Gemara Clarity

Beitzah 34b

ביצה ל״ד ע״ב

Learn Beitzah 34b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Beitzah 34b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Does שבת make produce obligated in מעשר (קביעות למעשר) even when its processing is not finished?

Overview

The amud opens with the end of the משנה's dispute. רבי אליעזר says that on ערב שבת of שביעית a person may point at fruit in the drying area (מוקצה) and say 'from here I will eat tomorrow.' The חכמים say he must mark off an exact area. The גמרא then quotes two משניות about figs. Children who hid figs for שבת must tithe them even after שבת, but figs drying in a חצר may be eaten casually without מעשר. From these, רבא asks רב נחמן whether שבת fixes produce for מעשר even when its processing is not finished. רב נחמן says yes, and when רבא compares שבת to a חצר, he answers that he has an established teaching. מר זוטרא tries to support this from רבי אליעזר's ruling in the משנה, but the גמרא rejects the proof: his own statement fixed the fruit, not שבת. The משנה mentions שבת to teach a different lesson: טבל is מוכן on שבת, because if someone tithed it on שבת anyway, the tithing works.

Opening lines

עֶרֶב שַׁבָּת בַּשְּׁבִיעִית,

on Shabbat eve during the Sabbatical Year,

וְאוֹמֵר: מִכָּאן אֲנִי אוֹכֵל לְמָחָר.

and says: From here I will eat tomorrow.

וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים:

And the Rabbis say:

עַד שֶׁיִּרְשׁוֹם וְיֹאמַר מִכָּאן וְעַד כָּאן.

not unless he marks it and says: From here until there.

The steps (12)

  1. Statementרבי אליעזר: Choosing fruit for tomorrow by just saying so
  2. StatementThe חכמים: He must mark off an exact area
  3. StatementFirst source: Children who hid figs before שבת
  4. StatementSecond source: Figs drying in a courtyard
  5. Questionרבא asks: Does שבת fix unfinished produce for מעשר?
  6. Responseרב נחמן: שבת fixes both kinds
  7. Challengeרבא challenges: Shouldn't שבת be like a חצר?
  8. Resolutionרב נחמן: This is an established teaching
  9. Proofמר זוטרא brings support from רבי אליעזר's teaching in the משנה
  10. RejectionThe proof is rejected: his words fixed the meal, not שבת
  11. ChallengeIf his words fix it, why does the משנה mention שבת at all?
  12. ResolutionThe משנה mentions שבת to teach that טבל is not מוקצה