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? The Megillah should be read in Hebrew, but it should also be understood by its listeners when it is read. Which value is more important? Why were the rabbis so intent on preserving Hebrew? What role does language have in remembering where we came from, i.e., in preserving and maintaining our culture?

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.