Matmonim: Daf Yomi by Rabbi David Lapin

IN MEMORY OF THE KEDOSHIM OF BONDI BEACH, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 

When a person, ready to sacrifice his/her blood for Kiddush Hashem, is cut off before their life’s purpose has been lived, their memory carries kedusha for ever.  

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Each of us is created with a specific purpose, but how do we discover what it is? 

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Sin that is motivated by instinct is wrong but natural, and it’s process of Kappara (atonement) is different from sin that is motivated by flawed intellect and miscalculation.

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Dedicated by David and Ofra Taback   לעל"נ ר' סנדר ב"ר אברהםwho made it a point to always  be a positive contributor in every part of his life and had a good word for anyone he met. Also for the 34th Yahrzeit of my father מו"ר ר' אברהם חיים ב"ר דוב ז"ל.

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The Torah empowers us to use human logic to extrapolate and apply its laws in life, but just as all the laws of nature have their limits, so do the laws of logic have limits. 

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Our thoughts might not change the substance of matter, but they do indelibly  impact the relationship between ourselves and that matter.

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Choosing how to use what we own, is in itself an expression of ownership.

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Every word of the Torah delivers an imperative of some sort that sets our lives up to fulfil Hashem’s will.

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Why are bird offerings always brought in pairs, and why specifically the species of torrim and benei-yonah? And why is the case of a voluntary korban, can a single bird be brought?

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Sacrifice requires that we extend ourselves beyond the capacities we have as defined by where we are. We can project ourselves into places far beyond our current realities.

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Understanding the difference between Kedusha (sanctity) and kavod (dignity): The former is absolute, the latter relative.

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Tzeniut (privacy) is not an objective “one-size-fits-all”. Tzeniut is a character trait and is relative to situations and to circumstances.

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We have learned how a different place can create a different individual, and different ambience can change a place.

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Contrast provides clarity. The positive is often appreciated only through its negative. 

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Connection requires two opposire dynamics: reaching out and withdrawing, giving and receiving, positive and negative mitzvot, male and female  - Avodah and Torah.

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The Torah is not an instruction book for mitzvot. The Torah is a source of infinite living energy which we harness and activate when we translate it into physical action, mitzvot. The Torah is the music and the mitzvah the dance. 

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Often an objects place does nothing to define the object, but sometimes the place does define the object. In life as well, there are times and places that define who we are at that time or ion that place.

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Reality listens most closely at the beginning. Intent, the silent spark in the genesis of action, whispers to possibility which way to turn. In Kodshim, the silent spark of intent, embedded in the action, becomes reality.

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We are quick to discard leftovers. But in studying the laws of the leftover blood of a korban, we develop new sensitivity to the hidden status of leftovers 

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Please use this link to register for the 50 Year Celebration on Oct 30 or to send Rabbi Lapin a message. https://Matmonimcelebration.com

When one views a legal/halachik problem through the lens of empathy and sensitivity to the human problems sometimes caused by halacha, one’s view of the halachik issue can be different from viewing it purely academically. One sees the differences in learning between purely academic Roshei Yeshiva and those who were also active Rabbonim. This perspective might help understand the differences between the worldviews of Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel. 

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Life exists when the material body, guf, and the spirit, nefesh, are linked and sutain one another. Human life, adam, like earth, adamah, is designed to produce. When human life ends it can no longer produce. When animal life ends, both its guf and its nefesh can still produce. Its body produces products, its nefesh produces kapparah.

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Please use this link to register for the 50 Year Celebration on Oct 30 or to send Rabbi Lapin a message. https://Matmonimcelebration.com

Infusing a spirit of volunteerism into duty and obligation is the ultimate service.

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Please use this link to register for the 50 Year Celebration on Oct 30 or to send Rabbi Lapin a message. https://Matmonimcelebration.com

We explore different methodologies of the Rishonim in Pesak (Halachik decisions)

Please use this link to register for the 50 Year Celebration on Oct 30 or to send Rabbi Lapin a message. https://Matmonimcelebration.com

When an item becomes disqualified for use on the Mizbeach, it cannot requalify. However, disqualification must be due to a problem that the person is unable to fix.

Please use this link to register for the 50 Year Celebration on Oct 30 or to send Rabbi Lapin a message. https://Matmonimcelebration.com

The effectiveness of an action depends on its physical specifications being correct and on the intent with which it is executed. It also depends on the authority of the person doing it. An action committed by one who lacks the authority to do so, is ineffective.

There is a reason why the second Avodah of Korbanot is called Kabbala – receiving. Who is the blood received from, and why?

There is a difference between acting on something or someone and connecting with them. The energy-flow in connection, is bilateral. 

