Bechoros 45a

בכורות מ״ה ע״א

Bekhorot 45a

Learn Bechoros 45a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Bechoros 45a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Blemishes of the legs and fingers that disqualify a כהן, the טומאה of an extra finger, and the count of a body's limbs and bones

Overview

This amud joins the משנה partway through its list of מומין that disqualify a כהן: leg and foot deformities, joined or extra fingers, an extra digit on every limb, and a כהן who uses both hands equally. The גמרא learns from the extra word ״אוֹ״ in ״אוֹ שֶׁבֶר רָגֶל״ and ״אוֹ שֶׁבֶר יָד״ that other leg and hand blemishes count too. It also corrects a ברייתא so that it matches the משנה's ruling that fingers which were cut apart are fit. רבי יוחנן limits the rule of a cut-off extra finger to one that sits in line with the other fingers. The גמרא then turns to the טומאה of such an extra finger from a מת. A finger in the row is a full אבר. A finger out of the row is טמא only by touch and carrying, explained either as an עצם כשעורה or as a rabbinic גזירה with a deliberate sign of difference. Next comes the משנה in אהלות about most of a body's frame or most of its bones, where 125 bones is a fixed measure for every body. The amud ends with the 248 limbs of a man and the four extra limbs of a woman (hinges and doors, and according to רבי עקיבא a key). רב rules that these extra limbs do not spread טומאת אהל, and the גמרא shows that a man's צירים are only flesh.

Opening lines

The steps (45)

1. StatementLeg and foot deformities that disqualify a priest
2. StatementJoined fingers and a cut-off extra finger
3. StatementAn extra digit on every hand and foot
4. StatementA priest who uses both hands equally
5. QuestionWhere do other leg defects come from in the verse?
6. ResponseThe word 'or' includes other leg defects
7. StatementAnother teaching adds two more leg blemishes
8. Statementרבי יוחנן defines the two opposite terms
9. Statementמשנה quote: bump by the thumb and a heel sticking out back
10. Statementרבי אלעזר explains the heel that sticks out
11. Statementמשנה quote: feet wide like a goose
12. Statementרב פפא: flat feet alone are enough
13. Statementמשנה quote: fingers on top of each other or joined
14. Questionברייתא: what is the source for joined fingers?
15. ChallengeBut the משנה said that case is fit
16. ResolutionCorrecting the ברייתא: he did not cut them
17. ResponseThe source: 'אוֹ שבר יד'
18. Statementמשנה quote: an extra finger that was cut off
19. Statementרבי יוחנן: only if it sits in line with the other fingers
20. StatementA ברייתא on the טומאה of an extra finger with a bone
21. StatementOnly when the finger is in the row along the hand
22. Statementרב: touch and carrying, but not in an אהל
23. Statementרב's ruling is about a finger not in the row
24. Challengeרבי יוחנן: this ruling has no clear logic
25. ResolutionIt is treated as a bone the size of a barley grain
26. Resolutionרב פפא: a rabbinic decree because of the finger in line
27. ChallengeThen it should also be טמא in an אהל
28. ResolutionThe חכמים left a sign so no תרומה is burned
29. StatementThe משנה about most of a corpse's frame or bones
30. StatementA ברייתא defines both majorities
31. ChallengeWhy teach simple arithmetic?
32. Resolution125 counts for every body
33. StatementThe students of רבי ישמעאל count 252 limbs
34. ResolutionA woman has four extra limbs
35. Statementרבי אלעזר: a woman has hinges
36. Statementרבי יהושע: a woman has doors
37. Statementרבי עקיבא: a woman has a key
38. ChallengeThe story challenges רבי עקיבא
39. ResolutionThe tiny key dissolved in the boiling
40. Statementרב: the extra limbs do not carry tent impurity
41. Challengeאביי asks: don't men also have hinges?
42. ResolutionAnswer: a man's hinges are only flesh
43. ChallengeA second verse: Daniel's hinges
44. ResolutionSame answer: these are also hinges of flesh
45. ProofProof from the count of 248 limbs