What is Talmud Tweets?

What is Talmud Tweets? A short, personal take on a page of Talmud - every day!

For several years now, I have been following the tradition of "Daf Yomi" - reading a set page of Talmud daily. With the start of a new 7 1/2 year cycle, I thought I would share a taste of what the Talmud offers, with a bit of personal commentary included. The idea is not to give a scholarly explanation. Rather, it is for those new to Talmud to give a little taste - a tweet, as it were - of the richness of this text and dialogue it contains. The Talmud is a window into a style of thinking as well as the world as it changed over the centuries of its compilation.

These are not literal "tweets" - I don't limit myself to 140 characters. Rather, these are intended to be short, quick takes - focusing in on one part of a much richer discussion. Hopefully, I will pique your interest. As Hillel says: "Go and study it!" (Shabbat 31a)

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Berachot 36 - Majority Rules

A discussion of what blessing is to be said over which specific foods. A side discussion compares this with the law of "orlah" - for the first three years of a fruit tree grown in the land of Israel, the fruit cannot be eaten. But some nuts and flowers may not be considered "fruit."

When the meal is made of several items, how do we know what blessing to say? A general principle is - when there is a main item and another item is taken as "accessory" the blessing is said for the main item and it serves for the accessory.

Even in food - majority rules!

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