Readiness to serve is not only a requirement of Kehunah but its very essence 

When a king educates a person, he believes in him

Creating boundaries between Kodesh and chol needs clarity of mind, and separateness 

Often, even after healing and repair, one needs a new start to fully reset

The same individual in a seated position is at times a different halachik persona from if he were standing. One is a person in service, the other is one being served

Thought entails energy and as such there are circumstances where, like any energy, the energy of thought can be amplified to have physical impact  

Hashem bends the Torah according to the judgement of the Sanhedrin even when they appear to have erred. Yet this does not exonerate a learned individual from playing a part in the evolution of Halachik thought.

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Atonement offers the opportunity to repair a wrong and avoid its consequences. But it goes further. When properly executed it also enables us to restore a fractured relationship with Hashem

An obligation such as indebtedness does not get cancelled by a gift, no matter how generous. 

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Intention and thought are both critical dimensions of a korban.  They differ in that we can make assumptions about intentions and we can assign intention to action. Not so with respect to thought: We can never make assumptions about people‘s thoughts not can we assign thoughts to their actions. A wrong thought can irretrievably damage the quality of an action – especially in korbanot.

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We explore the reason for and meaning of the study of Kodshim 

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In doing, our bias should be to action. In judging our bias should be to caution. When it comes to errors in judgement, fear of the full consequences of error is crucial.  

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Leadership has a level of responsibility beyond anything of the individual. However, their responsibility doesn’t relieve the individual of his own accountability. We examine the balance between individual and leadership responsibility for error

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We express our true identities not by what we do but by what we refuse to do. What we do not do defines our boundaries, and our boundaries define our identities – as individuals, families, communities, nations and faiths. 

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How does the law of bittul - nullification (when something forbidden gets mixed with something permitted, if the quantities are small enough so that there is no felt experience of the forbidden substance, then it is nullified) work? Does the mixture take on the identity of the dominant, permitted substance, or does it retain its identity but may be ignored halachikly because its effect is not experienced?

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Choices that are not motivated by any extrinsic factors are different from those that are made in response to an extrinsic event

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When managing people, it is essential to clarify the degree of their authority, ownership and responsibility 

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“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” – Anaïs Nin

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When a religious person is careful about certain areas of halacha but not about others, it doesn’t necessarily signify hypocrisy, it is more likely simply inconsistency, something we are all somewhat guilty of.

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Sometimes two objects that look identical are defined differently. How does the Torah view these two objects, as similar or different?

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The purpose of debate is not only to persuade others but also to reinforce our own ideas and beliefs

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One who does not keep the Shabbat does not allow the space and the time to explore their soul. They deny its existence, much like the idol worshipper denies the existence of an inner spiritual world. 

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Disgust is often an instinctual reaction to something that repels us. But disgust can also be a conscious choice we make that is a reinforcement of our values 

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Some prohibitions (especially Rabbinic prohibitions) attach to the action of an individual. Others attach to the object. In the case of Avodah Zarah the object is so contaminated that even Rabbinic Prohibition can attach to the object. 

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We have an example of how the great Poskim solve human and social problems within the guardrails of Halacha by fully understanding the context of the circumstance

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Every choice we make entails a cost, a sacrifice. Some choices are made from an inner place of fear, others from a deeper place, from a place of soul, of Emunah. These are the choices that are transformational

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We explore how the differences between hands and feet extend beyond physiology and even halacha, to kabbalistic ideas as well 

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Medicine plays a critical role in health care – but there are other factors too, and science goes far beyond what we know in any given age

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Leadership greatness entails the combination of character and wisdom.

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Defiling that which is holy, corrupting that which is authentic, is one of the most serious transgressions

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Seeing to the essence of things and discerning the differences between that which appears similar

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The negative force of idolatry contained in an object cannot be transferred but it can contaminate other objects. Destroying the contaminated object can at times destroy the negative force in its entirety

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Parents are obligated to do their best in how they raise their children. But if their children turn out bad, how responsible are they?

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The source of idolatry is neither in the object of service, nor in the subject serving it. The source is in a corrupted value system.

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There is so much sanctity in the words of torah that even thinking about them in inappropriate places is forbidden

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One can be attached to an object or to its commercial value. In the same way one can be attached to an idea embedded in that object. Idolatry is an added layer of value embedded in a worshipped object

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There is a widely held assumption that if one is forbidden to benefit from a certain object, it has no value and therefore is not subject to the laws of ownership. However, probing more deeply we discover ownership is not determined by one’s rights to an object but rather by one’s responsibility for it.

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Unlike other faiths, the Torah does not bifurcate the spiritual and the material, they are fused into one.

