In today’s episode we follow a discussion of blemishes and Kohanim.

Rabbi Ashira Konigsburg is the Associate Director of Rabbinic Services at the Rabbinical Assembly. She earned an MA in Talmud and Rabbinics and Rabbinic Ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. She currently serves as a member of the Kehilat Hadar steering team.

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

In this episode we focus on the importance of rabbinic authority over prophecy, especially in Exile

Rabbi Michael Bernstein is the spiritual leader of Congregation Gesher L’Torah in Alpharetta, Ga. He served as the senior Rabbi at Congregation Bnai Jacob in Longmeadow, MA from 1999-2004, and at Congregation Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley, Pa., from 2004-2008. Michael received his ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1999 and is an alumni of the Rabbis Without Borders second cohort. Michael specializes in Jewish philosophy, especially that of Emmanuel Levinas and focuses on how to see the directives inherent in Jewish tradition as meaningful, ethical, and relevant.

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

Today we ask what kind of obstacles get in the way of Divine Service?

Rabbi Michael Bernstein is the spiritual leader of Congregation Gesher L’Torah in Alpharetta, Ga. He served as the senior Rabbi at Congregation Bnai Jacob in Longmeadow, MA from 1999-2004, and at Congregation Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley, Pa., from 2004-2008. Michael received his ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1999 and is an alumni of the Rabbis Without Borders second cohort. Michael specializes in Jewish philosophy, especially that of Emmanuel Levinas and focuses on how to see the directives inherent in Jewish tradition as meaningful, ethical, and relevant.

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

The focus of todays podcast is the question “Are certain head coverings considered a violation of building a tent on Shabbat?”

Rabbi Michael Bernstein is the spiritual leader of Congregation Gesher L’Torah in Alpharetta, Ga. He served as the senior Rabbi at Congregation Bnai Jacob in Longmeadow, MA from 1999-2004, and at Congregation Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley, Pa., from 2004-2008. Michael received his ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1999 and is an alumni of the Rabbis Without Borders second cohort. Michael specializes in Jewish philosophy, especially that of Emmanuel Levinas and focuses on how to see the directives inherent in Jewish tradition as meaningful, ethical, and relevant.

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

What kind of protection do the Sages provide

Rabbi Michael Bernstein is the spiritual leader of Congregation Gesher L’Torah in Alpharetta, Ga. He served as the senior Rabbi at Congregation Bnai Jacob in Longmeadow, MA from 1999-2004, and at Congregation Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley, Pa., from 2004-2008. Michael received his ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1999 and is an alumni of the Rabbis Without Borders second cohort. Michael specializes in Jewish philosophy, especially that of Emmanuel Levinas and focuses on how to see the directives inherent in Jewish tradition as meaningful, ethical, and relevant.

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

In this episode we find ourselves “up a tree without a clear ruling”

Rabbi Michael Bernstein is the spiritual leader of Congregation Gesher L’Torah in Alpharetta, Ga. He served as the senior Rabbi at Congregation Bnai Jacob in Longmeadow, MA from 1999-2004, and at Congregation Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley, Pa., from 2004-2008. Michael received his ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1999 and is an alumni of the Rabbis Without Borders second cohort. Michael specializes in Jewish philosophy, especially that of Emmanuel Levinas and focuses on how to see the directives inherent in Jewish tradition as meaningful, ethical, and relevant.

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

Making sure not to cause others to hate Torah and its representatives

Rabbi Michael Bernstein is the spiritual leader of Congregation Gesher L’Torah in Alpharetta, Ga. He served as the senior Rabbi at Congregation Bnai Jacob in Longmeadow, MA from 1999-2004, and at Congregation Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley, Pa., from 2004-2008. Michael received his ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1999 and is an alumni of the Rabbis Without Borders second cohort. Michael specializes in Jewish philosophy, especially that of Emmanuel Levinas and focuses on how to see the directives inherent in Jewish tradition as meaningful, ethical, and relevant.

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

Today we ask how do we treat sacred writings with respect while taking sometimes necessary risks?

Rabbi Michael Bernstein is the spiritual leader of Congregation Gesher L’Torah in Alpharetta, Ga. He served as the senior Rabbi at Congregation Bnai Jacob in Longmeadow, MA from 1999-2004, and at Congregation Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley, Pa., from 2004-2008. Michael received his ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1999 and is an alumni of the Rabbis Without Borders second cohort. Michael specializes in Jewish philosophy, especially that of Emmanuel Levinas and focuses on how to see the directives inherent in Jewish tradition as meaningful, ethical, and relevant.

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

Today we look at tefilin, amulets and the value of tradition.

Rabbi Juan Mejia was born in Bogota, Colombia. After discovering the Jewish roots of his family, he embarked on a spiritual journey that lead him back to the religion and the people of his ancestors. He holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the National University of Colombia and a summa cum laude Master’s Degree in Jewish Civilization from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He received rabbinic ordination from the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in NY. He plans to devote his life to the Torah education of both Jews and descendants of anusim wherever they may be. He lives with his wife and daughter in Oklahoma City, OK. He was recently appointed as the coordinator for the Southwest for the Jewish non-profit organization Bechol Lashon.

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

Today we ask if women are obligated to wear tefillin?

Rabbi Juan Mejia was born in Bogota, Colombia. After discovering the Jewish roots of his family, he embarked on a spiritual journey that lead him back to the religion and the people of his ancestors. He holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the National University of Colombia and a summa cum laude Master’s Degree in Jewish Civilization from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He received rabbinic ordination from the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in NY. He plans to devote his life to the Torah education of both Jews and descendants of anusim wherever they may be. He lives with his wife and daughter in Oklahoma City, OK. He was recently appointed as the coordinator for the Southwest for the Jewish non-profit organization Bechol Lashon.

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

Today we focus on lost tefillin and the Torah of accesibility.

Rabbi Juan Mejia was born in Bogota, Colombia. After discovering the Jewish roots of his family, he embarked on a spiritual journey that lead him back to the religion and the people of his ancestors. He holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the National University of Colombia and a summa cum laude Master’s Degree in Jewish Civilization from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He received rabbinic ordination from the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in NY. He plans to devote his life to the Torah education of both Jews and descendants of anusim wherever they may be. He lives with his wife and daughter in Oklahoma City, OK. He was recently appointed as the coordinator for the Southwest for the Jewish non-profit organization Bechol Lashon.

