Mishnah Oholot 1:6-7 · Beginner voice, Standard

Hook

Have you ever walked into a room right after two people had a massive argument? Nobody says a word, yet the air feels heavy. You can sense the tension instantly. Or think about laughter: when someone starts giggling uncontrollably on a quiet train, that giggle hops from row to row until the whole car is smiling. We humans are deeply porous creatures. What happens near us affects us, whether we planned on it or not.

Nearly two thousand years ago, the ancient Jewish sages spent an incredible amount of time thinking about invisible ripple effects. In the text we are exploring today, they look at the heaviest ripple effect of all: the shockwave that travels through the world when a human life comes to an end.