Monthly Archives: April 2022

We’re at the bottom of דף נ״א עמוּד ב, with the Gemara looking retrospectively at the opening of the פֶּרֶק which begins as follows: רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר: אֵין גֵּט אַחֵר גֵּט, וְלֹא מַאֲמָר אַחַר מַאֲמָר, וְלֹא בְּעִילָה אַחַר בְּעִילָה, וְלֹא … Continue reading →

Rabban Gamliel was a legendary halachic figure of his day whose influence persists in our time. Each year, at the Pesach Seder, we recite: “Rabban Gamliel used to say: ‘Whoever does not explain the following three symbols at the Seder … Continue reading →

The ArtScroll Daf Yomi Edition gives a very nice introduction to פֶּרֶק חַמִישִׁי, which is eponymously titled רבן גמליאל. It notes that the chapter deals with laws that pertain when the יָבָם performs מַאַמַר which is held to be קִידוּשִׁין … Continue reading →

Yesterday I posted a Part 2 to highlight how גֵירוּת is a process that transforms the נְשָׁמָה of the עֶבֶד from its latent state as a soul present at הַר סִינַי to a full-fledged Jew. It is a striking example … Continue reading →

It is rare that I do a Part 2 to these blog entries, because there is so much material to cover in each installment of the Daf that I can barely get through one. But occasionally the issues that Rabbi … Continue reading →

Becoming a Jew by design is apparently attractive to some people from the outside looking in, but does the גֵּר or עֶבֶד מְשׁוּחְרָר really know what he’s getting himself into? How each entity compares to the other, and what and … Continue reading →

An event evocative of Ricky Nelson’s “Garden Party” introduces today’s Daf, on דף מ״ו עמוּד ב, ten lines from the bottom: אָמַר רַבָּה: עוֹבָדָא הֲוָה בֵּי רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר רַבִּי, וְרַב יוֹסֵף מַתְנִי רַבִּי אוֹשַׁעְיָא בַּר רַבִּי, וְרַב סָפְרָא מַתְנֵי … Continue reading →

Putin’s assault on the Ukraine has resurrected analogies to despots and their war crimes. The quintessential yardstick in the modern era has been Hitler and Nazi Germany, and sanctions with economic implications are about as effective as masks in the … Continue reading →

As we approach the bottom of דף מ״ה עמוּד ב, the Gemara turns to the topic of a slave’s conversion to Judaism. Conversion or גֵירוּת has always been taken very seriously by all parties involved and, as one online source … Continue reading →

Yesterday we covered the three-way מַחְלוֹקֶת among tana’im regarding the designation of מַמְזֵרִ. Casting a broad net, or being strict about a couple having a child in violation of a לַאו (okay, I’ll go ahead and say it: Their illicit union produces … Continue reading →