Julian Ungar-Sargon

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Daf Ditty

A wide-ranging commentary on the daily page of Talmud.

Rosh Hashanah 28: Forced By A Demon

jyungar November 6, 2021

For the source text click/tap here: Rosh Hashanah 28

To download, click/tap here: PDF

When performing a mitzva, what is really important? Must we simply carry out the act of the mitzva, or is it essential to have a level of intent - kavvana - for the mitzva? This is the issue discussed at some length on our daf, where a statement is presented to Shmuel's father - if someone is forced to eat matza on Pesah he is considered to have fulfilled the commandment. Why should that be true? Two possibilities are presented as to what forced the person to eat matza:

Kefa'o shade - literally means "he was forced by a demon"

Kefa'uhu Parsi'im - Persians (non-Jews) forced him to eat. We explore the demonic implications of whether a Mitzva requires intentionality and the impact of such external pressures to perform a Mitzvah.

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Julian Ungar-Sargon

This is Julian Ungar-Sargon's personal website. It contains poems, essays, and podcasts for the spiritual seeker and interdisciplinary aficionado.​