He who lifts the downtrodden over the mighty.”

The Rabbis lead us on a tasting tour of ancient wines. We are told that if one carries into the public domain on Shabbat undiluted wine, he is only liable if he carries out a measure that is “equivalent to the wine typically diluted for a cup.” Rava supports this assertion by stating that “any wine that does not hold one part wine diluted by three parts water is not wine. Wine must be sufficiently potent to be capable of being diluted with water three times its measure.” In other words, the tasting tour we are on is focused on the level of alcohol in the wine rather than its tannins and taste.

“The measure that determines liability for an ear of grain is equivalent to a lamb’s mouthful.”

Today’s Daf Yomi returns to the discussion of carrying out, which until today I thought we had already analyzed every permutation possible. Today’s text examines the prohibition against carrying objects on Shabbat through the discussion of animal and human foodstuffs. We learned in Berakhot 40 that one should feed his animals before himself. This is one of the kinder and more humane passages in the Talmud. We should not sit at a table appeasing our own appetite, while our loyal animals go hungry.

“And you shall guard and perform, for it is your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the nations.” 

Today’s Daf Yomi reading is a very odd one. It veers from discussing learning from a Persian priest (which could result in the death penalty according to Rav) to feeding menstrual blood to cats. (Don’t try this at home, because it will not bode well for you or your beloved feline.) In the spirit of finding one thing that I can grasp onto each day, the discussion on the obligation to use one’s abilities for the betterment of society resonated with me. 

One who winnows, and one who selects, and one who grinds, and one who sifts.”

I am coming down from the high of yesterday’s poetic treatment of labors. Today we are provided with a lesson in the law of selecting that has consequences for eating at a buffet on Shabbat (which is perhaps forever off-limits now on any day of the week because of the coronavirus.) We are told that one is prohibited from gazing upon a selection of food and selecting something to eat now and putting aside something for later

“One who shears wool, and one who whitens it, and one who combs the fleece and straightens it…”

After days of reading about sin-offerings and guilt-offerings, it was so wonderful to find so much poetry in today’s Daf Yomi text. In the recitation of the type of labors that are prohibited on Shabbat, is a view into an entire world that existed the other six days of the week. I found the roots of some of the American poetry that I love in the recitation of labor in today’s text, with its cadence of everyday labors and the music of how people lived their lives.

“One who performs an action unawares, he had no intention to perform the act at all, incurs no liability whatsoever.”

Ulla returns with today’s portion of the Daf Yomi reading to offer his opinion on guilt-offerings, which in addition to sin-offerings, are a type of penance required for transgressions of religious law. Ulla traveled extensively between Jerusalem and Babylonia and in his encounter with women (remember Yalta!) has proven himself to be rather chauvinistic. In today’s reading he offers his perspective on the liability associated with robbery, the misuse of sacred objects and relations with a maidservant.

“There is no awareness for half a measure.”

Today’s Daf Yomi continues the ongoing discussion among the rabbis on transgressions against Shabbat laws and the appropriate punishment. They are no longer discussing “karet” or a spiritual “cutting off” that is cast down from above, but rather the more mundane “sin offerings” which I like to compare to a religious traffic ticket. Such a ticket can be expensive and the monetary cost painful, but it is routed very much in the human realm.

“Six days you shall perform work, and on the seventh day it shall be holy to you, a Shabbat of rest to God.”

Yesterday’s reading presented us with the story of a tired traveler who journeys through the desert and loses track of the day. Port and Kit Moresby’s journey through the Sahara Desert in Paul Bowles “The Sheltering Sky” comes to mind as they lose themselves in the hypnotic landscape. It is possible to become so exhausted by one’s journey that one can become delirious and forget the day of the week. 

“And that soul shall be cut off.”

Today’s Daf Yomi deals with the topic of transgression from Jewish law and punishment. The punishment discussed for intentional and unwitting offenses, is “karet” or a spiritual “cutting off” that is cast down from above, rather than from a human court. The punishment can lead to an early death before sixty and being “cut off” from the world and the world-to-come. 

“In order to forget one must have previously been aware.”

Today’s Daf Yomi returns to the theme that has wound its way through our readings: intention matters. The discussion incorporates forgetfulness and primal memory and if we have within our essence the memory of traditions that we may have never known. It is a deeply mysterious perspective on who we are and where we have come from.

“A drawn sword and a readied sling, its name shall not be ache, sickness, and pains.”

