Arachin 7b

ערכין ז׳ ע״ב

Arakhin 7b

Learn Arachin 7b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Arachin 7b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Saving an unborn baby on שבת, the hair of an executed woman, and the minimum and maximum payments for an ערך

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a discussion of שמואל's ruling that when a woman in labor dies on שבת, we cut her open to save the baby. רבה explains that the real news is that we may even carry a knife through רשות הרבים. The ruling is needed because an unborn baby never had a חזקה of being alive. Next the גמרא asks how the משנה can allow the hair of an executed woman, since a dead body is forbidden for benefit. רב says the 'hair' is a wig, which is allowed only if she said 'give it to my daughter'. רב נחמן בר יצחק says it is her real hair: death forbids a woman, but the verdict forbids an animal. לוי brings a ברייתא supporting each view, and the first פרק ends. The new פרק teaches that an ערך is never less than one סלע or more than fifty. רבי מאיר and the חכמים argue whether a poor person with five סלעים pays one or all five, and the גמרא gives the פסוקים behind each side. Finally, רב אדא בר אהבה shows how a man with five סלעים can pay two ערך vows by paying the second vow first.

Opening lines

The steps (34)

1. ChallengeWhy say it? Cutting flesh is not a שבת problem
2. ResolutionThe real point: carrying the knife through the public domain
3. ChallengeWe already know we break שבת even out of doubt
4. ResolutionAn unborn baby never had a חזקה of life
5. StatementQuoting the משנה about an executed woman
6. ChallengeBut a dead body is forbidden for benefit
7. ResolutionShe asked to give her hair to her daughter
8. ChallengeWould we give her hand if she asked?
9. Resolutionרב says the hair is a wig
10. Challengeרבי יוסי was unsure whether a wig counts as the body
11. ResolutionA wig on a peg versus a wig she is wearing
12. ChallengeThe woman is compared to the animal, so it must mean her real hair
13. ResolutionDeath forbids the woman, but the verdict forbids the animal
14. Proofלוי has a teaching for each side
15. Proofלוי's ברייתא that matches רב
16. ChallengeIsn't that obvious?
17. ResolutionEven a dead person's adornments are forbidden
18. ProofA second ברייתא supports רב נחמן בר יצחק
19. ConclusionHadran — Closing פרק הכל מעריכין
20. StatementNew משנה: an ערך is never less than one סלע or more than fifty
21. Statementרבי מאיר and the חכמים argue about a poor person who has five סלעים
22. QuestionWhere do we learn that an ערך is never less than one סלע?
23. ResponseThe source for the minimum is the word שקל
24. ResponseThe source for the maximum is the word 'fifty'
25. QuestionWhy does רבי מאיר say the poor person pays only one סלע?
26. Responseרבי מאיר: either fifty or one שקל
27. ResponseThe רבנן: שקל is only a minimum, and a person who can pay more must pay more
28. QuestionWhat does רבי מאיר do with the פסוק about means?
29. Responseרבי מאיר: the vower's means count, not the means of the person being valued
30. ResponseThe רבנן: the same פסוק also teaches that more means means paying more
31. Statementרב אדא בר אהבה: two ערך vows paid with five סלעים
32. QuestionWhy does this work?
33. ResponseA later creditor who collected first keeps what he took
34. ResponseAt each payment he counts as poor