Bechoros 22a

בכורות כ״ב ע״א

Bekhorot 22a

Learn Bechoros 22a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

ביטול ברוב and the טומאה of a ולד, the skein measures for a fetus's head, and purifying brine from an עם הארץ

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an answer: the lump of blood is buried so people know the mother animal is now free from בכורה. The גמרא then asks why a real ולד like this gives no טומאה. רבי יוחנן answers that it is cancelled by the bigger mass around it (ביטול ברוב). He links this to רבי שמעון, who says a ולד inside a שליא dissolved before it came out. Next, a משנה teaches that a dead fetus gives טומאה only once its head is round like a פיקה (skein). The גמרא works out which skein is meant: a warp skein for a woman's fetus, a woof skein for an animal's fetus, and a large sack-makers' skein for an impure clod of earth. Then ריש לקיש rules that brine bought from an עם הארץ becomes טהור by touching it to מקוה water. רבי ירמיה limits this to dipping bread, because in a pot the cancelled water 'wakes up'. אביי questions whether cancelled טומאה can return, and רב דימי begins a proof from a משנה about impure תרומה, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (22)

1. ResponseIt is buried so everyone knows the mother is free from בכורה
2. ChallengeIf it is a real offspring, why is it not impure?
3. ResolutionThe ולד is cancelled by the larger mass of blood
4. Statementרבי יוחנן links רבי אליעזר בן יעקב and רבי שמעון
5. QuestionWhat did רבי שמעון say?
6. ResponseThe משנה of the שליא in a house
7. StatementA dead fetus gives טומאה only once its head is round like a skein
8. QuestionWhat does 'like a skein' mean?
9. Responseרב הונא: a skein of wool
10. Questionחייא בר רב asks: a warp skein or a woof skein?
11. ResponseA ברייתא: warp, woof, or a different sign
12. QuestionWhat are טפיפיות?
13. Responseטפיפיות look like a mule bending to urinate
14. Statementרב הונא heard two skein rules but cannot place them
15. Statementרבי יוחנן heard three skein rules, including a large sack-makers' skein
16. Responseרבין explains: warp for a woman, woof for an animal
17. ResponseThe large sack-makers' skein: the size of an impure clod of earth
18. StatementBrine from an unreliable seller can be purified by touching it to water
19. StatementWhy the brine is pure either way
20. StatementThe purification works only for dipping bread, not for cooking
21. Challengeאביי asks whether cancelled impurity can really come back
22. Proofרב דימי begins a proof from a משנה about impure תרומה