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Psychology of the Daf Yomi
Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, DHL, LCSW-R The Daf Yomi through a Psychological Lens.
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The Ant, the Angels, and the Difference Between Doubt and Wonder Chulin 57
Author:
June 19th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses how Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta earned the title “Researcher of Matters.” Having learned the verses in Mishle (6:6-8): “Go to the ant, you lazy one; consider her ways, and be wise; which having no chief, overseer, or ruler, provides her bread in the summer,” Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta actually went out to study ants and see if indeed they really had no king ordering them around.
Tosafos here raises an i …
Sheepish Aggression Chulin 51
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June 19th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses an interesting case of animal anatomy and human psychology. By way of introduction, one of the forms of injury that can render an animal tereifa is risuk eyvarim, an internal shattering of the limbs, which we suspect occurs if an animal experiences certain impacts or sudden falls. Obviously, animals are quite resilient, and therefore the Halacha has numerous conditions under which we assume that the animal is fi …
Making the Rounds Chulin 50
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June 19th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses a process of comparing perforations in the intestines to determine if the perforation happened prior to death or after, which makes a difference as to whether the animal is a tereifa or not. The Hebrew word used for “compare” is “makif”.Usually the word makif means to encircle, such as in the prohibition to round the corners of the temple hairs, as in (Vayikra 19:27): “Do not round (sakifu) the corners …
Blessings in the Pipeline Chulin 49
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June 18th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph raises the question: If the kohanim bless the people, who blesses the kohanim? Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak’s answer is that it comes from God’s promise to Abraham: “And I will bless them that bless you” (Genesis 12:3). All who bless the Jewish people are blessed themselves.
Be’er Mayyim Chaim (Shemos 25:2) explains this as an almost mechanistic function. Since you give the blessing, the Godly flow is channeled …
Breath of Freedom Chulin 47
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June 16th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the anatomy of the lung and its five lobes. Later, the Gemara on 49a notes that the lungs bring light to the eyes.As we often observe in Psychology of the Daf, to the mystic, a natural physical or anatomical phenomenon is meaningful in spiritual dimensions as well, since the physical world is a lower-form reflection of a deeper truth. The process of lungs filling up with air that gives a good feeling, or the sen …
Stand Your Ground or Run? Lessons for Crisis and Courage Chulin 46
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June 15th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph records an incident that occurred between the sages Rav Yosef, Rabbah and Rav Zeira, who discussed the Halachos of what part of the liver must remain connected:
“A certain occupying Royal army came to Pumbedita, and Rabba and Rav Yosef fled the city, whereupon Rabbi Zeira met them. Rabbi Zeira said to them: Refugees, hear this halakha: The olive-bulk that the Sages said must remain of the liver so the animal will rem …
You Are What You Eat: The Meaning of Matter Chulin 42
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June 11th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph quotes a verse (Vayikra 11:2) which is the introduction to the Torah’s list of kosher and non-kosher animals:
“These are the living things (chaya) which you may eat among all the beasts (beheima).”
Hebrew can be ambiguous. “Living things” can be read as “life things.” In addition, the Zohar (Shemini 41a) notes the discrepancy between the beginning of the verse. It starts with wild animals (chaya) and e …
Against the Stars: Miracles, Fate, and the Witness Protection Program of the Soul Chulin 43
Author:
June 12th, 2026

