#rabbi elazar ben azarya

[dadyomi]

Saturday 7/22, Gittin 67: Rabbi Deez

("Rabbi Deez?" "Yeah, DEEZ NUTZ.")

In reading this list I thought "a scholar when he chooses to be one" was a funny and affectionate backhand. Then I read "a pile of nuts" and laughed out loud, but the explanation is both less funny and more heartwarming, because it's really very kind and complimentary. What a nice and entertaining list of the Sages.

But I'm still definitely the Rabbi Yehuda. Tag yourself!

[terulakimban]

A side note on that "once every seventy years is bloodthirsty" line...

look, I'm generally politically opposed to the death penalty (I am emotionally very in favor of it in certain cases, which is one of the many reasons I should never have absolute power) and that quote slaps, but it's missing the last half of it, and that's a pretty fucking important half for the context.

The mishna continues: The mitzva to establish a Sanhedrin with the authority to administer capital punishments is in effect both in Eretz Yisrael and outside Eretz Yisrael. A Sanhedrin that executes a transgressor once in seven years is characterized as a destructive tribunal. Since the Sanhedrin would subject the testimony to exacting scrutiny, it was extremely rare for a defendant to be executed. Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya says: This categorization applies to a Sanhedrin that executes a transgressor once in seventy years. Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Akiva say: If we had been members of the Sanhedrin, we would have conducted trials in a manner whereby no person would have ever been executed. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: In adopting that approach, they too would increase the number of murderers among the Jewish people. The death penalty would lose its deterrent value, as all potential murderers would know that no one is ever executed.

(translation stolen from Sefaria)

Rashbag's not nobody. And it's pretty telling that the final voice there isn't condemnation of the death penalty; it's condemnation of a unilateral condemnation of the death penalty as a matter of principle. You could make a coherent argument that "Jewish thought holds" using only Jewish sources -sometimes even the same sources -for "we should have it, but rarely and with lots of restrictions" and "we shouldn't have it at all."

so the tree of life shooter got sentenced to death and im rather glad about that (esp bc the defense attorney invoked the commandment to choose life in her defense, what chutzpah) but now im also very intrigued about how exactly the halakha says jews should feel about the death penalty. i know vaguely how it worked with the sanhedrin and the opinions of the time about the death penalty being enacted by them (that a sanhedrin who sentences a man to death even every 70 years is bloodthirsty) but what's the consensus in the diaspora? especially for cases of antisemitic violence?

this isn't me saying anything about how we should feel about the sentencing of the shooter or other infamous antisemites, im just genuinely interested in what the religious law has to say about this sort of situation.

[rabbiaharon]

From Scripture to Talmud - a brief recapitulation of the history of the Oral Tradition

This post is a modest start for anyone who wants to understand the process by which Jewish law is handed down. Furthermore I am leaving this here to dispel the unfortunate misconception that we were given scripture, then a huge break from Torah, then Mishnah/Talmud (and then another huge break until today). The Mesorah - handing down of the tradition - is an unbroken chain from Sinai until today. Let’s begin with Pirkei Avos, a simple, up-front source for this stuff: 

משֶׁה קִבֵּל תּוֹרָה מִסִּינַי, וּמְסָרָהּ לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ, וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ לִזְקֵנִים, וּזְקֵנִים לִנְבִיאִים, וּנְבִיאִים מְסָרוּהָ לְאַנְשֵׁי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה. הֵם אָמְרוּ שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים, הֱווּ מְתוּנִים בַּדִּין, וְהַעֲמִידוּ תַלְמִידִים הַרְבֵּה, וַעֲשׂוּ סְיָג לַתּוֹרָה:

אבות א:א

Moshe received the torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be patient in [the administration of] justice, raise many disciples and make a fence round the Torah.

Pirkei Avos Chapter 1, Mishnah 1.

The time which passed from the giving of the Torah (the year 2448AM) until the building of the second temple (3410AM) was 962 years, during which there was a halachically undisputed leader of the Jewish people who was responsible for guiding them and teaching the oral Torah, the Rambam (Maimonides) lists the order of transmission in much more detail in his preface to his magnum opus, the Mishnah Torah.

רבי יהודה בר נחמני מתורגמניה דרבי שמעון בן לקיש כתיב (שמות לד, כז) כתוב לך את הדברים האלה וכתיב (שמות לד, כז) כי ע"פ הדברים האלה הא כיצד דברים שבכתב אי אתה רשאי לאומרן על פה דברים שבעל פה אי אתה רשאי לאומרן בכתב

גיטין ד’’ס ע’’ב

Rabbi Yehuda bar Naḥmani, the translator for Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, expounded as follows: It is written: “Write you these matters” (Exodus 34:27), and it is written later in that same verse: “For on the basis of [al pi] these matters.” How can these texts be reconciled? They mean to teach: Matters that were written you may not express them orally [al peh], and matters that were taught orally you may not express them in writing. The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: The word “these” in the mitzva recorded in the verse “Write you these matters” is used here in an emphatic sense: These matters, i.e., those recorded in the Written Law, you may write, but you may not write halakhot, i.e., the mishnayot and the rest of the Oral Law. 