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

In this episode we consider rabbinic discourse: Keeping your own ground (respectfully).

Rabbi Juan Mejia was born in Bogota, Colombia. After discovering the Jewish roots of his family, he embarked on a spiritual journey that lead him back to the religion and the people of his ancestors. He holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the National University of Colombia and a summa cum laude Master’s Degree in Jewish Civilization from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He received rabbinic ordination from the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in NY. He plans to devote his life to the Torah education of both Jews and descendants of anusim wherever they may be. He lives with his wife and daughter in Oklahoma City, OK. He was recently appointed as the coordinator for the Southwest for the Jewish non-profit organization Bechol Lashon.

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

Toda we focus on how walls can create connections.

Rabbi Juan Mejia was born in Bogota, Colombia. After discovering the Jewish roots of his family, he embarked on a spiritual journey that lead him back to the religion and the people of his ancestors. He holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the National University of Colombia and a summa cum laude Master’s Degree in Jewish Civilization from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He received rabbinic ordination from the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in NY. He plans to devote his life to the Torah education of both Jews and descendants of anusim wherever they may be. He lives with his wife and daughter in Oklahoma City, OK. He was recently appointed as the coordinator for the Southwest for the Jewish non-profit organization Bechol Lashon.

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

Today we look at the flexibility of space: when nine people in one room and one in another might make a minyan or not.

Rabbi Juan Mejia was born in Bogota, Colombia. After discovering the Jewish roots of his family, he embarked on a spiritual journey that lead him back to the religion and the people of his ancestors. He holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the National University of Colombia and a summa cum laude Master’s Degree in Jewish Civilization from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He received rabbinic ordination from the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in NY. He plans to devote his life to the Torah education of both Jews and descendants of anusim wherever they may be. He lives with his wife and daughter in Oklahoma City, OK. He was recently appointed as the coordinator for the Southwest for the Jewish non-profit organization Bechol Lashon.

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

In this episode we look at the paradox of rabbinic space: is space infinitely flexible or does physicality determine the uses of a space.

Rabbi Juan Mejia was born in Bogota, Colombia. After discovering the Jewish roots of his family, he embarked on a spiritual journey that lead him back to the religion and the people of his ancestors. He holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the National University of Colombia and a summa cum laude Master’s Degree in Jewish Civilization from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He received rabbinic ordination from the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in NY. He plans to devote his life to the Torah education of both Jews and descendants of anusim wherever they may be. He lives with his wife and daughter in Oklahoma City, OK. He was recently appointed as the coordinator for the Southwest for the Jewish non-profit organization Bechol Lashon.

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

What’s the worst answer you can receive to your question? How about not receiving an answer? And, what if, like Andy Samberg and Akon, “You’re on a Boat (on Shabbat)?

David Wise has been rabbi of the Hollis Hills Jewish Center in Queens, NY since 2005. Before that, he led Temple Beth El in Somerset, NJ. Ordained at JTS in1996, he is proudly married to Judy Krinitz and is the father of two teens. And then there’s that thing he has for the Toronto Maple Leafs…

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

Today we ask focus on the fact that memory is a cornerstone of the Talmudic enterprise. If a sage can’t remember the tradition, he’s in trouble. So what happens when memory fails?

David Wise has been rabbi of the Hollis Hills Jewish Center in Queens, NY since 2005. Before that, he led Temple Beth El in Somerset, NJ. Ordained at JTS in1996, he is proudly married to Judy Krinitz and is the father of two teens. And then there’s that thing he has for the Toronto Maple Leafs…

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

The question in today’s episode is “May I spill waste water on Shabbat?” Does the answer change when the weather changes?

David Wise has been rabbi of the Hollis Hills Jewish Center in Queens, NY since 2005. Before that, he led Temple Beth El in Somerset, NJ. Ordained at JTS in1996, he is proudly married to Judy Krinitz and is the father of two teens. And then there’s that thing he has for the Toronto Maple Leafs…

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

This episode asks what do we do when the words in the Gemara seem to merely echo what the Mishnah just said? How would modern scholarship deal with such repetition?

David Wise has been rabbi of the Hollis Hills Jewish Center in Queens, NY since 2005. Before that, he led Temple Beth El in Somerset, NJ. Ordained at JTS in1996, he is proudly married to Judy Krinitz and is the father of two teens. And then there’s that thing he has for the Toronto Maple Leafs…

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

Today we ask Why did the sages of the Talmud fawn over rich people? Is there something about visiting your married children on Shabbat that could lead to eruv issues?

David Wise has been rabbi of the Hollis Hills Jewish Center in Queens, NY since 2005. Before that, he led Temple Beth El in Somerset, NJ. Ordained at JTS in1996, he is proudly married to Judy Krinitz and is the father of two teens. And then there’s that thing he has for the Toronto Maple Leafs…

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

Today we consider how far would you go to establish exactly what a teacher said? And what happens when Friday lunch goes so late it’s time for Shabbat?

David Wise has been rabbi of the Hollis Hills Jewish Center in Queens, NY since 2005. Before that, he led Temple Beth El in Somerset, NJ. Ordained at JTS in1996, he is proudly married to Judy Krinitz and is the father of two teens. And then there’s that thing he has for the Toronto Maple Leafs…

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

In this episode, Rav and Shmuel differ about how to understand the Mishnah. Can either be proven correct? Can we “hang our hat” on either one?

David Wise has been rabbi of the Hollis Hills Jewish Center in Queens, NY since 2005. Before that, he led Temple Beth El in Somerset, NJ. Ordained at JTS in1996, he is proudly married to Judy Krinitz and is the father of two teens. And then there’s that thing he has for the Toronto Maple Leafs…

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

This page exhibits the tension between the attempt to quantify legal rulings and the messiness of everyday life. Is this problem specifically tied to the breakdown of tradition in modern times, or is it essential to the rabbinic enterprise?

David Greenstein serves as rabbi of Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Montclair, NJ. He is the author of Roads to Utopia: The Walking Stories of the Zohar (Stanford University Press; forthcoming).

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

The community building purpose of eruv is highlighted in special ways. It is a mitzvah to make an eruv to facilitate visiting and comforting mourners, even on Shabbat. Children, too, were included in the eruv.

David Greenstein serves as rabbi of Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Montclair, NJ. He is the author of Roads to Utopia: The Walking Stories of the Zohar (Stanford University Press; forthcoming).

