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Nedarim 25: Unwitting, Accidental Vows
November 19, 2022 20:02 - 16 minutes - 15.2 MBDo people use their own language when formulating a vow? Or are they more likely to rely on a formula? What kind of pitfalls are there (or potentially so) in one's own language? Also, a new mishnah, on unwitting vows. That is, when one makes a statement that is based on a mistaken premise. Plus, R. Akiva's innovative statement about vows - that nullifying a vow in part nullified it in full.
Nedarim 24: Circumstances beyond Our Control
November 18, 2022 12:22 - 10 minutes - 9.84 MBDo the rabbis agree with R. Elazar Ben Yaakov from the mishnah or not? What if a person can't fulfill a vow because of circumstances beyond his control? What about a host and a guest, where the meal doesn't happen... Are such vows actually vows? [Who's Who: R. Elazar ben Yaakov] Also, a new mishnah, on vows of exaggeration, and the problem with them.
Nedarim 23: Abaye Goes Too Far
November 17, 2022 19:32 - 16 minutes - 15.7 MBHow dissolving vows seems to have been a common occurrence. Also, the Manny expressions of regret. Also, both Abaye and his wife want the daughter of Abaye's wife to marry someone from their respective sides of the family. And even Abaye makes an extreme vow that needed to be dissolved. Also, a new mishnah: invitations and disclaimers. Plus, cancelling future vows in advance. Including Rosh Hashanah stipulations. There's a tension between wanting people to be careful with their language, and ...
Nedarim 22: Down with Vows
November 16, 2022 15:44 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBAnother case of dissolving a vow... because your deeds are known in heaven. Also, comparing making a vow to building an altar. Plus, an investigation into anger, and the harm that being angry does to oneself. And this sense of anger permeating the events of the writing of all the books after the 5 books of the Torah and the Book of Joshua. Plus, on how one gets our of a vow - R. Nachman and the annulment and regret.
Nedarim 21: If It Walks Like a Duck, and Quacks Like a Duck, It's Still Not Always a Duck
November 15, 2022 15:26 - 17 minutes - 16 MBChapter 3! The opening mishnah addresses nedarim that are not real vows, but look and feel like a neder, and therefore should not be said. Exaggerations or circumstances beyond one's control, among others. Plus R. Tarfon on unclear, conditional formulations. Also, how and why those who utter these not-vow vows need to see a Torah scholar in order to get out of them. Plus, the stories of those who needed that kind of consultation exactly.
Nedarim 20: Women and the Deli Counter
November 14, 2022 06:27 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBA new mishnah! With various vows and caveats thereof. Including the famous injunction not to prolong conversation with a woman (!). Also, a list of proper behavior on the part of parents to ensure that their progeny are not damaged, with a moment to reflect about non-scientific cause and effect. Plus, Ima Shalom's stance against the Gemara's puritanism. [Who's Who: Ima Shalom] Also, a rebuke to sexually explicit speech when it's not in the right context. Plus, a discussion of how the cause/ef...
Nedarim 19: The Burden of Proof
November 13, 2022 16:40 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MBConsecrating property, even when it has questionable status, as compared to vows, when there is doubt as to the status - both result in stringency. But that seems to be a matter of disagreement. Plus, how this pertains to nezirut. Also, finally introducing the nezirut of Shimshon (Samson), including God's designation of Shimshon as such.
Nedarim 18: Context Matters: Swearing Casually and Its Implications
November 12, 2022 21:37 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBChallenges to R. Huna, and answers to the challenges. More on the stringencies of a neder vs. an oath. Plus, the sin of swearing falsely, and how it doesn't really have a way to repent, in comparison to not fulfilling a vow. Also, unspecified nedarim are treated stringently. Plus, the clear indication of idolatry in a vow immediately negates the vow, because of the Torah's prohibition against idolatry. Also, the difference in casual implication regarding Temple vows in Judea vs. the Galilee.
