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Arachin 19b

ערכין י״ט ע״ב

Arakhin 19b

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

Open Arachin 19b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Measuring vows of body parts: how far 'hand' and 'leg' reach, how to price a vowed hand, and רבא's questions about reusing an assessment

Overview

The amud opens by ending a list of unclear vows ('my width,' 'my sitting,' 'my thickness,' 'my girth') with תיקו. No answer is given. Next, a ברייתא explains רבי יהודה's way of measuring a vow of 'the weight of my hand': he puts the arm into a barrel of water, then adds donkey meat until the water level matches. רבי יוסי objects that this needs guessing, so the hand should simply be estimated directly. רבי יהודה replies that we do as much as we can to be exact. The גמרא then asks how far 'hand' and 'leg' reach. It explains that vows follow how ordinary people talk, while Torah laws like תפילין, washing in the מקדש, and חליצה each have their own source. רב פפא and רב אשי then argue whether this proves something about the ankle bone. A new משנה teaches that one who vows 'the value of my hand' pays what the hand is worth, a case where נדרים are stricter than ערכין. רבא and אביי debate how to price the hand, ending with a slave whose one hand legally belongs to his first master. The amud closes with a chain of questions from רבא about reusing an assessment of a person's value, and the last one continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

״רוֹחְבּוֹ״ מַהוּ?

If he vowed 'his width,' what is the law?

״יְשִׁיבָתוֹ״ מַהוּ?

'His sitting,' what is the law?

״עוֹבְיוֹ״ מַהוּ?

'His thickness,' what is the law?

״הִיקִּיפוּ״ מַהוּ?

'His girth,' what is the law?

The steps (30)

  1. QuestionFour questions about unclear body-measurement vows
  2. ConclusionThe questions are left unresolved
  3. Statementרבי יהודה's method: a barrel of water for the hand or leg
  4. StatementUsing donkey meat to match the weight, with a hint from a פסוק
  5. Challengeרבי יוסי: you can't match donkey parts to human parts
  6. Resolutionרבי יהודה: we estimate
  7. Challengeרבי יוסי: then just estimate the hand itself
  8. Resolutionרבי יהודה's view: we do as much as we can
  9. ChallengeHand up to the elbow, or only up to the wrist?
  10. ResolutionTorah language versus everyday language
  11. ChallengeBut תפילין show the Torah's 'hand' is the upper arm
  12. ResolutionThree separate rules for the word 'hand'
  13. ChallengeLeg up to the knee, or only the foot?
  14. ResolutionVows follow everyday speech, so רגל reaches the knee
  15. ChallengeChallenge from חליצה: the Torah's רגל seems to reach the knee
  16. Resolutionחליצה is different because the פסוק says 'from upon his foot'
  17. ChallengeThen why not above the knee too?
  18. Resolution'From upon' means only one section above, not above-the-above
  19. Statementרב פפא: so the ankle bone must reach the ground
  20. Rejectionרב אשי: anything next to the foot counts as the foot
  21. StatementVowing the value of one's hand
  22. QuestionHow do we figure out the value of the hand?
  23. Responseרבא: use the method of injury damages
  24. Challengeאביי: injury cases are not the same
  25. Responseאביי: compare a one-handed worker to a two-handed worker
  26. ChallengeA one-handed slave is the same as רבא's case
  27. ResolutionA slave whose one hand belongs to his first owner
  28. QuestionDoes an assessment for damages count for a vow of one's value?
  29. QuestionVowing a second time after already being assessed by ten
  30. QuestionTwo vows before any assessment was made