Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 23rd, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis describes Aharon’s character and temperament in comparison to Moshe. Moshe was a lawgiver and valued strict justice and truth. However, Aharon, whose role was not that of a judge, was a lover of peace and a pursuer of peace, and he would apply peace between one person and the other. Ben Yehoyada here notes that the Hebrew word used here, “pursuer of peace,” is more ambiguous sounding than the English tran …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 22nd, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph characterizes the halachic leadership of Babylonia versus Eretz Yisrael: "The verse states: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet until Shiloh comes” (Genesis 49:10). …“The scepter shall not depart from Judah”; these are the Exilarchs in Babylonia, who are empowered by the government and consequently subjugate the Jewish people as with a s …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 20th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the minimum number of walls required for a kosher Succah: "There must be two walls in their standard sense, completely closing each of those two sides, and a third wall, which, based on a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai, may measure even as little as one handbreadth." Sefer Daf al Daf quotes two interesting pieces of derush regarding this Halacha. The Alshich (Vayikra 23:33) explains that all the benefit …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 20th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph uses an interesting idiom to describe a certain class of uneducated people, “dwellers on the corner.” This idiom is used to refer to a layperson who might still serve as a judge, assuming the other judges are learned. This idiom for an unlearned person is fascinating because idioms typically do not translate well from one language to another, and certainly not from one culture to another. Yet this idiom is rem …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 19th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses the principle that a Jewish court must be structured to avoid gridlock, which is why it always has an odd number of judges. This principle is used to determine the number of judges in various courts. For example, when the Gemara finds scriptural support for a capital court to consist of at least 22 judges, it is automatically assumed that the court must have 23 judges to prevent a tie. The Oholei Yitschok raises …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 18th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph references how the sages were careful to enact ordinances that protected purchasers from unknown liens and repossessions. However, they balanced this with a need for reasonable mechanisms for creditors to collect debt so as not to discourage people from lending. Additionally, there is a mitzvah incumbent upon the heirs to pay debts from the estate of the deceased, as discussed on 174a. The Pele Yoetz ("Loveh") employs bot …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 17th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis recounts the story of a person in dire financial straits who devised a plan to improve his situation, only for unforeseen circumstances to derail it. Reflecting on this, the Gemara uses the aphorism: “Poverty follows the impoverished person.” Similarly, in Bava Kamma 92a, the sages observe a poignant inequality: wealthy individuals who brought their first fruits to the Temple in gold and silver baskets were per …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 17th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph references a social and psychological principle that a person is reluctant to appear excessively wealthy. This has halakhic implications, as it may lead a person on his deathbed to declare fictional debts in front of others in order to give the impression of having fewer assets, even though he does not actually owe them. As a safeguard, halakha requires specific language that clearly directs the debt to be paid, rather th …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 15th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis quotes a series of verses from Mishlei (6:1-3), which caution against the dangers of becoming a cosigner for another’s debt: son, if you have stood surety for your fellow, Given your hand for another, You have been trapped by the words of your mouth, Snared by the words of your mouth. Do this, then, my son, to extricate yourself, For you have come into the power of your fellow: Go grovel—and badger your fellow. …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 13th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis explores a situation involving two people with identical names, as well as fathers with identical names. This creates a significant problem in the absence of last names, as the culture of the Talmud relied on patronymic identification—“son of so-and-so.” The Gemara chooses the example of “Yosef ben Shimon” to illustrate the issue. This choice of names has piqued the curiosity of many commentat …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 13th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis quotes Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappi, who expresses his profound reverence for Rav and Shmuel with a striking metaphor: “Who will give us some of the dust of Rav and Shmuel, and I will place it on my eyes, so highly do I regard