Gemara Clarity

Avodah Zarah 9b

עבודה זרה ט׳ ע״ב

Learn Avodah Zarah 9b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Avodah Zarah 9b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Calculating dates after the חורבן: converting year counts, finding one's place in the שמיטה cycle, and when the גאולה may be close

Overview

This amud continues the גמרא's discussion of how to count years. First it gives a פסוק about the 48 cities as a memory aid for the number 48. Then it explains that a scribe (ספרא) who lost track of the year can ask the תנא for his count and subtract 48. Next, רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע teaches a method for finding which year of the שמיטה cycle we are in. You add one year, count in יובלות and seven-year cycles, and move two years from every hundred into the leftovers. After that, רבי חנינא and a ברייתא each name a year after which you should not buy land even at a huge bargain. The גמרא lines the two dates up and shows they are only three years apart. Finally, the גמרא begins a story about a certain שטר, and what was written in it comes on the next amud.

Opening lines

״אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמֹנֶה עִיר״.

"Forty-eight cities."

וְאִי טָעֵי סָפְרָא —

And if the scribe makes a mistake —

נְשַׁיְּילֵיהּ לְתַנָּא כַּמָּה קָתָנֵי,

let him ask the תנא how many years he teaches,

וְנִיבַצַּר מִינַּיְיהוּ אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמוֹנֶה,

and subtract forty-eight from them,

The steps (9)

  1. ConclusionA memory aid for the number forty-eight
  2. StatementIf the scribe forgets the year, he asks the תנא and subtracts forty-eight
  3. StatementHow to find your year in the שמיטה cycle
  4. StatementAdjusting for two extra years in every hundred
  5. StatementAfter 400 years from the חורבן, don't buy land even at a bargain
  6. StatementA ברייתא gives the same advice with the year 4231 from creation
  7. QuestionWhat is the difference between the two dates?
  8. ResponseThe ברייתא's date is three years later
  9. StatementA story begins about a certain document