Daily Daf Differently

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 6.

The ceremony at the end of the nazir’s term is called “hitgalachat” because that is when his or her hair is cut (galach). Daf 6 focuses on the question of when hitgalachat takes place. If the term of the nazir is 30 days, then you would expect hitgalachat to take place on the 31st day. But the principle that “part of a day is equivalent to a whole day” applies here, as well as to sitting shiva. Just as the mourner may end the shiva after the morning service on the seventh day, the nazir may complete n’zirut on the morning of the 30th day and have the hitgalachat later on the same day. Much of today’s daf is devoted to the ramifications of this principle.

To view the text of Nazir, Daf 6 on Sefaria, please click here.

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

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 5.

Today’s daf is focused on a Mishnah that states that if a person vows to be a nazir without setting a specific time limit, then the term of his or her n’zirut is 30 days. This term is not mentioned in the description of the nazir in Bamidbar (Numbers), where it is assumed that each nazir specifies in advance his or her own length of n’zirut. We speculate on both the reason and the effects of providing a 30-day term for the nazir. We also present simple rationales (published originally by Rabbi Eliezer Diamond) for the three prohibitions of the nazir and for a person’s becoming a nazir – what could be considered the “p’shat” of the text in Bamidbar. (Numbers)

To view the text of Nazir, Daf 5 on Sefaria, please click here.

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

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 4.

Today’s daf focuses on a vow to be a nazir like Samson and a vow to be a nazir for life; neither of these corresponds to the nazir described in Bamidbar (Numbers) since that nazir has a fixed term. The daf includes a discussion of the differences between a nazir like Samson and a nazir for life, and this leads to a discussion of the details of Samson’s life and the life of another Biblical figure who is considered to be a nazir – Absalom, the son of King David. Embedded in this discussion is a Narcissus-like story about a young nazir with long curly hair who becomes enamored of his image in a well.

To view the text of Nazir, Daf 4 on Sefaria, please click here.

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

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 3.

Following up on a question in the previous daf, this episode discusses the question of why the nazir might be considered a sinner? This leads us to discuss the ceremony at the end of a period of n’zirut – which involves two sheep and a ram, and the shorn hair of the nazir – and the question of whether an ordinary person could afford to be a nazir. The main point of the Mishnah on the second side of the page is that you can’t be a partial nazir. If you even vow not to eat grape pits, then you automatically become a nazir. So we digress to a discussion of what is the fruit-of-the-vine prohibition of a nazir, and what are yayin and sheichar. The daf ends with a question. Isn’t the wine of Kiddush and Havdalah obligatory? How then could a person become a nazir?

To view the text of Nazir, Daf 3 on Sefaria, please click here.

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

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 2.

The first chapter of Tractate Nazir focuses on the implications of the actual statement made by a person on whether and for how long he or she becomes a nazir. We begin today’s episode, dealing with the first page of Tractate Nazir, with a description of the three prohibitions of the nazir in Bamidbar (Numbers). A nazir is a person who vows not to partake of the fruit of the vine, not to be in contact with a corpse, and not to cut his or her hair. The episode continues with a discussion of the various perceptions of the nazir, and a set of questions that will be discussed in the first seven episodes of Tractate Nazir, including, Is there any link between the three prohibitions? Why would a person choose to be a nazir? What role did the nazir have in society? Was the nazir regarded favorably or unfavorable in Jewish history? The first Mishnah of the tractate includes a number of euphemisms and abbreviations that would make a person a nazir, including one that provokes the question in the gemara of whether a nazir is a sinner (!)

To view the text of Nazir, Daf 2 on Sefaria, please click here.

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

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 91.

Hadran Alach Masechet Nedarim! We will return to you, Tractate Nedarim! We give thanks to God for the Talmud kopp, the Talmudic mind, that we cultivate through this study.

To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 91 on Sefaria, please click here.

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

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 90.

To a modern eye, the rabbis seem to have some blind spots when it comes to women and to marriage. But in other areas, as when they deal with real communities and their propensity for gossip, the rabbis show remarkable clarity and vision.

To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 90 on Sefaria, please click here.

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

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 89.

The rabbis understood that the vows we make that damage our most intimate relationships actually threaten our own happiness as well. Thankfully, they put some protections into place to prevent us from wreaking havoc on ourselves and those we love!

To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 89 on Sefaria, please click here.

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

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 79.

Today we focus on the categories of vows that a husband may annul.

To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 79 on Sefaria, please click here.

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

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Nedarim, Daf 78.

This daf shares some reflections on what God does on God’s own and what people contribute to holy calendar.

To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 78 on Sefaria, please click here.

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