Pesach (Passover) begins tomorrow, Monday evening, April 22, 2024. For your delight we present The 2024Talmudology Passover Reader. It may be downloaded at the links below. This edition includes an essay on the Ten Plagues in Science and History, and material for discussion at the Seder. Read, share, and enjoy, and work diligently for the release of our hostages 2024 Talmudology Passover Reader (PDF - US- Letter size ) CLICK HERE 2024 Talmudology Passover Reader (PDF - Israel & Europe- A4 size) CLICK HERE And a Happy Passover from Talmudology     ..read more

This post is for the page of Talmud to be studied tomorrow, Shabbat. Print it up now and enjoy בבא מציעא נב, ב לא יעשנה משקל בין משקלותיו ולא יזרקנה בין גרוטותיו ולא יקבנה ויתלנה בצואר בנו ובצואר בתו אלא או ישחוק או יתוך או יקוץ או יוליך לים המלח  It was taught in a Baraisa: A person should not make [an eroded coin that does not contain enough metal] into a wight among his weights, not should he throw it among his pile of silver utensils, nor should he hang it as a necklace on the neck of his son or daughter. Instead, he should either grind it up, or melt it down, or cut it into pie ..read more

ויקרא 15:2-3 וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה וְאֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֖ן לֵאמֹֽר׃ דַּבְּרוּ֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֖ם אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אִ֣ישׁ אִ֗ישׁ כִּ֤י יִהְיֶה֙ זָ֣ב מִבְּשָׂר֔וֹ זוֹב֖וֹ טָמֵ֥א הֽוּא׃ וְזֹ֛את תִּהְיֶ֥ה טֻמְאָת֖וֹ בְּזוֹב֑וֹ רָ֣ר בְּשָׂר֞וֹ אֶת־זוֹב֗וֹ אֽוֹ־הֶחְתִּ֤ים בְּשָׂרוֹ֙ מִזּוֹב֔וֹ טֻמְאָת֖וֹ הִֽוא׃ And the Lord spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When any man has a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean. In this week’s parsha, the laws of the זב – Zov - a man who experiences a discharge fr ..read more

ויקרא 12:1 וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר אִשָּׁה֙ כִּ֣י תַזְרִ֔יעַ וְיָלְדָ֖ה זָכָ֑ר וְטָֽמְאָה֙ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֔ים כִּימֵ֛י נִדַּ֥ת דְּותָ֖הּ תִּטְמָֽא׃ And the Lord spoke to Moses saying: Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her menstrual sickness shall she be unclean… This week’s parsha focusses on various elements of ritual purity and impurity, and opens with the rules as they apply to a mother who has just given birth. An ..read more

Once again, it is coming. Tomorrow, on Monday April 8th there will be a solar eclipse visible to millions of people across north America.  It will be the first total eclipse to cross the continental United States since 2017, which I was lucky enough to witness with my family from Charleston, South Carolina. This time, some 31 million people in the US will be in the path of the witness the spectacle of the totality, when the day turns to night. From GreatAmericanEclipse.com I will be traveling to Indianapolis to witness the totality. Some time ago I considered a Talmudology Eclipse weeke ..read more

בבא מציעא לו, ב אתמר פשע בה ויצאת לאגם ומתה כדרכה אביי משמיה דרבה אמר חייב... הכא חייב מ"ט דאמרינן הבלא דאגמא קטלה It was stated: If a custodian was negligent in watching an animal, and it escaped to a marsh and died there of natural causes...Abaye said in the name of Rabbah: he is liable to pay for the animal...because we say that the foul air of the marsh killed it... Two buffaloes gather by the waters of the Chebayesh marsh in Nassiriya, southeast of Baghdad, February, 2015. Image from here. As Rashi explains, the custodian is liable because his negligence was the cause of the an ..read more

ויקרא 10:16 אֵ֣ת ׀ שְׂעִ֣יר הַֽחַטָּ֗את דָּרֹ֥שׁ דָּרַ֛שׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה וְהִנֵּ֣ה שֹׂרָ֑ף וַ֠יִּקְצֹ֠ף עַל־אֶלְעָזָ֤ר וְעַל־אִֽיתָמָר֙ בְּנֵ֣י אַהֲרֹ֔ן הַנּוֹתָרִ֖ם לֵאמֹֽר׃ Then Moses carefully inquired about the goat of sin offering, and it had already been burned! He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and said, In this week’s parsha, Moses gets angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, two of the sons of Aaron. What is of interest to us this week is not why Moses was angry. Instead we will focus on two short words in the verse above “דרש דרש” meaning “he carefully inquired.” Mos ..read more

 בבא מציעא ל ,ב  דתני רב יוסף והודעת להם זה בית חייהם את הדרך זו גמילות חסדים (אשר) ילכו זה ביקור חולים בה זו קבורה ואת המעשה זה הדין אשר יעשון זו לפנים משורת הדין Rav Yosef taught: The verse states (Ex. 18:20): "You shall make known to them" -this refers to their livelihood "The way" - this refers to good deeds "That they may walk"  - this refers to visiting the sick... According to Rav Yosef, Moses was instructed to let the people know that they must pursue a livelihood, perform kind acts and visit the sick.  Let's remind ourselves of the importance of that last one, w ..read more

In this week’s parsha, the Torah describes a chiral sacrificial ceremony: ויקרא 7:32-33 וְאֵת֙ שׁ֣וֹק הַיָּמִ֔ין תִּתְּנ֥וּ תְרוּמָ֖ה לַכֹּהֵ֑ן מִזִּבְחֵ֖י שַׁלְמֵיכֶֽם׃ הַמַּקְרִ֞יב אֶת־דַּ֧ם הַשְּׁלָמִ֛ים וְאֶת־הַחֵ֖לֶב מִבְּנֵ֣י אַהֲרֹ֑ן ל֧וֹ תִהְיֶ֛ה שׁ֥וֹק הַיָּמִ֖ין לְמָנָֽה׃ … ויקרא 8:24 וַיַּקְרֵ֞ב אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיִּתֵּ֨ן מֹשֶׁ֤ה מִן־הַדָּם֙ עַל־תְּנ֤וּךְ אזְנָם֙ הַיְמָנִ֔ית וְעַל־בֹּ֤הֶן יָדָם֙ הַיְמָנִ֔ית וְעַל־בֹּ֥הֶן רַגְלָ֖ם הַיְמָנִ֑ית וַיִּזְרֹ֨ק מֹשֶׁ֧ה אֶת־הַדָּ֛ם עַל־הַֽמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ סָבִֽיב׃ And the right thigh from your sacrifices of well-being you shall present to ..read more

I am delighted to share the news that The Eleventh Plague: Jews and Pandemics from the Bible to COVID-19 has been awarded the 2024 National Jewish Book Award for Modern Jewish Thought and Experience. The award ceremony will take place in New York City tomorrow evening. I am humbled by this award, and hope that it will allow new readers to learn of the fascinating - and until now the untold story - of the Jewish encounter with pandemics. “...pandemics have interfered with the intellectual life of Jews for many centuries. However, their response was never to end their educational pursuits or to ..read more