I've fallen, shall we say, a little behind in my daf yomi, but now that I'm on holiday I thought I would blitz it. Over several hours (with multiple breaks of course) I learned pages 60-67 today, and scribbled some notes on interesting passages in the margins.
In lieu of a longer post, here are the sections that caught my eye:
•61a - Amulets and charms - how do we know if they work?
•62a - Gender politics - are women 'a nation unto themselves'?
•62b - Swinging - the rabbis frown on partner-swapping.
•63a - The relationship between weapons and the world to come. Decorations or aberrations?
•63a - 'The simple meaning of the text' - but what is it?
•63a - The value of torah study, Resh Lakish uses language of peace. Interesting considering his fall out with Rabbi Yochanan.
•64b - Mar'it ayin - one must avoid doing something because it looks wrong. So can you do it if no one is looking?
•66b - Magic! Abaye's mother must have been a seriously cool woman.
•67a - Incantations against various demons seem to contain nonsense words. In magic (as prayer) it's sometimes better if you don't understand what you're saying.
•67a - Is the magic forbidden? Not if done for the sake of healing.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Permitting and Forbidding - Shabbat 60b
Rabbi Chiyya said: Were it not for the fact that they would call me a Babylonian who permits forbidden things, I would permit more.
It's hard to be lenient. Much much easier to forbid everything and thus look suitably pious and stringent to those more strict than you. Rabbi Chiyya in this quote is concerned with the topic of how many nails is permitted in a sandal on shabbat, but his statement could be seen more generally - had he not been afraid to seem permissive, he would have permitted far more things.
How much should we be afraid of how we come across? How much should we follow what we really believe, even if the rest of the Jewish world will say we are permitting forbidden things?
It's hard to be lenient. Much much easier to forbid everything and thus look suitably pious and stringent to those more strict than you. Rabbi Chiyya in this quote is concerned with the topic of how many nails is permitted in a sandal on shabbat, but his statement could be seen more generally - had he not been afraid to seem permissive, he would have permitted far more things.
How much should we be afraid of how we come across? How much should we follow what we really believe, even if the rest of the Jewish world will say we are permitting forbidden things?
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