Chulin 43
Against the Stars: Miracles, Fate, and the Witness Protection Program of the Soul
Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses whether a perforated gallbladder renders an animal into a tereifa or not. There is a general rule that an animal who is a tereifa will not live past one year. The Gemara uses a verse in Iyov (16:13) where he describes his gallbladder spilling out as result of being pierced by arrows, and yet we know Iyov continued t …
Against the Stars: Miracles, Fate, and the Witness Protection Program of the Soul Chulin 43
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June 12th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses whether a perforated gallbladder renders an animal into a tereifa or not. There is a general rule that an animal who is a tereifa will not live past one year. The Gemara uses a verse in Iyov (16:13) where he describes his gallbladder spilling out as result of being pierced by arrows, and yet we know Iyov continued to live. This should prove that a perforated gallbladder is not a tereifa. However, the Gemara rebu …
The Shamirs Edge: Technology, Humility, and Solomons Downfall Chulin 41
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June 10th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis continues the discussion from the previous daf regarding potentially idolatrous practices that can turn a slaughter into a pagan sacrifice, or give the appearance of such. Our Gemara mentions an entity known as the “Ministering Angel of the Sea.” As we discussed on yesterday’s daf, Judaism has traditions about these entities, and acknowledging their existence is not idolatrous; though treating them as a deity is forb …
Do Away With the Middleman: Channeling or Praying Chulin 40
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June 9th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses various idolatrous intentions that constitute slaughter as pagan sacrifice and forbidden. One such example is slaughtering for “Michoel the great ministering angel.”
This is an intriguing point. It is not as if Judaism does not believe in the entity. Michoel the great ministering angel is one of the few angels mentioned by name in Tanach (Daniel 10:13), and serves as an interlocutor on behalf of Israel (s …
Prayer with Backbone Chulin 45
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June 15th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses how a severed spinal cord renders the animal a tereifah. The Baal Hatanya (Likkutei Torah Balak 3) observes that the spinal cord is not counted as one of the 248 limbs in the body according to Talmudic medical tradition. Yet, despite it not being a specific limb, it serves a vital purpose as a conduit of the life force from the brain to the rest of the parts of the body. Therefore, even though it is not a limb, i …
Eyes in Your Head: The Light of Truth and the Wisdom of Self Honesty Chulin 44
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June 12th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph quotes a verse in Koheles (2:14): “The wise have their eyes in their head whereas the fools walk in darkness.” The unwise person is metaphorically represented as a fool in darkness. Why this metaphor? Darkness is something that blocks the person from seeing reality. Just like in the darkness, one cannot see obstacles that are truly there; in a certain state of mind one cannot see the truth that’s right in front of h …
Tower of Ambition: Intent, Action, and the Sins of Technology Chulin 39
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June 8th, 2026

Tosafos on Amud Aleph (“Retzono Lomar”) draws a distinction between an idolatrous thought that remains as thought only, even as expressed as an intention, such as, “I will worship such and such…” — though forbidden, is not punishable by earthly court. However, an idolatrous thought and intention which is carried through via an action which supports it, is punishable. Therefore if one declares he will sprinkle blood or make some other …
Born Ready: Creation, Maturity, and the Age of the Universe Chulin 38
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June 7th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses the law that a sacrifice cannot be brought from an animal that is less than eight days old. Merafsin Igra asks: the Rambam (Bais HaBechira 2:2) records a tradition that Adam brought a sacrifice the day he was created. But how could this be a kosher sacrifice, since by definition it could not have been eight days old? He answers that this restriction only applies to an animal born from a mother. As the verse says …
You Are What You Eat: Kashrus, Humanity, and the Rambams Blunt Truth Chulin 37
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June 5th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis relates the prophet Yechezkel’s reaction to a draconian directive he received from God to eat bread baked over human dung (Yechezkel 4:14.) “Ah, Lord God, my soul has not become impure; and from my youth until now I have not eaten an unslaughtered carcass or a tereifa, and no piggul flesh came into my mouth.” Yechezkel’s argument is that since he was exceedingly careful about his kashrus, he should be spared from s …
Wait for Eliyahu: When Halacha Defers to a Higher Era Chulin 36
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June 5th, 2026