--Gittin 60b

So... if there is an injunction not to write down the Oral Tradition. How did we get to the mishnah, the talmud... and for that matter all the incredible breadth (read: literally millions of volumes of explanations, expounding, or written law of any sort) that we have now. Warning: The english translation will be imprecise, because in comparison to mishnaic hebrew, english is un-elegant, inefficient, un-contextual, and a lot of other in-’s and -un’s. For those who can understand the mishnaic hebrew text, you’ll understand why.

זמן בית שני היה נחלק לשתי תקופות בכלל. הא' היא זמן אנשי כנסת הגדולה, והשני’, זמן הזוגות. האנשי כנסת הגדולה (ובתוכם מרדכי היהודי, עזרא הסופר, ירמיהו הנביא, נחמיה וכמה עד שניזכרו במקרא) הם סוף זמן המקרא, ותחילת זמן המשנה, והם גזרו כמה וכמה גזירות לחזק את ישראל בעבודת אלקים חיים ב'’ה. ושמעון הצדיק היה משירי אנשי כנסת הגדולה כמ'’ש במס' אבות. בתקופה השני’ היה המסורה נמסרה בעיקר ע'’י שני גדולי הדור – נשיא ואב בית דין, ובית דינם. ושירי הזוגות הם הלל ושמאי. ואחר הלל, שמעון בנו היה הנשיא, ורבן יוחנן בן זכאי האב בית דין… ותלמידיו ,ותלמידי תלמידיו נחשבו גוף התנאים שבמשנה. בתחילת גלות רומי (בשנת 3829 ליצירה) החריבה את בתינו ושרפה את היכלינו והגליתנו מארצנו, ומכאן ואילך נעשו הצרות כפולות ומכופלות ונתחדשו גזירות קשות בכל שנה ושנה עד נשיאיות רבינו הקדוש, הוא רבי יהודא הנשיא ונתן לו הקב'’ה חן בעיני אנטונינוס מלך רומי ונחו מצרות וימצא חן וחסד וכבוד בעיניו והרביץ התורה לרבים (זה ל��ון ספר הליכות עולם). וראה רבינו בחכמתו שהגיע זמן לחבר ספר בתורה שבעל פה פן ישכח המסורה מתוך עם ישראל מפני הירידה לגלות ח’’ו. וקבץ בעלי שמועה ובעלי משנה מכל קצוות הארץ ואמר כל אחד ואחד שמועתו כמו שנשמעה תלמיד מפי רבו עד משה רבינו עליו השלום. ובחר רבינו המובחר משש מאות סדרי משנה שהיה בזמן ההוא וחבר ששה סדרי המשנה בס'’ג מסכתות בקיצור נמרץ, מעט בכמות, ומרובה באיכות וסמכו הוא ובית דינו על המקרא שכתוב עת לעשות לה’ הפרו תורתיך. ועכ'’ז נגנזו בו כל התורה וסודותיה. וכתוב בסדר הדורות שזה היה בערך לשנת 3948 

The time of the second temple was divided into 2 eras. The first was the era of the Men of the Great Assembly, and the second was referred to as the era of the Pairs. The Men of the Great Assembly (and among them Mordechai, Ezra, Yirmiyahu, Nechemiah, and many more who are mentioned in Scripture) represented the end of scripture, and the beginning of the time of the Mishnah, and they made many decrees to strengthen the Jewish people in their service of the Living G-d. Shimon the Righteous was among the last of the Men of the Great Assembly, as is written in Pirkei Avos. 

In the second era the tradition was guarded and disseminated mainly by 2 great leaders working in tandem - the first one the Nasi (leader typically descended from King David) and the second the Av Beis Din (head of the court) aided by their court. The last of the Pairs was Hillel and Shammai, and after them, Hillel’s son Shimon served as the Nasi, and Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai as the Av Beis Din. Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai, his students, and his students’ students became the main sages of the Mishnah. In the year 3830, the Romans destroyed our Holy House, burned our Palace, and sent us into exile from our land. From then on, the suffering was doubled and quadrupled, with new, harsher decrees against the jewish people every year until the generation of Rebbi Yehudah HaNasi. G-d granted him grace and respect in the eyes of Antoninus, the emperor of Rome, and the decrees were relaxed. Students came back to the study houses to learn, and the Oral Torah spread out to the masses.

Rebbi Yehuda saw with his wisdom that it had come time to assemble a book of the Oral Tradition, lest it be forgotten from the Jewish people in the midst of the descent into Exile. Thus he gathered sages from as far north as Germany, as far West as Spain, as Far South as Ethiopia, and as far East as India, and each one repeated their learning tradition as they had received it, teacher to student, going back to Moshe, our teacher, peace be upon him. Rebbi Yehuda HaNasi picked the choicest of the mishnayot from the 600 orders of mishnah that were at that time, and assembled them into the 6 orders of mishnah, comprised of 63 tractates in brief - words few in quantity, but great in quality - in the 6 orders of mishnah, he concealed the entire oral tradition and all of its secrets. It’s written in Seder Hadoros (historical text) that the assembly of the mishnah was around the year 3948AM, 1500 years after the exodus from Egypt.