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

We encounter two seemingly conflicting propositions. The sages instructed that, in any legal dispute regarding an eruv, the lenient view should always be adopted. Yet the Talmud seems to accept the stringent view regarding the requirement for a whole loaf to help make an eruv? Why?

David Greenstein serves as rabbi of Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Montclair, NJ. He is the author of Roads to Utopia: The Walking Stories of the Zohar (Stanford University Press; forthcoming).

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

The interconnections between family members and the role of women in maintaining or straining those connections becomes the subject of an intriguing narrative.

David Greenstein serves as rabbi of Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Montclair, NJ. He is the author of Roads to Utopia: The Walking Stories of the Zohar (Stanford University Press; forthcoming).

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

Overcoming boundaries continues to be the theme. This question is germane to family groups as well as to communal spaces. How dependent or separate were adult children or wives in relation to the patriarchal head of the family unit?

David Greenstein serves as rabbi of Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Montclair, NJ. He is the author of Roads to Utopia: The Walking Stories of the Zohar (Stanford University Press; forthcoming).

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

There are various legal details discussed on this page. When does attention to detail lead to mundane pedantry and when does it evince the impulse to poetry? Which is more real – the mundane or the poetic.

David Greenstein serves as rabbi of Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Montclair, NJ. He is the author of Roads to Utopia: The Walking Stories of the Zohar (Stanford University Press; forthcoming).

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

The discussion deals with dividers between two spaces. When can these dividers be breached and when do they retain their identity as separators? This leads us to examine a key aspect of Rabbinic Judaism – worry.

David Greenstein serves as rabbi of Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Montclair, NJ. He is the author of Roads to Utopia: The Walking Stories of the Zohar (Stanford University Press; forthcoming).

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

Today is math day at Daily Daf Differently. What did the Sages know about pi? On our page they describe the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter as =3. We know of course that it is a little larger, as did the medieval talmudists.

This week, our study is led by Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed in New York City.

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

Today we’ll see an interesting example of how the Talmud was shaped by being the product of oral, not written, discourse. And we’ll see – perhaps – how the Talmud reports about the dementia of an aging sage.

This week, our study is led by Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed in New York City.

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

Rav and Shmuel disagree on whether an alley way requires multiple subsidiary courtyards before the residents are eligible to make a cooperative agreement. Shmuel takes a lenient position, but is – apparently – defeated by a combative junior student who shows him that his position violates his own interpretive rules.

This week, our study is led by Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed in New York City.

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

Today we’ll study the concept of anan sahadei, or “we testify,” which means that even in the absence of specific articulation of a given person’s intention, the Sages consider it legitimate to impute a given motive to a give person, based on the presumption of what most people would do in that circumstance.

This week, our study is led by Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed in New York City.

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

There are different levels of authoritative teachings in Halakha. Sometimes, the Rabbis teach what everyone should do, as the best option. Other times we learn what is acceptable after the fact, but what should not be broadcast as the proper behavior. In today’s passage, the Talmudic sages make this distinction.

This week, our study is led by Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed in New York City.

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

Can you take possession or renounce possession of property on Shabbat? Today we will see whether one can renounce ownership of a property on Shabbat for the purpose of creating an eruv when one forgot to do so on Friday afternoon. Applying this principle to today: can a person acquire or give away property on Shabbat? Can people exchange gifts? Or would that too closely resemble a business transaction?

This week, our study is led by Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed in New York City.

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

The Talmud is written in a kind of short-hand, with many points hinted at, rather than explained fully. That was even truer in the early middle ages, when the first manuscripts were even more fragmentary than they are now. Today we’ll see how the fragmentary text prompted two medieval authorities, Rashi (France, 11^th century) and Rabenu Hannanel (Tunisia, 10^th century) to offer diametrically opposite interpretations of our text.

This week, our study is led by Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed in New York City.

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

In the course of defining what level of observance is required to “relinquish rights” to allow others to carry, we end up wrestling with the question of whether there are certain observances that are “litmus tests” which make one a good Jew or a bad Jew.

Rabbi Joshua Heller is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs, and chair of the rites and rituals subcommittee of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

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

We see the case of two rabbis who didn’t make an eruv in their neighborhood. We have a window on the question of the role of rabbis in communal life. Are there tasks that are beneath us? Or perhaps there are limitations in the roles that rabbis

Rabbi Joshua Heller is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs, and chair of the rites and rituals subcommittee of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

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

Today’s daf starts with a picturesque description of the relationship between two rabbis, one gifted with subject matter knowledge, the other with analytic ability. Which is more valued? Along the way, we’ll delve more deeply into the concept of the karpef– an area which is fully enclosed, and could be private, but which the sages declared to be public, because it is so large.

Rabbi Joshua Heller is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs, and chair of the rites and rituals subcommittee of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

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

Today’s daf looks at the question of relinquishment of rights. If you lived in a courtyard and didn’t join the eruv, you might ruin it for all of the other residents, but you can save the day by relinquishing your rights. How does that work if an eruv includes more than one courtyard?

Rabbi Joshua Heller is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs, and chair of the rites and rituals subcommittee of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

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

We can tell what kind of person someone is by Koso, Kisso and Ka’aso- by his or her drinking, by how he/she spends his money, and by how he/she handles anger.

Rabbi Joshua Heller is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs, and chair of the rites and rituals subcommittee of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

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

Is it fair to prefer one teaching over another? Is it right to say this Jewish text is more attractive than other? Anther major focus- may one drink before praying or teaching? Are there factors that might change the answer for one person or another?

Rabbi Joshua Heller is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs, and chair of the rites and rituals subcommittee of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

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

On this daf, we explore the hierarchical nature of the teacher/student relationship. May a student offer an opinion in the presence of his or her master teacher, or even in the teacher’s absence?

Rabbi Joshua Heller is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs, and chair of the rites and rituals subcommittee of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

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

In this episode, we see that like a good teacher, the Gemara takes every opportunity to teach an ethical value: in this case, to be sure to honor one’s teacher!

Rabbi Abby Sosland is the Morah Ruchanit (Spiritual Advisor) for the high school at Solomon Schechter Westchester, where she teaches Talmud, Bible, Philosophy and Prayer. Her chapter “Crime and Punishment” — about the laws of capital punishment and incarceration– appears in The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews (Martin Cohen and Michael Katz, Rabbinical Assembly, 2012). She runs a free High Holiday service at Town and Village Synagogue in downtown Manhattan.

