pesachim 81

how many people can know before it is no longer considered hidden?

the hidden source of the impurity of the deep. someone will eventually see where the bodies are buried.

(impurity of the deep is a strange category of impurity. it is when someone has become impure due to hidden source and it is only revealed once the impurity has spread by contagion. this page discuss how many people need to know where the body is before it is no longer a hidden secret. and if a corpse was found lying widthways under a road.)

pesachim 20

the creeping (dead) bug
that touched the pot
that touched the food
that touched the liquid

(that might or might include blood)

but if uncertain if object is impure. just ask it! they are the only ones who would really know what happened to it

(a chain of impurity contagion is discussed. liquid needs to be present in order for the impurity to flow form one object to the next. and a repeat of the discussion if blood from a pure animal that is collected and used in the sacrificial procedure counts as a liquid that makes something impure. but the page begins with a statement that if the purity status of an object is uncertain and was due to human hand, then ask the object...)

pesachim 18

holy cow! turning black to white and white to black. liquids in vessels of all shapes and sizes

anything already pure in contact with the purification waters (water that has the ashes of a red cow mixed in) becomes unpure...

so a cow that has drunk these waters, the waters made with the ashes of a cow, at what point after entering the cow does the purification water become something disgusting.....

(personally I find the whole system of purity/impurity tahara and tamei, and the levels of contagion, quite baffling. not least because a lot of these discussions seem to be taking place after the destruction of the Temple, where the categories of tamei and tahara were relevant. But this case, discussing the status of the water once inside the cow and whether or not contact is defined as just external or also internal contact, seems to highlight the pursuit of the limits of halachic (jewish legal) definitions, even to the absurd and surreal)

pesachim 9

certainty and doubt..... doubt & certainty.......

it can be presumed that whatever lies at the bottom of the pit just isn't there.....

(this page discusses the mishna that one does not need to be concerned that a marten would drag chametz from house to house. <<but animals do drag their food away. in this rather disturbing case that is discussed with a shocking lack of emotion >> there is an understanding that the martens would eat a stillborn baby that was put in a pit... so if a priest came to inspect it, the priest wouldn't become impure..... because the baby just wasn't there..... but if the animals don't drag it away and eat it, the priest does become impure... then it was a corpse, and the baby did exist. and it is now dead....... and then......)

in my experience it's easier to leave it shrouded in doubt and uncertainty what really happened and what, if anything, is at the bottom of the pit.

shabbat 86

calculating 3 days of impurity of sperm leaving leaving a woman's body

is linked to the preparations at the base of the mountain, before receiving the torah.

for english translation of this talmud page, see here

shabbat 84

all things that are made from things growing in the ground are one category.

but it is possible to plant 5 different types of seed in one small garden.

for english translation of this talmud page, see here

shabbat 83

trying to untangle the threads of connection between idolatry and different sources of impurity can lead one to despair.

that's ok. Reish Lakish says that engaging in Torah should be something that you could kill yourself over.

(multi-stranded lines of discussion about what type of impurity is idolatry, comparing it to a niddah, a corpse, a zav, a gentile man or woman, a creeping insect, animal carcass.... trying to follow the arguments got confusing but thankfully Reish Lakish thinks that the Torah that endures is the type of learning that really pushes the limits. for full english translation of this page of talmud, see here)

shabbat 58

the bells that are worn by slaves
animals
young children
and the Torah

to bring attention & to mark ownership

(discussion about what can be worn in public space on shabbat leads to if various bells can become ritually impure)

shabbat 52

R. Eliezer learns that he needs to be very specific when he is discussing needles and rings

shabbat 29

when is a garment not a garment?

when it has been singed or thrown away.

and everything gets forgotten when it is behind closed doors

shabbat 28

uncovering the mystery of the one-horned multi-coloured animal, sacrificed by Adam, that appeared to Moses,
using tefillin, linen, and hairy goats

(debate about hide from non-kosher animals could become impure from covering a corpse leads to speculation of the identity of the tachash, whose skin was part of the covering of the Mishkan. for english translation of this talmud page, see here)

shabbat 27

Flax:
the 'tree' that gets turned into linen thread by bacteria

which can become ritually impure by tiny creeping insects.

(discussion about if fabrics other than wool & linen can be termed garments for purposes of ritually impurity, and the obligation of tzitzit. for english translation of this talmud page, see here)

shabbat 26

a volatile relationship between a woman and her mother-in-law that led to her incineration.

and what makes a garment that covers the body, also makes a succah covering.

(story of a woman who was instructed by her mother to wear balsam oil and then light the lamp, as an illustration of the unsuitability of balsam oil for shabbat lamps as it is too volatile. and the definition for what is a garment is a woven fabric of 3x3 finger-breaths that is able to become ritually impure. and nothing that can become ritually impure can be used to cover the succah. for english translation of this talmud page, see here)

shabbat 17

the sword that blocked the exit and forced a resolution.

but forced resolutions are unacceptable.

and dissent leaks out


(in list of decrees that Hillel and Shammai issued is the story that a sword was stuck in the door preventing exit until the matter was resolved. but the people didn't accept it, only when the students of Hillel & Shammai issued the decree was it taken up. one of the cases was about the purity status of liquid that leaked out of grapes. for english translation of this talmud page, see here)

shabbat 15

a lesson in materials

found objects, clothing, spit, piss, bones, earth and glass could be impure,
but not broken glass...

and when the place of stones is left and then broken up, the authorities lose some of their power over life and death.

(during the discussion about what things could be impure and therefore should not have contact with terumah food, it is mentioned that the Sanhedrin left their place in the Temple, the Court of Hewn Stone. Outside of the proper setting, they stop trying capital cases. for english translation of this talmud page, see here)

FYI, next Tuesday I will be at the JCC Manhattan, speaking with Mierle Ukeles about my exhibition, and my art, including this draw yomi project. So if you are in the NY area, pop by and say hello. it will be lovely to see you. For more info, and to book, see here.

shabbat 14

when and who made hands and the Torah impure?

(discussion about rabbinic decrees made by the students of Shammai and Hillel about eating terumah food, that requires one to be pure. Hands need to be specially washed pre-eating teruma because they are busy and get everywhere. and the Torah is considered impure as it was stored with the terumah food, that would attract gnawing mice. for english translation of the full talmud page, see here)

brachot 52

one cup of wine - many uses

dispute between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai on the order of blessings

and the contagion of impurity