ואלו הן הס'’ג מסכתות של משנה לפי סדרם

A list of the 63 tractates of Mishnah divided into 6 “orders”: 

Zeraim, dealing with agricultural laws and blessings.

Berachos, Peah, Demai, Kilayim, Shvi’is, Terumos, Ma’asros, Ma’aser Sheni, Orlah, Challah, Bikkurim

Mo’ed, dealing with the holidays and their customs

Shabbos, Eiruvin, Pesachim, Shekalim, Yoma, Sukkah, Beitzah Rosh Hashanah, Ta’anis, Megillah, Moeh Katan, and Chagigah

Nashim, dealing with the laws of marriage, vows, and divorce

Yevamos, Kiddushin, Kesubos, Nedarim, Nazir, Sotah, and Gittin

Nezikin, dealing with civil law, criminal law, and damages

Baba Kamma, Baba Metziah, Baba Basra, Sanhedrin, Makkos,  Shevuos, Eidius, Horius, Avodah Zarah, and Avos

Kodashim, dealing with the temple and sacrifices

Zevachim, Menachos, Chullin, Bechoros, Erchin, Temurah, Kerisos, Me’ilah, Kinnim, Tamid, and Middos

Taharos, dealing with the laws of ritual purity and impurity

Keilim, Ohelos, Negayim, Para, Taharos, Mikvaos, Niddah, Makshirin, Zavim, T’vul Yom, Yaddayim, and Uktzin

לפי דעת בעל ספר הליכות עולם: מרבי יוחנן בן זכאי לרבינו הקודש חמש דורות ואלו הם: הדור הראשון רבי יוחנן בן זכאי בעצמו וחבריו,  הדור השני, רבי אליעזר בן הורקנוס, רבי אלעזר בן ערך, רבי יהושע בן חנניה, רבי יוסי הכהן והרבה זולתם  הדור השלישי, רבי עקיבא, רבי טרפון, רבן גמליאל, רבי אלעזר בן עזריה, רבי אלעזר בן שמוע וחבריהם, הדור הרביעי, רבי שעמון בן יוחי (מחבר הזהר הקדש), רבי יהודא , רבי מאיר, רבי יוסי בן חלפתא, רבי נחמיה, וחבריהם. הדור החמישי רבינו הקדוש, רבי נתן, רבי ישמעאל בנו של רבי יוסי, וחבריהם, והם סוף התנאים שבמשנה ע''כ.

According to Sefer Halichos Olam: The time between Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai until Rebbi Yehuda HaNasi spanned 5 generations. In the first generation, Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai and his colleagues. The Second Generation: Rebbi Eliezer ben Horkenus, Rebbi Elazar ben Arach, Rebbi Yehoshuah Ben Chananya, Rebbi Yossi HaKohen, and many others like them. The Third generation included Rebbe Akiva, Rebbi Tarfon, Rabban Gamliel, Rebbi Elazar ben Azarya, Rebbi Elazar ben Shamuah and their colleagues. The fourth generation included Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai (who assembled the Holy Zohar), Rebbi Yehuda bar Ilai, Rebbi Meir, Rebbi Yossi ben Chalafta, Rebbi Nechemiah, and their colleagues. The fifth generation included Rebbi Yehudah HaNasi, Rebbi Nasan, Rebbi Yishmael the son of Rebbi Yossi, and their colleagues - and they were the last generation of the sages of the Mishnah. 

ואחר חיבור המשנה נתבלבלה דעת הלומדים, ולא נמצא אלא מעט התלמידים היכולים לדייק כל התורה ממשנה בלבד, ונצטרכו להכניס ברייתות, מלשון כלפי בר, שנקרא כן מפני ��נשתיירו חוץ למשנה. וחברו תלמידי רבינו – רבי הושעיא ורבי חייא – ספר התוספתא שהם ברייתות חזקות ואלמות כמשנה. וחברו רבי הושעיא ותלמידיו המדרש רבה להאיר המסורה וסודותיה בקו הנסתר באגדת התורה, ביין ובשמן כמ'’ש ואספת דגנך ותירושך ויצהרך. וחבר רב (י'’א שהוא רבי אבא דירושלמי, והוא תלמידו של רבי) ותלמידיו את הספרא כנגד ספ' ויקרא, וספרי כנגד במדבר ודברים ,שהם מדרשי הלכות. וחבר רבי יוחנן האמורא ותלמידיו את התלמוד ירושלמי, להאיר המשא ומתן שבמשנה ולבון הילכתא.

In the years after the assembly of the Mishnah, as a result of the descent into exile, the torah students began to lose the ability to learn the oral tradition properly - there were only a select few who knew how to divine all the secrets of the Torah from the few words of the Mishnah. Therefore they required the additional detail of Mishnaic statements left out of the 6 Orders of Mishnah, called Baraisos (Which means “outside”) because they were left out of the Mishnah. The students of Rebbi Yehudah HaNasi-  Rebbi Hoshiya and Rebbi Chiya - assembled the Tosefta from those Baraisos: The Tosefta, edited and published so soon after the mishnah, is considered highly accurate, and when compared in talmud has strength similar to Mishnah. Rebbi Hoshiya and his students then assembled the Midrash Rabbah to illuminate the traditions and their secrets within the stories of the torah, with “wine and oil”, as it is written “And you will gather your grain, your wine and your oil”. Rav (many say he was also known as Rebbi Aba in the Jerusalem Talmud - also a students of Rebbi Yehuda HaNasi) and his students assembled the baraisos of Sifra on Sefer Vayikra and the Sifri on Bamidbar and Devarim - Sifra and Sifri are midrashei halacha (sections of law derived directly from verses in Torah). Rebbi Yochanan the Amora and his students assembled the Jerusalem Talmud to illuminate and elucidate the discussions behind the Mishnah.

