Today we finish our study of Massechet Chagigah and consequently our study of all of Seder Moed! And to say that I am overwhelmed by the fact that I have, with the help of G-d and the support of my family, written what I hope has been a meaningful Torah thought on every daf in…
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Today’s daf (Chagigah 26a) – the penultimate page in Massechet Chagigah – contains an exquisite teaching about the way people can look out for each other and lift each other.We are taught in Mishna Chagigah 3:6 that the unlearned in Jerusalem are trusted with matters relating to kodesh (sacrificial food) but not with matters relating…
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We were taught in the Mishna (Chagigah 3:4, see Chagigah 24b) that wine and oil brought by those who are unlearned (עמי הארץ) can be presumed to be spiritually pure. However, as the Gemara in today’s daf (Chagigah 25a) points out, ביהודה אין – ‘[if those bringing the wine and oil are from] Judea, [then]…
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We were previously taught in the Mishna (Chagigah 3:2) that ‘with regard to teruma (priestly food), if one of one’s hands became impure [through contact with a source of spiritual impurity prohibited by rabbinic law thereby only rendering the hands impure], its counterpart (i.e. the other hand) remains pure [even if the hand that had…
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Today’s daf (Chagigah 23a) informs us of an unsettling story: ‘There was an incident involving a certain person who was transporting chatat water and chatat ashes over the Jordan River in a boat, and – while doing so – noticed that there was a small remnant of a human body part lodged in the floor…
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An age-old question in the world of rabbinics is what should be the right psak and policy when at least some parts of the Jewish world are less particular about halacha in terms of adhering to the specific demands of particular mitzvot.Interestingly, we encounter this issue in a Beraita cited in today’s daf (Chagigah 22a)…
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We were previously taught in Mishna Chagigah 3:1 (20b) about a variety of stringencies concerning the laws of spiritual purity which are applied to utensils that are in contact with קודש (kodesh) i.e. sacrificial foods, and which are not applied to utensils that are in contact with the תרומה (terumah) food given to the Kohanim.Specifically,…
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What happens if someone plans to travel to a particular destination and, given their excess luggage, they hire donkey drivers or workers to bring the rest of their luggage as well as other items including parcels of food or earthenware jugs of wine containing food or drink that is טהור (i.e. with a ‘pure’ spiritual…
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In today’s daf (Chagigah 19a) we are taught the principle of אין מטבילין באויר – ‘we do not do immersion mid-air’, and in terms of the context of this statement what it comes to explain is that if one were to throw an item into the arch of a wave, then the immersion would be…
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One of the first questions that a gym instructor or personal trainer might ask a new client is what is their goals: Do they want to build muscle tone? Increase fitness? Or lose weight? In principle, these goals can overlap with one another. Still, what the instructor or trainer wishes to know when asking these…
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Basing itself on Devarim 16:7, we learn in today’s daf (Chagigah 17a-b) that having come to Jerusalem and consumed the קרבן פסח (Pesach sacrifice), and then offered the עולות ראייה (pilgrimage offering) and שלמי חגיגה (festive peace offering), a pilgrim must stay overnight and only then may return back to their homes. On first glance…
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While evil which is witnessed by others can be testified about by others, today’s daf (Chagigah 16a) raises the question of who – or what – will bear witness to evil perpetrated in settings where few or no people can see what is going on, such as in the privacy of someone’s home? To this,…
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Almost all of today’s daf (Chagigah 15a-b) examines the personality of Elisha ben Ayuva – otherwise known as ‘Acher’ (literally, ‘the other’) – who entered the ‘Pardes’ and subsequently lost his faith. It is noteworthy that while Acher’s heresy is often discussed, the fact that he subsequently adopted a sinister, violent and sinful lifestyle is…
