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Eruvin 17b

עירובין י״ז ע״ב

Learn Eruvin 17b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

עירובין 17b — The army-camp leniencies (burial, hand-washing, דמאי, עירוב), and the opening משנה on boards around wells

Overview

This עמוד finishes the משנה's list of leniencies for an army camp and then opens a new פרק. First the גמרא explains that a soldier is buried where he fell even when he has people to bury him, so he is not a מת מצוה. רב ביבי then defends the rule that a מת מצוה is buried in its place: the ברייתא that lets a corpse be moved deals only with one lying on a boundary path. Next, אביי limits the camp's exemption from hand-washing to washing before the meal. Washing after the meal stays required because of dangerous מלח סדומית. The גמרא grounds the camp's דמאי leniency in בית הלל's ruling. It then limits the עירוב exemption to עירובי חצירות, since walking past the תחום may carry Torah lashes. רבי יונתן and רב אחא בר יעקב argue whether that לאו can carry מלקות, and רב אשי notes that the verse says 'go out,' not 'carry out.' After the הדרן, the second פרק opens with a משנה about boards (פסין) set up around wells: how many, how big, how far apart, and how close to the well, continuing on the next עמוד.

Opening lines

דְּאִית לֵיהּ קוֹבְרִין,

[It is needed for a case] where he has people to bury him,

דְּתַנְיָא: אֵיזֶהוּ מֵת מִצְוָה?

As it was taught: Which is a met מצוה?

כֹּל שֶׁאֵין לוֹ קוֹבְרִין.

Any [corpse] that has no one to bury it.

קוֹרֵא וַאֲחֵרִים עוֹנִין אוֹתוֹ —

If one calls out and others answer him —

The steps (25)

  1. ResponseThe army rule covers a corpse that has people to bury it
  2. ProofA ברייתא defines what counts as a מת מצוה
  3. ChallengeDoes a מת מצוה really stay where it is found?
  4. Resolutionרב ביבי: the corpse was lying on a boundary strip
  5. StatementSoldiers are exempt only from washing before the meal
  6. StatementWhy washing after the meal is required: dangerous salt
  7. StatementHow rare the dangerous salt is
  8. QuestionMust someone who measured salt wash his hands?
  9. ResponseOf course he must wash
  10. ProofSource for feeding soldiers דמאי
  11. Statementבית שמאי and בית הלל disagree about feeding דמאי
  12. StatementThe camp exemption covers only עירובי חצירות
  13. ProofSupport: boundary violations carry Torah-level lashes
  14. Challengeרבי יונתן: no lashes for a prohibition written with אל
  15. Challengeרב אחא בר יעקב: אל also appears by אוב and ידעוני
  16. Resolutionרבי יונתן's real difficulty: a prohibition tied to capital punishment
  17. RejectionThe verse says 'go out,' not 'carry out'
  18. ConclusionHadran — Closing פרק מבוי
  19. StatementNew פרק: boards may be set up around wells
  20. StatementHow many boards: רבי יהודה versus רבי מאיר
  21. StatementThe size of each board
  22. Statementרבי מאיר's maximum gap between the boards
  23. Statementרבי יהודה allows a slightly bigger gap
  24. StatementPlacing the boards close to the well
  25. StatementOpening word of the next rule