 וכתוב בספר הליכות עולם: אלו הם חכמי הגמרא לדרותם. הדור הראשון, רבי חייא, ורבי הושעיא, ולוי, ובר קפרא, רבים זולתם (והם נקראים בכמה מקומות 'דור המעבר' שהם ממעצים בין תנאים לאמוראים), הדור השני רבי יוחנן, ריש לקיש, [רב, וי'’א שהוא רבי אבא דירושלמי, ושמואל], וחכמי דורם. הדור השלישי רב הונא ורב יהודא, ורב נחמן, ורב אסי, ועולא ואנשי דורם, הדור הרביעי רב חסדא ורבה בר נחמני ורב יוסף,  ורב ששת וזולתם. הדור החמישי אביי ורבא וזולתם הרבה. הדור הששי רב פפא ורב פפי ורב הונא בריה דרב יהושע ורב יימר ורב זביד ואנשי דורם, הדור השביעי רב כהנא ורפרם בר פפא ואמימר ומר זוטרא ורב אשי . ורבינא, והם סוף הוראה עד כאן לשון הליכות עולם. חיבור הגמרא היה בערך לשנת 4250, ומכאן  ועד 4300 היה זמן הרבנן סבראי כגון רב אחאי ורב יהודאי.

It’s written in Sefer Halichos Olam: These are the leaders of the generations of the Gemara. The first generation, Rebbi Chiya, Rebbi Hoshiya, Levi, Bar Kappara, and many like them (as they are called in many places, the “transition generation”, as they represent the transition between Tannayim of the Mishnah and Amorayim of the Gemara). The second generation Rebbi Yochanan, Reish Lakish, Rav, and Shmuel, and the others of their generation. The third generation, Rav Huna, Rebbi Yehuda Nesiah, Rebbi Nachman, Rav Assi, Ullah, and the others of their generation. The fourth generation, Rev Chisda, Rabbah bar Nachmeini, Rav Yosef, Rav Sheishes, and their peers. The fifth generation, Abaye, Rava and many others. The Sixth generation, Rav Pappi, Rav Pappa, Ameimar, Mar Zutra, Rav Ashi, and Ravina. They represented the end of the time of the gemara, which was written down around the year 4250 on the hebrew calendar to preserve the discussions and elucidations on the mishnah lest they be forgotten. From then until around the year 4300 was the time of the Rabbanan Savrai, like Rav Achai and Rav Yehudai - who added a few final sections to the Gemara before sealing it.

ועמדו אחריהם הגאונים, כגון רב סעדיא גאון, רב שרירא,  ורב האי גאון והרבה זולתם, שהם נשיאים  התמימים עד עמוד הראשונים בשנת 4800, דמשמת רב האי גאון, נולד רש'’י, הראשון שבראשונים. והם הם עמודי הלכה. ובתוכם – רש'’י, הרמב'’ם, הרמב'’ן, הר'’ף, הר'’ן, הר'’י, רבינו תם, המהר'’ם, מרדכי, והרבה זולתם והרא'’ש הוא האחרון שבהם, וחיבור בנו את הטור, שקבץ סברות הראשונים במקום אחד וסדר אותם לעין כל. 

After them arose the Geonium, like Rav Sa’adya Gaon and Rav Sherira, Rav Hai Gaon, and many others. They were the the pure and holy leaders of the jewish people until the beginning of the era of the Rishonim (firsts) in the year 4800 - as the last of the Geonim (Rav Hai Gaon) passed away, Rashi (known as the first of the Rishonim) was born - and they represented pillars of halacha, and among them: Rashi, the Rambam, the Ramban, The Rif, The Ran, the Ri, Rabbeinu Tam, the Maharam, the Mordechai, and many like them. The Rosh as the last of them, and his son, the Tur, gathered the rulings of the Rishonim into one place and arranged them for all to see.

ואחריו עמדו שני מאירי עולם, רב יוסף קארו (הבית יוסף) ואת רב משה איסרליש (רמ'’א) . ונתן הקב'’ה  בליבם לבאר דברי הטור בבאר היטב, ואחר כך לסדר ההלכה למעשה לעם ישראל, הוא השולחן ערוך שהוא עומד וקיים לעד אפילו לאחרי ביאת המשיח ותחיית המתים. 

And after them arose 2 illuminators of the world, Rav Yosef Karo (the Beis Yosef) and Rav Moshe Isserles (the Ramah). The Holy One Blessed be He placed upon their hearts to explain the words of the Tur in great breadth, and afterwards to arrange and publish the practical laws for the Jewish People. This is the Shulchan Aruch, which will stand and sustain until even after the Moshiach comes and the dead are resurrected.

