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Chagigah 22a

חגיגה כ״ב ע״א

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

Open Chagigah 22a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Immersing כלים בתוך כלים: the reasons of רבא and רבי אילא, why the rule applies only to קודש, and the concern for איבה with an עם הארץ

Overview

The משנה taught that for קודש one may not immerse vessels inside other vessels. רבי אילא said the worry is חציצה, something blocking the water. רבא said it is a גזירה in case someone immerses tiny items in a narrow-mouthed vessel, whose water is not connected to the מקוה. The practical difference between them is a basket full of vessels: רבי אילא forbids it, and רבא permits it. The גמרא adds that an impure outer vessel carries its טבילה to the vessels inside it, and it shows that the same argument appears among תנאים. Next it asks why the rule covers only קודש and not תרומה. After several rounds of questions and answers about חברים, the עם הארץ, and איבה (resentment), it traces the concern for איבה to רבי יוסי. רב פפא says that accepting testimony from an עם הארץ today follows רבי יוסי. Finally, the גמרא raises a worry about borrowing an עם הארץ's vessels and quotes a משנה where בית שמאי and בית הלל argue about his earthenware vessel. That argument continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

וְכַחֲלָלָהּ,

and like its inner space,

בִּשְׁתֵּי אֶצְבָּעוֹת חוֹזְרוֹת לִמְקוֹמָן.

enough for two fingers to turn around in their place.

סָבַר לַהּ כְּהָא

He holds like this

דְּאָמַר רַב נַחְמָן אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר אֲבוּהּ:

that Rav Nachman said in the name of Rabba bar Avuh:

The steps (31)

  1. ProofThe size of an opening that connects water
  2. Statementרבא follows the count of eleven stringencies
  3. QuestionWhat is the practical difference between רבא and רבי אילא?
  4. ResponseA basket full of vessels: רבי אילא forbids
  5. ResponseA basket full of vessels: רבא permits
  6. Statementרבא stays consistent: vessels immersed inside a basket are pure
  7. StatementA basket or bin cannot join two halves of a מקוה
  8. StatementThe narrow-mouth rule applies only to a pure outer vessel
  9. ProofA משנה supports the pure/impure distinction
  10. QuestionWhat does 'and if he did not immerse' mean?
  11. ResponseIt means: if the outer vessel did not need immersion
  12. StatementThe argument of רבא and רבי אילא is an older argument between תנאים
  13. ChallengeThen tell us why תרומה is not also forbidden
  14. Resolutionחברים already know how to immerse properly
  15. ChallengeThen קודש should be allowed too
  16. ResolutionAn עם הארץ might copy the חבר
  17. ChallengeThe same fear should apply to תרומה
  18. ResolutionWe do not accept תרומה from an עם הארץ
  19. ChallengeWhy not refuse קודש from an עם הארץ too?
  20. ResolutionRefusing his קודש would cause resentment
  21. ChallengeRefusing his תרומה should also cause resentment
  22. ResolutionHe can give his תרומה to a כהן friend
  23. QuestionWhich תנא worries about resentment?
  24. Responseרבי יוסי: everyone is trusted about wine and oil
  25. StatementAccepting testimony from an עם הארץ follows רבי יוסי
  26. ChallengeWhat About Borrowed Vessels?
  27. ProofThe משנה About an Earthenware Vessel That Protects
  28. Questionבית הלל Ask for the Reason
  29. ResponseThe Vessel Is טמא Because of the עם הארץ
  30. ChallengeBut You Said the Food Inside Is Pure!
  31. Resolutionבית שמאי Begin Their Answer