Menachos 31
Summary
- Today's *daf* is Menachos 31, learned as a זכות רפואה שלימה for חוה מרים בת מלכה פריידא, שלמה בן חיה לאה, רחל בת העניא, רבקה יטדל בת רחל, and אידל נחמה בת בת שבע, and לעילוי נשמת טובה רבקה אסתר בת ישראל יהושע and דוד אהרן ben שמחה יוסף. The *Gemara* continues *Perek HaKometz Rabbah* with extended *sugyos* about *STaM*—*Sefer Torah*, *tefillin*, and *mezuzos*—beginning from a *beraisa* about a *sofer* who omitted Hashem’s Name and five *Tannaic* methods for repairing the mistake. The *daf* then centers on the statement “הלכה כרבי שמעון שזורי,” pursuing which teaching of Rabbi Shimon Shezuri is intended by surveying multiple appearances of his views across *Shas*, before returning to practical laws of repairing a torn *Sefer Torah* and the layout requirements for writing a *mezuzah*. The text closes with a detailed reflection on the *Gemara* in Shabbos *b’sha’ah she’alah Moshe laMarom*, the timeline question from the *pesukim* and *Rishonim*, and a *Brisk* explanation from the Beis HaLevi about what the angels were contesting regarding Torah.
- The *Gemara* brings a *beraisa* about a *sofer* who was טועה בשם by omitting Hashem’s Name and asks how the Name may be inserted when inserting between lines seems inappropriate. Rabbi Yehuda rules that the scribe scrapes away the adjacent written word, writes Hashem’s Name on the מקום הגרר, and hangs the erased word rather than hanging the Name. Rabbi Yosi rules that even Hashem’s Name may be hung, and Rabbi Yitzchak agrees with Rabbi Yehuda’s solution but permits doing it while the ink is still לח through מוחק וכותב. Rabbi Shimon Shezuri rules that one may hang the entire Name but not part of the Name, and the text notes that *poskim* infer from him that partial hanging is acceptable for other words and is only problematic for Hashem’s Name. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar בשם Rabbi Meir rules that one may not write the Name on מקום הגרר or מקום המחק and may not hang it, and instead must remove the entire sheet and place it in גניזה.
- Rav Chananel בשם Rav rules הלכה תולין את השם in accordance with Rabbi Yosi, while Rabba bar bar Chanah בשם Rabbi Yitzchak bar Shmuel rules הלכה מוחק וכותב in accordance with Rabbi Yitzchak. The *Gemara* asks why they did not simply state “הלכה כמר,” and answers משום דאפכי להו because people confused which opinion belonged to which *Tanna*, requiring the actual content of the ruling to be spelled out rather than relying on names.
- Rabba bar Chinina אמר עולא אמר רב חנינא rules הלכה כרבי שמעון שזורי ולא עוד אלא כל מקום ששנה רבי שמעון שזורי הלכה כמותו, and the *Gemara* treats the *daf* as largely driven by identifying what the initial “this” refers to. The text frames the exercise as semantic once the sweeping clause is stated, yet the *Gemara* still pursues which specific teaching triggered the statement and proceeds through multiple proposed candidates.
- The *Gemara* first suggests the Rabbi Shimon Shezuri of the *beraisa* on הטועה בשם, who allows hanging only the full Name and not part of it. The *Gemara* rejects this by pointing to the earlier *Amoraic* aggregation of rulings in that *sugya*, where only two positions are recorded—הלכה תולין and הלכה מוחק וכותב—without a third recorded position tied directly to that *beraisa*.
- The *Gemara* proposes the Rabbi Shimon Shezuri who rules that even a five-year-old animal plowing in the field is permitted without its own *shechitah* because שחיטת אמו מטהרתו, against the *Chachamim* who limit the dispensation due to מראית עין. The *Gemara* rejects this because a ruling of הלכה כרבי שמעון שזורי in that context is already attributed to Zeiri אמר רבי חנינא, and the absence of the longer chain is taken as evidence it is not the referent.
- The *Gemara* proposes the Rabbi Shimon Shezuri in *Gittin* who extends “כתבו גט לאשתי” to mean “כתבו ותנו” even for a מסוכן, adding to earlier rulings about היוצא בקולר and those traveling by sea or caravan. The *Gemara* also proposes the Rabbi Shimon Shezuri in דמאי regarding תרומת מעשר של דמאי שחזרה למקומה, where even בחול one may ask the עם הארץ and rely on his word to permit the mixture. The *Gemara* rejects both because Rabbi Yochanan explicitly rules הלכה כרבי שמעון שזורי במסוכן ובתרומת מעשר של דמאי, and the absence of Rabbi Chanina’s chain there implies the earlier “הלכה כרבי שמעון שזורי” is not referring to these.
- The *Gemara* proposes Rabbi Shimon Shezuri’s ruling, transmitted by Rabbi Yosi ben Kifar, about פול המצרי שזרעו לזרע where some took root before Rosh Hashanah and some after, forbidding taking *terumah* from one part for the other because of the rule against מן החדש על הישן and vice versa. The remedy given is to gather and mix the entire pile so that separation is treated as coming proportionally מן החדש שבו על החדש שבו ומן הישן שבו על הישן שבו. The *Gemara* rejects this as well because Rav Shmuel bar Nachmani אמר רבי יוחנן already states הלכה כרבי שמעון שזורי there without citing the longer chain.
