About this episode
Today's daf is sponsored by the Hadran Women of Long Island in honor of the Bar Mitzva of Kyle Lichtman, son of our daf friend, colleague and co-learner, Sharon Gabin Lichtman. "As Kyle becomes a full-fledged member of the Jewish nation, with all its privileges and obligations, we know that he will be a source of nachat to your entire family as he learns from your example of integrity, love for learning and passion for truth. May we continue to share many smachot !" From where can it be proven that Ezra went up to the land of Israel with converts, slaves, and mamzerim ? A braita rules that one who calls someone pasul is himself pasul . Shmuel understands that he is projecting onto someone else the pasul that is his own. Other statements are brought in the Gemara stressing the importance of marrying people with unflawed lineage. Can a man marry a woman for her money? Rav Yehuda took Shmuel literally and in a long and entertaining story, he declares someone a slave because he called others a slave. He is summoned to Rav Nachman's court and forced to explain his position. But all throughout, Rav Yehuda maintains the upper position and by the end of the story, he manages to declare many others in the town of Rav Nachman as having flawed lineage. Converts are considered like ' sapachat ' which is a negative term. Is this statement understood as a criticism of converts or of those who are born Jewish?