Gemara Clarity

Chagigah 10a

חגיגה י׳ ע״א

Learn Chagigah 10a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Chagigah 10a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Leaving one kind of Torah learning for another; the משנה on how much written Torah supports each area of הלכה; the sources for היתר נדרים; and why הלכות שבת 'hang by a hair'

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an answer from the previous page. A woman who was forced may stay with her husband, unless he is a כהן. Then רב, שמואל and רבי יוחנן each explain the פסוק 'there was no peace for one who went out or came in' as a warning against leaving one kind of Torah learning for another. A new משנה follows and sorts areas of הלכה by how much written Torah supports them. היתר נדרים 'flies in the air.' שבת, חגיגה and מעילה are 'mountains hanging by a hair.' דינין, עבודות, טהרות and עריות are well grounded. In the גמרא, four תנאים each offer a פסוק as a source for releasing vows. שמואל offers 'לא יחל דברו': he cannot break his word, but others can release it for him. רבא shows that every source except שמואל's could be teaching something else. The amud ends with the הלכות שבת: they are written in the Torah, so the משנה must mean details like רבי אבא's rule about digging a hole only for its dirt. The גמרא then asks how such details 'hang by a hair,' and the answer comes on the next amud.

Opening lines

בְּאוֹנֶס, כָּאן בְּרָצוֹן.

[here it is] with force; there it is willingly.

וְאִיבָּעֵית אֵימָא

And if you wish, say

הָא וְהָא בְּאוֹנֶס,

this one and that one both speak of force,

וְלָא קַשְׁיָא:

and it is not difficult:

The steps (25)

  1. ResolutionOne case is forced, the other willing
  2. ResolutionBoth cases are forced: a כהן's wife versus a ישראל's wife
  3. Statementרב: leaving הלכה for מקרא brings no peace
  4. Statementשמואל: leaving תלמוד for משנה
  5. Statementרבי יוחנן: even from one תלמוד to another
  6. Statementמשנה: releasing vows has almost no support in the written Torah
  7. Statementשבת, festival offerings and misuse of sacred property hang by a hair
  8. StatementMonetary law, Temple service, purity and forbidden relations are well grounded
  9. Statementרבי אליעזר finds a hint for releasing vows in 'כי יפליא' written twice
  10. Statementרבי יהושע: 'I swore in My anger,' then I took it back
  11. Statementרבי יצחק: 'whoever is of a willing heart'
  12. Statementחנניה: 'I have sworn and I will fulfill it'
  13. Statementשמואל's source: others can release the vow
  14. Statementרבא: only שמואל's source cannot be pushed off
  15. RejectionPushing off רבי אליעזר's source
  16. RejectionPushing off רבי יהושע's source
  17. RejectionPushing off רבי יצחק's source
  18. RejectionPushing off חנניה's source
  19. ConclusionOnly שמואל's source survives
  20. StatementOne sharp pepper beats a basket of squash
  21. ChallengeBut the laws of שבת are written in the תורה
  22. ResolutionIt refers to רבי אבא's ruling on digging for dirt
  23. QuestionWhose view is רבי אבא following?
  24. RejectionIt can fit רבי יהודה too, because the digging ruins
  25. QuestionSo what does 'mountains hanging by a hair' mean?