והטור ושולחן ערוך נחלק לארבע חלקים, ובתוכם הלכות לאין קץ מסודרים בסימנים ופרקים שונים, ואלו הם

The Tur and Shulchan Aruch are divided into 4 sections, and within them many laws with no end, arranged according to their sections and different chapters.

[9-11luria-blog]

Week of: April 8th 9-11 Class Learning Highlights

Language Arts

4th grade: Students began planning and writing their rough drafts of literary essays. The “boxes and bullets” format for this type of essay writing includes a claim driven by the theme of the story, concrete evidence and quotes from characters in the story, and unpacking of evidence using prompts such as “This proves...” or “This makes me think…”

5th grade: Students began drafting their memoirs this week. Each student received a memoir writing checklist with areas in structure, development, and language conventions to consider throughout the writing process.

Math

Shelby 4th grade: Students continued their work with fraction equivalence using multiplication and division.  We used the area model and division to show the equivalence of two fractions, explained fraction equivalence using a tape diagram and the number line, and related that to the use of multiplication and division. Students also began comparing fractions using benchmark numbers to compare two fractions on the number line.  

Jen 4th grade: Students compared fractions with either like numerators or denominators. We discovered that fractions do not have to have the same unit fraction in order to be compared to one another. Students were also assessed on their knowledge of fractions up until this point in the unit.

5th grade:  This week, students wrapped up their investigation of multi-digit whole number and decimal fraction operations.  Students solved measurement word problems with multi-digit division.  We also had a guest teacher (Hannah!) who helped us review our learning of adding and subtracting fractions!

Science:

With our last science lesson before Pesach, we explored a time in Human history when humanity was close to extinction, just 70,000 years ago. On Pesach, we remember being slaves as a way of being grateful for what we have now, but also as a reminder to go out of our way to protect those that are not as fortunate. As human beings,  we have the same responsibility to the animals close to extinction right now, especially when it's caused by people. In this lesson we explored the responsibility we have towards other living things and focused on the fact that human evolution was not an easy process.  

History

4th grade: Students continued their learning about slavery and the slave trade in the British Colonies. We discussed some of the reasons why the slave trade expanded in the mid 1700s and how this influenced trade.

5th grade: Students had the opportunity to share and reflect on their preamble projects. We also began learning about the legislative branch of the U.S government.

Hebrew

Dorit’s groups: We continue to expand our vocabulary knowledge in a variety of topics with a focus on vocabulary in different part of speech. This week we learned about swimming lesson as an after school activity. We spent time memorizing a text with over 50 words; memorization plays an important role in learning Hebrew and oral production. Children learn to pronounce the words properly --supporting accurate reading, writing and speaking. It sharpens the ability to conjugate and apply the vocabulary learned in new context.   

Daphna’s group: We learned about Degania, the first Kibbutz, and wrote questions to be answered by an actual Degania member! We also discussed the elections in Israel and how the Israel government system works.

Chumash

Rashi and Ramban: We continue to work on our independent Rashi abilities and worked closely with Rashi and psukim text to decipher the puzzle. Students also learned to sing the 4 Questions in Israeli sign language!

Eben Ezra: We completed our Miketz assessments and learning! Students continued their roller coaster posters adding feelings, motivation, details and pros and cons from both text and commentary. We also learned the 4 Questions in Israeli sign language.

Kindness: This week, we explored the text around the story of Moshe, focusing on what made him the best leader Israel has ever had. We begin to explore the idea of a Hero's Journey in literature, and the different stages they have to go through in order to become great.

The Dreamers: As Pesach approaches, we took some time to explore the Exodus story and the evolution of Moshe as a leader. We focused on the text around Moshe growing up in Egypt and compared it to his return as a savior. We compared character arcs to other examples in literature and film as we tracked the progression of how Moshe grew to be the leader we know him as today.

Mishnah

4th grade: Students learned the 3rd Mishnah in the first perek of Mishnah Brachot. We focused on a mahloket, or disagreement, between the sages Hillel and Shammai over whether the morning and nighttime Shma should be said in certain positions/postures.

5th grade: Students reviewed a Mishnah which also appears in the Haggadah about Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya and read a connected story in the Gemarah for some additional background information.

Questions

Language Arts

4th grade: What is your claim (including theme) about the story you chose to write about? What three times throughout the story does this theme show up?

5th grade: What is the moral or message of your memoir? Are you writing in the structure of a story, essay, or hybrid of both?

Math

Shelby 4th grade: Why is it important to choose a common factor to make larger units?  Explain how knowing the factors of the numerator and the factors of the denominator can be helpful in identifying equivalent fractions of a larger unit size.  How is modeling with a number line similar to modeling with an area model?  How is it different? Last year, you found equivalent fractions by locating them on a number line.  Do you now require a number line to find equivalent fractions?  What other ways can you determine equivalent fractions?

Jen 4th grade: Which is greater: 2 third or 2 sixths? 4 eighths or 7 eighths? How do you know?

5th grade:  Asher is making math manipulatives to sell.  He wants to make at least $450.  Each manipulative costs $18 to make.  He is selling them for $30 each.  What is the minimum number he can sell to reach his goal?  What was the most challenging skill in this unit?  How can you apply the skills you’ve learned in this unit to real-world scenarios?

