We turn to a new subject, moving a ladder in public on a holiday.  The ladder was being used to collect doves from a dovecote to eat, a permissible purpose.  However, moving the ladder in public may lead people to assume you are repairing your roof or the life, which is forbidden.

The Gemara brings a dispute over if moving a ladder, or spreading out wet clothes to dry or the like is allowed in private. These activities can be done for an allowed purpose, but also can make it appear you are doing something wrong.  Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Shimon prohibit doing such things even in private where no one can see you.  They demand consistency of action no matter where you are.

This debate is part of a larger question: do you need to be consistent in public and private?  Some men play a certain role (sometimes subconsciously) when they are around others, but do not act the same way in private.  Social pressure can change the way you act in public, and some men struggle with the advice to “be yourself”.  However, being out and around people can inspire you to act more confident and energetic to get better results when dealing with people.

If you do modify your behavior in public, be conscious of this and use it to your personal advantage.  A man who keeps working on personifying skills to succeed in public is no longer just acting, he becomes more confident.

The Talmud leaves eggs behind and turns to slaughtering animals on a holiday.  The Bible requires the lifeblood of birds and wild animals to be covered in dirt after ritual slaughter: “And he shall pour out its blood and cover it in earth” (Leviticus 17:13).  The problem is that scooping dirt out of the ground is generally forbidden on Sabbath and holidays.

What if you did not prepare soft dirt before the holiday?  Like many facets of Jewish law, it is a raging debate.  Our sages would allow it only when a spade had already been stuck into the dirt, and this dirt was loose and did not need to be crushed, and when you would not need the hole created for some other use.  Using ash also has some qualifications.

The lesson is the prior preparation prevents problems.  All it takes is a handful of appropriate dirt set aside before the holiday.  Without appropriate planning, the man may be stuck without fresh meat for his festival lunch.

Make preparations for important events, and for anything you feel nervous about.  Some men get anxious approaching a new person and starting a conversation.  You can practice first, talk to yourself and thing of something interesting to say.  If you observe the person you are about to speak with, you may see something they are doing, wearing, or talking about that would be an opening topic.

This is the second day of Rosh haShanah.  It is interesting that for covering blood we can use not just dirt, but anything that plants can grow in.  This includes ash from wood, but not ash from other items.  One of the tasks we have on Rosh haShanah is to realize what we are doing wrong so we can stop.

This is akin to taking a part of our lives and consciously burning it.  But the critical step is not burning away bad habits and inaccurate ideas, but growing a new life on top of the ashes of our old ways.

The Talmud brings this useful teaching:

Any species who have intercourse only during the day are born only by day; any species who have intercourse only at night are born only by night; any species who have intercourse either by day or by night can be born either by day or by night.

The Gemara gives examples: Any species mating only during the day is born by day, this is referring to a chicken. Any species by night is born by night, this is a bat. Any species either by day or by night, this means a human being and all that are similar to him.

The Gemara goes on to explain that this is relevant if you find an egg before dawn on the morning of a holiday.  If the chicken was visited by a rooster, they were together during the day and she laid this egg during the day – meaning the day before the holiday.  Therefore it can be eaten now on the holiday.

However, if the hen was without a rooster and laid an unfertilized egg, this egg could have been laid at night, and since Jewish days begin at nightfall (see Genesis 1), this egg could well be laid on the holiday itself.

Ravina comments that whenever a rooster is around, a hen will seek him for mating and we can assume this egg was from the prior day.  The Gemara brings a tradition that if the hen can hear a rooster calling she will make herself available.  Rav Mari is said to have relied on this even when the local rooster was 60 houses away from the hen, as the birds will travel a significant distance to mate.

The Talmud notes:

If there is a river between the rooster and the chicken, the chicken does not cross the river; but if there is a bridge, it crosses the river. And if there is only a rope over a narrow plank across the river, the chicken will not cross. The Gemara comments: Nevertheless, an incident occurred in which a chicken crossed over on such a rope bridge.

The drive to reproduce is among the most basic and powerful urges. Chickens and men will expend great effort and face mortal danger to mate.

A man must be aware of this and choose to set up his life in a way where he can use this desire in a positive, healthy manner.  Sometimes this requires making it easy to access your mate, other times you may choose to consciously limit your access so you can get other things done first.

Likewise, if a man is trying to prevent others (perhaps his teenage children) from mating, he may need to create significant obstacles between the male and female to deter them.

We should note that this Daf falls on Rosh haShanah, the Jewish new year. We also call Rosh haShanah the birthday of the world, even though it is not the anniversary of the first day of creation, but the sixth day.  Human beings were created on the sixth day, and Adam and Eve first mated on that very day, bringing Cain and Hevel into the world.

