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Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 5.

Today’s daf is focused on a Mishnah that states that if a person vows to be a nazir without setting a specific time limit, then the term of his or her n’zirut is 30 days. This term is not mentioned in the description of the nazir in Bamidbar (Numbers), where it is assumed that each nazir specifies in advance his or her own length of n’zirut. We speculate on both the reason and the effects of providing a 30-day term for the nazir. We also present simple rationales (published originally by Rabbi Eliezer Diamond) for the three prohibitions of the nazir and for a person’s becoming a nazir – what could be considered the “p’shat” of the text in Bamidbar. (Numbers)

To view the text of Nazir, Daf 5 on Sefaria, please click here.

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, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 4.

Today’s daf focuses on a vow to be a nazir like Samson and a vow to be a nazir for life; neither of these corresponds to the nazir described in Bamidbar (Numbers) since that nazir has a fixed term. The daf includes a discussion of the differences between a nazir like Samson and a nazir for life, and this leads to a discussion of the details of Samson’s life and the life of another Biblical figure who is considered to be a nazir – Absalom, the son of King David. Embedded in this discussion is a Narcissus-like story about a young nazir with long curly hair who becomes enamored of his image in a well.

To view the text of Nazir, Daf 4 on Sefaria, please click here.

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

The first three seasons of Darren Starr’s guilty pleasure series ‘Emily in Paris’ are now streaming on Netflix. Most viewers agree that the show is the pop culture equivalent of junk food: delightful, but mostly empty calories. But what would happen if we took the show (too) seriously? Thankfully, that is Rabbi Knopf and Rabbi Olitzky’s specialty! Join us as we consider what ‘Emily in Paris’ has to say about the generational divide in Jewish life today, the role of marketing and design in religious life, and the unique spiritual yearnings of today’s seekers.

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 3.

Following up on a question in the previous daf, this episode discusses the question of why the nazir might be considered a sinner? This leads us to discuss the ceremony at the end of a period of n’zirut – which involves two sheep and a ram, and the shorn hair of the nazir – and the question of whether an ordinary person could afford to be a nazir. The main point of the Mishnah on the second side of the page is that you can’t be a partial nazir. If you even vow not to eat grape pits, then you automatically become a nazir. So we digress to a discussion of what is the fruit-of-the-vine prohibition of a nazir, and what are yayin and sheichar. The daf ends with a question. Isn’t the wine of Kiddush and Havdalah obligatory? How then could a person become a nazir?

To view the text of Nazir, Daf 3 on Sefaria, please click here.

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, Joe Rosenstein looks at Masechet Nazir, Daf 2.

The first chapter of Tractate Nazir focuses on the implications of the actual statement made by a person on whether and for how long he or she becomes a nazir. We begin today’s episode, dealing with the first page of Tractate Nazir, with a description of the three prohibitions of the nazir in Bamidbar (Numbers). A nazir is a person who vows not to partake of the fruit of the vine, not to be in contact with a corpse, and not to cut his or her hair. The episode continues with a discussion of the various perceptions of the nazir, and a set of questions that will be discussed in the first seven episodes of Tractate Nazir, including, Is there any link between the three prohibitions? Why would a person choose to be a nazir? What role did the nazir have in society? Was the nazir regarded favorably or unfavorable in Jewish history? The first Mishnah of the tractate includes a number of euphemisms and abbreviations that would make a person a nazir, including one that provokes the question in the gemara of whether a nazir is a sinner (!)

To view the text of Nazir, Daf 2 on Sefaria, please click here.

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 Nedarim, Daf 91.

Hadran Alach Masechet Nedarim! We will return to you, Tractate Nedarim! We give thanks to God for the Talmud kopp, the Talmudic mind, that we cultivate through this study.

To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 91 on Sefaria, please click here.

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 Nedarim, Daf 90.

To a modern eye, the rabbis seem to have some blind spots when it comes to women and to marriage. But in other areas, as when they deal with real communities and their propensity for gossip, the rabbis show remarkable clarity and vision.

To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 90 on Sefaria, please click here.

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 Nedarim, Daf 89.

The rabbis understood that the vows we make that damage our most intimate relationships actually threaten our own happiness as well. Thankfully, they put some protections into place to prevent us from wreaking havoc on ourselves and those we love!

To view the text of Nedarim, Daf 89 on Sefaria, please click here.

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

This week, your friends at the Amen Corner have a special episode to share with you, our loyal listeners. Brad and Steven’s special guest is the creator of the JCast Network and the producer of this podcast, Darone Ruskay. The three talk about podcasting in general and about the Amen Corner in particular. Please enjoy this extremely self-indulgent episode!

You can listen to The Amen Corner in lots of ways. On iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite RSS aggregator.

The new film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is Rian Johnson’s follow-up to his critical and commercial 2019 hit Knives Out. Once again starring Daniel Craig as “world’s greatest detective” Benoit Blanc and an all-star cast (including some incredible cameos), Glass Onion finds Blanc attempting to solve a mysterious murder that has taken place against the backdrop of extraordinary wealth and privilege. In the process, Glass Onion offers sharp and incisive commentary about the intersection of money and power, the role of tech oligarchs and influencer culture in our society, and our tendency to venerate and emulate people of questionable moral value and overrated intelligence. Take a moment to inbreathiate and join Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky as they peel back the layers of this Glass Onion.

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

How do you listen to PopTorah? You have a lot of options you know? iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, RSS, it’s your choice!