Author: Meghan Froy

In the days of the mishnah, there were no rabbinic academies or schools. Instead, students who wanted to learn Torah from the rabbis would become the disciples of a particular rabbi. But what happened when their rabbi died before they were ready to stop studying? They had to find another rabbi to take them on.  When […]

A met mitzvah is one who dies with no one to bury them. Yesterday, we began chapter 7 of this tractate with a surprising mishnah about the met mitzvah: A high priest and a nazirite may not become ritually impure for their relatives. However, they become impure for a met mitzvah. As we now know, […]

We’ve already discussed what to do if a nazirite becomes impure during the period of their nazirite vow. But what happens if a nazirite becomes impure halfway through offering the sacrifices that conclude their vow? The mishnah on today’s daf presents two answers:  Rabbi Eliezer says: It negates them all.  And the rabbis say: Let him bring the rest of his offerings […]

There is a long history of Jews working in the alcohol industry, from running the majority of taverns in Poland in the mid-19th century to founding distilleries and wineries that are still in operation today. You may even be familiar with some of these businesses, such Herzog wineries, Seagram or the Carmel Winery. But what […]

With Purim in the rearview mirror, Jews who observe the annual cycle of holidays may now be setting their sights on Passover. That’s especially true for those who clean, kosher and otherwise transmogrify their homes in observance of the leaven-free holiday. Oy, time to start using up the Girl Scout Cookies … Passover and Purim […]

From Ancient Greece comes a story of rival artists, Zeuxis and Parrhasius, who competed to create the most realistic painting. Zeuxis drew grapes so realistic birds flew down to peck at them. Parrhasius brought his picture covered in cloth. Reaching out to lift the cloth, Zeuxis was stunned to discover he had lost the contest — the cloth […]

“When Aaron enters the sanctuary, shall carry the names of the children of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, as a remembrance before God at all times.” (Exodus 28:29) This verse from Parashat Tetzaveh refers to the bejeweled breastplate worn by ancient Israel’s high priest. It had 12 different precious gems, each […]

Today’s daf quotes a mishnah from Nega’im, the tractate that explores the halakhot of tzara’at, a disease described in the Hebrew Bible that is sometimes mistranslated as leprosy. (This mishnaic tractate, like much of Seder Toharot, has no Gemara, so we won’t be learning it together in our Daf Yomi journey). Mishnah Nega’im 14:4 teaches: […]

How do we know things? Philosophers distinguish between two major approaches to this question. One approach turns to tradition, to teachings passed down from sages of the past. The other approach turns to the evidence of the senses, what we see, hear, and experience ourselves — what today we call the empirical method. This distinction […]

This Torah presents the nazirite’s prohibition from eating grapes as follows: Throughout their term as nazirite, they may not eat anything that is obtained from the grapevine, even seeds or skin. (Numbers 6:4) The final phrase of the verse, which could also be translated “from seeds to skin,” appears to be emphasizing the total ban: A nazir can’t […]