This would, no doubt, turn into a massive page during the project going through the entire cycle. What I’m going to do is put the section of whichever tractate I’m currently going through on this page, and as I finish them during the cycle, I’ll move the finished one onto a separate linked sub-page. I’m going to organize it as an outline so it’s reasonably easy to follow. I’m also, while well aware of the deep spiritual stuff that’s going on in each discussion, not going to go down that path – there are a zillion websites and commentaries that already do that. In general, I find the idea of a glimpse of a historical culture from what amounts to transcripts of conversations between spiritual and secular leaders to be fascinating, and not surprisingly, for me, I’m particularly drawn to topics that relate to food and wine, sexuality, and comedy.
- Seder Zeraim – “Book of Seeds”
- Berakhot – “Blessings” – Blessed things, actions, and events
- I hit a momentary “WTF?” when Berakhot finished and we didn’t move on to Pe’ah, the next tractate in Zeraim. Apparently the remaining ten tractates in Zeraim do not have Gemara commentary in the Babylonian Talmud, just the Jerusalem Talmud, which the Daf Yomi doesn’t cover. Despite living in a predominately agrarian society, the Babylonian rabbis apparently had nothing to say on agriculture and related subjects like tithing, offerings, and challah bread. Though now I get “Book of Seeds”, I do feel a bit cheated and I want to know if there’s a good challah recipe in there. My plan is to at some point read through the various tractates throughout the Talmud that aren’t included in the Daf Yomi, just out of curiosity. I’ll put those in a different color so that they stand out.
- Pe’ah – “Corner” – Pay it Forward
- Demai – “Doubtful” – Provenance and Taxes
- Kil’ayim – “Mixed Species” – Mixing it up in the Fields
- Shevi’it – “Seventh” – Taking a Sabbatical from Life
- Terumot – “Donations” –
- Ma’aser Rishon – “First Tithes” –
- Ma’aser Sheni – “Second Tithes” –
- Challah – “Dough” –
- Orlah – “First Fruits of Trees” –
- Bikkurim – “First Fruits” –
- Seder Moed – “Book of Festivals”
- Shabbat – “Sabbath” – The Day of Rest
- Eruvin – “Community Spaces” – Creating Shared Space
- Pesachim – “Passovers” – Recreating the Jewish People
- Shekalim – “Shekels” – Taxes of Renewal
- Yoma – “The Day” – Hard to Say I’m Sorry
- Sukkah – “The Hut” – Founding the Jewish Nation
- Beitza – “The Egg” – Making it all Social
- Rosh Hashanah – “Head of the Year” – Finding Yourself in Time
- Ta’anit – “The Fast” – Hunger Strikes
- Megillah – “Scroll” – Rules of the Read
- Mo’ed Katan – “Little Festival” – What Can You Do?
- Chagigah – “Festival Offering” – Nu, What Can I Bring?
- Seder Nashim – “Book of Women”
- Yevamot – “Brother’s Wife” – Clan Survival
- Ketubot – “Written” – I Do
- Nedarim – “Vows” – I Won’t
- Nazir – “Abstinent” – I’m Yours Forever… or a Month
- Sotah – “Errant Wife” – How Can I Trust You Again?
- Gittin – “Divorce Documents” – Parting Glances
- Kiddushin – “Betrothal” – You’re Mine, All Mine!
- Seder Nezikin – “Book of Damages”
- Bava Kamma – “The First Gate” – Who’s Responsible?
- Bava Metzia – “The Middle Gate” – Who Owns the Truth?
- Bava Batra – “The Last Gate” – You’re Responsible, and Here’s Why
- Sanhedrin – “Assembly” – Judging You
- The Sanhedrin itself was a council of 71 Jewish sages during the Roman era, who adjudicated major disputes, somewhat like a supreme court. The word is a loan word from Greek. This tractate focuses on the court system and civil law for the most part, with a section on criminal particularly around discussions of capital punishment.
- 1/18/25, Chapter 4, Page 32 – This chapter is focused on the similarities and differences between civil and criminal cases. While noting that the process of legal adjudication is to be the same – things like judges, advocates, witnesses, and evidence, they then start on differences. My takeaway of the key one holds true today in most jurisdictions – in financial cases we start from neutral, and the case is decided based on strength of evidence for or against, while in criminal cases we start from a presumption of innocence, and the prosecution must prove guilt with no reasonable doubt.
- 1/19/25, Page 33 – Double jeopardy prohibitions do not exist when it comes to cases adjudicated by courts, lesser or greater. The Sanhedrin had the power to re-open a case and re-judge it based on a variety of factors: new evidence coming to light, witnesses appearing who could testify to details not originally heard, procedural errors in the courtroom, and even judges having been found to have either a conflict of interest or lack of expertise in the subject matter.
- 1/20/25, Page 34 – The Sanhedrin instituted the practice of having two court scribes whose job it was to write down everything said by witnesses, advocates, and judges, so that when it came time for deliberation on the part of the judges, they could refer back to those notes. More, that since judges actively participated in the questioning process, it could be see if a judge suddenly changed their view from acquittal to liable, or vice versa, and to see why and when he did so.