Daf Hashavuah blog page

Welcome to the new Daf Hashavuah weekly email. This new email will iy"h serve as medium for further insights and discussion of the weekly daf. This email will consist of a few short insights and questions on the daf. Archives of these emails will be stored at www.adasyeshurun.com/weeklydaf. If you would like to continue to receive this email weekly please respond to this email noting that you wish to be added to the daf Hashavuah mailing list.

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NEWS: Mazal Tov to all members of the Chevra Shas on the completion of Masseches Eruvin and Sukkah. Photos of the siyum can be found here. You can also listen in to the words of Chizuk from Rabbi Yakov Sussman, Rosh Yeshiva HTC by clicking here. 

Pesachim 2a
בודקין את החמץ - Rashi says the reason for doing bedikas chametz is order not to transgress baal yirah and baal yimatzeh, owning and possessing chometz. Tosfos question this as one can simply be mevatel the chometz, negate the chometz in ones mind. Tosfos explain that true, on a Torah level, it is enough to be mevatel the chometz, yet Chazal were concerned that if one would not search out and destroy one’s chometz one may come to eat the chometz.

בודקין את החמץ – Tosfos questions why we are much more stringent regarding chametz than by other forbidden items. Regarding chametz we are obligated to destroy it, yet we don’t have such a stringency by other items, even those that are assur b’hanah, forbidden to derive benefit from, such as bassar b’chalav, kilayaim, orlah and the like. Tosfos explains that those items are always forbidden, while chametz is generally permitted, it is only on Pesach that it is forbidden. People don’t have the same natural aversion to chametz and therefore it must be destroyed in advance of Pesach. In addition, chametz has the added stringency that one transgresses a prohibition even by having chametz, his possession, something that doesn’t apply to other forbidden items.

מיתיבי.. מיתיבי.. מיתיבי.. מיתיבי... שמע מינה/... מיתיבי  - The gemora brings many possible proofs regarding if the word אור can be considered as a noun meaning night or day. This is highly unusual. The Rashba explains that these proofs were not all offered at the same time, rather it is a conglomeration of statements from various yeshivas gathered by Ravina and Rav Ashi. This explains why the gemora can say shema minah and yet continue to offer additional discussion.

Pesachim 2b
עולם הבא דומה ליום.. עולם הזה דומה ללילה – The gemora explains Dovid Hamelech’s words that this world is compared to the night. The sefer Mesilas Yesharim (chapter 3) explains that the darkness of the night can cause a person to make two types of mistakes. Darkness can hide things that during the daylight are clearly visible. This is dangerous as a person may walk into an obstacle or fall into a unseen pit. Even more dangerous, however, is the danger caused by the darkness changing how one sees objects. In the darkness one may see a pillar and think it is a person and visa-versa. This world, and the darkness caused by our yetzer hara, has the ability to cloud our judgment and things that we think are good and beneficial are in truth the opposite. With the light of Torah we are able to illuminate the darkness and see things clearly.  

To listen to this week's shiur please click here. Rabbi Cohen's introduction can be hear here.

Now is a great time to join a Daf shiur!
Weekly shiurim Sunday -Rabbi Zev Cohen-7:15-8:00 Shabbos-Dr. Yakov Weil after the 7:15 Shacharis
Daily Shiurim (M-F) - Rabbi Yechiel Pisem 7:45-8:00am | Rabbi Mordechai Millunchick 7:40-8:30