Julian Ungar-Sargon

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Daf Ditty

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

Sotah 49: וְשֶׁלּאֹ ילְמֵַּד אָדָם אֶת בְּנוֹ יוְוֹניִת

jyungar May 17, 2023

For the source text click/tap here: Sotah 49

To download, click/tap here: PDF

Steinsaltz writes:

The closing Mishna in Massekhet Sota teaches that historical events impacted on the day-to-day behavior of the Jewish community. Various tragedies led the sages to limit the festivities at weddings and even to change the educational curriculum, forbidding the study of hokhmah yevanit – Greek wisdom.

The Gemara quotes a baraita that attributes the prohibition against studying Greek wisdom to different events and anecdotes.

Hokhmah yevanit – Greek wisdom – does not appear to be secular knowledge generally, but rather refers to knowledge of Greek culture, music, literature, etc. Few people spoke classical Greek, as we explore the level Hellenism in Palestine in our final ditty for masechet Sotah.

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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.​