Nedarim 17: How One Can Be a Nazir Twice at the Same Time
November 11, 2022 14:30 - 17 minutes - 16.2 MBA vow within a vow! (But not an oath within an oath). Also, how that kind of vow applies to a nazir (and the debate about it). Plus, being a nazir and also swearing off grapes (which a nazir cannot have anyway!). Also, how to count off 2 periods of 30 days of nezirut.
Nedarim 16: Nedarim vs. Shevuot
November 10, 2022 18:04 - 12 minutes - 11.2 MBA new mishnah - paralleling vows (nedarim) and oaths (shevuot). They take effect on different things. Plus, wording swearing off things with a standard formulation as well as its inverse, converse, etc. And another mishnah, determining when neder is more stringent, and when shevuah is.
Nedarim 15: Conditional Vows
November 09, 2022 09:35 - 18 minutes - 17 MBA series of refutations to R. Yehudah's position against conditional nedarim. Which leads us to the difference between a neder and a shevuah. Plus, the drama between a husband and wife, when he swears off her benefitting from him, with deadlines of Pesach and Sukkot, and the question of whether she goes back to her father's house.
Nedarim 14: When Your Vow Doesn't Work
November 08, 2022 12:43 - 19 minutes - 18.5 MBA new chapter! Including vows vs. oaths. And a new mishnah: when the vow doesn't work - for example, swearing off edibles that are already prohibited by the Torah. So why are these statements treated as vows? But this way lies confusion. What happens when is a vow valid, but also knocked down? And what happens when one uses a Torah scroll as part of the vow, or as a prop for bow? How precise of a citation must one make? Plus, another mishnah - with bows that verge on the absurd.
Nedarim 13: Granularity
November 07, 2022 06:39 - 12 minutes - 11.4 MBMore on precise phrasing of neder - making an oath by association, given the terms invoked. Plus, a new mishnah that expounds on comparable examples. Also, is a neder worded to obligate a person or with regard to that person's limbs that do the activity.
Nedarim 12: The Breads of the Thanksgiving Offering
November 06, 2022 12:53 - 19 minutes - 18.2 MBWhat is the Torah source for a vow of prohibition (swearing off something, with the formula of a vow). Specifically as a sign of mourning. With the example of Gedaliyah ben Achikam (namesake for Tzom Gedaliyah). Also, what if one takes a neder on something that would have been permitted vs. that which was forbidden anyway? Plus, the assortment of terumah breads and the korban todah.
Nedarim 11: The Value of "Francis Bacon"
November 05, 2022 21:21 - 13 minutes - 12.1 MBAnother new mishnah - one who designates the food being eaten as non-kosher food, or consecrated, or disqualified from being eaten in some way, depending on exactly what the status is supposed to be, the food becomes off-limits. Note the significance of the oral pronunciation with regard to language play. Also, what if the language used is associative, rather than specific?
Nedarim 10: Sinner or Saint
November 04, 2022 05:54 - 17 minutes - 16.5 MBIs taking the vow of Nezirut considered to be an admirable action or is the Nazir a sinner? The Gemara discusses the precision of language when it involves nedarim.
Nedarim 9: Righteous People Don't Take Vows
November 03, 2022 15:43 - 20 minutes - 18.8 MBA new mishnah! Formulating vows in the style of other vows - like the wicked, like the righteous, like a nazir, like for a korban. Also, defining and distinguishing between Neder and Nedavah. And how does nezirut compare? Plus, the story of Shimon HaTzadik. [Who's Who: Shimon HaTzadik]
Nedarim 8: Sworn to Do Mitzvot since Sinai
November 02, 2022 08:51 - 14 minutes - 13.1 MBCan one take an oath that one will fulfill mitzvot, which are presumably already incumbent on the person who would be taking the oath? What if the oath is to learn Torah, or a specific section of Talmud, for example? Also, more on excommunication, but this time, when the actions take place in a dream - does that excommunication count? And how can it be annulled?)
