Menachos 42 - Cycle 14
Summary
- Today’s שיעור learns מסכת מנחות דף מ״ב beginning from דף מ״א עמוד ב׳ at תנו רבנן and sets out the required number of ציצית strands, the minimum and maximum measurements for their length and placement, and the need for separation and לשמה in making them. The ברייתות and אמוראים weigh בית שמאי against בית הלל, define *gedil* versus *anaf*, and resolve an apparent contradiction that ציצית “has no שיעור” by distinguishing between no maximum length and a definite minimum. The גמרא then moves through practical rules for where ציצית may be attached, how far from the corner, what happens if the garment tears, and whether one recites a ברכה when attaching ציצית, tying that to broader principles about whether making an item is itself the completion of a מצוה. The sugyah concludes with פסולים in using threads that merely protrude from a garment, a debate over whether spinning and dyeing must be done לשמה, and the process of dyeing תכלת and disqualifying dye used for testing.
- The ברייתא states that בית שמאי requires four strands inserted into the טלית, which become eight after doubling through the hole, while בית הלל requires three strands that become six after doubling. The מחלוקת rests on how to read גדילים תעשה לך and פתיל תכלת, with בית שמאי reading גדיל as two and גדילים as four, and בית הלל reading גדיל as one, גדילים as two, and פתיל תכלת adding a third. The שיעור describes the practical act of inserting threads through the corner hole, tying a knot, making כריכות with knots between them, and leaving the remaining strands hanging.
- The knotted and wrapped portion of ציצית is called the גדיל and the hanging portion is called the ענף. The גמרא on דף ל״ט עמוד ב׳ teaches נוי תכלת as שליש גדיל ושני שליש ענף, with one-third knotted/braided and two-thirds hanging. The sugyah then turns to defining proper length for each component as part of נוי הציצית.
- The גמרא asks וכמה תהא משולשת and brings בית שמאי requiring ארבע אצבעות and בית הלל requiring שלוש אצבעות as a minimum measure. The לבוש states that these measurements are only מדרבנן for נוי, while מדאורייתא no specific length is mandated, and the חיי אדם says there is no source for these הלכות מדאורייתא while still requiring מדרבנן a minimum of קשר עניבה. The sugyah brings the meeting of זקני בית שמאי and זקני בית הלל in the attic of יוחנן בן בתירא where they rule that ציצית אין לה שיעור and compare it to לולב אין בו שיעור, and the גמרא explains that this means אין לו שיעור למעלה but יש לו שיעור למטה. The proof from לולב cites משנה סוכה דף כט עמוד ב׳ that a לולב must be at least שלושה טפחים כדי לנענע בו, establishing a minimum while denying a maximum.
- The טור and the שלחן ערוך in אורח חיים סימן י״א סעיף ד׳ quote the רמב״ם that the entire length of the ציצית should be ארבע אצבעות, while רבנו תם holds the entire length should be 12 אצבעות and the שלחן ערוך follows רבנו תם. The פוסקים advise using long strands because knots and wraps reduce length. The שיעור adds that ציצית placement is three אצבעות from the בגד and that this distance also affects available length.
- The גמרא explains that the three אצבעות of בית הלל correspond to three-quarters of a טפח because each אצבע is one-quarter of a טפח. Rav Pappa states that a טפח דאורייתא is measured as four thumbs, or six pinkies, or five index fingers.
- Rav Huna states that ציצית should be within ארבע אצבעות of the edge and hang over ארבע אצבעות of the בגד, while Rav Yehuda states they should be within שלוש and hang over שלוש. Rav Pappa rules הלכתא as starting with ארבע threads placed within three אצבעות of the edge and positioned within three אצבעות of the corner. The g’mara then integrates Rav Yaakov’s ruling that the hole must be set back מלא קשר גודל from the edge and explains both teachings are needed so one neither places the hole too close nor too far.
- A ברייתא teaches that ועשו להם ציצית means ציצית is an ענף, supported by the verse ויקחני בציצית ראשי, where hair is separate. Abaye rules that one must separate the strands וצריך לפרדן כציצתא דרמאי, and the שולחן ערוך in אורח חיים סימן ח סעיף ז rules that one should separate each strand. The בית יוסף quoting the בעל העיטור says the main separation is between white threads and תכלת threads, and the מגן אברהם minimizes its urgency today without תכלת and rules that someone late to shul should not delay for separation. The ביאור הגר״א says the בעל העיטור focuses on separating white from blue but reads the שולחן ערוך as requiring separation of all strands, while the באור הלכה indicates one should not make a ברכה before separation and the חזון איש argues separation is only a נוי מצוה and does not block the ברכה.
- A ברייתא rules that attaching ציצית directly on the corner or on the גדיל of the garment’s reinforcing threads is כשרה, while רבי אליעזר בן יעקב rules it is פסולה. Rav Gidel in the name of Rav requires ציצית שתהא נטופה על הקרן based on ועשו להם ציצית על כנפי בגדיהם, and the g’mara aligns that with רבי אליעזר בן יעקב. Rav Yaakov in the name of Rav Yitzchak adds the minimum setback of מלא קשר גודל from the edge, and the g’mara explains the need for both the “within three” maximum distance and the thumb-joint minimum distance.
