Letting your animals rest

The fifth and sixth chapters of Shabbat discuss what items may be carried in public on the body of a person or animal, as clothing or as jewelry, and are thus excluded from the prohibition of hotsa'ah.

If you were to ask me how these laws should be organized, I would say that the Mishnah should start by discussing what items may be worn by people, followed by what items may be worn by an animal. But the fifth perek deals with animals, and the sixth perek deals with people. Why is that?

The Yalkut Bi'urim in the Mesivta offers a few answers from the aharonim. I suggest that the Mishnah begins with the more interesting, “haviva leih” topic.

The prohibition of hotsa'ah for animals is unique in its sources and in its application.

The essense of the Shema

I'm pretty busy right now, with my aliyah flight coming in four days. But most of what I do on this blog is regurgitating anyway, so it's no problem to regurgitate something from D.A.F. and Beit Midrash Beit Av (via Daf-Yomi.com).

The second chapter of Berakhot gets into the details of saying the Shema: its content, its structure, who says it, etc. In the course of discussion we find two understandings for what Shema is all about: accepting the yoke of Heaven and Torah study.

Beginning with Berakhot

The Talmud Bavli begins with an important question: תנא היכא קאי? Literally, "where was the Tanna standing" when he started this discussion?

The question applies directly to the opening line of the Mishnah, about the times for keri'at Shema at night. The Gemara answers that the Tanna was coming from the verse in the Torah that requires keri'at Shema twice a day.

But the question also applies to the first perek, the first massekhet, and the first seder. Why do we begin the Talmud here? Why with Shema? Why with Massekhet Berakhot? Why with Seder Zera'im?