Matmonim: Daf Yomi by Rabbi David Lapin

Bechorot 32b-33a The Sanctity of Jewish Ownership - ובית הלל מתירין אפילו עכום

An object owned by a Jew is subject to more halachot than one owned by a non-Jew, and is therefore part of a higher system of kedusha. Source Sheet

Bechorot 31a Cheapening that which is Sacred - הבכור והמעשר הנייתו לבעלים

Often we find that principles of spirituality and of economics overlap. That is an indication of their Truth.  The value of things is expressed not only by how we handle

Bechorot 21b The Profit Motive or Piety - אם במוכר או בלוקח תליא מלתא

The seller of a cow that has not previously given birth is conflited between preserving the price by not revealing the fact to the buyer, and the piety of potentially cau

Bechorot 20a A System Built for Intimacy - רובא דתלי במעשה

Intimacy within the system of the human couple is more natural than it is for random male and female animals in a herd. Source Sheet

Bechorot 19a The Special Treatment of the Bechor - הנקבה בכור לכל מילי היא

The key to understanding the special status given to the first born in the Torah and its linkage to yetziat mitzrayim (the Exodus from Egypt), lies in the truthfulness of

Bechorot 18b Don’t Get it Done. Do It. - דניחא ליה דליתעביד מצוה בממוניה

Our hurried lives focus on getting things done. But growth happens from doing the right things not just from getting them done. This is especially true with respect to To

Bechorot 17b-18a Coincidence (Simultaneity) - אי אפשר לצמצם

The Gemarra explores the statistical chances of exact coincidence both in nature and in humanly engineered events, and our ability to measure it. It emerges that the huma

Bechorot 9a & 13a The Value of Money - ספק פטר חמור וחיוב עריפתו

Although the Torah is critical of a person who protects his assets against the rights of the kohein to the redemption of his first born donkey, nevertheless the Torah its

Bechorot 13a A Mitzvah to Destroy Assets - מצוות הפדיה קודמת למצוות עריפה

The instruction to behead an unredeemed first-born donkey is one of the stranger ones in the Torah. Yet in it we will appreciate the depths of the Torah’s understanding o

Bechorot 11a-12a The Rights of Initiators - אין לו שה פודהו בשויו

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Bechorot 11a Initiators Have Greater Rights - אין לו שה פודהו בשויו

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Bechorot 8b Knowledge vs. Wisdom - ר' יהושוע בן חנניה וסבי דבי אתונה

The wisdom of the Torah is sourced from a completely different place than the wisdom of the nations of the world. Source Sheet

Bechorot 7a-b Mental Linkages - היוצא מן הטמא

In the laws of kashrut, some substances are defined by their chemical composition, others by their conceptual definititons. Here we learn of a further definition of issur

Bechorot 6b Is Milk Kosher - חלב דבהמה טהורה מנלן

We are careful with what we consume, both food and ideas, not only regarding their content but also the source from which they originate. Source Sheet 

Bechorot 2a Bechorot Overture - פתיחה מס' בכורות

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Chullin 142a Finale - ר' יעקב מעשה חזא

The ways in which we respond to events that defy our understanding, defines who we are.  Source Sheet

Chullin 141a Wholeness in Intimacy - גדול שלום שבין איש לאשתו

Male-female intimacy is a unique moment where the needs of each are met by fulfilling the needs of the other. This is the ultimate meaning of shalom. Source Sheet

Chullin 139b Universal Principles of Morality Matter - שילוח הקן

We will never adopt universal norms against the halacha, against Torah חו"ש. However, universal principles of morality to inform the way we understand, interpret and appl

Chullin 135a & 137b Changing Appearance Can Change Essence 2 – ראשית הגז, צבעו פטור (ב)

The potential useage of a commodity is almost infinite. Not so a manufactured product. In ideas and learning as well, there are principles that function like commodities

Chullin 135a & 137b Changing Appearance Changes the Essence (I) - ראשית הגז, צבעו פטור

Halacha defines things not only by their chemistry but also by the nouns that describe them and by their appearance. Source Sheet