We see that the true “birthday” of the world was not from the first creation but when mankind began to be an active partner in creation, by mating and bringing new life into existence.  This underscores our point above.

We continue discussing the laws of holidays, using the newly laid egg as an example.  The Talmud compares the egg to the procedure for burying a person who passed away on or just before a holiday.  Jewish law encourages burial as soon as possible, so a corpse could be left just one day during the first day of a holiday, but must be buried on the second day of the holiday.

Rav Ashi points out that when someone passes on the second day of the holiday, the corpse would be buried that day, since for the dead person, the Sages made the legal status of the second Festival day that of a weekday.  They would even fashion funerary shrouds and cut myrtles for the deceased.  [Nowadays with refrigeration available most Jewish communities do not bury on the second day of the holiday, but push the burial off to the next day.]

The language used should focus our attention:  For a dead man, a holiday is just any other mundane day.
There is no need to keep the second day holiday laws with respect to the deceased.  I pray that you live a long and healthy life, but you must keep.in mind that after you die you have no responsibility, no ability, no obligations.  That may sound like freedom, but it means you cannot accomplish anything.

Our sages mention the rewards men will get in the heaven, but the Torah and our sages focus on this world, the world where men can learn grow, do, and create a positive impact on others.  If we keep in mind that our ultimate destiny is the grave, we can remember to use every day to accomplish something.

The Talmud mentions that during the time of the Temple, our sages enacted a rule that a man must bring his fourth year produce to Jerusalem, instead of redeeming it for money and bringing the money to buy produce there.  This was done so the markets Jerusalem would be crowned with fresh fruit.

The Gemara brings an exchange between Rabbi Eliezer and his students which shows that some time after the destruction of the Temple (1950 years ago) Rabbi Yochanon and his court activity nullified the above rule.  We may have thought that the law would be automatically nullified, since Jerusalem was in ruins, this proves that the sages needed to undo it.

This is a source for a legal concept that any law enacted by a rabbinical court requires a court equal in size and wisdom to nullify.

Men often make rules for themselves, but they do not always reexamine these personal expectations.  Sometimes these are subconscious self limitations based on past events.  A man who only got attention from overweight women may feel that he must continue to seek relationships with that sort of girl.  He makes a paradigm for himself based on what worked, assuming it will always be the same.

Men keep going with the flow and following the paths they made long ago even after circumstances have changed.  This man may have gotten himself into better shape or become successful in business, but he is still abiding by his old expectations.

Examine the rules and limitations you have made for yourself.  If they were made without wisdom, actively nullify then in your mind.  If you did consciously make a goal or rule, think about if it continues to serve your ultimate goals.

Our sages continue debating the parameters of the egg laid on a holiday to figure out when and why it is forbidden.  The Talmud brings a statement in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: an egg laid on a Festival, it and its mother may be eaten.  The Gemara first tries to explain what he could mean by this statement.  Then Rav Mari said that the phrase should not be taken literally but was an exaggeration for emphasis.  Rav Mari cites another version of this teaching proving his reading: Aḥerim say in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: An egg may be eaten, it and its mother, and a chick and its shell.

Today exaggeration is something of a lost art, since many interactions are electronic.  Hyperbole, sarcasm and wit does not often translate well online. When dealing with people through an electronic medium, you need to use simple and clear words, or convey your intent with emojis and graphics, though this too can be taken out of context.

Be aware that some people are used to interacting virtually and may have a hard time parsing exaggerration and sarcasm in person.  When you exaggerate you can make a great point, but there is the danger the other person will try to understand you literally.  Use a statement that is clearly exaggeration or extreme.  If someone says you are being lazy today, you can respond that it is not just today, you have not moved an inch in three weeks.

The Talmud is explaining the possible reasons we do not use an egg laid on a holiday.  One suggestion is that this restriction is a protective fence against people using fruits that fell off a tree on a holiday.  That itself is forbidden because men will come to pick fruits, which is a Biblical prohibition.

The Gemara asks if this is a “fence around a fence” meaning a protective law added onto a prior protective law, because we do not typically engage  in making an additional layer of restriction.  The sages answer that the rabbis decreed against using a new egg at the same time as using fruits that fell off the tree, because these resemble one another.

We do not add new restrictions when one layer of caution is sufficient.  For a modern man, take this to heart.  We often hear that such and such food or activity can be bad for our health.  If we believed every such report, we would be left with nothing to eat.

Likewise a man should not be overly cautious in his relationships.  Meet someone new, go somewhere new, and do something exciting.  Yes, we must avoid toxic people, but you don’t want to hold back from talking to a new person because they look a bit different from your normal friends.