them.” At first glance, the notion of putting dust in one’s eyes seems puzzling as an expression of honor. To understand this, we must look to a related account in Sanhedrin 47b, which …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 12th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph recounts an episode in which Rabbi Yitzchak bar Yosef believed that the esteemed Rabbi Abba owed him a large sum of money. Rabbi Abba, however, maintained that he had already repaid the debt. On the surface, this situation seems perplexing. One might expect sages of their stature to exercise exceptional care in tracking financial matters. Moreover, if there were any uncertainty, it would seem more in line with their piety …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 11th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses a principle regarding halachic agency. While one may appoint an agent to act on their behalf in legal matters, such as purchases, the agency remains valid only if the agent performs as directed. If the agent deviates significantly from their instructions, the transaction is nullified. The Sefer Kevodah Shel Torah frequently uses halachic principles to illuminate or expand upon biblical narratives. In Bereishis (4 …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 10th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph considers the modesty practices of Torah sages, noting that they often avoid paying close attention to a woman’s appearance. Therefore, it advises: Abaye said: A Torah scholar who goes to betroth a woman should take an Am Haaretz (common folk, non-learned person) with him to establish a positive identity of the woman. Otherwise, people might exchange another woman for her when given to him for marriage, taking advan …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 9th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph records a situation where the sage Abaye suspected through circumstantial evidence that he was being presented with a fraudulent contract. It states that he exerted some form of pressure and coercion in order to induce a confession, and indeed the person did confess. This brings up an interesting point of the reliability of forced confessions. As a result of DNA testing and the Innocence Project there have been numerous s …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 8th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph describes a situation where Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel fought against a situation of price gouging. There was a shortage of sacrificial doves necessary for new mothers to bring as an offering to complete their purification process which led to a price spike. Fearing this would cause people despair and possibly to give up on the whole ritual, he enacted an emergency measure, allowing certain sacrifices to double up even tho …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 6th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud aleph makes an observation about human nature and that certain sins are almost impossible to avoid: The majority of people succumb to sin with regard to financial dishonesty and theft, and a minority of people succumb to sin with regard to sexual matters, and everyone succumbs to sin with regard to malicious speech. The Gemara asks: Can it enter your mind that all people sin with regard to malicious speech? The Gemara answers: …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 6th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud aleph discusses various circumstances where a parchment that was erased can be reused without being vulnerable to forgery. Ordinarily, with the technology of Talmudic times, one couldn’t inkwash the contract and remove or add clauses without the discoloration being noticeable, thus signifying potential forgery. But, if the entire parchment was written on erased material, the Gemara says it would be a valid contract since …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 5th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the standard width of a line in order to determine the acceptable width of a blank section between the closing line of the contract and the witness’s signatures. As we discussed on daf 162, this is a safeguard against cheating, to prevent the later insertion of fraudulent obligations and conditions. The yardstick used by the rabbis is comprised of two words, which contain tall and short letters, so as to a …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 4th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis rules that the final line in the contract can only be a review of the contents, and cannot serve as evidence of any additional obligations or information. This is a safeguard against fraud, as this makes it difficult for a forger to squeeze in additional information between the bottom line of the contract and the witness’s signatures. Sefer Daf al Saf quotes Sefer Haikarim (IV:40) who uses this to add depth to the cl …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 3rd, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses the possibility that a witness might sign a document using his father’s name alone, without his name, as an identifier, much as different sages used symbols as a signature mark such as a fish or a palm branch. While symbols were accepted and plausible as signatory devices, the Gemara concluded that a person would not use his father‘s name as an identifier, as this would be considered disrespectful. (W …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 2nd, 2024

