Monthly Archives: March 2023

As we come down the home stretch of מַסֶכֶת נָזִיר, let’s take a moment to reflect on the three distinct elements of נְזִירוּת. The overt aspect is the refraining of cutting one’s hair, and it is interesting to note that … Continue reading →

The Mishnah at the bottom of דף ס״ד עמוּד ב begins: הַמּוֹצֵא מֵת בַּתְּחִילָּה, מוּשְׁכָּב כְּדַרְכּוֹ — נוֹטְלוֹ וְאֶת תְּפוּסָתוֹ. One who finds a corpse for the first time, i.e., he discovers a single corpse in a place that was … Continue reading →

Sources of טוּמְאָה are many and varied. Those involved in archeology are exposed to it on a regular basis, and sometimes they are surprised by what they unearth. Take for example, in one of today’s news items, 2,000 ram skulls … Continue reading →

We begin with a very short Mishnah toward the bottom of דף נ״ב עמוּד ב, which is a brief glimpse into the psychology of the master/slave relationship: עָבַר מִכְּנֶגֶד פָּנָיו, רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר: לֹא יִשְׁתֶּה, וְרַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר: יִשְׁתֶּה. This … Continue reading →

In his new book the Governor of Florida, an aspiring Presidential candidate, writes: “For a kid obsessed with baseball, Dunedin was great: It was the spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays. I could watch the big leaguers right … Continue reading →

Rabbi Stern noted that in his zeal to begin the final perek, he omitted a small portion toward the end of the preceding one on דף נ״א עמוּד א. He back-tracked and went over that today, but we’re going to … Continue reading →

הַדְרָן עֲלָךְ שְׁנֵי נְזִירִים We’ve finished another perek, and have only one left to go. If all goes according to plan, then by Thursday we’ll be finished with מַסֶכֶת נָזִיר. It has been challenging to learn, challenging to write about, … Continue reading →

We’ll begin with the Mishnah on דף נ״ה עמוּד ב, delving further into matters of uncertainty. נָזִיר שֶׁהָיָה טָמֵא בְּסָפֵק וּמוּחְלָט בְּסָפֵק — אוֹכֵל בְּקָדָשִׁים אַחַר שִׁשִּׁים יוֹם. In the case of a נָזִיר who, on the first day of … Continue reading →

תָּא שְׁמַע – I feel a Longfellow paraphrase coming on. Listen my children and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of the conflicted Nazir. In fact, Longfellow himself looks a little Nazirish, doesn’t he? Perhaps we’ll pick up that … Continue reading →

Rhys Hoskins seems like a nice guy. By all reports he is a wonderful clubhouse leader and, in the words of his manager, is a calming presence on the field. While he’s not in the Dr. Strangeglove league of Dick … Continue reading →