Today's daf is in honor my son Doron's 35th birthday.
Usually we follow Bet Hillel’s interpretation of Jewish law. In yesterday’s Mishna we learned that Bet Shammai outvoted Bet Hillel 18 times in Hannaya ben Hizkiya ben Garon’s attic and decided halacha in their favor. Generally Bet Shammai represented the aristocratic class and was more stringent in Jewish law and Bet Hillel represented the more common folk and was more liberal in their interpretation of Jewish law. Today’s daf TB Shabbat 14 begins enumerating those 18 cases. These cases deal with tumah, ritual unreadiness, and tahara, ritual readiness. Teruma, the tithe given to the kohanim, priests, not only had to be eaten in a state of ritual readiness, but also had to be kept in a state of ritual readiness. Most of these laws are esoteric for us because they are no longer applicable since our holy Temple in Jerusalem has been destroyed. Today’s Gemara provides an exception.
Usually we follow Bet Hillel’s interpretation of Jewish law. In yesterday’s Mishna we learned that Bet Shammai outvoted Bet Hillel 18 times in Hannaya ben Hizkiya ben Garon’s attic and decided halacha in their favor. Generally Bet Shammai represented the aristocratic class and was more stringent in Jewish law and Bet Hillel represented the more common folk and was more liberal in their interpretation of Jewish law. Today’s daf TB Shabbat 14 begins enumerating those 18 cases. These cases deal with tumah, ritual unreadiness, and tahara, ritual readiness. Teruma, the tithe given to the kohanim, priests, not only had to be eaten in a state of ritual readiness, but also had to be kept in a state of ritual readiness. Most of these laws are esoteric for us because they are no longer applicable since our holy Temple in Jerusalem has been destroyed. Today’s Gemara provides an exception.
When I was a rabbi at my very first congregation B’Nai Jacob
I introduced the policy of calling women up to the Torah. One of the objections
raised was that women who are nidot because of their menstrual flow were in a
state of ritual unreadiness. How could you call somebody up to the holy Torah
who was tamei? I taught them that the Torah scroll itself was tamei! These
rabbis in Hannaya ben Hizkiya ben Garon’s attic ordained this rule for the
following reason.
“The Gemara explains the next case in the mishna: And a
Torah scroll; what is the reason the Sages decreed impurity upon it? Rav
Mesharshiya said: Since at first, ignorant priests would conceal teruma
foods alongside the Torah scroll, and they said in explaining that method
of storage: This is sacred and that is sacred, and it is appropriate
that they be stored together. Since the Sages saw that they were coming to
ruin, as the mice who were attracted to the teruma foods would also
gnaw at the Torah scrolls, the Sages decreed impurity upon it. Once they
issued the decree of impurity on the Torah scroll, the priests no longer placed
teruma near it.” (Srfaria.org translation)
Because the Torah imparts ritual unreadiness, both men and
women still do not directly touch the scroll when they are called up for an Aliyah.
The correct procedure is to take your tallit and touch the space between the
columns closest where the reader will begin. One should not touch the words
themselves less he rubs too hard and erases a letter. If a letter is erased the
whole Torah scroll is ineligible for use; consequently, this extra precaution.
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