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, October 11, 2012

Shabbat 8 - an Eruv by Any Other Name

We usually think of an eruv as a legal fiction - a boundary made up of string or wire which creates a "private" domain allowing the Shabbat observant to carry within it. But a different kind of eruv is described here.

Shabbat rules restrict one from traveling more than 2,000 cubits (about 1/2 mile). However, that distance can be extended by placing some food at a preselected location within that boundary before Shabbat. This eruv becomes a new "private" domain and the traveller can travel another 2,000 cubits in any direction. If in a public area, this eruv can be in a pit 10 handbreadths deep.
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