Ketubot 7: A Halakhic Bathroom and a Reversed Excommunication
November 01, 2022 07:52 - 15 minutes - 14.4 MBWhen an utterance of a statement take effect to have impact on the halakhic status of a thing, and how precise that kind of statement needs to be. Plus, R. Akiva on lashes (or not) to one who violates an oath, given the phrasing of the oath. Also, the language of "menudeh," detaching from something, which is fundamentally excommunication. Plus, how that phrasing includes God's name, and how excommunication can be required and also be annulled.
Nedarim 7: A Halakhic Bathroom and a Reversed Excommunication
November 01, 2022 07:52 - 15 minutes - 14.4 MBWhen an utterance of a statement take effect to have impact on the halakhic status of a thing, and how precise that kind of statement needs to be. Plus, R. Akiva on lashes (or not) to one who violates an oath, given the phrasing of the oath. Also, the language of "menudeh," detaching from something, which is fundamentally excommunication. Plus, how that phrasing includes God's name, and how excommunication can be required and also be annulled.
Nedarim 6: Partial-statement Marriage
October 31, 2022 11:10 - 20 minutes - 18.9 MBMore on Abaye and Rava on ambiguous statements, when they're binding, and how potential consecration results in much more stringent care with regard to the effect of one's words. Also, can one marry via a partial statement? Or an ambiguous one? Shouldn't there be a hekesh link between the two? What about Pe'ah? Which moves us further into the precision of language.
Nedarim 5: When Are Inconclusive, Ambiguous Statements Valid?
October 30, 2022 10:03 - 16 minutes - 15.1 MBFirst, Shmuel's understanding of the mishnah. Also, partial declarations, and when they count as binding and when they don't, especially with regard to the bill of divorce... and nezirut. And the dispute between Abaye and Rava on these statements, and how each can be read to line up with the defense of the opposite position too.
Nedarim 4: The Prohibition against Dawdling
October 29, 2022 19:35 - 23 minutes - 21.3 MBRenewing the question of how a nazir can violate the prohibition against delaying. Plus, the korban chatat (sin-offering) of a yoledet (a woman who has given birth) and the potential parallel to Nazir. Also, a man's nullification of his wife's or daughter's vow of nezirut. Plus, when one swears off another with specific details vs. more generally.
Nedarim 3: Two Routes to the Same Destination
October 28, 2022 04:09 - 21 minutes - 20 MBThe biblical source for the variety of statements that count as full or regular vows, developing the "hekesh," a linkage, between nedarim and nezirut. But why require the hekesh at all? This particular connection seems evident in the biblical text regarding nedarim anyway. This hekesh relies on the phrasing of the Torah being presumed to align with the way people speak. Also, the two Torah prohibitions that one violates when one breaks a vow. And again, how nedarim align with nezirut with reg...
Nedarim 2: All the Vows
October 27, 2022 05:41 - 20 minutes - 19.3 MBIntroducing Nedarim. The importance of our words and the meaning of what we say. Plus, the significance of Kol Nidrei, and the annulment of vows. Also, the first mishnah - which itself is a challenge, with a lot to address, where imitations of vows and partial vows both still count as vows, with regard to their binding nature. Plus, the Gemara's concern about the way the mishnah was constructed.
Ketubot 112: Honey, I Shrunk the Fruit
October 26, 2022 06:40 - 20 minutes - 18.5 MBOn the Land of Israel and the massive size of its fruit - peaches, grapes, etc. Also the way the sins of the area's residents led to much smaller fruit the following year. Plus, the comparison of the Land of Israel to a deer. Also, the story of when R. Zeira went to the Land of Israel, and could not find a ferry, and how he managed to cross the river anyway. Plus, dirt on the grave. Also, why the Land of Israel and its beauty is the end and cap to Ketubot.