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

The beginning of chapter 6 poses the challenge of living among non-Jews. How do we build an eruv if we are sharing space with people outside of the Jewish community?

Rabbi Abby Sosland is the Morah Ruchanit (Spiritual Advisor) for the high school at Solomon Schechter Westchester, where she teaches Talmud, Bible, Philosophy and Prayer. Her chapter “Crime and Punishment” — about the laws of capital punishment and incarceration– appears in The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews (Martin Cohen and Michael Katz, Rabbinical Assembly, 2012). She runs a free High Holiday service at Town and Village Synagogue in downtown Manhattan.

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

Today’s episode asks the important question “What is the worst insult one can throw at a Talmudic scholar?” And answers it thusly… “This is nothing more than prophecy!”

Rabbi Abby Sosland is the Morah Ruchanit (Spiritual Advisor) for the high school at Solomon Schechter Westchester, where she teaches Talmud, Bible, Philosophy and Prayer. Her chapter “Crime and Punishment” — about the laws of capital punishment and incarceration– appears in The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews (Martin Cohen and Michael Katz, Rabbinical Assembly, 2012). She runs a free High Holiday service at Town and Village Synagogue in downtown Manhattan.

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

Using a loophole like the Eruv only works if we remember the original law in the first place! The rabbis walk a fine line between the leniencies and the stringencies. It is in that balance that religious life is to be found.

Rabbi Abby Sosland is the Morah Ruchanit (Spiritual Advisor) for the high school at Solomon Schechter Westchester, where she teaches Talmud, Bible, Philosophy and Prayer. Her chapter “Crime and Punishment” — about the laws of capital punishment and incarceration– appears in The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews (Martin Cohen and Michael Katz, Rabbinical Assembly, 2012). She runs a free High Holiday service at Town and Village Synagogue in downtown Manhattan.

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

The rulings surrounding the Tchum Shabbat (the extended boundary in which we are permitted to travel on Shabbat) suggest a model of rabbinic leniency and expansiveness, allowing the boundaries of the community to widen.

Rabbi Abby Sosland is the Morah Ruchanit (Spiritual Advisor) for the high school at Solomon Schechter Westchester, where she teaches Talmud, Bible, Philosophy and Prayer. Her chapter “Crime and Punishment” — about the laws of capital punishment and incarceration– appears in The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews (Martin Cohen and Michael Katz, Rabbinical Assembly, 2012). She runs a free High Holiday service at Town and Village Synagogue in downtown Manhattan.

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

A simple idea– that a city should have a karpaf (open space) around it– shows a larger plan of the rabbis: to link our lives to our people’s history and to our desire to have God dwell among us.

Rabbi Abby Sosland is the Morah Ruchanit (Spiritual Advisor) for the high school at Solomon Schechter Westchester, where she teaches Talmud, Bible, Philosophy and Prayer. Her chapter “Crime and Punishment” — about the laws of capital punishment and incarceration– appears in The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews (Martin Cohen and Michael Katz, Rabbinical Assembly, 2012). She runs a free High Holiday service at Town and Village Synagogue in downtown Manhattan.

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

The rabbis’ science can sometimes seem strange to modern readers, but it reflects an approach to the natural world which is sacred and holy.

Rabbi Abby Sosland is the Morah Ruchanit (Spiritual Advisor) for the high school at Solomon Schechter Westchester, where she teaches Talmud, Bible, Philosophy and Prayer. Her chapter “Crime and Punishment” — about the laws of capital punishment and incarceration– appears in The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews (Martin Cohen and Michael Katz, Rabbinical Assembly, 2012). She runs a free High Holiday service at Town and Village Synagogue in downtown Manhattan.

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

We return to legal material on today’s page, defining the boundary of a city as the straight edge extending from the farthest usable human habitation on each edge of the town. The page also talks about people who live “in huts” whose life – due to their poverty and deprivations – is no life at all.

This week, our study is led by Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed in New York City.

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

This page is full of great rabbinic homilies about the power of Torah study, including astonishingly erotic images of the Torah, and an imagined account of how Moses and Aaron taught the Israelites in the desert.

This week, our study is led by Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed in New York City.

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

Today’s page is a mainly aggadic (non-legal) collection of homilies about successful Torah study. We learn that if people want to become successful students, they should be sure to articulate their teachings clearly, and take no apparent short cuts.

This week, our study is led by Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed in New York City.

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

Talmudic law places a great deal of weight on a person’s intention. Merely we setting out a step or two down the stairs may be sufficient to establish the legal status that one is “on a journey. ” This will page concludes Eruvin chapter four.

This week, our study is led by Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed in New York City.

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

The Torah commands that one “keep far from falsehood. ” Yet today’s Talmud page proposes a strange compromise with the truth: Rabbah is said to invoke a teaching from Rabbi Yossi permitting someone to rely on another to declare his or her Shabbat residence, even thought that first person does not actually know the location. The only problem: according to our page, the attribution of this teaching to Rabbi Yossi is actually false. Rabbah is said to have made it up, to persuade Rav Yosef to accept this controversial rule. Later Halakhic authorities actually endorse such a falsehood! Maybe this is not a rule we’d be proud to follow.

This week, our study is led by Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed in New York City.

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

The rules of rabbinic discourse hold that “Tannaim” – sages of the Mishnaic era, ending around 220 CE – are more authoritative than “Amoraim” – post-Mishnaic sages who appear in the Talmud, from around 220 to around 550 CE. Amoraim are not supposed to disagree with Tannaim, unless they can find other Tannaitic support. But today we see that those boundaries are not hard and fast. Rav was one of the first Amoraim, having himself studied in Palestine with Rabbi Judah the Nasi, the editor of the Mishna, before moving to Babylonia. Our page declares that Rav counts as both Tanna and Amora, giving him an interesting status.

This week, our study is led by Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed in New York City.

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

“Eruv” literally means that two domains are “merged.” And since the ritual of creating an eruv involves placing a quantity of food, we learn that the participants should be willing to actually share the food with their partners. Today’s page also includes the judicial principle that in Jewish society, one is not free to say “what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours. ” This is “the quality of Sodom, ” and courts may compel you to be more communally minded.

This week, our study is led by Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed in New York City.