Mazal Tov gentleman, today we begin a new tractate.  Beitzah (egg) is sometimes called Beya, since Beitzah also refers to a pair of male reproductive organs.

Our first topic is an egg laid on a holiday.  There is a dispute over if this egg could be eaten on the same day.  If the chicken was set aside for eating on the holiday, then the egg should be fine, since like the chicken it is designated as food.  If the chicken was set aside for laying eggs, ironically this new egg would not be allowed since it did not yet exist before the holiday.  The Gemara explores the prohibition of using “nolad”, something created on the Sabbath or holiday.

The concept of setting specific things apart for a designated use only, called Muktzeh in Hebrew, is vital for modern men.  If you are dieting, you put away or throw away junk food and soda.  When you try to simplify your life, get rid of items you don’t use anymore, and set aside and store things you need for winter.

Out of sight is out of mind.  If you were in a relationship that didn’t work out, put it away.  Stop giving free attention and energy to people who cannot help you with you mission.  If you can go no contact, do that.

The purpose of enacting the laws of Muktzeh was for Jews to take Shabbat and holidays seriously, and not deal with items and situations that were not in the spirit of the day.  We don’t even touch items that are Muktzeh.  Make a list of things in your life that are distracting or detracting from your goals, and put them away.

On the final Daf of Sukkah, the Talmud brings a debate about which blessing we say first when we sanctify the holiday by saying Kiddush.

On one hand, we should start with the blessing over the commandment of dwelling in the Sukkah, since that is only performed on the holiday.  The other opinion holds we say the blessing of reaching this season first, since that is a general praise not specifically tied to Sukkot, but is recited throughout the year.

The Gemara ties this dispute to another debate: in the weekly Sabbath Kiddush do we bless the wine or the day first?  We can drink wine any day, but the Sabbath is special and we are told to sanctify it.  However, since we recite the Kiddush holding a cup of wine, the wine causes the blessings.

The same tension applies to our lives.  Do we first work on regularly occurring tasks that must get done each day, or put more energy into special events that are only coming up right now?

The Gemara concludes that we prioritize the frequent and more common blessings over the unique ones.  A man needs to take care of daily business before starting extra projects.  However, you should have your regular tasks on lock so you have the energy and resources to tackle new things.

The Gemara discusses allotting the show breads to the priests, noting that the incoming shift of priests receives more bread.  Our sages bring an ancient saying “better a small gourd now than a big melon later”.  This sounds better in Aramaic: botzina tava mikra.  The situation is you can cut the gourd now, or leave it on the vine to get bigger.  However, leaving it means someone else may get it first, or it could get damaged.

Take the opportunity now, don’t wait for a better chance.  Men can wait their entire lives for the best opportunity to come along, but they don’t even know what opportunity looks like since they never seized any.

The Gemara concludes with a discussion of why the priestly family of Bilgah was penalized.  One of the reasons was Miriam, a woman from that family, rejected Judaism and married a Greek official.  When the Greeks defiled the Temple she kicked the altar, and derided it for consuming the money (the offerings) of the Jews without protecting them.

It is worth pointing out that intermarriage was so incredibly rare back then (about 2200 years ago) that the one woman of that generation who chose this was memorialized for shame in our holy Talmud.

The Gemara asks why the ancient sages punished the whole family for her intermarriage and rebellion.  Judaism does not hold of collective punishment, the sin of an individual is his or her own.  The Gemara explains that if you hear a child expressing an opinion, those words and ideas most likely came from the parents.  Miriam’s parents must have expressed some level of disdain for the sacrifices, subtly influencing her later rejection of the faith.

Since words and the mindset come from parents (and teachers and friends), these people are influential on the next generation.  We explained that Jacob spent decades leading his wives away from their idolatrous family of origin.  The default situation is that people are, too a large extent, the product of their origin and upbringing.  While there are exceptions, you can generally use this to find out about the person in question.

Keep this in mind when dealing with your own family or tribe.  The words you use and attitudes you express will influence your children, students, and friends.  They are listening constantly, and much of your leadership is indirect, accomplished by modeling proper behaviors rather than telling them what to do.

Mazal tov on completing Sukkah!

The Talmud mentions that when the new month fell on a Sabbath, the Levite choir in the Temple would sing the song for the new month before the song for Shabbat.

The Gemara goes in to list which songs (Psalms) were recited each day, noting that each day had a particular message.

We already know that music is powerful and can induce specific moods in people, and even enhance prophecy.

You may have certain songs that give you a feeling of energy, while other may make you thoughtful and reflective as they remind you of your past.  Figure out which music helps your goals for today, and play it to bring yourself into the mindset you want.