Today’s Daf Yomi is pure poetry. For me it’s not just what the words themselves are saying, but their rhythm, alliteration and sound of each syllable.. I know from my days as a graduate literature student that we can only grasp a glimmer of the true meaning of something in translation, because it is not just about the struggle to capture the underlying meaning, but the power of the words themselves. I also know that those who are reading the daily portions in Hebrew, are comprehending the text at a more profound level than I ever will with the English translation.

“Your burden is upon me and my burden, my fever, is upon you.”

Every day I try to find one thing in the Daf Yomi that provides an opening into the text. Today, it was the mention of mothers and fathers. The references seemed quite fitting for the day after Mother’s Day, when so many of us could not visit our mothers due to continued sheltering in place restrictions. Today’s text is dense with longing for parents and illness and healing and it is difficult not to find references to the immense pain and suffering associated with COVID-19.

“The Sages disagree whether or not an action prohibited due to the appearance of prohibition is prohibited everywhere.”

What has been challenging about the Daf Yomi readings so far is that when I think I have grasped some overriding concept it gets refuted either directly or indirectly somewhere else. When I started this cycle back in January 2020 (the good old pre-coronavirus days) with the daily portions of Berakhot Tractate I thought I figured out a basic tenet in the Talmud that intention matters. The Tractate also discusses the importance of attention to all the blessings around us.

“The Gemara begins with a logical analysis. And it may be inferred logically that this is so.”

I needed a very tall and deep cup of coffee to get through today’s reading. I entered this 7 ½ year cycle with a promise to myself that I would take it one day at a time and if it ever became too much, I would abandon the exercise without feeling like I had not finished something. Whatever I got out of it, I got out of it. If there was ever a day when I was tempted to re-evaluate my commitment to the daily readings, it was today.

“And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not raise sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore”

When I explain to friends and family that I have entered into a seven and half-year cycle of reading a portion of the Talmud each day, their comment is often that it is good during these difficult times to do something “spiritual.” The text is so rambling that spirituality is probably not what is prompting me to keep reading every day. For me, it has been an intellectual exercise in my struggle to pay close attention to the text.

“Ulla holds that every object that is suitable for a man is not suitable for a woman, and an object that is suitable for a woman is not suitable for a man.”

When I started the Daf Yomi cycle in early January I knew it would be difficult. Despite all the years I spent in Hebrew School growing up, much of it has been forgotten (except for some of the some of the dramatic stories in the Old Testament.) My Hebrew is decent enough to read a prayer book but is not adequate enough for me to ask directions in Tel Aviv and actually get somewhere.

“Nor with an amulet when it is not from an expert.”

After a foray into a dissertation on the wearing of single sandals and favoring the right foot over the left, today’s Daf Yomi portion discusses amulets and when it is permissible to go out in public on Shabbat wearing or even carrying one. Amulets can be worn for ornamentation or for healing. Today’s discussion primarily focusses on those that are worn to heal the wounded and broken-hearted.

“It was taught in the mishna: And he may not go out with a single sandal when there is no wound on his foot.”

The Rabbis have been huddled over the topic of women’s accessories for days determining what is permissible to wear out and about on Shabbat in public. Today’s Daf Yomi continues that examination with a discourse on rings and spiked sandals. And we are told through the analysis of such sandals how tragedy can occur when cool heads fail to prevail, and people panic.

“Whose manner is it to go out with a city of gold ornament?”

Today’s Daf Yomi resumes the discussion on women’s accessories. We are told that a woman may not go out into the public domain on Shabbat wearing a gold tiara. The tiara under discussion rsembles the one Rabbi Akiva made for his wife with an engraving of the city of Jerusalem.  A woman is prohibited from traipsing around in the public domain with such a tiara because she may be tempted to remove it and show it off to her friends. Rabbi Eliezer disputes the logic and proclaims that it is permissible since only “an important woman” would go out into the world with such a tiara and it would be vulgar for her to display it so prominently.

“All utensils descend into their state of ritual impurity by means of thought alone.”

After a few days of discussing larger issues, such as flawed heroes, and if all those who die have sinned, we return to a discussion of household objects and ritual purity. The discussion veers into an examination of objects that can be disassembled and if one ritually impure part can infect another. I imagine the Rabbis huddled in a science lab in their Yeshiva examining one household item after another to determine ritual purity.