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

Today we return to the question of tolerance of diverse levels of observance and how hair-splitting over minutia can detract from genuine learning.

Rabbi Ute Steyer received rabbinic ordination and a M.A. in Jewish Philosophy from The Jewish Theological Seminary in 2009. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Jewish philosophy at the Hebrew University. Her research interest is in the development of ethical thought in rabbinic literature and contemporary Jewish thought. Rabbi Steyer works as the research and program manager in the Center for Pastoral Education and as adjunct lecturer in Pastoral Theology at JTS. Prior to this she was the program director of the Yeshiva University Center for Jewish Law and Contemporary Civilization at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

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

Today we ask, do hefker (ownerless property) objects ‘acquire’ residence for Shabbat and what are the implications of the principle of ‘koneh shevita’?

Rabbi Ute Steyer received rabbinic ordination and a M.A. in Jewish Philosophy from The Jewish Theological Seminary in 2009. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Jewish philosophy at the Hebrew University. Her research interest is in the development of ethical thought in rabbinic literature and contemporary Jewish thought. Rabbi Steyer works as the research and program manager in the Center for Pastoral Education and as adjunct lecturer in Pastoral Theology at JTS. Prior to this she was the program director of the Yeshiva University Center for Jewish Law and Contemporary Civilization at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

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

In this episode we focus on the majority principle and freedom of the Sages to sometimes decide against the majority.

Rabbi Ute Steyer received rabbinic ordination and a M.A. in Jewish Philosophy from The Jewish Theological Seminary in 2009. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Jewish philosophy at the Hebrew University. Her research interest is in the development of ethical thought in rabbinic literature and contemporary Jewish thought. Rabbi Steyer works as the research and program manager in the Center for Pastoral Education and as adjunct lecturer in Pastoral Theology at JTS. Prior to this she was the program director of the Yeshiva University Center for Jewish Law and Contemporary Civilization at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

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

Today we look at the discrepancy between an account told in the Mishna and in a Beraita: Maybe they tell different stories and represent different approaches to halakha?

Rabbi Ute Steyer received rabbinic ordination and a M.A. in Jewish Philosophy from The Jewish Theological Seminary in 2009. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Jewish philosophy at the Hebrew University. Her research interest is in the development of ethical thought in rabbinic literature and contemporary Jewish thought. Rabbi Steyer works as the research and program manager in the Center for Pastoral Education and as adjunct lecturer in Pastoral Theology at JTS. Prior to this she was the program director of the Yeshiva University Center for Jewish Law and Contemporary Civilization at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

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

In this episode we ask if people can form a “wall” to enable objects to be moved on Shabbat? And may a person leave the t’chom Shabbat to perform a mitzvah?

Rabbi Ute Steyer received rabbinic ordination and a M.A. in Jewish Philosophy from The Jewish Theological Seminary in 2009. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Jewish philosophy at the Hebrew University. Her research interest is in the development of ethical thought in rabbinic literature and contemporary Jewish thought. Rabbi Steyer works as the research and program manager in the Center for Pastoral Education and as adjunct lecturer in Pastoral Theology at JTS. Prior to this she was the program director of the Yeshiva University Center for Jewish Law and Contemporary Civilization at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

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

This page shows us an example of respect for different views on the stringency of halakhic observance among the sages of the Talmud. Another question is will Messiah come on Shabbat or will he too be bound by the restrictions of movement on Shabbat?

Rabbi Ute Steyer received rabbinic ordination and a M.A. in Jewish Philosophy from The Jewish Theological Seminary in 2009. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Jewish philosophy at the Hebrew University. Her research interest is in the development of ethical thought in rabbinic literature and contemporary Jewish thought. Rabbi Steyer works as the research and program manager in the Center for Pastoral Education and as adjunct lecturer in Pastoral Theology at JTS. Prior to this she was the program director of the Yeshiva University Center for Jewish Law and Contemporary Civilization at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

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

Today we focus on objects that were carried on Shabbat outside the t’chom Shabbat and their status depending on whether they were carried intentionally or unintentionally.

Rabbi Ute Steyer received rabbinic ordination and a M.A. in Jewish Philosophy from The Jewish Theological Seminary in 2009. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Jewish philosophy at the Hebrew University. Her research interest is in the development of ethical thought in rabbinic literature and contemporary Jewish thought. Rabbi Steyer works as the research and program manager in the Center for Pastoral Education and as adjunct lecturer in Pastoral Theology at JTS. Prior to this she was the program director of the Yeshiva University Center for Jewish Law and Contemporary Civilization at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Ninety Sixith episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noah Bickart looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 41.

Today’s dad introduces a troubling piece of aggadah.

Rabbi Noah Bickart is currently working on a PhD in Talmud at JTS, He and his family are living in Jerusalem this year enjoying the academic culture of the National Library, Cartoons Dubbed into Hebrew, and Houmous.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Ninety Fifth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noah Bickart looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 40.

In today’s epside we discover that Jews have been arguing about saying Shehechianu for a very long time.

Rabbi Noah Bickart is currently working on a PhD in Talmud at JTS, He and his family are living in Jerusalem this year enjoying the academic culture of the National Library, Cartoons Dubbed into Hebrew, and Houmous.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Ninety Fourth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noah Bickart looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 39.

In this episode, we ask that all important question “Is Rosh Hashanah also Rosh Hodesh?”

Rabbi Noah Bickart is currently working on a PhD in Talmud at JTS, He and his family are living in Jerusalem this year enjoying the academic culture of the National Library, Cartoons Dubbed into Hebrew, and Houmous.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Ninety Third episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noah Bickart looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 38.

Today we see that the Ran and Ramban have very different views on how a rejected opinion of the Sages might play out with regard to pets and muksah.

Rabbi Noah Bickart is currently working on a PhD in Talmud at JTS, He and his family are living in Jerusalem this year enjoying the academic culture of the National Library, Cartoons Dubbed into Hebrew, and Houmous.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Ninety Second episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noah Bickart looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 37.

Today we explore when and why is the Talmud willing to radically tamper with its sources?

Rabbi Noah Bickart is currently working on a PhD in Talmud at JTS, He and his family are living in Jerusalem this year enjoying the academic culture of the National Library, Cartoons Dubbed into Hebrew, and Houmous.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Ninety First episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noah Bickart looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 36.

In this episode, we focus on a critical perspective on the construction of the Mishnah and how it helps us understand Rabbi Judah’s strange phrase.

