Daily Daf Differently: Masechet Beitza

Welcome to the Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Abby Sosland looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 20. In trying to understand the debate between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel from yesterday’s mishnah, the Talmud presents a sampler of different types of argument. Each one offers us the opportunity to access the excitement –and the holiness– of Talmudic study. 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 Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 18. “I been out riding fences, for so long now.” Unbeknownst to many, that classic Eagles’ lyric from the song Desperado is not a metaphor for loneliness or heartbreak, but instead a subtle allusion to the rabbinic practice of making gezerot, rabbinic measures which prohibit a certain activity lest it lead us to transgress a Biblical prohibition. As luck would have it, that is also the topic of today’s poscast! 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 Beitza Daf 19. Which is more central to the Chag, the celebration with family and friends or the connection that we make with God? According to Beit Hillel, both are essential. Moadim l’Simcha! 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 Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 17. Which holiness is most holy: the people of Israel, Shabbat, or perhaps the Festivals? A seemingly picayune question about the wording of the blessing for the Amidah inspires some far reaching thinking on the subject. 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 Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 16. How much can we count on God’s blessing? Should we follow Shammai the Elder and set aside that which has been given us in preparation for the lean times, or should we say, with Hillel the Elder, “Blessed is the Lord, day by day”? As usual in the Talmud, no answers, only questions. 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 Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 15. Do our lives belong to God, to us, or can the life we live be divided between the two? This fundamental question is asked, but only after the lecture goes on too long. 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 Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 14. How do we create community when the rules we follow may differ from those of our neighbors or our families? How do I know if I can eat pearl barley in the house of the Exilarch? These questions turn out to be more connected than you might think. 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 Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 13. Is it ever okay to estimate? Or do we always need precision when fulfilling the commandments? At the Passover season, the answer seems to matter. 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 Ethan Linden looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 12. How much of a distinction do we make between Shabbat and Festivals? Does the permission given for certain activities on a festival day constitute a blanket allowance, or need we be more careful. Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai discuss, and we have a front row seat. 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 Ben Kramer looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 11. Yet even more dovecotes – and two more principals of rabbinic jurisprudence: majority and proximity. Both principals have their place, but how to decide which one to apply when they lead to different rulings? 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 Ben Kramer looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 10. More dovecotes — and another principal of rabbinic jurisprudence: bereirah, the ability to retroactively clarify one’s choice. 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 Ben Kramer looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 9. Dovecotes, ladders and the importance of avoiding the appearance of wrongdoing. 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 Ben Kramer looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 8. What happens when a positive commandment and a negative commandment devolve upon the same person in the same moment? The answer is one of the foundational principals of rabbinic jurisprudence. 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 Ben Kramer looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 7. A digression into the laws of buying and selling, where we learn that, in determining the validity of a sale, assumptions are everything. 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 Ben Kramer looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 6. What happens when someone dies on Yom Tov, when burial is forbidden? How do we balance the value of celebrating Yom Tov by refraining from forbidden labor with the value of honoring the deceased by performing a timely burial? 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 Ben Kramer looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 5. A discussion of the permissibility of an egg laid on Yom Tov leads to an even more important question: Do rabbinic laws remain in force even after they are no longer necessary? 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 Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 4. The Sages who lived in Babylonia kept two days of holidays, as diaspora Jews have done for centuries. What is the status of the second day of Passover, Shavuot or Sukkot? 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 Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 3. Today we consider the Sages’ approaches to rabbinic versus biblical legislation. When are they strict and when are they lenient? 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 Jeremy Kalmanofsky looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 2. We begin the tractate known by its first word “Beitza” or “egg,” but whose true name is “Yom Tov,” concerned with “holiday” legislation, specifically surrounding the permission to prepare food on the holiday. Our first question: Can you consume an egg laid on Yom Tov? 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 David Greenstein looks at Masechet Beitza Daf 40. Enjoying the sacred time of the festival is influenced by the spaces we inhabit. How far can we stretch the boundaries of space and still share a common experience? By applying the criterion of space to measure availability of animals for Yom Tov use – the topic of “muqtzeh” – the tractate returns to the topic it started with on page 2. But it does not really achieve closure. The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.