succah 11

what covers them?
these two who argue about fire and water.

is the succah like the cover of clouds of glory, mists rising from the ground.

or are they like the actual shelters in the wilderness years. and preparing them is like preparing the festive offerings that will be consumed in fire.

(- yet another argument between Resh Lakish and R. Yohanan. Resh Lakish argues that the succah is like a mist, cloud. a watery substance. R. Yohanan is fiery, and he makes a connection to the offerings on the altar. These two men have long intrigued me. Their relationship, intimate yet adversarial, is echoed in a theme in their continual debates - fire v. water. opposites that can destroy each other)

yoma 4

R.Yohanan v. Resh Lakish
temple or mountain

arguing about the derivation the 7 day preparation time for forming a cloud of incense on Yom Kippur.

derived from the descent of another cloud.

but was it on the newly made temple, or on Moshe at Sinai?

(R. Yohanan argues that the derivation of the 7 day sequestering/prep time for the High Priest on Yom Kippur is derived from the requirements of the inauguration service. Resh Lakish derives it from Moshe being in a cloud at Sinai before God called to him. One of the unique features of the Yom Kippur temple service is that the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and perform a ritual with incense that would cause a cloud of smoke to rise. cloud rising to echo the cloud descending. but which cloud and where?)

pesachim 72

do they agree or disagree? hard to see inside the heads and know the mindset.
men can sometimes be shy and not ask the questions they should.
perhaps should just trust their good intentions, never mind who their mother might be.

(in an discussion between R. Yochanan and Reish Lakish, it is unclear if they agree or disagree with each other if intention to do a mitzvah over-rides if the actual act is mistakenly prohibited. cases discussed is sleeping with one's wife when she is niddah, and sleeping with sister-in-law as part of a levirite marriage when she is niddah.
also discussed is if a priest finds out he is in fact the son of a divorcee while he is performing the sacrifice. and thus becoming an invalid priest. God still accepts his service...)

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.)

shabbat 146

making a hole & turning an object into a vessel.

like a spear puncturing a barrel. the snake pierced Eve, and contaminated her children, humanity as vessels of lust.

until they stood at Sinai.

(this page discusses if one is permitted to make a hole in a container to get access to the contents. but the page begins with R. Yohanan saying that when the snake pierced Eve, it contaminated humanity with lust, which was only removed for Israel when they stood at Sinai. for english translation of this Talmud page, see here)

shabbat 145

drawing the line when one can speak and when to remain silent.
hearing something from others can be equivalent to seeing with the eye, when there is a continuous line of reliable teachers and students, and no women.

but for R. Yohanan. the dividing line is that one can only speak when you truly know something. like you know that sleeping with your sister, your very beautiful sister, is forbidden.

(in the discussion about if one can squeeze fish for brine, R. Dimi defends his quotation from Rav citing a reliable chain and says that he saw it with his eye. there is a debate if hearsay testimony is permitted in the case of being a witness that a woman's husband is dead and she can remarry. or perhaps that is the only case when a woman's testimony is valid. Later in the page, R. Yohanan overhears two rabbis discussing differences between Bavel and Israel. He rebukes them for their ignorance by citing that should only speak when the matter is obvious, as obvious as sleeping with your sister is forbidden. we know from Bava Metzia that R. Yohanan thought his sister was very beautiful, more beautiful than him... for english translation of this talmud page, see here)

shabbat 114

who wears the spotless clothing?

R. Yohanan: the ones who deal with the letter of fire. the torah scholars
Reish Lakish: the ones who deal with water: the bath attendants

fire and water divide them again.

(following R Yochanan statement that clothing = honour, there is a discussion about torah scholars should be well dressed, without stains or patches. R. Yohanan interprets the word 'builders' to be Torah scholars - Torah is said to be written in black fire on white fire, and the hebrew lettering is called 'the flame alphabet.' Reish Lakish interprets the word 'builders' to be the bath attendants, as they are meticulous in their clothing. This pair, who met while R. Yohanan was bathing, and R. Yohanan turned Reish Lakish into a torah scholar, fatally argued over a knife, was it completed in fire or water. for english translation of this talmud page, see here)