Rabbi Noah Bickart is currently working on a PhD in Talmud at JTS, He and his family are living in Jerusalem this year enjoying the academic culture of the National Library, Cartoons Dubbed into Hebrew, and Houmous.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Nintieth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Noah Bickart looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 35.

According to the Rabbis, an item is either prohibited or it isn’t. You can either pick it up and use it or you can’t. We don’t have to concern ourselves with thinking about weather or not the use to which I now want to put an item is its normal one or not. But R. Eliezer and R. Nehemiah want us to think not about the ontology of objects, but about the experience of using them.

Rabbi Noah Bickart is currently working on a PhD in Talmud at JTS, He and his family are living in Jerusalem this year enjoying the academic culture of the National Library, Cartoons Dubbed into Hebrew, and Houmous.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Eighty Ninth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 34.

If the Talmudic rules about food in a deep cistern tell us anything it is this: there is a rabbinic Shabbat and a biblical Shabbat. What do we do in the space when one has begun and the other has not? What does this space tell us about the nature of Shabbat and nature of the rabbinic project?

Rabbi Ethan Linden is the rabbi of Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the author of the (made-up) book: Tractate Mardis Gras: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Parades. Prior to coming to New Orleans, Ethan was the Assistant Director of Camp Ramah in New England and the Rabbinic Advisor for the Student Conservative Minyan at the Harvard Hillel.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Eighty Eighth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 33.

Sometimes it is hard to see the forest for the trees, and on this daf about trees it is even hard to see the trees. A referenced debate between Rabbi Yehudah Ha-Nasi and the sages is a jumping off point for a conversation about how certain interpretations and conversations become part of the rabbinic canon.

Rabbi Ethan Linden is the rabbi of Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the author of the (made-up) book: Tractate Mardis Gras: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Parades. Prior to coming to New Orleans, Ethan was the Assistant Director of Camp Ramah in New England and the Rabbinic Advisor for the Student Conservative Minyan at the Harvard Hillel.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Eighty Seventh episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 32.

Who can we trust? That is the question of this daf. If we ask someone to do something for us, can we assume it is done? Perhaps the circumstances matter, or perhaps we can always assume that people we have tasked with a mission will perform the task. Or maybe we ought not to trust too much, lest we disappointed in the result.

Rabbi Ethan Linden is the rabbi of Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the author of the (made-up) book: Tractate Mardis Gras: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Parades. Prior to coming to New Orleans, Ethan was the Assistant Director of Camp Ramah in New England and the Rabbinic Advisor for the Student Conservative Minyan at the Harvard Hillel.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Eighty Sixith episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 31.

Have you dreamed of using your pet dromedary to deliver food to an agent who will then use that food to make an eruv for you? At some point we have all had this thought. On today’s daf, we wonder, along with the rabbis, if that sort of dream is possible. Can we? Yes we can.

Rabbi Ethan Linden is the rabbi of Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the author of the (made-up) book: Tractate Mardis Gras: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Parades. Prior to coming to New Orleans, Ethan was the Assistant Director of Camp Ramah in New England and the Rabbinic Advisor for the Student Conservative Minyan at the Harvard Hillel.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Eighty Fifth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 30.

We make use of legal fictions in Judaism all the time. We sell our chametz on Passover, and we carry on Shabbat in places wherein we would usually be forbidden from doing so by means of an eruv. But maybe these legal fictions are a problem. Maybe we shouldn’t be pretending quite so much. On this daf, the debate about legal fictions breaks out, with Beit Shammai’s Washington Generals going up against Beit Hillel’s Harlem Globetrotters.

Rabbi Ethan Linden is the rabbi of Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the author of the (made-up) book: Tractate Mardis Gras: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Parades. Prior to coming to New Orleans, Ethan was the Assistant Director of Camp Ramah in New England and the Rabbinic Advisor for the Student Conservative Minyan at the Harvard Hillel.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Eighty Fourth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 29.

It can be dangerous to eat an onion. This may not seem like the greatest starting out point for a theological discussion of prayer and God’s protection, but it turns out that it is. This is why the Talmud is great.

Rabbi Ethan Linden is the rabbi of Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the author of the (made-up) book: Tractate Mardis Gras: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Parades. Prior to coming to New Orleans, Ethan was the Assistant Director of Camp Ramah in New England and the Rabbinic Advisor for the Student Conservative Minyan at the Harvard Hillel.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Eighty Third episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 28.

Does the fact that I like to eat paper make paper into food? If I love unripe apples does everyone else have to love them too? Do the nutty Jews of Babylonia get to decide what constitutes a valid food for an eruv? Listen in and find out!

Rabbi Ethan Linden is the rabbi of Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the author of the (made-up) book: Tractate Mardis Gras: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Parades. Prior to coming to New Orleans, Ethan was the Assistant Director of Camp Ramah in New England and the Rabbinic Advisor for the Student Conservative Minyan at the Harvard Hillel.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Eighty Second episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Alyssa Gray looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 27.

The mishnah at the bottom of 26b opens with a general statement: Everything (food) may be used to establish an eruv or effect a shittuf mavo’y except for water and salt. Rishonim disagree as to what type of eruv the mishnah is referring to. For its part, the Gemara is interested—as is its wont—in probing the mishnah’s term “everything.” The Bavli sugya contains a puzzlement, which critical Talmudic analysis might help explain.

Alyssa Gray, J.D., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Codes and Responsa Literature at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. She has written extensively on many topics in Talmud and Jewish law, and has taught and lectured widely in the United States, Israel, Europe, and South America.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Eighty First episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Alyssa Gray looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 26.

The Exilarch consults a rabbi to ensure that he is permitted to carry food and other meal necessities from his house to an abvarneka (small structure with seating) in his orchard. One rabbi sets up reed fences so as to render the orchard “enclosed for residential purposes,” and thus a permitted place in which to carry freely on Shabbat, but then another took down the fences, and two other rabbis even gathered up and took away the reeds! The bemused Exilarch’s wry response is another window for us into the rabbis’ anxieties about these complex laws.

Alyssa Gray, J.D., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Codes and Responsa Literature at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. She has written extensively on many topics in Talmud and Jewish law, and has taught and lectured widely in the United States, Israel, Europe, and South America.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Eightieth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Alyssa Gray looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 25.