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Intimacy is not only about who is in the inner, intimate circle; it is also about who is not. Boundaries create social intimacy  

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Truth and reputation are not always loving siblings. There are times when truthfulness can impair reputation thereby reducing an individual’s future effectiveness. But sometimes we have to listen tour reputation and challenge our inner beings and deeper motivations

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Faithfulness to tradition assures authenticity. Innovation avoids rigidity and fundamentalism. How do we balance the two? 

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To be a nation of learners, as we are, we need first and foremost to be a nation of teachers. Teaching is not just a means of enabling the next generation with the knowledge and skills they need, teaching is also a form of learning by which the teacher can access higher levels of understanding than he would merely as a scholar.

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Time has a diluting effect both on memories and on the impact of events and even materials.

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Wine is a vehicle both of social connection and of connection to Hashem. Dilution of Jewish society through intermarriage dilutes our relationship to Hashem as well.

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Have we paid too high a price for the release of our hostages or is no price too high?

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In some areas we are expected to master and overcome our natural urges. But there are areas, the areas of basic human character, where virtue is innate – we simply need to nurture and develop it. 

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When using Hashem as a strategy to gain trust which is then broken, the transgression is not just monetary, but one of faith as well 

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We need to be mindful not only of what we say but also of what our words imply, even if not said

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The synthesis of empathy and grace applies to Hashem uniquely

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How much we remember or whether we remember at all, depends on the responsibility we have to remember and the degree to which we are intentional about remembering

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The Torah goes much further than requiring us to not be judgmental. The Torah wants us to make positive assumptions about the actions and intentions of others wherever possible. This is both a law, and a strategy for successful relationships

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Everything we see is a perspective, not the Truth." – Marcus Aurelius. Is this true according to Torah? 

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Being human means being conscious and aware not only of what we do but also of the consequences of what we do

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Life is seldom black and white. Even in matters of moral values, there are times we need to prioritize one value over others. In Halacha is also nuanced and at times we must prioritize one halacha over another. How we prioritize values and halacha is a skill we develop through the learning of Gemara.

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A thought that is articulated carries with it a powerful energy that a thought alone lacks. A written thought carries a similar energy, but lacks the communication nuances that the oral word has

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There is a qualitative difference between things we cannot do because they go against our nature or against the laws of nature, and things we can do but may not. However, is this difference in our minds or is it a difference in reality?  

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We assume that a clear imperative of the Torah carries the highest moral authority. Yet this may not be so: rational human logic carries an even higher authority and underpins the authority of the Torah

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Forging G-d’s “signature” to authenticate a lie undermines the very essence of Truth

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As in the case of Nedarim, in Shevuot the precise meaning of the language used is critically important. Nevertheless, Abaye teaches us, context can provide a very different interpretation of an individual’s intention

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The stakes in Halacha are high. The consequences of committing an aveira (wrongdoing), even in error, are serious. However, Halacha magnificently builds mechanisms to avoid people developing OCD over the fear of possibly having committed an aveira.

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Education is the process of bringing out the potential an individual already has for a particular talent or characteristic 

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This sugiya explores the difference in consciousness between theoretical knowledge and one’s living reality 

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By the time we reach Yom Kippur afternoon, our Kapara (Atonement) is complete. The remainder of the day our focus pivots from healing self to healing others and to the universe we might have contaminated with our actions.

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Normally a shogeig (unintentional action) means that at the time of the action we had no knowledge that what we were ding was wrong. In the case of שגגת טומאת מקדש וקדשיו the un intentionality that triggers the obligation to bring a קרבן עולה ויורד, requires  a measure of subconscious knowledge that the action was wrong. We explore the nature of subconscious knowledge.

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Halacha is a living process. Poskim (halachik decisors), like all of us, are works in progress. Their decisions at a given time are snapshots of their evolution at that time. Their later opinions, when different from earlier ones, do not invalidate the reasoning of these earlier opinions which remain a part of our halachik canon.

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Universally, oaths are taken seriously as a way of assuring facts in the future and establishing facts in the past. This is because the idea of oaths is a natural law built into the creation

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ר' חנניא בן עקשיא אומר: רצה הקדוש ברוך הוא לזכות את ישראל לפיכך הרבה להם תורה ומצות, שנאמר: ה' חפץ למען צדקו יגדיל תורה ויאדיר 

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The value of an object, action or idea is a function of the number and complexity of its individual components. Connoisseurs appreciate this.

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Gender confusion is initiated not only by cross-dressing and make-up, but also by cross-gender behavior  

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National prosperity is a blessing from Hashem that is conditional on the sacrifices that individuals make.

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When the Torah names something not as a description of a commodity but as the definition of a specific object’s wholeness, it becomes a “beriah”, something whose identity is complete and cannot be adulterated. 

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