Science:

How can our understanding of human evolution help us be more responsible towards  planet Earth?

History

4th grade: What was unexpected about how rice became such a profitable crop in south carolina?

5th grade: What are some of the jobs of the Legislative branch of the government as stated by the Constitution?

Hebrew

Dorit’s groups: What are some of the new verbs you learned this week?

Daphna’s group: איך חיו האנשים בדגניה לפני 100 שנה? היית רוצה לחיות שם?

Chumash

Rashi and Ramban: Teach your family the 4 Questions in sign language!

Eben Ezra: Teach your family the 4 Questions in sign language!

Kindness: What are some qualities we see in Moshe that made God chose him to lead Israel?

The Dreamers: How can understanding the evolution of Moshe as a leader help us tackle difficult challenges in our own lives?

Mishnah

4th grade: What is the major difference between the opinions of Hillel and Shammai for reciting the Shma?

5th grade: What is one possible reason why Elazar ben Azarya said he felt as though he was a man of 70?

[dadyomi]

Friday 3/3, Nazir 39: Soup to Nuts

For what it’s worth, Sefaria’s translation reads “even seeds or skin” but I kind of like the idea of using “from seeds to skin” as a way of saying something is complete, or completely encompassed. I think “from skin to seeds” might make more sense from a purely “how we eat things” point of view, but I like the weird unreality of seeds-to-skin. 

[magnetoisright]

It is important to me that people understand. This is not a modern interpretation. It's Talmudic. Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua thought this, as did Rabbi Akiva. (Ok, both said "spawned more" but considering the time scale of the plagues...)

The best part is Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya telling Akiva "well what do you know about this? Stop that."

So anyway, we've always been like this

[dadyomi]

Daf Yomi Week 138: A Sense Of Intimacy

Shabbat Shalom and welcome! Miraculously I found an extra passage to share this week, but really I just like it because for once it’s treating the marriage contract as at least tangentially involving human emotions. It doesn’t last long but it’s there! And “a sense of intimacy” is kind of a nice way to put it, I thought. 

I don’t really follow any kind of systematic Jewish discourse online, on tumblr or anywhere else, but I have a sprawling network of websites, social media, friends, and nemeses that kind of gives me a “pulse” of Jewish contemporary philosophy. I think we are...more or less always discussing issues surrounding taking time off work for the high holidays, the hypocrisy of institutionalized Christianity in December, etc. but it seems like it’s a bit ramped up this year. Perhaps because everything happens on a weekday this time around, or perhaps it’s to do with the pandemic -- there’s so much agita over going back to school, going back to in-person work, traveling, gathering, whether the pandemic is over or starting to be over or Really Not Over.

I’ve made my peace, a bit, with the fact that I don’t always get the high holidays off, or don’t get as much time off as I’d like, due to the nature of my work. I’m fortunate that my workplace is otherwise extremely positive and accommodating (and at this point the department I work in is predominantly Jewish, something I’ve NEVER had before) and we’re a bit forced by circumstance. The next few months are going to be something of a ride, I have a feeling, so if the weeks in review vanish for a while, well, they vanish. Part of the goal of all this was to document my journey through Daf Yomi since I wasn’t finding much else out there about the entire process, and if nothing else I’ve yelled enough about Yevamot and Ketubot to be useful to someone, someday, so if I skip a few short week in reviews essays the world will not end.

I mean, the world might end, but not because of me, which is comforting. 

248 weeks to go! I hope we get to take some time off in some of them...

[dadyomi]

Wednesday 8/31, Ketubot 56: Small Curses

I feel like I’ve been mad at Rav Nahman in the past though I can’t remember why now. I do like that the sages of Neharde’a ignored him, but I LOVE the phrase “unspecified misfortune will happen to him”. If I were in the habit of cursing people I would absolutely use “may unspecified misfortune happen to you” as a mild curse. For minor annoyances only, like someone in front of me holding up a line or the one guy at the post office who’s always super rude to the patrons. 

[dadyomi]

Tuesday 8/17, Sukkah 41: Circle of Lulav

The paragraph following this one goes on to explain that this is to demonstrate that a gift given conditional upon its return still has the legal status of a gift, but I like to think it’s just a nice heartwarming story of some Rabbis On A Boat With Only One Lulav.

[dadyomi]

Thursday 9/23, Beitzah 23: Don’t Have Just One Cow, Man

From the scandal of an adorned cow to the sheer Harris Ranch-level herd of Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya’s to the mysterious neighbor decorating their cow to Rabbi Elazar getting the blame, this single passage from today’s Daf was like several face-punches all in a row. 

[dadyomi]

Thursday 7/16, Shabbat 132: “Leprous Foreskin” is my crustpunk band name

There was so much circumcision today that I couldn’t resist that headline, but really and truly while I’m glad that saving a life overrides Shabbat, because it would be monstrous to be otherwise, I love that we still need a few paragraphs of proof as to why. And certainly “because of circumcision” is an argument that I did not expect.

