15
votes
Giving up ones life על קידוש ה׳ not to transgress גילוי עריות
Probably the most famous story about a group that gave up their lives instead of doing Gilui Arayot is the story about 400 boys and girls that gave up their lives, as brought down in the Talmud Gittin ...
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15
votes
Does the Talmud say that Jesus writhes in excrement and Mary was a prostitute?
I would say "maybe" or "it depends" to both.
In Gittin 56b-57a there's a story in which Onkelos bar Kalonikos, the nephew of Titus, wishes to convert to Judaism, but before that, ...
- 24.2k
14
votes
Shortest amud or daf in Shas?
The shortest amud is Nazir 33b which contains precisely zero words of gemara.
- 41.2k
14
votes
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Any known translations of the Talmudim et al into classical languages, prior to the 19th century?
Most if not all of the translations below include detailed notes that cite many other Rabbinical works.
(It must be noted that the purposes of the translations and commentaries listed below varied ...
13
votes
Why is Talmud Bavli studied more than Yerushalmi?
In their introduction to Yerushalmi Brachot, artscroll adress this question and write that Bavli is better edited, more complete, better commented, easier to understand and less prone to alternative ...
- 45.5k
13
votes
Accepted
Shortest amud or daf in Shas?
Shortest Amud
1st place: Bava Kama 77a has 9 words of gemara on it and is thus the shortest amud with words of gemara on it in shas. The Tosfos that fills the page is very VERY big.
A close 2nd place ...
- 11.3k
12
votes
Accepted
I am 15 years old and do not go to a Yeshiva but would like to learn Talmud. A few rabbis near me said they could teach me. How should I start
First of all congratulations for wanting to grow in your Jewish learning. Learning Talmud means different things. One approach is to learn the structure of the Talmud, its way of approaching issues, ...
- 45.5k
11
votes
Accepted
What was the ultimate fate of Rabbi Elisha ben Abuyah (Acher)?
The story is brought down in Chagiga 15b:
When Acher died, they said, "We cannot judge him to punishment [in Gehinnom], but we cannot enter him into the World to Come. We cannot judge him to ...
- 3,698
11
votes
Accepted
Source for: Abstaining from sin being considered a mitzvah in Talmud Bavli
Kiddushin 39b:
רמי רב טובי בר רב קיסנא לרבא תנן כל העושה מצוה אחת מטיבין לו עשה אין לא עשה לא ורמינהי ישב ולא עבר עבירה נותנים לו שכר כעושה מצוה אמר ליה התם כגון שבא דבר עבירה לידו וניצול הימנה
...
- 6,427
11
votes
Accepted
Finding a Talmudic Passage: Pauper, Adulterer, Rich Man
Pesachim 113b:
ארבעה אין הדעת סובלתן אלו הן דל גאה ועשיר מכחש וזקן מנאף ופרנס מתגאה על הציבור בחנם
Four types of people cannot be endured by anyone: An arrogant pauper; a wealthy person who denies ...
- 7,711
10
votes
Why is Joseph's pit mentioned amid all the Chanukah stuff in tractate Shabas?
This immediately follows another statement of R. Kahana's, which also quoted an exegesis of R. Nasan b. Minyome's in the name of R. Tanchum. Quoting another statement from the same people is pretty ...
- 73.9k
10
votes
Internet Bavli resource
Firstly hatzlocho on this very worthwhile endeavour!
There are a wealth of resources online which collectively can provide anything from a basic translation to a more in-depth review and more. I am ...
- 27.3k
10
votes
Is there more than one text of the Mishnah?
Yes, there are several mishna traditions. The Wikipedia article has the gist: there are the Mishnah-only manuscripts, Talmud Yerushalmi manuscripts, and Talmud Bavli manuscripts. The first two are ...
- 9,737
9
votes
Is it mentioned in the Talmud that Moses time traveled into the distant future
Masechet Menachos 29b states that Moshe Rabeinu was allowed to sit in the bais medrash of Rabbi Akivah, but could not follow the learning there.
They told that when Moses went above to receive the ...
- 42.8k
8
votes
Accepted
The author of ‘commotion’
The commotion is part of a verse in Jeremiah 46:17.
קָרְא֖וּ שָׁ֑ם פַּרְעֹ֤ה מֶֽלֶךְ־מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ שָׁא֔וֹן הֶעֱבִ֖יר הַמּוֹעֵֽד׃
There they called Pharaoh king of Egypt: “Braggart (or: Master of ...