- Rav Sama challenges Ravina when the corner of Ravina’s garment tears and the setback becomes less than מלא קשר גודל. Ravina answers that the requirement was said בשעת עשייה, applying at the time of attaching rather than throughout use, and the לבוש explains this from the opening words ועשו להם ציצית together with על כנפי בגדיהם. Rav Sama is embarrassed and Rav Ashi consoles him with the statement לא תפחול לן חד מיניינו כתרי מינייהו, attributing Ravina’s strength to ארץ ישראל and adding the idea that אוירא דארעא מחכים, while the ריטב״א adds that בבל emphasizes *iyyun* and ארץ ישראל emphasizes *bekius*, and a תלמיד חכם who moves from בבל to ארץ ישראל can gain both.
- Rav Acha bar Yaakov inserts four and folds them before insertion so that eight strands are already on the garment side, reading גדילים תעשה לך as requiring the count at the place of attachment. Rav Yirmeya mi-Deftī starts with eight so that after doubling there are sixteen, achieving eight on the garment without the folding method. Mar berei de-Ravina makes ציצית כדידן by inserting four and tying after the garment.
- Rav Nachman finds Rav Ada bar Ahava attaching threads and reciting a beracha לעשות ציצית and objects that Rav taught ציצית אין צריכה ברכה. After Rav Huna’s death, Rav Chisda raises a contradiction from Rav’s teaching that ציצית made by a נכרי is פסולה, derived from בני ישראל יעשו ציצית ולא עובדי כוכבים, and תוספות infer that this supports allowing a woman to make ציצית while rejecting a blanket rule of כל שאינו בלבישה אינו בעשייה. תוספות in גיטין cite Rabbeinu Tam equating ציצית to תפילין to argue women should not make them, the כתב סופר distinguishes based on whether the work must be done לשמה, the שולחן ערוך in אורח חיים סימן י״א סעיף א׳ permits women to make ציצית, and the רמ״א records a stringency that only men should do so and says וטוב לעשות כן. The מגן אברהם asks why בני ישראל would not exclude women here and answers that בני ישראל excludes women from the mitzvah of wearing, not from the act of making.
- Rav Yosef frames Rav Chisda’s logic as a rule that if a מצוה is valid when done by a נכרי a Jew does not recite a beracha, and if it is invalid when done by a נכרי a Jew does recite one, based on *asher kideshanu*. The g’mara challenges this from מילה, citing a ברייתא permitting an Aramean mohel in a town without a Jewish doctor and recording רבי מאיר and רבי יהודה’s dispute about an Aramean versus a Kuti, while noting that a mohel still says אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו על המילה. The g’mara answers that according to Rav, מילה by a נכרי is פסול, bringing Rav Pappa in Rav’s name from ואתה את בריתי תשמר and רבי יוחנן’s derivation from המול ימול, and it adds a מדרש on בעצם היום הזה נמול אברהם with סוד ה' ליראיו ובריתו להודיעם, with the אמרי אמת interpreting that Hashem tells Avraham he becomes המול ימול through performing his own bris and the קדושת ציון reading אם תהיו כמנו להמל as requiring a Jewish mohel. The g’mara then supports the earlier direction from סוכה, where a נכרי may build a sukkah and one does not say a beracha on building but says *shehecheyanu* and later לישב בסוכה, and it raises a refutation from תפילין, which are פסול if made by צדוקי, כותי, עובד כוכבים, עבד, כנעני, אשה, קטן, מומר based on וקשרתם וכתבתם and yet no one says a beracha on making תפילין. The g’mara resolves that a beracha is said when the act is גמר מצוה such as מילה, but not when the act is not the completion, such as making תפילין, where wearing is the mitzvah.
- The g’mara explains that the beracha dispute in ציצית depends on whether it is חובת טלית, making attachment itself גמר מצוה and requiring a beracha, or חובת גברא, making wearing the mitzvah and not requiring a beracha on attachment. Rav Mattna tells Rav Ashi that they learned a different version in which Rav derives that ציצית made by עובדי כוכבים is כשרה from ועשו להם meaning שיעשו אחרים, which aligns non-beracha on making with the earlier rule. The שיעור then adds a separate point about why women say ברכות התורה, offering that women must learn what they need to do, and also citing Rav Chaim Brisker that ברכות התורה is a ברכת השבח rather than a ברכת המצוות.
- Rav Yehuda in the name of Rav invalidates ציצית made from threads protruding from the garment such as מן הקוצים, מן הנימין, and מן הגרדין because they were not placed לשם מצות ציצית, while מן הסיסן is כשרה. The g’mara reports that Shmuel rejects even מן הסיסן and requires that the spinning itself be done לשמה, formulated as בינתא וטוויה לשמה. The שולחן ערוך quotes the מרדכי that one should verbally declare before spinning that it is לשם מצות ציצית, the גרא requires verbalization rather than thought, and the מרדכי adds that when appointing a woman to spin, the sender’s instruction suffices. Rabbi Akiva Eiger reads ואמרת אליהם as teaching that one must instruct, and the רא״ש validates spinning by a נכרי under Jewish supervision with instruction לשמה, while the רמב״ם invalidates such spinning even under supervision. The g’mara compares this to a תנאי dispute in תפילין leather, where a tannaitic view validates leather from a kosher animal even without processing לשמן and רבן שמעון בן גמליאל requires לשמה.
- Abaye asks Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda how they dye תכלת, and he describes taking דם חילזון with סממנים, boiling it in a pot, testing a sample in an eggshell with a piece of wool, discarding the remainder of the test portion and burning the tested wool so it not be used for ציצית. The g’mara infers that dye used for testing is פסול and that צביעה must be done לשמה, then clarifies through Rav Ashi that the reason testing disqualifies is precisely the lack of לשמה. The g’mara frames this as a תנאי dispute, with one view disqualifying tested dye because of כליל תכלת and another view permitting later dyeing as כשר based on ושני תולעת and the interpretation of שני.
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