Rashi on Amud Aleph (“Tolin”) speaks of a halachic question that the Gemara decides will wait until “Eliyahu Hanavi comes and answers the question.” The Maharitz Chayes on our Gemara raises a question. Rashi himself in Shabbos (108a, “mai”) states that we do not look to Eliyahu to resolve halachic questions, as “the Torah is not in heaven (Bava Metzia 59b).” We only use Eliyahu to resolve practical factual questions. (Also see end …
Above the Fray: Purity, Dignity, and the Sages Quiet Authority Chulin 35
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June 4th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the stringencies of purity that a Talmid Chacham, particularly one who takes the vows of becoming a chaver (as outlined in Bechoros 30b), must observe. They consider the clothes of an am ha’aretz (non-learned person) to be at the level of impurity of a zav. In fact there were many additional levels, such as those who ate Terumah, those who ate maaser sheini, and those who ate Kodashim, with each level consider …
Mixed Feelings: The Etymology of Tears, Torah, and Terumah Chulin 34
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June 3rd, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis uses dema to describe sacred terumah that is mixed with profane food. This word, dema, has a mysterious etymology. The Gemara Temurah (4a) indicates that the word dema comes from a verse (Shemos 22:28) that uses a word with a similar root in the context of harvested produce. Rashi (Temurah 4a) says Terumah is called dema because it can be nullified by mixing, and dema means to mix. Interestingly, Rashi on Chumash (ibid) sa …
The Brothers Defense: Nationalism, Halacha, and the Limits of Righteous Rationale Chulin 33
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June 2nd, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph explains a legalism that ends up creating a more stringent halacha for gentiles than Jews. Both Jew and gentile are prohibited from eating flesh or organs harvested from an animal while it is alive. While we cannot know the reasons for the commandments, some are more obvious than others. In the days before modern refrigeration, a method to keep meat fresh was to keep the rest of the animal alive. However, this is cruel an …
Fear and Learning: The Right Amount of Awe in the Study Hall Chulin 32
Author:
June 1st, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph relates an interesting response that Rav gave to explain why he did not ask a particular halachic question of his sagely uncle, Rav Chiyya: “I did not feel sufficiently intimate with my beloved uncle, Rabbi Ḥiyya, such that I could ask him that question.”
This is puzzling because the actual subject matter, involving a detail about ritual slaughter, does not seem particularly esoteric. Furthermore, both Rav and Ra …
Do Not Reassure Me: When Kindness Feeds the Compulsion Chulin 30
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May 31st, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the halacha of an accidental immersion of a woman in the Mikvah without intent. One opinion holds that she is permitted to have relations but she still remains forbidden to eat Terumah and other holy foods.
However, Rava raised a logical objection to this. If we rely on this immersion to permit her from being Niddah, which carries a severe penalty of kares, surely it should permit Terumah, which carries a les …
Better Together: When the Group Speaks With One Voice Chulin 30
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May 29th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph uses an interesting phrase to describe the emergence of a Torah idea or ruling: “Nizreka mi-pi chaburah,” which translates as “it came out from the group of sages.”
The Hebrew word “Nizreka” has a connotation of thrown or ejected. Meleches Shlomo (Mishna Tamid 3:8) explains it as a phenomenon where everyone in the group spontaneously and independently arrived at the same conclusion — giving it increased v …
The Paradox of Purity: Finding God in the Void of Death Chulin 29
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May 29th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses some laws regarding the Red Heifer used to make ashes that are the only antidote to purify from exposure to a corpse.
The famous paradox of the Parah Adumah is that it simultaneously purifies and contaminates. Those who perform the rite and come in contact with its parts take on a secondary impurity, while those who came in contact with a corpse and have the water/ashes combination from the Parah Adumah sprink …
Show Me the Money: Wealth, Anger, and the Hidden Force Within Both
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May 28th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph quotes the scriptural source for shechitta. The context of the verse is a broader discussion of how the Jewish people will settle more and more land, leading to greater distance from the Temple. In such cases, a person may still want to eat meat, though not as typically done through a festival and/or sacrifice. This is known as basar ta’avah, literally meat of desire. That is to say, meat that one consumes with no speci …
Fish Out of Water: Torah Scholars, Evolution, and the Living Cosmos Chulin 27
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May 27th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses the halacha that fish are not subject to the requirement of shechitta (ritual slaughter).
The Zohar (Tikkunei Zohar 59b and III:278b Ra’ya Mhemna) compares Talmidei Chachamim to fish. They need the water of Torah to survive, and also have a certain purity that exempts them from the vicissitudes of the Angel of Death (represented by shechitta.)
It’s not just the Zohar that equates the sages to fish. The …
Sound and Separate: Shofar, Havdalah, and the Holy Pivot Chulin 26
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May 26th, 2026

Our Mishna on Amud Beis teaches that any situation where there is a shofar blast sounded on the eve of Shabbos or a Festival to stop the people from performing labor and to demarcate between the sacred and the profane, there is no havdalah recited at the conclusion of the Shabbos or Festival in prayer and over a cup of wine. And any situation where there is havdalah recited, there is no shofar blast sounded.
That is to say, when entering a str …
Dont Judge a Sinner by His Cover: The Ancient Psychology of Modern Idolatry
Author:
May 25th, 2026

Our Gemara describes the laws of ritual purity that are particular to earthenware vessels. They are unique in that they are not susceptible to impurity from the outside but only from the inside. Furthermore, if there is a tight wrap around the mouth of the vessel, even when it is in a house with a corpse, the impurity will not enter it. This is derived from the verse in Bamidbar (19:15):
“And every open vessel, with no lid fastened down, sha …
Time Wounds All Heels: When Indecision Is the Costliest Choice Chulin 24
Author:
May 24th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the criteria for qualification and disqualification of Levites:
“Levites remain fit for Temple service with the blemishes enumerated in the Torah but are unfit with the passage of years, as they are fit for service only between the ages of thirty and fifty (see Numbers 4:47).”
Beis Yisrael (Behaalosecha 5709) reads a deeper hint in this statement. Blemishes do not automatically invalidate but years do. …
Broken Necks and Red Heifers: Processing Death at the Edge of the Camp Chulin 23
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May 22nd, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses the laws of the Red Heifer and the “Calf-whose-Neck-is-Broken.” These are two unique rituals which have both extreme similarities and differences.
1. Both have to do with death. The Red Heifer is to cleanse death impurity and the Calf-whose-Neck-is-Broken is to atone for an unsolved murder outside the city.
2. They are both bovine.
3. They are both unfit if they were used for labor.
4. They ar …
Young at Heart, Old in Practice: The Two Kinds of Tzaddik Chulin 22
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May 22nd, 2026

