Thank you Julius for your comments. I agree with you that the gemara is not very consistent in applying some of the principles that it introduces – the respect for a teacher that you mention being a case in point. I can see that you were somewhat annoyed by the goings-on in that respect in … Lees verder
In Eiruvin, Daf 63a the Gemara goes to great lengths to talk about the respect a student must have for his teacher. The story of slaughterer’s knife, and how many Rabbis’ were affected by that. We are left with the story of Rabbi Elazar from Hagronya who inspected the knife, but he was later punished at the hand of Heaven for … Lees verder
Today was probably one of the last days of the motorcycle season, so I decided to drive through the polders and visit the Jewish cemetery of Diemen. This relatively young cemetery was founded just over a century ago. It has several rows of people that died during the Second World War, many of them by … Lees verder
Een bekentenis: ik heb een paar keer gesolliciteerd naar het Kamerlidmaatschap. Tevergeefs, natuurlijk, maar ik ben wel twee keer uitgenodigd voor een gesprek. In beide gesprekken werd me gevraagd welke politicus ik nou als voorbeeld had. Beide keren antwoordde ik “Pieter Omtzigt”, en beide keren werd daar meesmuilend op gereageerd. Mensen die zeggen dat politiek … Lees verder
Rav Sheishet is quoted to have said that the Jews should not be held responsible for their sins, as they were “drunk without having drunk wine” due to all the hardships they encountered during the continued state of exile. A lame excuse. Everyone is responsible for his own deeds. True: one is not supposed to … Lees verder
De laatste keer dat ik Julius Vischjager sprak was ruim twee jaar geleden. Het was Prinsjesdag, en de traditionele netwerkborrel van VNO/NCW was in volle gang. Julius mocht er niet in. Huilend en briesend probeerde hij het beveiligingspersoneel te overreden hem toch toe te laten. Maar -onvermurwbaar – zeiden ze dat hij, aangezien hij geen … Lees verder
Robbert – With today’s daf we are squarely (no pun intended) back in hard-core eruvin territory – although we are, strictly speaking, not dealing with eruvin, but with the cities of the levi’im. I don’t know how the gemara gets here, but that happens more often – Talmudic discourse is, not to put too fine … Lees verder
Joel – Todays daf also speaks about substance over form. The Gemara brings in Raba bar Rav Chanan whose custom it was to go from Artibbena to Pumbedita on Shabbat and formally acquired residence in Tzinta, which was located between the Shabbat limits of the two places, without going there, but enabled him to make … Lees verder