[9-11luria-blog]

Week of:  June 11th

9-11 Class Learning Highlights

Language Arts

Fourth grade: Fourth graders wrapped up their poetry unit. They learned how to write senryus and began the publishing process for their poetry books!

Fifth grade: We finished our information writing unit and students completed their post assessment. They read three articles about the history of African Americans who have played major league baseball and then wrote an information “speech” in essay format. Students were able to reflect on their writing and helped score with the use of a rubric.

Math

Blue, Green, Yellow: This week students related a fraction of a set to the repeated addition interpretation of fraction multiplication, solved and created fraction word problems involving addition, subtraction, and multiplication, multiplied unit fractions by unit fractions and non-unit fractions.  

Purple: This week purple students merged what they knew about math and games to create their own math games! Students brainstormed ideas from their experiences playing games and planned for what materials they would need. They chose from a variety of math topics and created math question cards to go along with their games. Then, they made a set of rules and designed their own boards. We hope you enjoy playing our math games at the Celebration of Learning!

Red & Orange: This week students worked on their final math projects of the year to display at the Celebration of Learning! Friends had the opportunity to choose between solving a complex exemplar or creating their own. Math skills needed to solve these problems represent a summative assessment of this past year of learning, including multiplication, division, measurement, geometry, fractions, decimals, elapsed time, or money.

Rainbow: We continued adding fractions, specifically seeing how they can also be expressed as decimals and percentages. This past week we focused on reducing the fraction and deciphering how to express improper or mixed fractions. Using money and craisins (students’ choice), we were able to see how 150/100 is really saying 1 and 50/100, which can then reduced to 1 and 1/2.

History

Fourth grade:  Students concluded their presentations on Colonial American life and industries and got ready to present for our upcoming Celebration of Learning.  We also began learning about some of the events that contributed to the outbreak of the French and Indian War, which we will continue learning next year in fifth grade!

Fifth grade: Students presented their Westward Expansion speeches to their peers! They used their peer feedback gathered from speech rehearsals to do one final presentation before the Celebration of Learning.

Yahadut

Fourth grade: Students concluded their Mishnah learning for the year by learning the fifth mishnah in the first perek of brachot, which connects the Pesach story and addresses the question of why we tell the story at night. Students learned the text of the mishnah, while connecting it to the other location where it appears, the Pesach haggadah. We also learned some of a parallel story in the Gemarah, which gives some background information for Elazar ben Azarya and gives some context as to why he might have said that he was “like a man of 70 years.”

Fifth grade: Students learned the fourth, fifth, and sixth mishnayot of the fourth perek of Mishnah Brachot, which focus on the terms kevah, fixed prayer and kavannah, prayer with intention. Students connected these mishnayot to themes from our morning tefila practice.  

Ivrit

We discussed the end of the year and used our school enviorment vocabulary to compare what next year will look like and reflections on this past year.

Chumash

Students have been working independely on their Celebration of Learning projects, creating representations of various psukim learned this year in either texting conversation or Storyboard format.

Questions

Language Arts

Fourth grade: What is a senryu? What considerations did you make when collecting the poems for your poetry book?

Fifth grade: What information can you now teach people about African Americans and baseball? Discuss Jackie Robinson, The Negro Baseball League, and/or women who played in the Negro Baseball League.

Math

Blue, Green, Yellow: Evan’s mom says he has an hour before bedtime. He sepnts ⅓ of the hour texting a friend and ¼ of the time brushing his teeth and getting ready for bed. He spends the rest of the time reading a book. How many minutes did Evan spend reading?

Purple: What was the most challenging part of creating your own math game?  

Red & Orange: What math skills were/are required to solve your exemplar for the Celebration of Learning? What did you enjoy about solving/making your exemplar?

Rainbow: Benjy needs to buy his coffee at the bagel shop and he has six quarters in his pocket. A small coffee costs $1.30. Does he have enough money?

History

Fourth grade: What were two contributing factors to the start of the French and Indian War?

Fifth grade: How did your final speech rehearasal go? What are your final notes for making your speech the best it can be?

Yahadut

Fourth grade: How was our mishnah about telling the story of Pesach connected to the other mishnayot about Shemah?

Fifth grade: What did Rabbi Eliezer say about a tefila that is fixed (kevah)?

Ivrit

איך תראה שנה הבאה? מה את/ה רוצה או לא רוצה שנה הבאה?

Chumash

What is your project about? What was your favorite part of our Chumash learning this year?

[9-11luria-blog]

Week of:  February 12th

9-11 Class Learning Highlights

Language Arts

Fourth grade: Essayists composed and sorted mini-stories for their essays this week.  We discussed that writers draw on narrative writing and use mini-stories to support the ideas they want to advance.  We learned that writers organize for drafting by checking that their evidence is supportive and varied.  Finally, we put the pieces of our essays together and learned that writers create cohesion with logically sequenced information, transition words, and repeated phrases.  

Fifth grade: Students continued researching debatable issues to prepare for writing argument essays. We made foldable organizers that include a claim, reasons that directly support the claim, and evidence from sources that might include quotes, facts, data, comparisons, or anecdotes. Students worked hard to gather evidence from multiple media sources, including books, articles, and videos.

