Daily Daf Differently

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 4.

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.

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 3.

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.

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Chagigah Daf 2.

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.

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 29.

This short daf completes Tractate Moed Katan. We learn what a person should say when departing from a dead person and what he should say when departing from a live person. Learn this daf carefully and commit it to memory because getting it wrong can have dire consequences!

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.

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 28.

Is death meaningful? That’s one of the questions this daf asks. What I mean by this is can one observe how a person died, quickly or slowly, at an old age or at a young age, and understand anything about that person’s life? Was God punishing him or rewarding him? Or are the length and other crucial aspects of our lives a matter of pure luck? Tough questions for which there are certainly no definitive answers. But that does not stop our daf from addressing 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.

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 27.

Burials and funeral can be expensive procedures. They can also be a moment where members of the community use the opportunity to show off their wealth. This happened during Talmudic times and it still happens today. Today’s daf shows how opposed the rabbis were to such phenomena and how they enacted takkanot to prevent people from feeling dishonored at such a fraught moment.

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.

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 26.

Everybody knows that if a Torah falls to the ground people have to fast. Correct? But there is no source for this custom in the Talmud. Today we shall see the source in the Talmud that is probably closest to discussing this issue–a passage about a Torah that was either burned or torn intentionally. We’ll also encounter a tefillin-snatching bird so watch out!

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.

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 25.

Today’s rather long daf contains a series of stories of rabbis’ funerals, how the burial processions were conducted, what eulogies were recited and other various tidbits. In the podcast we’ll tell the fascinating story of the funeral procession of Rav Huna. An exciting and contentious adventure from beginning to end!

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.

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 24.

There are several passages in the tractate about mourning on Shabbat and opinions vary. Some sages hold that on Shabbat all mourning customs are suspended, whereas other sages hold that only some mourning is suspended, but that private acts are still observed. Embedded (watch out for the pun) in this sugya is a discussion about sexual relations during mourning. We will even encounter a story about a man who did have sex while he was mourning and pigs came and bit off his….[You’ll have to listen to get the answer].

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.

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Dr. Joshua Kulp looks at Masechet Moed Katan Daf 23.

One issue addressed on this daf is remarriage after the death of close relative. Here we see an interesting difference between the death of most relatives, even father or mother, and the death of a spouse. In the former case, one can remarry after thirty days, whereas a man whose wife has died must wait until three festivals have passed before he remarries. Why is there such a difference? And what about a woman whose husband has died? How long must she wait before she remarries?

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.