Rabbi Yochanan and Resh Lakish are two of the greatest sparring partners in the Talmud. The story of their meeting and later falling out contains an unlooked-for treasure on the subject of moral responsibility.
Pessachim 10a and Quantum Uncertainty
Pessachim 10a deals with questions of doubt and the limitations of knowledge. Trust a one-eyed cat to explain how these questions are answered by quantum mechanics.
Gemara Sanhedrin 73a – Saving the victim or saving the perpetrator?
Humans are complicated, and constantly in need of fixing, says Pixel. Everything they do sets up ripples–chains of consequences. Only humans have to be protected from themselves even at the cost of their lives, because only humans have so great an impact that the world fights back. Humans are loose cannons!
Sanhedrin Perek 3 – Grass roots vs. rule from above
Should litigants have any say in choosing the third judge? R’ Meir favors governance from the grassroots level, the sages not so much! One thing about studying Talmud with a feline havruta–you end up with some irreverent insights to the daf!
