Bava Kamma 55a

בבא קמא נ״ה ע״א

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Topic

Why "טוב" is only in the second דברות, good signs in dreams, and כלאים among birds and sea creatures

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a question: why does the word "טוב" appear in the second דברות but not the first? רבי תנחום בר חנילאי answers that the first לוחות were going to break, and רב אשי explains that if "good" had been written on them, good would have been cut off from ישראל. Next, the גמרא brings dream teachings. A ט in a dream is a good sign, and after several rejected reasons the גמרא explains that the first ט in the תורה is in the word טוב. Seeing the word הספד written in a dream is also a good sign, because its letters hint to חסו and פדאוהו. The גמרא then returns to the משנה's rule that כלאים applies to wild animals and birds. Rooster, peacock and pheasant are כלאים even though they are raised together, and domestic and wild geese are כלאים because of real differences in how they reproduce. ריש לקיש teaches that crossbreeding sea creatures earns מלקות, learned from the word למינהו. רחבה asks whether driving a goat and a fish together is forbidden, and the גמרא rejects רבינא's comparison to seeds sown across the border, without deciding the question. The פרק שור שנגח את הפרה then ends.

Opening lines

The steps (28)

1. QuestionThe end of the question about the word "good"
2. Responseרבי חייא בר אבא admits he doesn't know and sends him elsewhere
3. Responseרבי תנחום's answer: the first לוחות were going to break
4. ChallengeSo what if they were going to break?
5. Resolutionרב אשי: good would have stopped for ישראל
6. StatementSeeing the letter ט in a dream is a good sign
7. ChallengeWhy is ט good? There is also a scary פסוק with ט
8. ResolutionAnswer: we mean a single ט
9. ChallengeA single ט can also begin a bad פסוק
10. ResolutionWe mean ט together with ב
11. Challengeט-ב can also begin a bad פסוק
12. ResolutionThe תורה first uses ט for good
13. StatementSeeing a הספד in a dream is a good sign
14. ConclusionOnly when the word is seen written
15. StatementRooster, peacock and pheasant are כלאים
16. ChallengeIsn't this obvious?
17. ResolutionThe birds are raised together
18. StatementDomestic goose and wild goose are כלאים
19. ChallengeA different beak can't be the reason
20. Resolutionאביי: the male's body is different
21. Resolutionרב פפא: the female lays differently
22. StatementCrossbreeding sea creatures earns lashes
23. QuestionWhat is the source?
24. ResponseLearned from the word 'according to its species'
25. QuestionDriving a goat and a fish together
26. ChallengeWheat in ארץ ישראל and barley outside
27. RejectionThe two cases are not alike
28. ConclusionHadran — Closing שור שנגח את הפרה