Daily Daf Differently: Masechet Shabbat

Welcome to the Hundred and Thirty Sixith episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Martin S. Cohen looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 137. This episode deals with the question of when the laws of the Torah may be set aside for the sake of preserving an individual’s health in the context of a […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Thirty Fifth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Martin S. Cohen looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 136. Today, we look at the rabbinical model for thinking about the question of when life fully begins. Martin S. Cohen is the rabbi of the Shelter Rock Jewish Center in […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Thirty Fourth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Martin S. Cohen looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 135. In this episode, we look at how the specific way the halakhah deals with conflicting obligations can serve as a reasonable model for the resolution of other kinds of conflicts […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Thirty Third episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Marci Jacobs Aronchick looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 134. “From the mouths of babes…” or in this case, mothers. On our Daf, we see how folk wisdom handed down from mother to child and real life experience impact our […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Thirty Second episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Marci Jacobs Aronchick looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 133. Today we discuss the role of kavanah – intentionality – in culpability. Is “But I didn’t mean to do it!” really a valid excuse? Rabbi Marci Jacobs Aronchick is the […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Thirty First episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Marci Jacobs Aronchick looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 132. The discussion on this Daf asks us to consider what we do when our obligations for potentially contradictory mitzvoth intersect. How do we decide which mitzvah takes precedence? And in […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Thirtieth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Marci Jacobs Aronchick looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 131. The discussion of machshirei mitzvah – the items and preparations we undertake in order to do certain Mitzvot – reminds us that our Jewish behaviors don’t exist in a vacuum. Our […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Twenty Ninth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Marci Jacobs Aronchick looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 130. The Talmud’s exploration of the rules of Brit Milah on Shabbat opens us up to what it means to be a part of community that lives by normative behaviors – […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Twenty Eighth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Marci Jacobs Aronchick looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 129. In this episode, we explore the principle of safek n’fashot l’hakeil – our leniency in cases where a life might be in danger. When faced with decision between preserving someone’s […]

Welcome to the Hundred and Twenty Seventh episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Marci Jacobs Aronchick looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 128. Through the Talmud’s discussion of the flexibility of Shabbat – how many things we might consider forbidden are actually permitted – we are reminded of our responsibility to treat that […]