Math

Green & Blue: Students in the green and blue groups divided two- and three-digit dividends by two-digit divisors with single-digit quotients and reasoned about the decomposition of successive remainders in each place value.  

Purple: Students in the purple group used their knowledge of dividing multi-digit numbers to solve for quotients of multi-digit decimals and generalized rules for adding and multiplying even and odd numbers.  

Red & Orange: Interpret division word problems as either number of groups unknown or group size unknown, drawing tape diagrams to match the word problem story, and solving for the answer using the long division algorithm.

Yellow: Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm and using estimation to check for reasonableness of the product.

Rainbow: We discussed what a factor is, and defined and compared prime numbers and composite numbers.

History

Fourth grade: Students received their research assignments for our Native American project and began their research.

Fifth grade: Students learned more about the United States Constitution, its amendments, and how the first ten amendments became the original Bill of Rights.

Science

Students put the finishing touches on their space explorer projects this week.  We also prepared for our presentations that will happen when we get back from break.  

Yahadut

In their parasha studies, students learned about the instructions for building the Mishkan  and learned about what makes a space holy.  Students read about the specific parts of the building of the Mishkan, the material used, and other specific information found in the text.  They then had the opportunity to construct blueprints and reimaginations of the Mishkan and write about their design process.

Mishnah

Fourth grade: This week, students learned the final mishnah in the 6th perek of Brachot!  The mishnah focuses on three different options for blessing after a meal and students studied different cases for each option, then looked inside a birkon to find the actual text of Birkat Hamazon, Bracha Achrona, and Borei Nefashot Rabot to see the brachot as they are utilized today.

Fifth grade: Students completed the 5th and final mishnah of the first perek of brachot, which is centered around a quote from Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya that is also featured in the Pesach Haggadah.  Student discussed the different implications of the quote and then we read the corresponding story in the Gemarah which explains the context of the quote in the Mishnah.

Ivrit

Be’er Sheva: We learned numbers up to 1,000 and how to tell time in Hebrew. We focused on using the numbers correctly, and added up the gimatria of our names. We played games to practice different number combinations.

Yerushalayim: We learned numbers up to 1,000 and how to tell time in Hebrew. We focused on using the numbers correctly, and added up the gimatria of our names. We also reviewed some Purim vocabulary, and spoke about what we do in the four mitzvot of Purim.

Tel Aviv: We reviewed numbers up to 10,000, and learned male and female forms of the numbers. We learned how to tell time in Hebrew and spoke about what we did on Purim last year, using past tense verbs to describe what we did for the four mitzvot of Purim.

Haifa: We reviewed numbers up to 10,000 and learned male and female forms of the numbers. We learned how to tell time in Hebrew and spoke about what we did on Purim last year, and then about what we are going to do this upcoming Purim. Students used future tense verbs to describe what their upcoming Purim plans are.

Chumash

Rashi and Ramban: The students completed their unit assessment, concluding parashat Toldot. They spoke about being responsible for your actions, inducing anger and conflict, and the importance of our words.

Eben Ezra and Sforno: We finished parashat Miketz! The students finished learning the last psukim and selected Mefarshim of Miketz, and continued discussing the shifts in the characters roles in their family and their personalities. We spoke about regret and forgiveness, and how it affects the character and those around it.

Questions

Language Arts

Fourth grade: What are mini-stories?  How are you organizing your mini-stories? How are you organizing your reasons within your essay?

Fifth grade: What is your claim for your argument essay? What are your reasons that support your claim?

Math

Green & Blue: While preparing for a morning meeting, Tiphanie is laying out 8 dozen bagels on square plates.  Each plate can hold 14 bagels.  How many plates of bagels will Tiphanie have?  How many more bagels would be needed to fill the final plate with bagels?

Purple: Explain a strategy to convert a decimal divisor into a whole number divisor.  In the problem 105 / 3.5, what could I multiply the divisor by to convert it to a whole number divisor?  What are the benefits of using mental math techniques when dividing?  Which mental math techniques work best for you?  

Red & Orange: A mailman has to give out 948 pieces of junk mail. If he goes to 6 blocks how many pieces of junk mail should he give each block?

Yellow: Estimate the following multiplication equation, then solve using the standard algorithm, and check the reasonableness of your answer: 472 x 715 =

Rainbow: What is an example of a prime number? Why is it prime? What is an example of a composite number? Why?

History

Fourth grade: What are you researching for our project?  What is a question that you have about your research topic?

Fifth grade: In your opinion, which of the ten amendments in the Bill of Rights is the most meaningful or important?

Science

How will you prepare to present your space explorer project?  

Yahadut

Fourth grade: Rabbi Akiva speaks about a case where someone drinks water because of thirst.  What do you think this means?  How is this case different from other situations where we might drink water? Explain.

Fifth grade: According to the Gemarah, why did Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya feel like a man of 70? What happened in the story to make him feel this way?

Ivrit

מה השעה עכשיו? מה הייתה השעה לפני שעה וחצי? מה תהיה השעה בעוד 45 דקות?

Chumash

Rashi and Ramban: Who induced anger and conflict? Who did this effect?

Sforno and Eben Ezra: Who do you think feels regret in our story? Who do you think is forgiving? Why?