Learners’ Tapestry

אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל המקפיד על עירובו אין עירובו עירוב מה שמו עירוב שמו

Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: With regard to one who is particular about his eiruv, i.e., that the other people should not eat of the food he contributed, his eiruv is not a valid eiruv. After all, what is its name? Joining [eiruv] is its name, indicating that it must be jointly owned [me’urav] by all the participants in the eiruv. If one person does not allow the other participants to eat of it, it does not belong to all of them and cannot be called an eiruv.

״גַּם וַשְׁתִּי הַמַּלְכָּה עָשְׂתָה מִשְׁתֵּה נָשִׁים בֵּית הַמַּלְכוּת״. ״בֵּית הַנָּשִׁים״ מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ! אָמַר רָבָא: שְׁנֵיהֶן לִדְבַר עֲבֵירָה נִתְכַּוְּונוּ, הַיְינוּ דְּאָמְרִי אִינָשֵׁי: אִיהוּ בְּקָרֵי, וְאִתְּתֵיהּ

The verse states: “Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women, in the royal house, which belonged to King Ahasuerus” (Esther 1:9). The Gemara questions why she held the feast in the royal house, a place of men, rather than in the women’s house, where it should have been. Rava said in response: The two of them had sinful intentions. Ahasuerus wished to fornicate with the women, and Vashti wished to fornicate with the men. This explains the folk saying that people say: He with pumpkins and his wife
י״ב ב
א
בְּבוּצִינֵי.
with zucchinis, indicating that often a man and his wife engage in similar actions.

I was always the student who did my homework. The one time I didn’t, I was rebuked by my teacher with the words אם בארזים נפלה שלהבת מה יעשו איזובי הקיר but it wasn’t until I learned Moed Katan 25b that I became aware of the extent of the compliment contained in this rebuke.

עתיד הקב״ה לעשות מחול לצדיקים והוא יושב ביניהם בגן עדן, וכל אחד ואחד מראה באצבעו שנאמר ״ויאמר ביון ההוא הנה, אלוהנו זה קיוינו לו ויושיענו. זה ה׳ קיוינו לו. נגילה ונשמחה בישועתו.

רווחא לבסימא שכיח

You can’t dance at 2 weddings.
As mothers and modern women, we try to do everything and be there for everyone- our children, our husbands, our parents, and our friends. We can try but we can’t do everything. We have to understand that and give ourselves credit for what we do without feeling guilty for what we can’t do!

אָמַר רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אַבָּא: לְעוֹלָם יִתְפַּלֵּל אָדָם בְּבַיִת שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ חַלּוֹנוֹת
Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: One should always pray in a house with windows. The imagery here is of a person connecting with God through prayer, growing spiritually through a lens looking in, while at the same time maintaining a lens looking out, an awareness of the world around us, of where we have come from and where we are going, and perhaps most importantly, of where we choose to go. Our own personal connection with God is not enough; without the support and the perspective of the view outside the window, the community and beyond, we would remain stagnant. This is what Daf Yomi learning has been for me over these past two years: a window (even on zoom!) to bring perspective from all over the world, to listen to what other people hear in the words of the Talmud, and to strive toward an integrated context of learning and experience in our day to day lives. Rabbanit Michelle teaches with a focus on the human side of the text: the varieties of personalities we encounter, the world they live in, and how that can find reflection in our world today and our interactions with each other. As we learn with respect and appreciation the wide variety of viewpoints expressed in the Talmud, we learn to give the same respect and find ways to connect with each other.

אין מעברין שמחה בשמחה

Rav Zeira was sitting behind Rav Gidel, and Rav Gidel was sitting before Rav Huna. And as Rav Gidel sat, he said, ‘if one erred and did not mention the supplemental passage of the Sabbath in Birkat Hamazon, he says ‘Blessed are you, Hashem our God, King of the universe, Who gave Sabbaths for contentment to His people, Israel, with love, for a sign and a covenant. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who sanctifies the Sabbath. Rav Huna said to him: Who said this? Rav Gidel replied: Rav. Afterwards he sat and said: if one erred and did not mention the supplemental passage of a festival in Birkat Hamazon, he says the following, ‘Blessed are You, Hashem our God, King of the universe, Who gave festivals to his people, Israel, for gladness and for remembrance. Blessed are You Hashem Who sanctifies Israel and the festival seasons. R. Huna said to him: who said this? Rav Gidel replied: Rav. Afterwards he sat and said:if one erred and did not mention the Rosh Chodesh passage in Birkat Hamazon, he says the following: Blessed are You, Hashem our God, King of the universe, Who gave Rosh Chodesh to His people, Israel, for a remembrance.

Rav Zeira reported this incident and commented regarding the latter ruling:
And I do not know whether [Rav Gidel] mentioned ‘gladness’ in the Rosh Chodesh blessing or he did not mention ‘gladness’ in it. Nor do I recall whether he concluded it with a blessing clause or he did not conclude it with a blessing clause. Nor do I recall whether this ruling was his own or that of his teacher, Rav.