Gemara Clarity

Arachin 19a

ערכין י״ט ע״א

Arakhin 19a

Learn Arachin 19a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Arachin 19a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The end of פרק הֶשֵּׂג יָד and the start of the next פרק: pledging one's weight or height to הקדש

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an earlier discussion: the ברייתא should have used the Torah's words זכר and נקבה. The גמרא then asks why an elderly woman's ערך drops to exactly a third, while an elderly man's drops lower. חזקיה answers with a folk saying: an old man at home is a burden, but an old woman at home is a treasure. After the הדרן, a new משנה teaches that one who pledges 'my weight' pays his weight in silver or gold, whichever he named. The same משנה tells how ירמטיא's mother paid her daughter's weight in gold. It also records an argument between רבי יהודה and רבי יוסי about how to measure the weight of a hand. The גמרא learns that if no metal was named, any material sold by weight in that place counts, as רחבה and רב פפא explain. It then explains the story of ירמטיא's mother: an important person's vow is judged by his status. Finally, רב יהודה splits 'my height' from 'my full height' by following רבי עקיבא, who learns meaning from extra words, and a new question about 'עומדי' continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

״שֶׁבְּזָכָר וְשֶׁבִּנְקֵבָה״ מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ.

It should have said: 'that of a male and that of a female.'

וּמַאי שְׁנָא נְקֵבָה,

And what is different about a female,

דְּכִי מִיזַּקְנָא קָיְימָא אַתִּילְּתָא,

that when she grows old she stands at one third,

וּמַאי שְׁנָא זָכָר

and what is different about a male,

The steps (27)

  1. ConclusionThe wording should have been 'male and female'
  2. QuestionWhy does an old woman keep a third of her value but an old man does not?
  3. ResponseAn old man is a burden, an old woman is a treasure
  4. ConclusionHadran — Closing the chapter הֶשֵּׂג יָד
  5. StatementPledging 'my weight' to the Temple
  6. ProofThe story of ירמטיא's mother
  7. StatementPledging the weight of one's hand: the water-barrel method
  8. Challengeרבי יוסי rejects the method and says to estimate
  9. QuestionWhat does 'if silver, silver; if gold, gold' mean?
  10. ResponseIt depends on what he specified
  11. ChallengeIsn't that obvious?
  12. ResolutionThe real lesson: without specifying, anything works
  13. Statementרחבה: even pitch counts where it is sold by weight
  14. ChallengeIsn't רחבה's ruling obvious?
  15. ResolutionNeeded where some weigh pitch and some measure it
  16. Statementרב פפא: even onions count where they are sold by weight
  17. ChallengeIsn't רב פפא's ruling obvious?
  18. ResolutionNeeded where sellers toss in extra onions after weighing
  19. ChallengeWhy does the story contradict the משנה?
  20. ResolutionAn important person pays according to his status
  21. Statement'My height' versus 'my full height'
  22. ChallengeA ברייתא treats both wordings the same
  23. Resolutionרב יהודה follows רבי עקיבא, who learns from extra words
  24. ProofThe source: רבי עקיבא on selling a house with a pit
  25. ProofThe rest of the house-sale משנה: חכמים argue, and רבי עקיבא agrees in one case
  26. ConclusionExtra words add meaning, so 'my full height' adds a new rule
  27. QuestionNew question: what is the law for a vow of 'עומדי'?