Avodah Zarah 37a

עבודה זרה ל״ז ע״א

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Topic

Gentile children and זיבה impurity; the court that permitted gentile oil, conditional divorce, and the testimony of יוסי בן יועזר

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a rule: a gentile boy of nine years and one day imparts זיבה impurity, and רבינא adds that a gentile girl of three years and one day does too. Next comes a story. רבי יהודה נשיאה tells his attendant רבי שמלאי that his court permitted gentile oil. רבי שמלאי suggests permitting bread as well, but רבי יהודה נשיאה fears being called a 'permissive court', like רבי יוסי בן יועזר, who was nicknamed for three lenient rulings. The other leniency of that court turns out to be letting a woman remarry when her husband gave a conditional גט and died within twelve months. The court relied on רבי יוסי's rule that the date on a document shows when it takes effect. רבי אלעזר asks an elder of that court when exactly she was allowed to remarry. אביי then explains which wordings of a conditional גט everyone agrees on, and which one רבי יהודה הנשיא and the חכמים argue about. Finally the גמרא returns to the testimony of יוסי בן יועזר and begins explaining what the איל קמצא is; this discussion continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (25)

1. StatementWhy a gentile boy imparts זיבה impurity
2. Statementרבינא extends the rule to a gentile girl
3. ChallengeIsn't רבינא's ruling obvious?
4. ResolutionA girl might have been treated differently
5. Statementרבי יהודה נשיאה tells רבי שמלאי that gentile oil was permitted
6. Statementרבי שמלאי suggests permitting bread too
7. RejectionThe worry about being called a permissive court
8. ProofThe משנה about רבי יוסי בן יועזר, 'the Permitter'
9. Rejectionרבי שמלאי: two leniencies are not like three
10. Resolutionרבי יהודה נשיאה already permitted something else
11. QuestionWhat was the other leniency?
12. ResponseThe other leniency: the conditional divorce case
13. StatementThe court's reasoning: the date on the document
14. Statementרבי יהודה הנשיא once ruled the same way
15. QuestionWhen was the woman allowed to remarry?
16. ChallengeThe elder points to the same question in the משנה
17. ChallengeThe elder: you could ask the same question about the משנה itself
18. Resolutionרבי אלעזר: true, but you were there
19. Statementאביי: everyone agrees about 'when the sun comes out'
20. StatementEveryone agrees 'on condition that' works backward from now
21. StatementThe real argument: the wording 'if the sun comes out'
22. StatementReturning to the testimony of יוסי בן יועזר
23. QuestionWhat is the איל קמצא?
24. ResponseTwo identifications of the איל קמצא
25. StatementFor רב פפא, the argument is about a long-headed locust