Gemara Clarity

Arachin 17b

ערכין י״ז ע״ב

Arakhin 17b

Learn Arachin 17b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Arachin 17b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Who sets the size of a vowed מצורע offering, and when a person's wealth is measured in ערכין and in offerings

Overview

The amud opens by explaining that the משנה's two rules about vowing to pay for a מצורע's offering cover two different cases. A poor sponsor of a poor מצורע may bring the poor offering, but a poor sponsor of a rich מצורע must bring the rich one. A ברייתא learns this from "אם דל הוא". According to רבי, the word "הוא" instead excludes a rich sponsor of a poor מצורע. A new משנה then teaches that in ערכין, being rich either when you vow or when you pay means paying the rich amount, and רבי יהודה says even being rich only in between counts. By contrast, a מצורע's offerings follow only what he has right now. The גמרא brings the פסוקים for these rules, and it learns רבי יהודה's view from "ואם מך הוא": a person counts as poor only if he is poor from start to finish. It defends this reading against the parallel פסוק of the מצורע, which has its own special source, "בטהרתו". It then raises a new challenge from the witness פסוק "והוא עד" and begins quoting a ברייתא about witnesses. The answer to that challenge comes on the next amud.

Opening lines

חֲדָא אַמְּצוֹרָע עָנִי

One [rule] is about a poor leper

וּמַדִּירוֹ עָנִי,

whose sponsor who vowed for him is poor,

וַחֲדָא לְמַעוֹטֵי

and the other one is to exclude

מְצוֹרָע עָשִׁיר וּמַדִּירוֹ עָנִי.

a rich leper whose sponsor is poor.

The steps (17)

  1. ResolutionTwo rules for two different cases
  2. ResolutionWhy the second rule was needed
  3. ProofA ברייתא learns this from "אם דל הוא"
  4. ChallengeAccording to רבי, what does "הוא" exclude?
  5. Resolution"הוא" excludes a rich sponsor of a poor מצורע
  6. Statementמשנה: a change in wealth in ערכין means paying the rich amount
  7. Statementמשנה: for קרבנות only his present situation counts
  8. ProofThe פסוקים behind both ערכין rules
  9. QuestionWhat is the source for רבי יהודה's view?
  10. ResponseThe word הוא means he must stay poor the whole time
  11. ChallengeThen a poor מצורע should also have to stay poor the whole time
  12. ChallengeBut everyone judges a מצורע by one single moment
  13. ResolutionA special פסוק for the מצורע ties his status to one offering
  14. QuestionThen what does the word 'הוא' teach for the מצורע?
  15. Responseרבי and the רבנן each use 'הוא' for their own rule
  16. ChallengeBy the same logic, a witness would need to be fit from start to finish
  17. ChallengeA ברייתא shows that a witness does not need to be fit the whole time