Gemara Clarity

Chullin 137b

חולין קל״ז ע״ב

Learn Chullin 137b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Chullin 137b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The minimum measure of ראשית הגז, the one-in-sixty rule for ראשית הגז, תרומה and פאה, and the story of רבי יוחנן and איסי בר הִינִי.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an earlier discussion: רבי יוחנן explains that רבי יוסי's view came from a tradition going back to חגי, זכריה and מלאכי. The גמרא then asks how much wool the רבנן's 'כל שהן' really means for ראשית הגז. רב, שמואל, רבי יוחנן and רבי אלעזר each give a different answer. A challenge from the משנה's 'five סלעים' is answered: five סלעים is the smallest gift for each כהן when someone has a lot of wool. The גמרא next examines רב ושמואל's rule that ראשית הגז, תרומה and פאה are one in sixty. It shows that for תרומה and פאה this is a rabbinic measure, and that for פאה it applies even outside ארץ ישראל. A story follows in which רבי יוחנן corrects איסי בר הִינִי's wording, rebukes him for calling רב by a casual nickname, and tells him the measure is sixty. Finally, רב דימי's report clears up apparent contradictions in רבי יוחנן's and רב's numbers. רב's 'מנה' turns out to be a large forty-סלע מנה, and the calculation finishes on the next amud.

Opening lines

אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן:

Rabbi Yochanan said:

מִפִּי שְׁמוּעָה אָמְרָה,

He said it from a received tradition,

מִפִּי חַגַּי זְכַרְיָה וּמַלְאָכִי.

from the mouth of Chaggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

רַבִּי דּוֹסָא בֶּן הַרְכִּינָס אוֹמֵר וְכוּ׳.

Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas says, etc.

The steps (33)

  1. Responseרבי יוסי's view came from a prophetic tradition
  2. QuestionWhat does 'any amount' mean?
  3. Responseרב: 150 dinars, split evenly among the five sheep
  4. Responseשמואל: sixty סלעים, with one סלע for the כהן
  5. Responseרבי יוחנן: six סלעים, with five for the כהן
  6. Responseרבי אלעזר: it literally means any amount
  7. ChallengeThe משנה's five סלעים challenges שמואל and רבי אלעזר
  8. ChallengeEven רב does not fit the משנה
  9. ResolutionEach כהן should get at least five סלעים
  10. Statementרב ושמואל: ראשית הגז, תרומה and פאה are one in sixty
  11. ChallengeBut a משנה says תרומה is one in forty
  12. ResolutionOne in sixty by Torah law, one in forty by rabbinic law
  13. ChallengeIs one in sixty really the Torah measure for תרומה?
  14. ResolutionThree levels of the תרומה measure
  15. ChallengeBut פאה has no measure
  16. ResolutionNo Torah measure, but a rabbinic one
  17. ChallengeWhat did רב ושמואל add?
  18. Resolutionארץ ישראל versus חוצה לארץ
  19. Statementרבי יוחנן corrects a word in the משנה
  20. Challengeאיסי brings a פסוק for his wording
  21. ResolutionThe language of the תורה and the language of חכמים are separate
  22. QuestionWho heads the yeshiva in בבל?
  23. Responseאיסי answers: אבא אריכא
  24. Statementרבי יוחנן scolds איסי and describes רב's greatness
  25. Questionאיסי asks the minimum amount for ראשית הגז
  26. Responseרבי יוחנן: sixty
  27. ChallengeBut the משנה says 'any amount'
  28. ResolutionIf so, what's the difference between us?
  29. Statementרב דימי reports: רב sixty, רבי ינאי six
  30. Challengeאביי: you fixed one problem and made another
  31. Resolutionרבי יוחנן vs. רבי יוחנן is settled
  32. Challengeרב's two amounts seem to clash
  33. Resolutionרב's מנה is a larger forty-סלע מנה