Eruvin, Daf 17

Welcome to the Hundred and Seventy Second episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Danny Nevins looks at Masechet Eruvin Daf 17.

They say that “military ethics” is an oxymoron, and our Mishnah on 17a seems to support the contention. Troops are allowed to violate both ritual and ethical norms when on a military campaign, even if there is no immediate threat to their lives. Yet ethical imperatives remain; there is no carte blanche for troops to steal, and the extraordinary obligation to attend to battlefield casualties is heavy upon them.

Rabbi Danny Nevins is the dean of the JTS Division of Religious Leadership, which includes the Rabbinical School and H.L. Miller Cantorial School, as well as the Center for Pastoral Education. In addition to teaching at JTS, he serves as a member of the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, and has written responsa on various subjects in topics related to bioethics, disability, sexuality and technology. Prior to working at JTS, he served as rabbi of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, MI.

The opening and closing music for this podcast is Ufros from The Epichorus album One Bead.