Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 23. We will briefly revisit the discussion of whether a woman may receive an aliyah and also see the opinion of the Maharam on the subject before moving on to discuss for which prayers a minyan of 10 […]

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 22. Whether or not people need to go to work decides how many aliyot are read on days that aren’t yom tov: Rosh Hodesh is an occasion when 4 aliyot are read but on Public Fast days only […]

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Ute Steyer looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 21. Today we learn about the weekly torah reading cycle: Monday, Thursday, Shabbat and also why Mondays and Thursdays? We also learn about the ancient practice that only the first and last person would recite a blessing over […]

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 20. On this page we examine the question: When does day begin? Is it sunrise, or is it when light first appears in the eastern sky? There are arguments for both opinions. The halachic (Jewish legal) issue is: […]

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 19. On this page we explore the tension between uniformity and variety in religious practice. According to the Talmud, different communities read the Megillah (the Scroll of Esther) on different days. Yet all read the entire Megillah—even though […]

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 18. There are two related issues raised on this page: language and memory. The Hebrew language (the language in which Jewish sacred texts such as the Megillah and the Torah are preserved) is clearly important, but how important? […]

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 17. With this page, we begin chapter 2 of Megillah, which focuses on how the megillah is supposed to be read. The very first rule is that the megillah is to be read in order. The text goes […]

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 16. This page is filled with interesting midrashic explanations of curiosities in the text of the Book of Esther (the “megillah” that is read on the holiday of Purim). In this Daily Daf Differently presentation, I focus on […]

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 15. The Talmud is an associative work, and this page of Talmud illustrates this. On the page there is an interpretation of the meaning of an expression in the Megillah offered by Rabbi Eleazar in the name of […]

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Carl Perkins looks at Masechet Megillah Daf 14. Page 14 of Megillah continues a discussion (that can be found in the previous few pages) of the Book of Esther and the significance of reading the book (i.e., the “megillah”) on the holiday of Purim. We […]