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)

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Berachot 7 - G-d's Self-Limiting Anger


Classic rabbinic texts don’t go in much for what we would call modern theology, but this page contains in part a fascinating examination of G-d’s anger. G-d is pictured as praying (!) that the Divine quality of mercy will suppress the quality of anger within, so that the punishment given to the people – while deserved – may be less than the full measure of strict judgment. In other words, G-d’s anger is self-tempered so that mercy will prevail. A reassuring thought.
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