בבא בתרא – Bava Basra
Bava Basra 3b ~ How to Mellify a Corpse
The sexual proclivities of King Herod, and honey as a medical preservative.
Bava Basra 12b ~ Prophecy and Mental Illness
Did our religious leaders have mental illnesses? Plus the dream content of the ultra-orthodox.
Bava Basra 16b ~ Here Comes the Sun
Abayye was correct. Sunlight makes everything better.
Bava Basra 20a ~ A Baby Born After Eight Months
Seven or eight months gestation? It made all the difference in the Talmud.
Bava Basra 24a ~ Anatomy That Isn't There
The rabbis invented a bit of anatomy, but the Hatam Sofer wasn’t worried. Facts matter.
Bava Basra 25b ~ The Sun's Orbit Around the Earth
The rabbis of the Talmud vs. Copernicus.
Bava Basra 27b ~ The Roots of a Palm Tree
How the United Nations supported Abayye’s botanical opinions.
Bava Basra 74a ~ Where Heaven and Earth Touch
Talmudic cosmology, the Flammarion etching, and a bottle of kosher wine.
Bava Basra 84a ~ What Color is the Sun?
A surprisingly contentious question, that hinged on the Garden of Eden.
Bava Basra 97b ~ Wine and Snake Venom
Why you can drink snake venom, and how snakes suck.
Bava Basra 110a ~ Uncles and Nephews
Who is your closest genetic relative?
Bava Basra 126b ~ The Healing Power of Saliva
Saliva, wound healing, and the magic of a firstborn’s spit.
Bava Basra 142 ~ Maternal Deaths
Can a fetus survive the death of its mother?
Bava Basra 155b ~ Delayed Puberty in Boys
How Rebbi Hiyya was the first to report a health effect of obesity.
Bava Basra 167a ~ Torture & coerced testimony
The three rabbis who coerced confessions, and how false memories become real.