Ketubot 111: The 3 Oaths
October 25, 2022 06:41 - 22 minutes - 21.2 MBWhen Rabbi Zeira wanted to move to the Land of Israel, it raised a lot of ire - to the extent that R. Yehudah says doing so was a violation of God's exile. Which leads us to the 3 oaths (from Shir HaShirim) that seem to deter group aliyah, at the very least, and is the basis of some portion of Orthodox Jewish anti-Zionism (or non-Zionism). Plus, Ulla and his death outside of the Land of Israel. Also, when it comes to the resurrection of the dead, where one dies (in the Land of Israel or not) ...
Ketubot 110: Forcing Your Family to Make Aliyah
October 24, 2022 08:37 - 24 minutes - 22.6 MBA long daf, with some mishnayot, and a few key points from the Gemara. First mishnah: Another Admon statement, regarding people in conflict with promissory notes and bills of sale that seem to contradict. Do the dates of the transactions make the difference? Mishnah 2 (and the last of the Admon statement mishnayot) - the case of 2 people with IOUs for each other. But how can it be that one who is owed money would borrow money from the person who owes him? Mishnah 3: 3 areas of land where peop...
Ketubot 109: She Should Wait for Him until Her Hair Turns White
October 23, 2022 06:27 - 22 minutes - 20.8 MBMore mishnayot, with the statements of Admon: When one promises a dowry, but goes bankrupt and can't provide it, the son-in-law can't be forced to marry the daughter. But Admon acknowledges that the daughter is stuck in a bind. But does the halakhah follow Admon? Also, another complex mishnah, as Admon's decision on the case makes clear - when one contests the ownership of a field, even though he has signed on the bill of sale to someone else. How can he still legitimately claim that it's his...
Ketubot 108: Unfair to the Daughters or the Sons?
October 22, 2022 21:03 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MB3 mishnayot, the first with a statement by Hanan, and the following 2 with statements by Admon. First, if a man supports a woman whose husband is overseas and then asks that husband upon his return to pay him back - should he get it back or not? #2 - Someone who dies and leaves behinds both sons and daughters, the sons inherit and the daughters are provided with mezonot. But the daughters come first, if the estate is small. #3 - When one is said to owe another person jugs and oil, and says he...
Ketubot 107: Shmuel's Difficult Opinion
October 21, 2022 05:09 - 13 minutes - 12.9 MBA case of a husband who goes overseas and a wife who wants "mezonot" while he's gone - and the question is whether the court will award her the funds for sustenance from his estate - it's a dispute between Rav and Shmuel, with a daf of challenges to Shmuel's opinion. Though if he dies overseas, there's no dispute, and she would be awarded the mezonot. Plus, a difference of approach between the judge Hanan and the Bnei Kohanim Gedolim regarding whether an oath need be taken. Plus, different ki...
Ketubot 106: Rising Dust
October 20, 2022 03:59 - 24 minutes - 22.9 MBIn the context of disqualifying judges for bias, Rav Anan turns down a gift AND sitting on the gift-giver's case. Plus, the case of bikkurim and Elisha. The discussion addresses how slight a shift in process can bias the proceedings. Also, Elijah the Prophet and his teaching of Rav Anan. Plus, during years of famine, a request for prayers for mercy by R. Yosef leads to another discussion of Elisha. And the drama of 2,200 students. Plus, the massive population of sages and students in Babyloni...
Ketubot 105: Judges in Jerusalem
October 19, 2022 04:06 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBA new mishnah, starting the final chapter of Ketubot, 13, with mishnayot organized according to the statements of specific ancient judges, with some question regarding exactly when they lived. Which introduces the case of a wife whose husband has gone overseas, and she petitions for sustenance (mezonot), and then she would take an oath regarding her ketubah if he were to die overseas - with a dispute whether she'd need an oath to get the mezonot too. Also, the severity of bribery for judges -...
Ketubot 104: Praying for an End to Suffering
October 18, 2022 06:23 - 17 minutes - 16.1 MBMore on R. Yehudah HaNasi, his illness, the prayers on his behalf, and his death. Also, the final mishnah of the perek - how long can a woman claim her ketubah? And what if she's gone home to her father's house? Plus, a real-life application of the mishnah in the lives of the sages, and how an appeal to the courts by a woman trying to collect her ketubah pans out.
