Three Cheers for Grandmothers

mine cheered me up tremendously yesterday.

you shouldn't be allowed to graduate from college...

...without knowing what a phone jack is and what it looks like.

that's all from the roomate front.

quick question

does anyone know what rabbi lamm said bout egalitariansim and halacha last night at the JEwish Center? (answers to this question may include references to otehr people who think they know what he said, even if you don't know personally. they may not include snide-ness.)

in other news, while thoughts flit through my brain all the time, i rarely get to put them here due to my (allegedly) impending wedding and the associated craziness of me and my parents trying to do anything even remotely together, compunded with my general forgetfullness and suchnot. but we shall overcome.

ד. ב. ר.

yerushalmi brachot, 5:1.

תלמוד ירושלמי מסכת ברכות פרק ה דף ח טור ד /מ"א

תני לא יעמוד אדם ויתפלל לא מתוך שיחה ולא מתוך שחוק ולא מתוך קלות ראש ולא מתוך דברי' בטילין אלא מתוך דבר של תורה וכן אל יפטר אדם מתוך חבירו לא מתוך שיחה ולא מתוך שחוק ולא מתוך קלו' ראש ולא מתוך דברים בטילים אלא מתוך דבר של תורה שכן מצינו בנביאים הראשונים שהיו חותמין את דבריהן בדברי שבח ובדברי נחמות

A tanna taught: A person should not get up and pray out of (ie, immediately after)conversation nor out of joking/laughter nor out of levity nor out of idle things, rahter out of a word of Torah. And similarly, a person should not take leave from his friends out of (ie, immediately after)conversation nor out of joking/laughter nor out of levity nor out of idle things, rahter out of a word of Torah. FOr so we have found in the early Prophets, that they would conclude their words with words of praise and consolation.

אמר ר' אלעזר חוץ מירמיהו שחתם בדברי תוכחות אמר לו רבי יוחנן עוד הוא בדברי נחמות חתם ואמר ככה תשקע בבל לפי שהיה ירמיה חוזר ומתנבא על בית המקדש יכול בחורבן בית המקדש חתם תלמוד לומר עד הנה דברי ירמיהו במפולת של מחריביו חתם לא חתם בדברי תוכחות והכתיב והיו דראון לכל בשר בגוי' היא עסיקינן והכתיב כי מאוס מאסתנו השיבינו תחת כי מאוס מאסתנו

a lengthy discussion of whether all the prophets in fact closed their books with positive thoughts, specifically Jeremiah.

אף אליהו לא נפטר מאלישע אלא מתוך דבר של תורה ויהי המה הולכי' הלוך ודבר במה היו עוסקין רבי אחווא ביר' זעירא אמ' בקרית שמע היו עוסקין היך מה דאמ' אמר ודברת בם רבי יודה בן פזי אמר בבריאת עולם היו עוסקין הי כמה דאמ' בדבר ה' שמים נעשו רבי יודן בריה דרבי אייבו אמר בנחמות ירוש' היו עוסקין כמה דאמר דברו על לב ירושלם ורבנן אמרין במרכבה היו עוסקין היך מה דאת אמר והנה רכב אש וסוסי אש וגומר

Even Eliyahu did not take leave of Elisha except out of a dvar Torah. (Prooftext:)
"And it was, they were walking, walking and talking." (II Kings 2:11)
What were they talking about?
R. Ahvah b"r Zeira said, they were dealing with the recitaion of the Shema, [prooftext]: "and you shall talk about them."

{Odd here: the things to be talked about acc. to Shema are Torah in general, so why say that because they were following the Shema's prescription they were talking about Shema itself? This prooftext sounds like it is better suited to show how the previous prooftext means words of Torah and not just any words. Alternatively, all these derashot are based on the unusual word "vedaber" in the original passuk, which implies that they were learning something havig to do with the word daber itself.}

R. Yudah b. Pazi said, they were dealing with the creation of the world, as it says, "by the word of God the heavens were made." (Psalms 33:6)

R. Yudan son of R. Ayyvu said, they were dealing with the consolations of Jerusalem, as it says, "speak to the heart of Jeruslaem." (Isaiah 40:2)

and the Rabbis say, they were dealing with the heavenly charriot (merkavah, a chapter in Ezekiel traditionally assocaited with esoteric mysticism), [prooftext]: and here a charriot of fire and a horse of fire (came to take Elijah away)" (II Kings 2:11)

random no-to-connected-connection: I wonder if this series of midrashim can somehow be related to the general opinion that "d.b.r" is a "harsh" root. (beli neder, I may try and dig up sources on that later. I think I wrote about it on this blogbefore, though...) Here, instead, d.b.r. is divrei torah (albeit by some pretty harsh cahracters!).
Literary motive for this musing: the discussion of whether Jeremiah ends with good or bad news focusses on whether the destruction prophesied is for JEws or their enemies, similar to the discussion of d.b.r, in which destruction for our enemies is still considered good for the Jews (so yadber amim tachtenu is goodm therefore must not bet he same shoresh per se...) more on all that later, MAYBE, but anyway I liked the yerushalmi itself.

קטע מהלכות נדה מיוחס לרמב"ן

The publishers say it is by R. Yonah of Gerondi, not Ramban, but anyway. It's about 10 paragraphs, having very little to do with hilchot niddah and very much to do with women pryaing for their sons to be talmidei chachamim and generally being the spiritual anchor of the home and all that.

All very nice and inspirational, I suppose, but the reason I bring it up here is the following passage:

אחד מן החכמים היה רגיל דרך פתח אחד מנשי גדולי הדור וראה שבעלת הבית היתה זהירה מאד להדליק נר של שבת בעתו ונר של חנוכה בעתו

"One of the sages was regularly by the door of one of the wives of the great scholars and he saw that the woman of the house was very careful to light the Sabbath candle on time and the Hannukkah candle on time." (and because of this her sons were important and wise scholars...)

so were chanukkah candles a woman's responsibility once upon a time?

a propos

"Filing a three-year residence claim is the most serious thing you can do. Aside from marrying, I think."
-Katherine Garetson, Estes Park, CO, ca. 1895

Well, at least I can do one of the above... ;)