pesachim 64

even in the face of the crowd, everything has an order, a structure system.

rows of priests with matching bowls
counting pairs of kidneys
three groups

all there to sprinkle and scatter the blood
that makes a mess on the floor.

pesachim 63

does "with" always have to mean "close"

eg to argue with someone. do they have to be near or can it still be done even though you are estranged?

the pair who argued constantly with each other ended up apart. a wall came up and they couldn't continue. their argument. their life. their sanity.

(R Yohanan and Resh Lakish are quoted as constantly argued if with = in physical proximity. the pesach sacrifice cannot be brought with leven, does that apply to people in the group still owning chametz, even if they are not physically there. or just the priest and those there? if a sacrifice needs to be brought with 40 loaves of bread, which side of which wall do the bread need to be... R Yohanan argues that they don't need to be physically present to be with. R. Yohanan and Resh Lakish ended up estranged after an argument, no longer speaking. Resh Lakish died. R. Yohanan went mad. it seems "with" still needs a connection.)

pesachim 62

if a book is so hard to study - the lost book - where a word can contain 400 camels of meaning and interpretation. that even the wisest of women would take over 3 years to study...
is the problem with the book or the student

the sacrifice or the people

(when discussing invalid sacrifices, a story of a student who wants to take 3 months to study the Book of Generations, a lost book that contain many intepretations. and like all lost books has mythic number of meanings and richness. this student was told that even Bruia took over 3 years and couldn't complete this. the discussion about invalid sacrifices is if the problem was with the animal or the people offering the animal.)

pesachim 61

the slaughter and the sprinkling is valid if it is for those whose blood has been drawn as part of the covenant, even if they are in a group with those who haven't...

... yet

(performing the pesach sacrifice, people come together as a group. it is valid to do this for those who have not had a brit milah if there are those in the group who have. those who haven't could always get circumcised.)

pesachim 60

stay focussed on the task in hand.

the time
the blood
the slaughter
and the people

keep it all in mind

(intentions and concentration of the priest when performing the pesach sacrifice)

pesachim 59

what happens on the altar stays on the altar

leaving parts of the sacrifices overnight

pesachim 58

the order of things offered in the temple that follows the path of the sun til the lighting of the lamps.

pesachim 57

unbalancing the powerful

and severing the priestly hands.

tales of corrupt priests who would take things by force, and exploit their high position. the people called for some of these priests to resign, and a king severed the hands of a high priest who got too haughty.

pesachim 56

some things are not said openly

some things are whispered, never stated and are best left forgotten.

(the custom of saying the second line of the shema in a whisper, quietly eating something one has only had a scent of, and leaving a corner of field forgotten, for the poor, even vegetables)

pesachim 55

life is messy

but you can groom and clean up the messes of life on chol hamoed and eruv pesach
and
allow the eggs to crack for new life to hatch

(this page discuss the work that is permitted on eruv pesach and chol hamoed, the middle days of the festival. they include grooming - haircut, tailoring, shoe-repairs and laundry. and cleaning up the animal dung in the courtyard. and moving hens and eggs to allow them to hatch)

pesachim 54

fire is a creation that is thought of by God, but comes into being through human hands.

but nothing lasts forever. organic matter disintegrates, and in the end, that doesn't matter.

(contradictory texts that discuss if fire was created before or after shabbat during creation. listed in the items that are created in twilight before shabbat, but there is also a story of primordial Adam being taught at the end of shabbat to strike two rocks together to create a spark that leads to fire. Creation as God's thoughts but human action. also in the page is the curious phrase that some things were thought of by God, but if they weren't then they should have been. and they are connected with death and loss. they are - bodies decay, grief memories of loved ones lessen, and grain rots. things disintegrate, nothing lasts forever.)

pesachim 53

fiery stuff.

the great jewish leader in Rome who roasted a whole goat in the fire on eruv Pesach, learnt martyrdom from the frogs who jumped into the fire.

and saying the blessing over fire at the time it was created. at the conclusion of shabbat.