- Rav Pappa says the referent is שידה, invoking a *Mishnah* in *Keilim* about when a large chest loses the status of a movable *kli* and is not מקבל טומאה, with Beis Shammai measuring capacity internally and Beis Hillel externally and additional debate about what thicknesses are included. Rabbi Shimon Shezuri rules that if the legs are a *tefach* high, the space between them is not measured, but if not, it is measured, treating the space as part of the calculation. Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak says the referent is יין, citing a *teaching* about liquids that are always treated as a ראשון לטומאה, where Rabbi Meir speaks about oil, *Chachamim* add honey, and Rabbi Shimon Shezuri is presented regarding wine, with the *Gemara* adjusting the formulation to “רבי שמעון שזורי אומר יין.”
- A *beraisa* records Rabbi Shimon Shezuri describing a case where טבל became mixed with חולין and he asked Rabbi Tarfon for guidance, and Rabbi Tarfon told him to buy produce מן השוק from an עם הארץ and use it to be מעשר on the mixture. The explanation given is that Rabbi Tarfon holds דאורייתא ברובא בטל so the remaining problem is rabbinic, and he also holds רוב עמי הארץ מעשרין הן so the purchased produce is only rabbinically obligated, yielding a framework of פטור על פטור. The *Gemara* challenges why Rabbi Tarfon did not instead advise buying from an עובד כוכבים and answers with one version that he holds אין קנין לעובד כוכבים בארץ ישראל להפקיע מיד מעשר, producing מן החיוב על פטור, and another version that Rabbi Tarfon did advise buying from an עובד כוכבים because he holds יש קנין לעובד כוכבים בארץ ישראל להפקיע מיד מעשר and rejects buying from the marketplace because he holds אין רוב עמי הארץ מעשרין.
- Rav Yeimar bar Shalmya asks Rav Pappa whether the sweeping rule “כל מקום ששנה רבי שמעון שזורי הלכה כמותו” includes the *beraisa* case of טבל בחולין, and Rav Pappa answers that it does. Rav Ashi reports this to Mar Zutra, who relays that Rav Chanina of Sura finds the question puzzling because the phrase is “כל מקום ששנה” rather than “במשנתנו,” making it inclusive of both *Mishnah* and *beraisa*.
- Rav Zeira אמר רב חננא אמר רב rules that if a tear in the margin reaches into two lines of writing one may sew it, but if it reaches three lines one may not. Rava Zuti tells Rav Ashi בשם Rav Yirmiyah miDifti משמיה דרava that the prohibition for three lines applies only to an “old” scroll, while a “new” scroll is permitted, and the text explains that “old” and “new” refer to appearance based on whether the parchment was treated with אפיצן that makes it look dark and aged. The sewing is permitted only with גידין and not with ordinary thread, applying the rule that stitching sheets and repairs must be done with sinews. Rav Yehuda bar Chaviva asks about tears between sheets and between lines, and the *Gemara* leaves both questions as תיקו, with the text adding from the *Rishonim* that the entire discussion assumes the tear does not damage the letters themselves.
- Rav Zeira אמר רב חננא אמר רב rules that a *mezuzah* written with two words per line is כשרה. The *Gemara* asks about an irregular pattern of two words, then three, then one, and Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak declares it all the more acceptable because it resembles the formatting of a שירה, but the *Gemara* distinguishes a *beraisa* that invalidates writing like a שירה in a *Sefer Torah* as limited to *Sefer Torah* rules. Rabba bar bar Chanah אמר רבי יוחנן, and alternatively Rav Acha bar bar Chanah אמר רבי יוחנן, rules that such a *mezuzah* is כשרה provided it is not shaped like a קופה or like a זנב, rejecting pyramid-like narrowing or widening layouts.
- The text revisits the Shabbos *Gemara* in which Moshe ascends and the angels protest giving the “חמדה גנוזה” to humans, and it questions where the *Chumash* indicates Moshe entered heaven before *Matan Torah*, citing the *Ramban* and Ibn Ezra on “ומשה עלה אל האלוקים” and the *Ramban*’s reading of “ומשה ניגש אל הערפל אשר שם האלוקים” with the added claim לא בא בתוכו. The Beis HaLevi in *Parshas Yisro* is presented as explaining that the angels never doubted Torah belongs to humans in *peshat*, but contested the transfer of ownership and authority expressed by תורה לא בשמים היא, where human *psak* determines halachic truth. The text ties this to the teaching “כי לקח טוב נתתי לכם” and to the *Brisk* linkage with Yevamos 109b, “כל האומר אין לי אלא תורה אפילו תורה אין לו,” portraying Moshe’s answer as grounded in the idea that only those who can both learn and fulfill Torah can possess the complete קנין התורה and serve as its halachic arbiters.
Previous Page
Next Page
Daf Images are property of Vagshal and may not be reproduced.
Suggestions