Our Gemara on amud beis explains why the rabbis instituted a variation on the typical get (divorcement bill) that required an elaborate process of folds and stitches to complete it. Essentially, it was a delay tactic: The Gemara asks: And what is the reason that the Sages instituted the tied document? The Gemara explains: There was a place where there were many priests, and they were very quick tempered, and they would seek to divorce their wives …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

December 1st, 2024

Our Gemara on amud aleph grapples with why relatives are not able to testify. The logical reason is that since they have bias, their testimony is suspect.  The gemara rhetorically asks, “If so, why are Moses and Aaron disqualified from bearing witness for their father-in-law? Could this be because their testimony is not deemed credible? Are we to think that THEY could lie?”  This leads the Gemara to conclude that the disqual …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 29th, 2024

Our Gemara on amud beis states that there is something about the air of the Land of Israel that inspires wisdom.  What is this really about?   From a psychological perspective, it is understandable that the sense of confidence, security and identity that comes with living unapologetically as a Jew in the Jewish homeland certainly can enhance all kinds of creativity and development. Rabbenu Bechaye (Shemos 25:39) actually says somet …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 29th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the idea that there is a degree of responsibility for a child to pay his deceased parent’s debts. The poskim analyzes the nature and basis of this obligation, which also suggest ideas about the limits and obligations of the commandment to honor one’s parents. This obligation is beyond a financial lien, such as if the parent did not leave real estate (in the times of the Gemara, non-real estate holdin …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 28th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud aleph discusses financial protections that the rabbis instituted for young adults, even though past bar mitzvah age: Rather, the Sages maintain that a child’s inclination is to be attracted to money. And if you say that his sale is a valid sale, there may be times that there are potential buyers who rattle the dinars before him in order to tempt him to sell, and he will go and sell all of his father’s property. That …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 27th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses a legal monetary dispute that could potentially be resolved via evidence gained by exhuming a corpse. The Gemara has to weigh the needs of justice versus the prohibition to disgrace a corpse.  The Gemara takes it as a given that disinterment is a forbidden desecration of the human body. The Gilyonei Hashas suggests it fits under the category of halanas hames, the prohibition against leaving a body unburied. …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 26th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses a legalism in regard to contracts. Ordinarily, a contract needs to be ratified by two witnesses testifying that they recognize the signatures of the witnesses who signed on the document. However, there are certain situations where the debtor in the contract inadvertently ratifies it while actually attempting to discredit it. For example, instead of claiming that the contract is false, he claims something like, t …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 25th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis notes that most people who fall ill eventually recover. This observation has legal implications in cases where a person on their deathbed bequeaths their estate to someone else, but later recovers. Such directives can be invalidated retroactively if the person recovers, and the estate reverts to its rightful heirs. The rightful air does not have to prove that his father did not in fact die, because in those cases he would …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 24th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses a type of legal deed known as a dayetikei. While this document shares similarities with other legal titles and deeds, it often specifically refers to a will or an estate bequeathal. A beautiful Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Nach 968) uses the term dayetikei in a parable to explore humanity’s relationship with desires and the Evil Inclination (Yetzer Hara): There was a man who frequently traveled to an inn for bu …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 22nd, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph explores whether tefillin fall under the category of nechasim. Are they excluded because of their sacred status and their unsuitability for sale, or are they included due to their utility as items worn on the body, similar to clothing? (See Rashbam, Sefer Torah.) The notion of tefillin as a type of malbush (clothing) brings to mind the Maharal’s (Be’er HaGolah 4) explanation of the metaphysical significance of …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 22nd, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses the scope of assets included when a gift giver uses the word nechasim—an umbrella Aramaic term for possessions and assets. Does this term encompass movable property, cattle, and cash, or is it restricted to real estate? The word nechasim has an ancient and enigmatic etymology, lacking clear Hebrew or Aramaic roots. The Maharal (Nesiv HaOsher 2) highlights this and notes that there are four primary terms for …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 21st, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis further discusses the status of a deathbed gift and whether such a gift is automatically retracted if the person miraculously recovers. To assume an implied condition that would reverse an explicitly granted gift, there must be unambiguous evidence that this was the giver’s intention. Therefore, the rule only applies if the person gave away all his possessions, leaving nothing behind. Such actions indicate someone wh …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 20th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis continues discussing the status of deathbed gifts. One feature of these gifts is that if the person miraculously recovers, the gifts are reversed, as it is assumed the person most likely did not intend to give them away if he were going to survive. However, strong evidence is required to support this assumption, and thus the rule only applies if the person gives away all of his possessions, leaving nothing behind. Such act …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 19th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis explains the reasoning behind the extra legal power granted to a person on their deathbed to make gifts without requiring physical acts of acquisition (kinyan) to signify the transfer of ownership. In such cases, words alone suffice to effectuate the transfer: The halakha that the gift of a person on his deathbed does not require an act of acquisition is merely by rabbinic law, instituted lest he see that his will is not b …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 18th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph raises an interesting challenge to the verse in Mishlei (15:15): “All the days of the pauper are bad.” It asks: Isn’t it true that even the poor experience good times, such as Shabbos and Yom Tov, when they have access to food and rest? Shmuel responds that even a change to richer food may upset the stomach, so the poor suffer even when they eat better meals. The Bnei Yissachar (Ma’amar 10:4) delve …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 17th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis references a verse in Mishlei (15:15): “A good heart is consistently drinking.” The Gemara interprets this to mean that a person with a “good heart” has a certain equanimity, a disposition that enables them to handle stress and challenges without becoming overwhelmed. Rather than a call for literal intoxication, the verse points to a state of inner resilience and composure. Rav Uri Grossman, citing …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 15th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis explores the distribution of profits from inherited assets prior to dividing an estate. It discusses cases where one brother might contribute more effort or productivity, but the benefit may still be shared among all brothers if they’re supporting each other as part of a household. The Gemara states: “If one of the brothers engaged in a trade of his own volition, the profits are his alone. The Sages taught in a …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 15th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the Torah’s directive about the separation of Terumah from produce to be given to the Kohen. The verse reads: “And you shall bear no sin by reason of it, seeing that you have set apart from it the best thereof” (Bamidbar 18:32). The Gemara interprets this as a warning not to designate inferior produce as Terumah while retaining the superior portion for oneself. Yet, beyond this practical messag …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R

November 14th, 2024

Our Gemara on Amud Beis describes how Shmuel went to significant lengths to ensure the publicity of a particular halakhic ruling: “Shmuel said to Rav Ḥana of Baghdad: Go out and bring me an assembly of ten men, and I will say a halakha to you in their presence, so that it will be well publicized. The halakha was: With regard to one who transfers ownership of an item to a fetus, the fetus acquires the item.” This case raises an inter …
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