Pesachim 121 - Siyum, March 22, 9 Nisan

Today's siyum is sponsored by Lynn Horwitz for the 6th yartzeit of רחל יונינה בת ישראל יעקב ולאה רייזל  which will be on  the first night of Pesach, Leil HaSeder. "It seems fitting to sponsor this siyum in Rachel’s memory as it was Rachel who inspired me to start daf yomi.  When Rachel decided to go to Frisch for high school, to help her catch up to the boys who would be in her honors Talmud shiur, we arranged her to have a Sunday morning Talmud "boot camp".  The Rebbi insisted that a parent attend as well so I joined her and together we learned basic gemara vocabulary and how to parse a sugya. While Rachel used these skills to hold her own in shiur, in an attempt to keep up with her growing knowledge of Torah, I began daf yomi, a cycle I completed with the help of Rabbanit Michelle Farber’s podcast. While Rachel’s years on this earth were short, her intense embrace of family, friend, nature and learning made a strong impression on and continues to inspire all who knew her.  תנצבה And by Allison and Akiva Shapiro in honor of their daughter Meira’s completion of Masechet Pesachim and dedication to daf yomi. And by Avigail Gordon in honor of her daughters. "Tzipora, whose love of learning and dedication to daf yomi inspired me to start this journey in the first place, and Adira, my Pesach baby, who got a headstart in her Talmud learning as she grew inside me. May your lives always be full of Torah learning and commitment, and may you continue to know and learn from and with inspirational female scholars like those in the Hadran community. It is my great honor to learn with them, and with you." Why did the rabbis determine that meat that was pigul and notar, that was left beyond the time that was permitted to eat the meat, were to make hands that touched them impure? What were they trying to prevent? And what proportion is the requisite amount that is needed to transfer impurity? There was be a blessing for eating the meat of the Paschal sacrifice and for the chagiga sacrifice. Does a blessing on one of them exempt the other? And if so, which one? Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva disagree. What is the basis for the controversy? In the redemption of the firstborn son, pidyon haben, the father blesses the blessing on the redemption. Who blesses the blessing shehechiyanu - the priest who benefits because he receives money or the father who benefits from the observance of the mitzvah? It is ruled that the father of the son blesses that blessing also.