- Bar Kappara’s comic antics with Rebbe
The Gemara relates that on a day on which Rebbe would laugh, misfortune would befall the world. He therefore offered to pay Bar Kappara forty measures of wheat to not make him laugh. The Gemara recounts how Bar Kappara came to collect his pay with a coated basket overturned on his head, which caused Rebbe to laugh. In another incident, Bar Kappara wagered that at Rebbe Shimon bar Rebbe’s wedding, he would drink wine while Rebbe danced before him, and his wife sang before him. At the wedding, Bar Kappara challenged Rebbe to explain the word תועבה (translated as abomination). When Bar Kappara refuted every suggestion Rebbe offered, Rebbe asked Bar Kappara to explain it. However, Bar Kappara first required Rebbe’s wife to pour him wine and Rebbe to dance before him before answering, which they did. Bar Kappara then explained the word to mean תועה אתה בה – You are straying with this relation. Bar Kappara similarly challenged Rebbe to explain the words תבל and זמה, and made the same demands before answering himself. Rebbe’s wealthy son-in-law could not bear the indignity suffered by Rebbe, and he and his wife left.
- Various nedarim from food prepared in a pot or pan
The next Mishnah states:הנודר ממעשה קדרה – One who vows from a “pot preparation,” אין אסור אלא ממעשה רתחתא – he is only forbidden from food prepared by boiling. אמר קונם היורד לקדרה שאני טועם – If he said “Konam what goes into a pot for my tasting,” אסור בכל הנעשה בקדרה – he is forbidden in anything made in a pot. The Gemara quotes a Baraisa: הנודר מן היורד לקדרה – One who vows from what goes into a pot, אסור ביורד לאלפס, שכבר ירד לקדרה קודם שיורד לאלפס – is even forbidden in what goes into a pan, because it goes into a pot prior to going into a pan. However, if he vowed from what goes into a pan, he is permitted in what goes into a pot, since it has not yet been put into a pan (although it is readied for being put into a pan). If one vows מן הנעשה בקדרה – from what is “made” in a pot, he is permitted in what is finished in a pan, even if it was cooked first in a pot. This is because the word “made,” in this context, implies its completion. The reverse is true as well: מן הנעשה באלפס – From what is “made” in a pan, מותר בנעשה בקדרה – is permitted in what is made [meaning finished] in a pot.
- Different terms of Nedarim for fish
The second Mishnah on Amud Beis states: דג דגים שאני טועם – If one vowed: “Fish, fishes , for my tasting,”אסור בהן בין גדולים בין קטנים – he is forbidden in both large and small fish. The Ran explains that by using both the singular and plural forms, he demonstrates that he intends to forbid both the large variety, which are sold individually, and the smaller variety, which are sold in quantity. The Mishnah adds that he is prohibited in all types of fish preparation, such as salted, cooked, or raw, provided the fish are whole. The Gemara quotes a Baraisa which teaches that a neder using the word דג forbids only large fish, while a neder using the word דגה forbids only small fish. After the Gemara objects since the word דגה is employed in a pasuk referring to the fish which died in the Nile as a result of the Plague of Blood, which surely included fish of all sizes, the Gemara explains that the word דגה indeed can include all sizes, but regarding nedarim, we follow common usage, and דגה is used to refer to small fish.