(discussing the custom of eating/not eating roasted meat on Pesach depends on where you live. but shouldn't eat meat that looks like the sacrificial Pesach lamb outside of the temple, i.e. the whole animal. This introduces us to Theodsius, a jewish leader in Rome, who would roast a whole goat, and the Sages said that if it wasn't him who did this then he would be excommunicated. to prove he was a special case due to his learning rather than being violent, the talmud quotes a fire based teaching of his about martyrdom. and the example of the frogs during the plagues who jumped into ovens to prove God. this page finishes with the next mishna that discusses saying the blessing over fire at havdalah at the end of shabbat)

pesachim 52

dividing the land into 3 different types of terrain
the mountains
the valleys
and the plains

each grow different types of produce that sustain different types of animals.

(continuing the discussion about custom and place. discussing the timing for fruit in the sabbatical year and noticing when the last fruits ripens where and when. Can eat the fruit if animals have free access to it.)

apologies for the picture quality and the timings of these. still in New Zealand, which has it's own unique landscape on which this sketch is loosely based. travelling back today. goodbye NZ, it's been lovely, and a little wet and windy.

pesachim 51

follow local customs

or follow the cabbage leaves, and the person who has their own way and traditions.

(the prohibition of not working on eve of Pesach is determined by local custom. when travelling from place to place, should follow the strictness of both opinions. there is a principle that if a place prohibits something that other places permit, cannot just ignore local custom and permit. this is contrasted with stories of Rabbis who have different traditions and interpretations, and who has the authority to do things differently)

pesachim 50

only in the next world, in the bright sun, are the letters of God's name said as they are written.

in this world, the ones who write the letters aleph, daled, yod and heh, are kept in poverty, so that they will always have to work and keep spinning out the words.

(this page is the ending of chapter 3. it finishes describing the world to come, when the sun will burn very bright and God's name will be pronounced as it written and not as it is said in this world. the next chapter discusses the custom of not working on the eve of Pesach, either from midday. they say that any work done right before, or straight after a festival day or shabbat, will not be profitable. This leads to listing other work that is not profitable, including relying on wife's spinning business, or being a scribe. The scribes is explained that they should always need to work and thus always have a supply of scribal material)

pesachim 49

mismatching couples. but this is not beauty and the beast

refined high status daughters and the disgusting beasts that are the ignorant, am ha'aretz, men.

(this page discusses the hierarchy of which daughters to marry, whether or not marrying daughters of priests, if you are not a priest, is beneficial or not. Scholars are top of the hierarachy, and the ignorant, am ha'aretz, are barely human, animal-like)

pesachim 48

the wooden women who would efficiently arrange their matzah baking so that their dough would not crack or look frightful.

(describes women's arrangement in a kitchen who take turns would kneading, arranging, then baking the dough into matzah, in the most time efficient way so it will not leven and become chametz. and sign that the dough had begun to rise is either it began to crack, or turned pale like the face of one who was frightened. R. Akiva describes that women, wood and ovens can all be different eg one woman's kneading time is different to another, hence the wooden tree-like women... it is interesting to note that kneading dough for matza has mainly been described as women's work, the women who kneads etc... )

this draw yomi has come to you from Hong Kong airport while I wait for my transferring flight to Auckland. da-daaa.... looooonnnnng flight. 

pesachim 47

just one act
can involve many prohibition
that can lead to multiple punishments that flog the nerves

(I am about to go travelling, and whilst I will be continuing with draw yomi, I am not sure how often I will be able to post. hopefully will be able to do that every day or every couple of days, but if not, there will be a big chunk on my return. 

I will be presenting at Limmud New Zealand, so come and say hello if you are in the area)

pesachim 46

how long does it take for dough to become chametz, or animal hide to become leather?
the time taken to transform one thing into something else is measured in units of distance walked.

time and space combine when things change

pesachim 45

what falls in the cracks couldn't feed a dog.

pesachim 44

the material science of halacha

tastes and status of permitted and prohibited mix and merged and become absorbed.

pesachim 43

hierarchy of cosmetics depending on wealth

but all are equal when it comes to punishment and being cut off

even women = men

(the page begins by listing various cosmetics that different women would use depending on their status and wealth, following a discussion about cosmetics that contain chametz. it ends with a discussion about finding the source that women would also be punishable by karet, spiritual exclusion, for having chametz on pesach)

pesachim 42

the women who knead the dough
and the men who are watchful over them. and their advice for healthy body and clear sight:
bread from refined flour, fatty meat and aged wine...

the type of food you couldn't buy regularly if you were poor. Being wealthy might have contributed more to their health than these food.