Our Mishna on Amud Aleph discusses the qualifications of two different kinds of bird offerings:“He shall bring his offering of doves, or of young pigeons” (Leviticus 1:14). 
“The age that is fit for sacrifice in doves, mature birds, is unfit for sacrifice in pigeons, immature birds; the age that is fit for sacrifice in pigeons is unfit for sacrifice in doves. At the intermediate stage of the beginning of the yellowing of its plumage …
The Question That Stopped the Room: Rabbi Zeiras Art of Breaking Assumptions
Author:
May 21st, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph records a reaction to a question posed by Rabbi Zeira to Rabbi Ami. Rabbi Ami is described as having paused, in a state of surprise. The Aramaic is “eshtomem,” which implies a state of surprise, at a loss for words. It is from a question that was thought provoking and induces a review of prior assumptions in order to answer. See Rashi (Daniel 8:13 and Bereishis 24:21.)
This figure of speech comes up a few times in …
Wash, Rinse, Repeat: How Intuition Became Law Chulin 20
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May 20th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses an aspect of bird shechitta that is different from animal shechitta. According to one opinion, the shechitta remains valid even if the windpipe and gullet are uprooted, unlike with an animal.
The Gemara first suggests that this opinion also holds that the requirement of shechitta for birds is only rabbinic, therefore they were lenient in this regard. While the position that holds uprooting invalidates bird she …
The Power of Being Truly Seen Chulin 19
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May 19th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis seeks to define the exact location of the melika slaughter performed on sacrificial birds. It is referred to as “adjacent to the neck.” The Gemara is unclear if the Hebrew word adjacent “mul” means adjacent or opposite. They cite a verse where Balak complains to Bilaam that the incoming horde of Jews were going to overtake them; he described them as occupying the space “right adjacent to me.”
What was Bilaam …
Go With the Flow: Rivers, Bridges, and the Local Pulse of Halacha Chulin 18
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May 18th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis reports a response by Rav Yosef to explain what seems to be contradictory halachic practices in different locales. Rav Yosef says, “nahara, nahara upashta” — “Each river and its unique course, i.e., each place follows its custom.”
What does Rav Yosef mean? Rashi explains that rivers naturally flow differently in different locations. The Aramaic word “pashta” is translated as direction of spread or flow. La …
Investigate and Be Rewarded: The Value of a Good Hypothetical Chulin 17
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May 17th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph raises a theoretical question that at first glance has no practical implication. According to the opinion that in the wilderness the Jews did not need to do shechitta, but rather meat was permitted by stabbing the neck of the animal, what would be the status of such meat upon entry into the land of Israel? The core question is: do we follow the moment of slaughter, or where the meat is right now, which is a place where it …
Melave Malka and the Secret of Resurrection Chulin 16
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May 15th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis states a position that in the wilderness the Jews were not allowed to consume ordinary meat. The only time that one could eat meat is if it is part of a sacrifice such as a shelamim. In Sefer Daf al Daf, he quotes the Sar Shalom Mi-Belz that this Gemara proves that one is not obligated to have meat at Seudas Melave Malka. His reasoning is as follows: if in the wilderness they could only consume sacrificial meat, such meat …
Feasts and Beasts Chulin 15
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May 15th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses what objects are permitted and which are forbidden to use as a shechitta knife:
“…one may slaughter with any item that cuts, except for the serrated side of the harvest sickle, a saw, the teeth of an animal when attached to its jawbone, and a fingernail, because they are serrated and they consequently strangle the animal and do not cut its windpipe and gullet as required.”There is a strange and fascinati …
Shards of Immortality: The Broken Vessel Still Has Value Chulin 14
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May 14th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses a halacha in muktzah, certain items which are forbidden to carry on Shabbos because of their lack of utility. One way to understand the prohibition of Muktzah is that Shabbos is a day of rest, and therefore long-term planning activities and construction are prohibited. Since they are practical needs, utensils that have immediate and daily use are permitted to carry; however, something that has no immediate use is …
Keeping Faith Fresh Across Generations Chulin 13
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May 13th, 2026

Our Gemara on Amud Beis makes an interesting assertion about the state and sincerity of worship for pagans outside of Israel. Though they may profess or practice belief in certain deities, it is merely “a custom of practice inherited from their ancestors,” and without real intent to worship. This has implications, as an animal slaughtered by such a gentile will not be treated with the severity of an idolatrous sacrifice, which aside from not …
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