Julian Ungar-Sargon

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Daf Ditty

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

Nazir 31: שׁוֹר שָׁחוֹר

jyungar February 23, 2023

For the source text click/tap here: Nazir 31

To download, click/tap here: PDF

Our first Mishnah in Perek V states:

What is considered an act of erroneous consecration? If one said: A black bull that will emerge from my house first is consecrated, and a white bull emerged first, Beit Shammai say it is consecrated and Beit Hillel say it is not consecrated.

Similarly, if one said: A gold dinar that will come up first in my hand is consecrated, and when he reached into his pocket a dinar of silver came up, Beit Shammai say it is consecrated and Beit Hillel say it is not consecrated.

Likewise, if one said: A barrel of wine that will come up first in my hand when I enter the cellar is consecrated, and a barrel of oil came up in his hand instead, Beit Shammai say it is consecrated and Beit Hillel say it is not consecrated.

The consecration of an item is considered not merely a promise, but a legal act in and of itself. Therefore, a consecration of an item to the Temple treasury is legally equivalent to transferring ownership of that item to another person. For this reason, it can be argued that even if uttered in error, an act of consecration is binding.

This disagreement leads the Gemara to discuss the advantages and disadvantages connected with white animals and black animals. Rav Ḥisda teaches that “black among white is a deficiency” and that at the same time “white among black is a deficiency.”

We explore the black/white identity among Jews as well as identity politics in recent judicial rulings.

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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.​