beginning of discussion on washing hands for non-sacred meat and 2nd tithes.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Today we focus on a mishnah with disagreement between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai regarding the propriety of offering sh’lamim sacrifices and olot r’iyah on the Holiday and whether one may do s’micha, the laying on of hands,, on the holiday, disagreement about when these sacrifices are offered when Shavuot is on Friday or Shabbat. Talmudic discussion of R. Oshaya’s statement that Shavuot has a 7-day compensation period in which to offer the sacrfices one did not offer on the holiday itself.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Today we’ll learn a little bit about Angels and Demons (with apologies to Dan Brown). Then we will return to law, as we pick up on what may well have been the very first dispute in rabbinic literature, on the topic of laying hands on a sacrificial animal.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Elisha Ben Abuya is one of the tragic figures of rabbinic literature- he entered the realm of esoteric knowledge and was drawn into heresy, becoming “Acher”- “the other.” More recently, there has been new interest in “Acher” as a sympathetic anti-hero, and an understanding of his important role in the transmission of Rabbinic tradition.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Four entered the Pardes, the orchard of enlightenment, and only one emerged whole. How did Rabbi Akiva do it? What’s the real danger of mystical exploration?

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

The sages forbad study of Ma’aseh Merkavah- Ezekiel’s vision of the divine chariot. Why did he picture God surrounded by strange, 4-faced beasts? We’ll find answers from ancient archeology and later mysticism. But be careful, one person who tried explaining these ideas burst into flames, so kids, don’t try this at home.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Don’t listen to today’s podcast. It’s forbidden by Jewish law. If you must, make sure you do it alone, and not with another person, and you’ll learn about some of the basics of Jewish mysticism, what would become known as kabbalah, as this daf runs through some of the main genres and ideas of Jewish mystical literature.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth! There are areas of knowledge that are too dangerous to be taught in public? I can understand why esoteric mystical knowledge might fall into that category, but why the laws of forbidden relationships?

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Some laws are floating in the breeze, some are hanging by a thread! Are all Jewish observances based in Biblical law, or are some the product of rabbinic creativity? How do we feel about the answer to that question?

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Qohelet says that “the crooked cannot become straight,” which the Sages understand to mean that some mistakes cannot be repaired. For example, missing out on an entire holiday. And worse, an act of incest or adultery, or rape. We read about these dark crimes, and consider the endless sorrow that they engender. But the Sages are equally troubled by the example of Torah scholars who “leave the path.” Torah study may be confusing and even frustrating, but remaining engaged with it leads to a life of blessing.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Vegetarians be warned! The Sages say you can “be happy on your holiday” only when eating red meat, since that was the type of festive offering. Rav Ashi says this is obvious–only red meat satisfies. This leads him to teach that one may not get married on the holiday, since the joy needs to be communal, not personal. A new Mishnah considers the situation of different families–rich but small, poor but large, poor and small, and large and wealthy. A contrast is apparent, since in our day “successful” families are often rich and small. Our ancestors valued many children, even when there was not enough money to indulge them.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

In tractate Peah we learn that some mitzvot have no fixed measure–any amount is good, and no amount is ever too much. One of those is the appearance offering, yet our Mishnah sets an amount. Rabbi Yohanan explains the development of the law to add instructions, making us wonder when religion gives us too much, or too little guidance. On Side B a new Mishnah addresses the sources of festival offerings–can they come from tithes, or must they come from unrestricted funds? This raises the respective value of donations versus dues in our own religious culture. We value generosity, but perhaps obligation is a superior value.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Back in the Mishnah we heard of a debate between the schools of Shammai and Hillel on which class of festival sacrifice deserved priority–the burnt offering or the whole offering. In the Gemara we learn arguments to support either side, and the editor then challenges each side to respond to the other’s arguments. Along the way we learn of a later debate between Rabbis Ishmael and Akiva about the content of revelation. What exactly was revealed at Sinai–just the general principles, or the details as well? Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel examined this debate, which continues to resonate for us. Is the Torah a static artifact, or a constantly renewing message from God?

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Continuing the theme of weeping sages, we learn of Rabbi Yohanan’s sorrow that God holds Israel responsible even for minor mistakes, and not only for intentional crimes. For example, gross behavior like smashing a bug or spitting in front of a friend. Even good deeds can be problematic, such as giving charity in a way that disgraces the recipient. Our sages want us to do the right thing in the right way, and not to allow good intentions to suffice.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Gender identity and roles are contentious topics in contemporary society, but we assume that the ancients had a simpler sense of male and female. Actually, it seems that they knew about various intersex genders, and debated the respective role of men and women in ritual life. To be sure, their teachings are not gender egalitarian, and indeed, some make us wince and even cause tears, much as the sages on Side B would weep when they read painful passages in the Torah.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

How is a Talmudic page organized? Sometimes the editor explains the Mishnah systematically, but sometimes it is more like a string of associations, recording numerous sayings of a single sage, or examining similar expressions from different angles. On this Daf we learn sayings of Rabbi Tanhum, and we play on the words “Regalim” and “Pa’amim” which refer both to the pilgrimage and to the feet and footsteps of the pilgrims. We also read a lovely story of two students who are reluctant to teach their teacher, but with his encouragement utter gems of Torah.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

We open our study of Tractate Hagigah, the 12th and final volume of Seder Mo’ed, with a discussion of the two sacrifices brought by individuals on the festival–the “face time” burnt offering, and the “happy meal” whole offering. Who is responsible for bringing them? And how much must be spent on these sacrifices? We also ask what it means to create a truly inclusive religious community.

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

This podcast is a collaboration with The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.