About this episode
Today's daf is dedicated to the safe return of the hostages, the safety of our soldiers, the residents of the South and the North, and the whole country, and in memory of those who were murdered and for a refuah shleima to all those injured. A verse from Malachi 3:3 is explained in two different ways - that in the time of the Messiah, God will separate out all those from the tribe of Levi that have problematic lineage or that on account of wealth, mamzerim will intermarry and ultimately will be purified as no one will know who is a mamzer . According to the second interpretation, God will permit those mixed in to remain part of the nation and marry whomever they wish. Babylonia was known to have people of better lineage than in Israel, and in Israel it was better than outside of Israel. At certain times, some suggested that Jews in Israel had better lineage than in Babylonia but they were overruled. Rabbi Yochanan held that one should not try to find families with problematic lineage as even the leaders of the generation would be among them. There were some who told their children and students once or twice every seven years about which families one should not marry into. Another secret that was only revealed once or twice every seven years was the name of God with four letters. From where do we learn that it needs to be kept a secret? There are two other names of God - one with twelve letters and one with forty-two that were also kept a secret and only revealed to certain types of people. Can one rely on the presumptive status of 'kosher'/disqualified in Israel, in Babylonia, and in other places? What were methods used to determine if one was Babylonian in order to know their lineage was good? Zeira avoided Rabbi Yochanan as Rabbi Yochanan wanted to marry him to his daughter and Zeira didn't trust his lineage as he was from Israel. Rav Yehuda avoided marrying off his son as he was also concerned about marrying him off to a woman with a bad lineage. Ulla recommended he judge by the family's demeanor - if they are quiet and give in while arguing, it is a sign of a good family. Babylonia was known for good lineage, but the rabbis debated what are considered the borders of Babylonia for these purposes.