Daily Daf Differently

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 22.

This episode includes a clarification of the mishnaic term sukkah mduvlelet and application of the principle of havot rami, lower and cast, by which a roof composed of beams at different levels is said to collapse into one kosher roof for a sukkah.

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 Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 21.

Is an ohel any structure or must it be a man-made structure. Exploration of this issue, in particular the ramifications of R. Yehudah’s opinion, and its limitations with reference to a practice related to the red heifer which comes from Tractate Parah; why does the Mishnah specify conversation rather than teaching with regard to learning from Rabban Gamaliel.

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 Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 20.

This episode begins with the conclusion of a sugya about large and small reed mats being used for s’khakh; as well as a sugya about mats of different materials and whether or not they constitute vessels for the purposes of contracting impurity> We also begin the 2nd perek with mishnah about sleeping in a sukkah and the story about Tavi, Rabban Gamaliel’s servant sleeping in a sukkah, and what we learn from Rabban Gamaliel’s conversation; beginning of a sugya about whether or not a bed constitutes an ohel, a shelter, by which sleeping underneath it would mean one was not in the sukkah.

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 Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 19.

This episode includes the conclusion of a sugya about the columns of a covered porch being used a wall for sukkah; explanation of a baraita which notes that a sukkah whose kosher s’khakh extends beyond the sukkah is treated like a sukkah; mishnah about the validity of a sukkah without a flat roof; story about Rav Yosef and Abbaye in which Rav Yosef uses a bridal bed in a sukkah; mishnah about a large reed mat being used for s’khakh; sugya about the difference between large and small mats.

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 Barry Chesler looks at Masechet Sukkah Daf 18.

Does lavud, the legal fiction by which empty space of a small enough area is said to be filled in, exist on the side adjacent to the wall, or also in the middle; 2 drashot of R. Yehudah bar Ila’i; may the columns of a covered porch be used for the walls of the sukkah?

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 Sukkah Daf 17.

The Talmud continues its creative understanding of the walls of the sukkah, with the imaginary “dofen akumah,” the crooked wall. Once again, we learn that a life of emunah–a life of faith and religious meaning– must be willing to go beyond common sense!

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 Sukkah Daf 16.

Is Sukkot the holiday of illusion? Two principles which are applied in our mishnah suggest that what matters is not the actual structure of the Sukkah, but the halachic imagination which underlies it.

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 Sukkah Daf 15.

Why are the pieces of a wooden bed not permitted to be used as schach for a Sukkah? Perhaps this is the Talmud’s way of teaching us a lesson in Bal Taschit: do not waste!

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 Sukkah Daf 14.

“The prayers of the righteous are like pitchforks.” Or are they?

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 Sukkah Daf 13.

In the rabbinic mind, some of the plants and species that we see around us were named before the giving of the Torah. It is amazing to think that the natural world and the language we use to describe it have been with us for millennia!

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