Monthly Archives: November 2022

Let’s begin in the middle of דף ל״ה עמוּד א: בְּעָא מִינֵּיהּ רָבָא מֵרַב נַחְמָן: יֵשׁ מְעִילָה בְּקוּנָּמוֹת, אוֹ לָא Rava raised a dilemma before Rav Nacḥman: Is there liability (מְעִילָה) for misuse of consecrated property (הֶקְדֵשׁ) in cases of … Continue reading →

I subscribe now to a Facebook feed titled “Jewish Sports Stars”, and the photo above surfaced today along with the caption: “The Heller brothers, Holden at 165 lbs. and Reece at 184 lbs. helped #17 Pitt beat #13 Lehigh.” It’s … Continue reading →

Before we begin, with the Gemara elaborating on the second Mishnah of דף ל״ג עמוּד א, a shout out again to Sefaria which is a phenomenal online resource enabling one to streamline the daily daf. The Mishnah which is the … Continue reading →

We’re up to דף ל״ב עמוּד ב, and the beginning of the fourth perek in Nedarim. Steinsaltz provides a nice intro, so let’s take a look at his first paragraph: “Many vows are reactions to interpersonal disputes or results of … Continue reading →

We’ll be finishing the third perek in Nedarim today, as we begin on דף ל״א עמוּד ב with the Gemara expounding on the significance of בְּרִית מִילָה as identified in the Mishnah: תַּנְיָא, רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן קרְחָה אוֹמֵר: גְּדוֹלָה מִילָה, … Continue reading →

We begin today with the Mishnah atop דף ל״א עמוּד א, continuing the succession of relatively brief mishnayos and gemaros addressing declarations in the form of נְדָרִים made in the vernacular: הַנּוֹדֵר מִשּׁוֹבְתֵי שַׁבָּת — אָסוּר בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָסוּר בַּכּוּתִים. מֵאוֹכְלֵי … Continue reading →

A photo just popped up in my Facebook feed this morning of 18 year-old Sandy Koufax in his Cincinnati Bearcats uniform in 1954. You’d be excused for not knowing that Koufax pitched for the Bearcats in 1954 because it was … Continue reading →

Before beginning with our Mishnah on דף ל עמוּד א, let’s jump ahed for a moment to עמוּד ב where the Gemara will introduce the principle of “וּבִנְדָרִים הַלֵּךְ אַחַר לְשׁוֹן בְּנֵי אָדָם”. This means that when it comes to … Continue reading →

Toward the end of his life, the neurologist Oliver Sacks reflected on his wild oats days atop motorcycles and muscle men in On the Move: A Life. Dr. Sacks never entirely shed the identity of his youth, choosing rather to … Continue reading →

The Mishnah at the bottom of דף כ״ח עמוּד א states that if one sees his property in danger of being destroyed, and makes a נֶדֶר stating, for example: ״הֲרֵי נְטִיעוֹת הָאֵלּוּ קרְבָּן אִם אֵינָן נִקְצָצוֹת״, ״טַלִּית זוֹ קרְבָּן אִם … Continue reading →