Chagigah 16 - February 25, 24 Adar 1

Today’s daf is sponsored by Sigal Spitzer in honor of Abby Flamholz. “Happy big birthday! May this just be the beginning of your Talmud Torah journey!”

Today’s daf is sponsored by Viti Rosenzweig Kuns for the refua shlema of Matityahi ben Rosa and Sarah bat Vita.

How was Rabbi Akiva able to see/identify God? Several verses are brought by various rabbis to try to answer this question. Comparisons are made between angels and demons, and angels and humans - in what ways are humans similar to angels and in what ways to animals? Why can't one ponder what happened before the creation? Two different explanations are brought to explain the line in the Mishna, whoever doesn't have concern for his/her Creator, better that he/she had never come into the world. Is it referring to one who looks at a rainbow (what is wrong with that?) or one who sins secretly. Not only should one not look at a rainbow, but also one should not look at a Nasi or at kohanim in the Temple when they are blessing the people. Do not believe the evil inclination if it tells you to sin and you will be pardoned. One who sins in private, who will testify against them that they sinned? Several answers are given. The Mishna brings the earliest debate that spanned all the generations of the zugot, the pairs, regarding whether or not one is allowed to do the mitzva of smicha, leaning on the animal on Yom Tov when offering the chagigah sacrifices. The last pair of rabbis was Hillel and Shamai - but before Shamia came there was Menachem, however, he was removed from his position - why? Rava and Abaye each bring a different explanation. The order the pairs are mentioned in the Mishna demonstrates which served as the Nasi and which as the Av Bet Din. However, there is a debate about one of the pairs - who held which position. A braita is brought which tries to be matched up with one of the opinions, but in the end it is inconclusive. The braita tells the story of Yehoshua ben Perachia who judged someone to death as an ed zomem (a type of false witness) incorrectly, in an attempt to make a point to the Saducees, and Shimon ben Shatach corrected him. From then on, he was only willing to rule in the presence of Shimon ben Shatach. Rabbi Yochanan proves from our Mishna that one should not take rabbinic ordinances lightly, such as using animals on Yom Tov/Shabbat. The Gemara tries to better understand why Rabbi Yochanan said that and what he really meant to say. Rami bar Hama infers from Rabbi Yochanan that smicha needs all one one's strength, The Gemara questions this by bringing a braita regarding the exemption of women from smicha and yet they permitted women to do it if they wanted to. If smicha is with all of one's strength, how could they have permitted women to "use" sanctified animals if they were actually not obligated?