Daily Daf Differently

Welcome to the Hundred and Twentieth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Adina Lewittes looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 121. This page in Massechet Shabbat tackles the question of whether there are any circumstances in which we may direct a non-Jew to work on our behalf on Shabbat. The page continues with […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Nineteenth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Justin David looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 120. Why are we only permitted to indirectly put out a fire on Shabbat, whereas we are permitted to extinguish a candle if it bothers a sick person on Shabbat? Perhaps the answer […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Eighteenth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Justin David looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 119. Is there a deeper theological meaning to the sensual enjoyment of Shabbat? For those of us who revel in Oneg Shabbat, this daf gives us a moment to think more deeply about […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Seventeenth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Justin David looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 118. Perhaps there is nothing more holy than a day in which we experience an intimation of relief from all suffering. But to do that, we first have to imagine that we suffer. […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Sixteenth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Justin David looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 117. What is more “holy,” fulfilling halakhah as a dictate from heaven, or satisfying human needs through pragmatic wisdom and ingenuity? Some of the most compelling Talmudic thinking meets at the nexus between […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Fifteenth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Justin David looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 116. Who is the “Other?” And how do we engage the “Other” in our midst?The rabbis grapple with this question as this daf turns to the reality of “minim,”heretics, or, more accurately, Hebrew […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Fourteenth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Justin David looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 115. What makes a text holy? And what is it about holiness that would compel the Rabbis to have us risk transgressing the boundaries of Shabbat, not to mention harm and injury, to […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Thirteenth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Justin David looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 114. This daf takes up the theme of Jewish spiritual leadership in a consideration of the talmid chacham (scholar). On this daf, the Rabbis explore what makes a scholar not only a great […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Twelvth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Cahan looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 113. The Rabbis try to guide us in making Shabbat different from the weekdays and in making Shabbat the pinnacle of our week. Rabbi Joshua Cahan received his Ph.D. in Rabbinic Literature from […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Eleventh episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Joshua Cahan looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 112. A knotty puzzle: Wherein we try to piece together how the Rabbis delineate the prohibition on tying knots on Shabbat. Rabbi Joshua Cahan received his Ph.D. in Rabbinic Literature from the Jewish […]