Building a partition (mehitzah) 4 handbreadths into a karpef from a mound (tel) for residential purposes will suffice to allow carrying on Shabbat within the karpef, even if it is larger than 2 bet se’ahs. Building a mehitzah on the edge of the tel itself will also suffice; this is mehitzah al gabei mehitzah. This will not, however, suffice as a way to acquire ownerless property, as an unnamed, unfortunate woman learned from Rav Nahman to her detriment.

Alyssa Gray, J.D., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Codes and Responsa Literature at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. She has written extensively on many topics in Talmud and Jewish law, and has taught and lectured widely in the United States, Israel, Europe, and South America.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Seventy Ninth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Alyssa Gray looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 24.

The Gemara continues to explore issues involving the karpef, as well as the rehavah (fenced-in yard). A karpef greater in size than two bet se’ahs that was not hukaf l’dirah (enclosed for residential purposes) may still be an area within which carrying is permitted on Shabbat under certain circumstances, and a karpef that was hukaf l’dirah will not lose that status if water enters it.

Alyssa Gray, J.D., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Codes and Responsa Literature at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. She has written extensively on many topics in Talmud and Jewish law, and has taught and lectured widely in the United States, Israel, Europe, and South America.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Seventy Eighth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Alyssa Gray looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 23.

Under what circumstances may one carry on Shabbat in a garden or a karpef? What is a karpef? Three Tannaim dispute about this; two holding that even a garden or karpef of the appropriate size must have something else before one is allowed to carry within it, and one Tanna arguing that size alone matters.

Alyssa Gray, J.D., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Codes and Responsa Literature at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. She has written extensively on many topics in Talmud and Jewish law, and has taught and lectured widely in the United States, Israel, Europe, and South America.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Seventy Seventh episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Alyssa Gray looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 22.

R. Yohanan says that people are not liable in the land of Israel on account of public domain; that is, they are not liable for carrying in the public domain on Shabbat. Does he mean there’s no such thing as a public domain in the land of Israel, or something less radical?

Alyssa Gray, J.D., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Codes and Responsa Literature at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. She has written extensively on many topics in Talmud and Jewish law, and has taught and lectured widely in the United States, Israel, Europe, and South America.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Seventy Sixith episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Alyssa Gray looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 21.

In an interesting aggadic passage, the Bavli compares Torah and rabbinic law, and interestingly seems to consider the observance of the latter as a more serious matter than the former. What is at stake for the Bavli is rabbinic authority to innovate law; an authority it needs to justify in order to make sense of the entire rabbinic institution of eruvin.

Alyssa Gray, J.D., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Codes and Responsa Literature at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. She has written extensively on many topics in Talmud and Jewish law, and has taught and lectured widely in the United States, Israel, Europe, and South America.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Seventy Fifth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 20.

The stand-out line of our final page is, “Camels are different, because their necks are long.” Our preoccupation is still with the water-well barrier, and the limits of its efficacy for people, cows and, yes, camels. This discussion is true to the overall theme of the volume—the limits on carrying, and the mechanisms available to allow Shabbat to be distinguished from other days, while still permitting the necessities of life.

Rabbi Danny Nevins is the dean of the JTS Division of Religious Leadership, which includes the Rabbinical School and H.L. Miller Cantorial School, as well as the Center for Pastoral Education. In addition to teaching at JTS, he serves as a member of the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, and has written responsa on various subjects in topics related to bioethics, disability, sexuality and technology. Prior to working at JTS, he served as rabbi of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, MI.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Seventy Fourth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 19.

We continue to study “aggadot” brought in the name of Rabbi Yirmiah ben Elazar, especially traditions about the nature of “Geihinnam” or hell. Alas, the text returns on Side B to the specifications of barriers used to surround a well in order to allow animals to drink on Shabbat.

Rabbi Danny Nevins is the dean of the JTS Division of Religious Leadership, which includes the Rabbinical School and H.L. Miller Cantorial School, as well as the Center for Pastoral Education. In addition to teaching at JTS, he serves as a member of the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, and has written responsa on various subjects in topics related to bioethics, disability, sexuality and technology. Prior to working at JTS, he served as rabbi of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, MI.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Seventy Third episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 18.

Chapter two of the tractate opens with a Mishnah that describes a special structure devised to allow use of a well on Shabbat. Its corner panels are called “deuomadim,” which is apparently a blending of the Greek prefix “deu-” (for two) and the Hebrew word “omdim” (for posts). This leads the Sages into a discussion of other words that use the prefix “deu-,” most famously the “two-faced” and androgynous “Adam” described in Genesis. This in turn leads to discussions of human nature, of gender relations, and of the fallen state of spiritual life after the Temple’s destruction.

Rabbi Danny Nevins is the dean of the JTS Division of Religious Leadership, which includes the Rabbinical School and H.L. Miller Cantorial School, as well as the Center for Pastoral Education. In addition to teaching at JTS, he serves as a member of the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, and has written responsa on various subjects in topics related to bioethics, disability, sexuality and technology. Prior to working at JTS, he served as rabbi of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, MI.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Seventy Second episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 17.

They say that “military ethics” is an oxymoron, and our Mishnah on 17a seems to support the contention. Troops are allowed to violate both ritual and ethical norms when on a military campaign, even if there is no immediate threat to their lives. Yet ethical imperatives remain; there is no carte blanche for troops to steal, and the extraordinary obligation to attend to battlefield casualties is heavy upon them.

Rabbi Danny Nevins is the dean of the JTS Division of Religious Leadership, which includes the Rabbinical School and H.L. Miller Cantorial School, as well as the Center for Pastoral Education. In addition to teaching at JTS, he serves as a member of the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, and has written responsa on various subjects in topics related to bioethics, disability, sexuality and technology. Prior to working at JTS, he served as rabbi of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, MI.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Seventy First episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 16.

Today we follow an argument between Rav Huna and Rav Pappa (which begins at the end of 15b) about the seemingly minor point of whether a barrier that has precisely the same quantity of gaps and wall is recognized as an Eruv. Rav Pappa’s supporters lose round after round of the argument, but he still carries the day. How come? In the end, his reading of the Mishnah is just better! It’s reassuring to find a triumph of reasoning, and of a lenient reading to boot.