Ketubot 103: 30 Days of Mourning for R. Yehudah HaNasi
October 17, 2022 21:52 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MBA mishnah on a widow and how the heirs of her husband provide for her. And then the application of the halakhah to the widow of R. Yehudah HaNasi or his message to his heirs before he dies, which accommodates her - and the honor that is due her. Also, note the role he plays in handling his death, his memory, and his succession. Plus, a bat kol praising those who went out for his funeral.
Ketubot 102: Put It in Writing! Or Maybe Not
October 16, 2022 07:21 - 13 minutes - 12.2 MBHow do we each financial agreements? Do they need to be written down? Can we write them down? How can we prove their terms if they're not written? Plus, a prooftext for this discussion, apparently for both writing and speaking, from the "sharp ones," who make the condition of only providing for the wife's daughter as long as the couple stays together. Also, who should raise a daughter, the mother and her family or the father and his family? There's a story of a case that took place that illus...
Ketubot 101: Are We Back In Yevamot?
October 15, 2022 18:49 - 15 minutes - 14.4 MBThe Gemara wants to understand why there is a repeat of a discussion that appears in Yevamot. Amud bet starts a new perek with a Mishnah that discusses a husband’s responsibility to continue to feed his wife’s daughter even after they divorce.
Ketubot 100: When the Assessor Errs
October 14, 2022 06:45 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MBThe mishnah from 99 - assessments of property made by judges that may or may not be accurate. What happens when their assessment is off, as compared to market value? How do judges compare to the widow here, in terms of assessing the property? Plus, what is the role of a shaliach in this kind of transaction? Also, how these cases compare to other rabbis' handling them in practice. Plus, the mishnah at the end of 100 - a reprisal of Yevamot, with a list of women who don't get a ketubah.
Ketubot 99: The Responsibility of Representation
October 13, 2022 04:28 - 15 minutes - 14 MBMaking sense of yesterday's impossible mishnah. Specifically, what it means that she's sold property for less than it's worth, and why that's such a problem. Also, when you appoint a shaliach, an agent, to sell property in your behalf, and the shaiach doesn't listen to your instructions. What happens then? How specific do the instructions need to be to be considered official or binding?
Ketubot 98: Widows' Sales
October 12, 2022 05:59 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBWhen a sale (a woman selling her late husband's property, for example) takes place outside of the court, does she need to an oath? Does she need to make a public announcement? Can she simply go ahead and sell the property? Also, a new mishnah: a widow whose ketubah is worth however much its worth - when she sells property, the value she attains is her ketubah. But if she overshoots the value of the ketubah, the sale may be null and void (or, according to other opinions, she gives the sum back...
Ketubot 97: The Ketubah as Capital
October 11, 2022 05:41 - 16 minutes - 15 MBSeveral cases showing how one sells property for the sake of sustenance, but then is entitled to other monies. For example, a widow who sells or rents out the land that she's inherited for the same of regular income. Plus, the case of one who sells property and then wants to repossess it for her own ketubah! Also, what happens when one prepares to sell something for the needed cash - what happens if the seller no longer needs that cash? Is the sale null and void, or too bad for the seller? Al...
Ketubot 96: Taking Care of the Widow (Via the Orphans?)
October 10, 2022 19:55 - 15 minutes - 14 MBA new mishnah: a widow is provided for from the orphans' inheritance of the estate. Plus, a Gemara that queries the particulars of the widow's status, based on the mishnah's wording. Also, the kindnesses a widow does for her husband's heirs. Likewise, the services a student provides for his teacher, not including those practices done by a slave. Also, how a widow is paid - with movable property, etc. What if she doesn't claim her rights? When does she forfeit mezonot? But upon whom is the bur...