- 42.7k
8
votes
Which are the "Yeshivish Masechtos"?
Yeshivish mesechtos are typically the masechtos learned in high school because they are the ones that are more involving (lots of lomdus) and can train a person how to properly learn gemara.
Very ...
- 181
8
votes
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Why does the gemarah use Amalek as a mnemonic siman?
Yaavetz address this. He suggests that the tipcha on the word לא in לא תשכח hints to an allowance to mention the name in order to remember Torah. In accordance to the Gemara 'to bring the disgusting ...
- 33.2k
8
votes
Chapters of Tanach present in Talmud Bavli
Assuming you are asking regarding the standard (Christian) chapters, there are many chapters that are never cited in the Babylonian Talmud, such as Exodus 37, Joshua 23, Ezra 5, Chronicles I chapter 6,...
- 17.6k
8
votes
Accepted
Chapters of Tanach present in Talmud Bavli
From what I can tell off of Sefaria's Connections visualization, by skimming through each Sefer individually and noting the Perakim with no connections, the chapters one will not learn with this ...
- 34k
8
votes
Accepted
Which mishnah in Shas has the most daf between it and the subsequent mishnah?
Edit: The longest section of Gemora between Mishayos in the Bomberg edition of Shas is from the first Mishna in Chelek 90a till second Mishna Chelek 107b (about 17.5 daf)
The first mishna in ...
- 11.3k
7
votes
Accepted
What are the 3 shvuot that are d'oraisa?
The three categories of biblically prescribed oaths are 1) an oath of a bailee ("Shevuat haShomerim"), 2) an oath to defend a partial monetary rejection ("Modeh beMiktzat"), and 3) an oath to counter ...
- 96.8k
7
votes
Accepted
What available resources identify the reasoning structure of Tosafot?
This is a good book for a beginner and also for last. Learning tosfot is really learning talmud. All the mefarshim, rishonim and acharonim address the limud of tosfot. In yeshivot people say that if ...
- 22.6k
7
votes
Different kinds of Moshav Leitzim clowns
Sefaria doesn't translate these. But artscroll identifies
nehashim with conjurers or soothsayers (see Rambam MT Avodat Kochavim 11:4)
habarin as snake charmers
bukion and mukion as the characters ...
- 45.5k
7
votes
Study Mishna or Mishna-and-Gemara?
Most of the commentators agree with the premise you state: there is no need to study the Mishna alone. The Mishna clearly held no independent standing in the eyes of Rashi as in his commentary he ...
- 1,325
7
votes
Accepted
Is there a list of all of the cases in the Talmud where תיקו ("Teiku") is said?
Rabbi Aaron Pessin has an entire sefer dedicated to all the "teiku"s that appear in Shas. The entire Sefer can be found online here.
R' Pessin lists 317 times in Shas Bavli from Brachos 8a to Nidda ...
- 1,183
6
votes
So what happens to Judaism if Moshiach doesn't come by the year 6000?
It would mean absolutely nothing. All it would mean is that we (living in what we think is year 6000) either miscounted or (those who wrote the medrash) misinterpreted what was going on. Many people ...
- 42.8k
6
votes
I am 15 years old and do not go to a Yeshiva but would like to learn Talmud. A few rabbis near me said they could teach me. How should I start
Adding to what mbloch said,
Would you recommend the Daf Yomi.
No. A beginner would not be able to keep up with the pace of learning one entire daf every day. Even those who are well-versed in the ...
- 18.3k
6
votes
Accepted
Source of opinion that Talmud Yerushalmi was corrupted by Karaites
B"H, I believe I've discovered who is being referred to here.
First of all, as I mentioned in the comments, this quote is not from the Chida but from R' Menachem Mendel Krengel, who published a ...
- 24.2k
6
votes
Accepted
A place with illustrations of Gemara Sukkah?
Check out the Peirush Chai on Masechta Succah here - it is a really helpful sefer to best illustrate the cases that come throughout the masechta.
- 27.3k
6
votes
Jewish View on "Runes"
How does the Torah and Talmud view (viking and non viking) runes?
The Torah and Hazal make no explicit reference to the runic alphabets. It would be exceedingly difficult to argue that they had any ...
- 6,230
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