Rabbi Danny Nevins is the dean of the JTS Division of Religious Leadership, which includes the Rabbinical School and H.L. Miller Cantorial School, as well as the Center for Pastoral Education. In addition to teaching at JTS, he serves as a member of the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, and has written responsa on various subjects in topics related to bioethics, disability, sexuality and technology. Prior to working at JTS, he served as rabbi of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, MI.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Seventieth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 15.

Today we consider the question of intent—must a “lehi” (a post used to designate the entrance to a “mavoi”) be designated for this function prior to Shabbat, or may one use any object whose design conforms to the specifications of a “lehi?” Along the way we witness some casual rabbinic magic, and learn of a life-long dispute between Rava and Abbaye.

Rabbi Danny Nevins is the dean of the JTS Division of Religious Leadership, which includes the Rabbinical School and H.L. Miller Cantorial School, as well as the Center for Pastoral Education. In addition to teaching at JTS, he serves as a member of the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, and has written responsa on various subjects in topics related to bioethics, disability, sexuality and technology. Prior to working at JTS, he served as rabbi of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, MI.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Sixty Ninth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 14.

Welcome to the realm of rabbinic geometry. Our sages use a form of Π to describe the ratio of the circumference and diameter of a circle in discussing the possibility of a rounded transom used to demarcate the entrance to an Eruv. Perhaps the rabbis know Ptolemy, but they cite the book of Kings to prove the rule. What is the role of science in rabbinic literature? The daf ends with a famous statement: “Go see what the people do.” What is the force of popular practice in Talmudic discourse?

Rabbi Danny Nevins is the dean of the JTS Division of Religious Leadership, which includes the Rabbinical School and H.L. Miller Cantorial School, as well as the Center for Pastoral Education. In addition to teaching at JTS, he serves as a member of the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, and has written responsa on various subjects in topics related to bioethics, disability, sexuality and technology. Prior to working at JTS, he served as rabbi of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, MI.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Sixty Eighth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 13.

Is there ever more than one answer to a question? Is there a value to understanding the other side of the argument? Does being a religious person negate the possibility of dialogue, even pluralism?

Rabbi Joshua Heller is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs, and chair of the rites and rituals subcommittee of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Sixty Seventh episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 12.

Is the Eruv creating a real physical barrier? Is it about a psychological indication that one is leaving a private area? Or is it about defining an area that constitutes a community?

Rabbi Joshua Heller is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs, and chair of the rites and rituals subcommittee of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Sixty Sixith episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 11.

“Tzurat Hapetach”- the form of a doorway is an essential concept in building eruvim today. Individual side-beams and cross beams will get you only so far. A Tzurat Hapetach lets you block off large volumes of space with very little material, by having two verticals and horizontal. The verticals don’t have to touch the horizontal, but there’s a catch- they do have to be directly under it. This leads to all kinds of fun when you are trying to use existing architectural features (like utility poles) to make an eruv.

Rabbi Joshua Heller is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs, and chair of the rites and rituals subcommittee of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Sixty Fifth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 10.

On this daf, we encounter the concept of Omed Merubah al haparutz.  If you have a space which has walls and gaps, at what point do we consider the walls to outnumber the gaps?  Which is more significant?  Is it the whole, or is it the hole?

Rabbi Joshua Heller is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs, and chair of the rites and rituals subcommittee of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Sixty Fourth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 9.

On this daf, we look at when rabbinic measure says that something is “close enough”-  Lavud– where we can consider small gaps to be closed, and chavut– where an object can be considered to be lower than it really is.

Rabbi Joshua Heller is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs, and chair of the rites and rituals subcommittee of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Sixty Third episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 8.

We start with the question of a street that is open to a thoroughfare in front, and to a courtyard, uninhabited space, trash heap, or body of water in the back. Is water or a shore considered a physical barrier? When we set up a beam or board to mark off a street, is the key that it is a physical barrier, or is it that creates a psychological recognition.

Rabbi Joshua Heller is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs, and chair of the rites and rituals subcommittee of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Sixty Second episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Heller looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 7.

On this daf, we start with a discussion of a street shaped like a U, and how we turn it into a private space for purposes of carrying on Shabbat. Along the way, we ask when happens when you have two legal approaches, each of which gives you yes to some answers and no to others. Can you be inconsistent, and combine all the “no” answers from each approach, or the “yes” answers from each?

Rabbi Joshua Heller is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs, and chair of the rites and rituals subcommittee of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.

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

Welcome to the Hundred and Sixty First episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Solomon Mowshowitz looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 6.

Under what circumstances do the sages rule more stringently than the halacha requires? Who are the fools who walk in darkness? When do you have to obey a heavenly voice, and when can you ignore it? This daf will help us understand.

Solomon Mowshowitz is a past Chair of the National Havurah Committee. A molecular biologist by trade, Mosh is officially retired, but still teaches a course in Immunology. at Columbia University.

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

Is Jewish legal space quantized or continuous? Are two weak answers as good as one strong one? Can we be certain of anything in this world? We’ll ponder these questions and also take a closer look at two frequently used types of Talmudic argument.

Solomon Mowshowitz is a past Chair of the National Havurah Committee. A molecular biologist by trade, Mosh is officially retired, but still teaches a course in Immunology. at Columbia University.

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

Where do the standard measurements in Jewish Law come from? What ancient laws have no trace in the written Torah? When is a proof-text not a proof-text? (hint: When it’s an Asmachta). Learn about these and more on this daf.

Solomon Mowshowitz is a past Chair of the National Havurah Committee. A molecular biologist by trade, Mosh is officially retired, but still teaches a course in Immunology. at Columbia University.

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

Why are laws derived by pure logic considered Torahitic? Who is more trustworthy, individuals, or groups? Should the sages enforce Torahitic or Rabbinic laws more diligently? Can one hold an opinion and its opposite at the same time? These are just some of the themes touched upon on this daf.

Solomon Mowshowitz is a past Chair of the National Havurah Committee. A molecular biologist by trade, Mosh is officially retired, but still teaches a course in Immunology. at Columbia University.

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

Why do tractates start on page 2? Why is Masechet Eruvin feared by Yeshiva students? Why does the Talmud sometimes cite passages from scripture that don’t exist? We’ll discuss all this and introduce some of the basic concepts of Eruvin.

Solomon Mowshowitz is a past Chair of the National Havurah Committee. A molecular biologist by trade, Mosh is officially retired, but still teaches a course in Immunology. at Columbia University.

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