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Today’s daf (Chagigah 14b) informs us how four different Torah scholars – Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Acher and Rabbi Akiva – entered the ‘Pardes’ (which is a word literally translated as meaning ‘orchard’, but which is – in fact – the root of the English word ‘Paradise’), and that while Rabbi Akiva entered and left…
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Much of today’s daf (Chagigah 13b) compares and seeks to interpret the prophetic visions of Yeshayahu (Isaiah) and Yechezkel (Ezekiel). Specifically, our daf contrasts the depiction of angels in Yeshayahu 9:2 with six wings, while Yechezkel 1:6 describes angels as only having four wings, and asks why these differ? The answer it gives relates to…
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Reflecting on how God uses the name “I am El Shaddai” (Bereishit 35:11), today’s daf (Chagigah 12a) records the opinion of Reish Lakish who explains that this name refers to God as being, “the One Who told the world Enough!”. The question, of course, is what does this actually mean? Rabbi Baruch Halevi Epstein addresses…
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There are some subjects which are so delicate, and so open to misunderstanding, that they should only be taught in very small groups. Specifically, we are taught in Mishna Chagigah 2:1 in today’s daf (Chagigah 11b) that a Torah teacher should not attempt to explain the laws of forbidden relationships (עריות) that are not explicitly…
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Having reached Mishna Chagigah 1:8 in today’s daf (Chagigah 10a) which, though it does refer to the laws of the שלמי חגיגה (festive offering), directs its attention to the dynamic between the Written Torah (תורה שבכתב) and the Oral Torah (תורה שבעל פה) especially in terms of considering how there are various laws which only…
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What choices of your past that you cannot fix do you most regret?This, fundamentally, is the question posed in the Mishna (Chagigah 1:6-7) in today’s daf (Chagigah 9a) – which is prompted by a discussion concerning someone who does not bring a festive offering (שלמי חגיגה) for the entire festival period, to whom we apply…
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The Mishna (Chagigah 1:5) in today’s daf (Chagigah 8b) states that someone with many dependents and a more limited budget should, when coming to Jerusalem for the שלוש רגלים (the three Pilgrim festivals), bring more שלמי חגיגה (festive peace offerings that were given in part to the Kohanim but which were primarily eaten by the…
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Today’s daf (Chagigah 7a) repeatedly references Mishlei 25:17 which states: הֹקַר רַגְלְךָ מִבֵּית רֵעֶךָ פֶּן יִשְׂבָּעֲךָ וּשְׂנֵאֶךָ – ‘Let the presence of your foot be rare in the home of your friend, so that he doesn’t become fed up with you and come to hate you’, and this verse is interpreted by Rav Yochanan as…
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Today’s daf (Chagigah 6a-b) explores a dispute between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai referenced in the first daf of Massechet Chagigah (2a) about the value of the עלת ראייה (the pilgrimage olah offering) and the שלמי חגיגה (the festive peace offerings – see Shemot 23:14, Devarim 16:14,17). And though there are those who often side-step…
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We all know that there is a prohibition called לשון הרע (Lashon HaRa, whose primary biblical prooftext is Vayikra 19:16), which is the term we use for what we shouldn’t say which can do harm and bring distance between our relationships.We also know that there is a mitzvah called וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ אֲנִי ה’ (‘Love…
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There are times when an item or experience that we want is, for various reasons, not available to us. There are moments when our yearning for something is not reflected back to us. And there are instances when our deep desire to connect with God doesn’t feel as if it is being reciprocated.I mention all…
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According to Rambam’s 8th ‘Principle of Faith’, it is essential to consider every word of the Written Torah to be equally holy. Yet while, as an Orthodox Jew, I sincerely believe that God gave an Oral Torah to accompany and to explain the Written Torah, which means that I regard the Oral Torah as being…
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The first daf of Massechet Chagigah (2a) focusses on the mitzvah of ראייה, meaning the ‘appearing’ and ‘being seen’ at the Temple for the שלוש רגלים (i.e. the three pilgrim festivals of Pesach, Shavuot & Sukkot). However, seemingly due to the significant time, cost and effort that it took to fulfil this requirement in order…
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