Ketubot 95: A Wife's Role in Her Husband's Real Estate
October 09, 2022 08:24 - 23 minutes - 21.4 MBA new mishnah - where a husband sells the field that is the guarantee of the ketubah (for two wives, no less). Note the importance of the formal act of acquisition here (kinyan). Plus, the woman's ability to give up her right to a field that is supposed to guarantee the ketubah - but why? Plus, speech acts in this halakhic context. Also, when a man bequeaths his property to a woman who is unmarried, with the stipulation that she leave it to a specific person, but then she marries, dies, and h...
Ketubot 94: Time-stamping Documents
October 08, 2022 19:30 - 13 minutes - 12.1 MBThe case of two brothers or business partners who together are in conflict with a third individual - how to adjudicate the case. Plus, R. Nachman on the case of many wives each taking an oath, in Sura specifically - how each woman ends up functioning as a shaliach, or representative, for the others. How do these two kinds of cases compare? Plus, the dynamic between the two brothers or business partners showing up to court. Also, the mother of Rami bar Hama wrote a deed of transferring propert...
Ketubot 93: The Complication of Additional Players in Financial Allotment
October 07, 2022 04:12 - 16 minutes - 15.1 MBA math word problem, as it were, beginning with a man who was married to 3 women, who each had ketubot of different value - and the man died. And other comparable scenarios, with payments to be puzzled out. With parallels to business investments and liquidation. Plus, how the Amoraim flesh out the details of the mishnah. Also, a deeper dive into the parallel of shared business investment, with uneven contributions. When are their returns identical, despite the uneven contributions, as per Shm...
Ketubot 92: Buyers and Creditors
October 06, 2022 04:27 - 17 minutes - 16.1 MBThe case of a man who sold the rights to his mother's ketubah - on the presumption that she'll actually get it. And on the basis that he's not backing out even if his mother objects to it, but the son himself objected, once she died - as if on her behalf. Plus, what happens with the transfer of property with and without a guarantee for the purchase? Also, determining the extent of the rights of one who has purchased property with a guarantee, despite a creditor coming after the seller. What's...
Ketubot 91: Repossession
October 05, 2022 19:42 - 20 minutes - 19 MBDefining "motar dinar." Also, a mishnah that delves into cases where motar dinar is relevant, and how it's applied. Plus, a mnemonic that is a guide for the topics going forward. Leading to discussion of the case of a buyer of mansions off a debtor, and how to handle the inheritance of debt.
Ketubot 90: Inheritance and Debt-Collection
October 04, 2022 04:24 - 17 minutes - 16.2 MBDedicated to the complete and speedy recovery of Noa bat Tova. || We're ending a chapter and beginning a chapter, with mishnayot at both points. The last mishnah of chapter 9: Being a minor isn't a free-for-all, in terms of getting out of responsibilities - in this case, specifically, a ketubah. Likewise, a non-Jew who comes into a marriage with a contract and that is upheld even in the Jewish context. Plus a discussion on how to read the mishnah - was it misread to be too specific about the ...
Ketubot 89: Why We Want Paperwork
October 03, 2022 04:46 - 18 minutes - 17.5 MBA new mishnah - a case of a woman who has her get, but has not yet received her ketubah. She's entitled to it, and he can't just claim he already paid it, at least not without taking an oath. Plus, a pruzbol situation. Note that in the "time of danger," when there were decrees against mitzvot, the Jews would destroy the documents, and being able to procure them became obsolete, during that time. Also, one can bring witnesses to attest to the fact that the couple no longer lives together, etc....
Ketubot 88: He Said, She Said (or He Said, or They Said)
October 02, 2022 04:31 - 17 minutes - 16.3 MBMore on how a woman collects her ketubah. And more on when she's collecting from a property with a lien on it, in comparison to orphans who collect their inheritance from property with a lien on it - by taking an oath. Plus, how loans are parallel cases in terms of taking an oath - how should such an oath be formulated? Also, analyzing R. Shimon's position from the mishnah, with parallels to the disagreement of "Hanan and the sons of the kohanim gedolim."