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Arachin 32b

ערכין ל״ב ע״ב

Arakhin 32b

Learn Arachin 32b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Arachin 32b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The cities walled since יהושע, whether the first קדושה of ארץ ישראל lasted forever, and counting יובל in עזרא's time

Overview

The גמרא explains a ברייתא that names גמלא, גדוד, חדיד, אונו and ירושלים as cities walled since the days of יהושע בן נון. אביי reads the names as boundary points, and רבא reads the regions as labels that tell us which city of a shared name is meant. The גמרא asks how ירושלים can be on the list, since a house there never becomes חלוט. רבי יוחנן answers that the list means cities like ירושלים, and רב אשי answers that there were two places called ירושלים. Next, two ברייתות of רבי ישמעאל ברבי יוסי seem to disagree about whether the first קדושה of the land lasted forever. The גמרא answers that two תנאים reported his view differently, or that the 'forever' view really belongs to רבי אלעזר בר יוסי. It then brings the sources for each side: the פסוק about the סוכות in עזרא's time, and the פסוק 'which your fathers inherited.' Finally it asks how יובל could be counted in עזרא's time, and רב נחמן בר יצחק answers that they counted it only to keep the שמיטה years in the right place.

Opening lines

אָמַר אַבָּיֵי: הָכִי קָאָמַר —

Abaye said: This is what it is saying:

עַד גַּמְלָא בַּגָּלִיל,

Up to Gamla in the Galilee,

עַד גְּדוֹד בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן,

up to Gedod in Transjordan,

וְחָדִיד וְאוֹנוֹ וִירוּשָׁלַיִם בִּיהוּדָה.

and Ḥadid and Ono and Jerusalem in Judea.

The steps (28)

  1. Resolutionאביי explains the list as a set of boundary points
  2. Resolutionרבא says the regions just tell us which city of that name is meant
  3. ChallengeBut a house in ירושלים never becomes permanently sold
  4. Resolutionרבי יוחנן: the list means cities like ירושלים
  5. Resolutionרב אשי: there were two places called ירושלים
  6. StatementWhy only these cities were listed: the first holiness ended
  7. ChallengeA second ברייתא of the same Sage seems to say otherwise
  8. ChallengeDid they really need to sanctify them?
  9. ResolutionRead it as 'they counted them'
  10. ChallengeThe second ברייתא says the first holiness lasts forever
  11. ResolutionTwo תנאים disagree about what רבי ישמעאל held
  12. ResolutionThe second ברייתא was really said by רבי אלעזר בר יוסי
  13. ProofProof: רבי אלעזר בר יוסי holds the old wall still counts
  14. QuestionWhat is the source for 'the first sanctity was only for its time'?
  15. ProofThe פסוק about the סוכות in עזרא's time
  16. ChallengeThe פסוק cannot be read literally
  17. Resolutionעזרא's return is compared to יהושע's entry
  18. ProofA second פסוק: your inheritance is like your fathers'
  19. QuestionHow does the other view read the פסוק?
  20. ResponseThe 'סוכה' was protection from a prayer against עבודה זרה
  21. StatementThe פסוק hints at criticism of יהושע
  22. StatementWhy יהושע, and not משה, is criticized
  23. ChallengeA challenge from the verse about the fathers' inheritance
  24. ResolutionYour fathers' inheritance is already yours
  25. ChallengeCould they really count יובל in עזרא's time?
  26. ProofProof that יובל needs all the inhabitants in the land
  27. ProofEven mixed-up tribes cancel יובל
  28. ResolutionThey counted יובל only to set the שמיטה years