shabbat 155

feeding isn't always a kindness. it can be a form of cruelty

overfeeding, force-feeding, and punching a dog so it won't get attached to the hand that feeds it.

(difference between feeding animals that are dependent on humans to feed them, or can fend for themselves. for full talmud page, see here)

shabbat 154

animal welfare is not black and white

R. Shimon b. Gamliel fatally overburdened his exhausted donkey. for the sake of carrying honey that will heal wounded camels.

(for english translation of this page, see here)

shabbat 153

when night falls, who can carry the money? who is less connected to the obligation of shabbat rest?

gentile, donkey, imbecile, child & deaf-mute, all make for useful travelling companions

(for english translation of this talmud page, see here)

shabbat 152

the process of ageing, dying and decomposing.

transition from a rose, to thorn, to dust.
the body closes and becomes frail and crumbles and the soul is at rest.
but the wicked have no rest and are thrown from one end of the world to the other.

(for english translation of this strange page of Talmud that details the many ways the body decays, see here)

shabbat 151

smouldering eyes

no rush to close the eyes that keep watch.
hold in the blinding tears, don't let them out even over a dead daughter. old age will come and the lamp will be extinguished.

(the eye, crying and watching, is mentioned throughout this page. permitted to wait at the boundary to keep watch over produce. not permitted to close the eye, which will hasten death, like extinguishing a lamp. and when over 40, crying causes blindness. there is a story of R. Hanina who didn't cry when his daughter died, and replied to his wife who rebuked him, he didn't want to lose both his daughter and his sight. for english translation of this talmud page, see here)

shabbat 150

waiting.

waiting at the boundary for the things that one can speak about.

and to attend to the bride and the dead

(not allowed to be involved in work activities on shabbat, also involves waiting at the city boundary for shabbat to go out. for english translation of this talmud page, see here)

shabbat 149

writing on the wall isn't a business document.
but that doesn't mean it doesn't have something serious to say.

(the prohibition of using written lists as reminders for guest and food, as may come to erase details. debated if this applies to writing on the wall. the discussion about meals leads to prohibition of using lots to divide portions when eating with non-family members. which leads to a story of Nebuchanezzer, who would use lots to determine which exiled royal leader he would sodomise next. the drawing is from a photo of some graffiti that appeared in Jerusalem around the time of Pride 2008. for english translation of this page, see here)

shabbat shalom from NYC
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