Wednesday 25 April 2018

Zevachim 11: Timing; OCD

We begin by discussing whether or not the pascal lamb is permitted if it was not brought at the right time.  It might be valid because it is like another offering that was kosher even though it was brought at the wrong time.  Another argument is that the pascal lamb must be offered at a very specific time to be permitted.  We continue to think about what is permitted and what is not permitted before the official start of Pesach.  

Is the daily afternoon offering in the afternoon allowed to be offered any time during the day as well?  This is successfully challenged, again by considering other practices that might be dependent on a particular period of time - an example is the menorah, where the lighting actually lasts for the day.  

The Jewish tendency toward obsessive compulsive behaviour has a long history.  The details that are discussed and debated are considered to be of great significance.  Is it possible that the most desirable Jews were those who could obsess and remember these details?  Did we breed OCD into ourselves?  

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