• Instituting no me’ilah on the parah adumah ashes

The Mishnah on Daf 20a stated that the sixth of the seven tanai Beis Din was על הפרה שלא יהו מועלין באפרה – regarding the parah adumah that there should not be me’ilah when using its ashes. Rebbe Shmuel bar Nachman said in the name of Rebbe Yochanan, that it would seem from the Mishnah that mid’Oraysa the ashes should be subject to me’ilah but the Rabbanon were gozeir that they should not be. This contradicts a Baraisa that states that mid'Oraysa the parah itself is subject to me’ilah but not its ashes? Rebbe Abahu answered that at first, since the ashes were not subject to me’ilah, people would debase it and put it on their wounds for medicinal purposes. The Rabbanon therefore decreed that the ashes should be subject to me’ilah d’Rabbanon. Once the decree accomplished its purpose and people became restrained in using them, the Rabbanon were gozeir that the ashes should not be subject to me’ilah, following the d’Oraysa din.

• Spittle found in the upper marketplace

The opening Mishnah of the eighth perek states that according to Rebbe Meir, כל הרוקין הנמצאין בירושלים טהורין – All spittle that is found in Yerushalayim is presumed tahor, חוץ משל שוק העליון – except for what is found in the upper marketplace. Regarding the upper marketplace, Rebbe Avin said in the name of Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi, קצרן של נכרים היה שם – There was a laundry, operated by nochrim, there. Since nochrim are deemed to have the tumah of zavim, which means that their spittle is tamei, and the upper marketplace is frequented by many nochrim, any spittle found there was considered tamei. Rebbe Chaninah said, ערודות היו נוחרין שם – They used to spear wild donkeys there. Since the butchers were nochrim, their spittle was considered tamei.

Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi said, that as they were spearing wild donkeys to feed the lions in the king’s military, the olei regalim were passing through on their way to Yerushalayim, and they waded knee deep in the blood. The Rabbanon did not tell them to refrain from appearing in the Beis Hamikdash. We see from here that דם נבילה does not convey tumah. The Gemara begins a lengthy discussion regarding the status of דם נבילה.

•  מעשה רקם ומעשה חשב

The Gemara addresses the different descriptions for the handiwork of the paroches. One passuk states, it is מעשה רקם – the work of an embroiderer, and another passuk states, it was מעשה חשב – the work of a designer. The difference, is that the work of the embroiderer has only one face whereas the work of a designer has two faces. Rebbe Yehudah and Rebbe Nechemyah disagree about what this means. One says that מעשה רקם means the fabric had a lion embroidered on one side and was blank on the other, whereas מעשה חשב had a lion woven on each side. The other one said מעשה רקם had a lion embroidered on each side. The Tiklin Chaditin explains that one face means the identical face. מעשה חשב had a lion embroidered on one side and an eagle woven on the other side  and that is why it was described as having two faces.

Siman – Car (Bostonians pronounce it “ca”). The car with the announcement sign that the Rabbanon instituted no more me’ilah on parah adumah ashes and that waded through the spittle ridden and blood-filled upper marketplace where wild donkeys were speared, was full of horrified women on their way to embroider and design the paroches.