פסוחים – Pesachim
Pesachim 9b ~ Talmudic Probability Theory
If we find some meat in an area where there are p kosher stores and q non-kosher stores, then all other things being equal, the meat is kosher if and only if p > q.
Pesachim 31b ~ A Dog's Sense of Smell
How deep can buried chametz be detected by a dog? Probably deeper than the Talmud believed.
Pesachim 41 ~ The Hot Springs of Tiberius
What makes hot springs hot, and why you should not cook in them on Shabbat.
Pesachim 56a~ The Snake as a Symbol of Healing
Moses made a copper snake to heal the people. But this has nothing to do with the origins of this medical symbol of healing.
Pesachim 68a ~ Resurrection of the Dead
A history of our attempts at resurrection, starting with the Bible, and ending in a Yale lab, with re-animated pigs’ brains.
Pesachim 75a ~ Where Does Lead Come From?
Rashi thought it comes out of the ground in its molten state. Plus, updating modern translations of the Talmud.
Pesachim 75b ~ Burns and Ritual Impurity
On the connection between gonorrhea and severe burns.
In the Talmud, cartilage is mentioned very infrequently. Here is everything you need to know about it, including whether it is kosher.
Pesachim 94b ~ The Orbit of the Sun around the Earth
The rabbis of the Talmud thought the Sun revolved around the Earth, as did everyone else for another thousand years. Then Copernicus came along.
Pesachim 96 ~ Blood to Prevent Plague
How the Jews of Izmir echoed the ceremony of the first Pascal lamb to fight off a pandemic.
Rabbi Menachem refused to look at the pagan images on Roman coins. But they were everywhere.
Pesachim 105a ~ What is Askara?
This dreaded disease was rightfully feared, but be careful when you ascribe reasons to illness.
Pesachim 108a ~ The Passover Seder and the Heimlich Maneuver
On the anatomy of the upper airway , and why it really doesn’t matter which way you recline.
Pesachim 109b ~ The Square Root of Two and the Danger of Pairs
The rabbis were very afraid of things that come in pairs. Perhaps it all has to do with the discovery of irrational numbers.
Pesachim 112b ~ The Causes of Epilepsy
According to the Talmud, it is all to do with immodest behavior. Modern medicine would disagree.
Pesachim 113a ~ The Problem of Polypharmacy
Rav told his son not to take too many drugs. It is a problem called polypharmacy and it plagues modern society.