Talking Talmud

The fifth chapter! Plus, the options of ma'amar, get, chalitzah... and, of course, yibum. And how the may follow one from the other, as it happens. Note - a long mishnah here establishes the basic cases and basic principles - for example, once ma'amar has been done, it can't be done again in that same context. The Gemara basically establishes where Rabban Gamliel and the sages agree and disagree.

A new mishnah! And more on mamzerim, even an introduction to the status. Plus, a genealogy scroll that includes mention of a person as "mamzer." Also, the second half of the mishnah... The impact of a woman who dies on her sister's permissibility to marry a whole slew of people. Also, spotlight that lineage scroll. With insights, as it were, from the prophet Isaiah. What does his position, as presented in the Gemara, imply about prophecy? Plus, another extra meta comment about the mishnah.

The daf discusses Eshet Yifat Toar with an interesting twist from Rabbi Akiva. The daf ends with a theological discussion about converts.

Continuing the conversion conversation... How to be sure that a conversion in Israel will be accepted outside the land? Including the case of one who claims about himself that he's truly a concert, and not in accord with halakhah. How can he testify against himself? What can his testimony do against his children? How do we know whom to trust about their own Jewishness? Plus, why would someone want to convert to Judaism? And - an overview of the process and challenge of converting. Plus, a midrash on the dialogue between Ruth and Naomi.

A long daf... When Jewish women became pregnant from partial converts (men who had been circumcised, but not yet dunked in a mikveh). Similar issues turn up with wine and cooking... So: decrees against the wine and the food, and that the children of such unions were mamzerim. All of which decrees by R. Yochanan do seem to be in line with his approach. Also, R. Eliezer's position on this status (circumcision without dunking) is that the person is a full conversion, and vice versa too. But the sages required both. But where are these principles derived from? Forefathers, foremothers? But women don't require circumcision. How do R. Eliezer and R. Yehoshua line up on this machloket? Plus, the generation that left Egypt and the issue of circumcision.

Cases a union between a non-Jewish father and a Jewish mother - what are the implications for the children (or are there any)? Rav takes a strong position that is indeed the halakhah - that the children are "kosher." Plus, the talmudic equivalent of a camel dancing on the head of the proverbial pin - meaning, thr law has to be upheld to be trusted. Also, other ramifications for the kosher progeny of a Jewish mother and non-Jewish father.

A case: 4 brothers married to 4 women, and some of the brothers died... Can a brother do yibum more than once? When is chalitzah done instead? What does an "invalid" status mean? Also, a man who remarries the woman he'd divorced, after she is divorced or widowed by someone else. Can they stay married? What is the status of children? Note Rabbi Akiva's difficult (and rejected) position regarding who is a mamzer.

More on the methodology of halakhic decisions, via a case of ritual impurity and the possibility thereof for carding combs for flax and wool. And the implications of unattributed mishnayot. Also, betrothal within the 3 months, plus a whole lot of cases of how people would wait or not wait for the 3 months. Plus, the implications of a waiting period for those who are in the 30-day mourning period for a spouse - as drawn from the parallel with Tisha B'Av, and the sense of personal mourning that should apply in both settings.

Two scientific points of interest - the 7 or 9 month baby, suggesting 1 month wait is all that is needed to determine paternity, not 3 months. What are the implications of these assessments? Including the woman's incentive to lie. And a deeper dive into the 7/9 months. Plus, pregnancy while nursing. Also, following some of the halakhic guidelines to determine the rulings of the Tannaitic literature, including or specifically, when there's a machloket.

The ramifications of chalitzah for the relatives of the pair doing chalitzah. Also, what happens when a widow awaits yibum or chalitzah, and those other relationships are already getting put into play? Also, the widow must wait 3 months for yibum or marriage, to see if she might be pregnant with her dead husband's child. Why defer betrothal, though? Plus, in the landed area of Yehudah, they may have been involved... And that waiting period is considered necessary for couples of this nature there. Which is also going to be the case for chalitzah. Plus, lest there be confusion over which women is which.