Eruvin 37a

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Topic

Do רבי יהודה and רבי יוסי accept ברירה? עולא's reading of the wine ברייתא, and רבי יוסי's ruling on the women's bird offerings (קינים)

Overview

This amud opens in the middle of a ברייתא about a person who buys untithed wine from כותים. רבי מאיר lets him declare now that the portions he will separate later are already תרומה and מעשרות, and then drink right away. That only works through ברירה, and רבי יהודה, רבי יוסי and רבי שמעון forbid it. This seems to support איו's teaching that רבי יהודה rejects ברירה, which clashes with our משנה. עולא sides with the משנה and rejects איו. To explain the ברייתא, he groups the names in pairs, so רבי יהודה joins רבי מאיר and only רבי יוסי and רבי שמעון forbid. The גמרא then asks whether רבי יוסי really rejects ברירה, because in a משנה about two women's bird offerings (קינים) he lets the כהן decide which bird is an עולה and which a חטאת. רבה answers that the women made an explicit stipulation. The גמרא shows the משנה still teaches something new: the rule of רב חסדא about when bird offerings get their identity, a statement that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (8)

1. ProofThe wine-from-כותים ברייתא: רבי מאיר permits, three תנאים forbid
2. Statementעולא rejects איו's teaching because of the משנה
3. ChallengeBut the ברייתא lists רבי יהודה among those who forbid
4. Resolutionעולא reads the names in pairs: רבי יהודה joins רבי מאיר
5. ChallengeDoes רבי יוסי reject ברירה? The two women's bird offerings
6. Resolutionרבה: In the bird case the women made a stipulation
7. ChallengeIf they stipulated, why would the משנה need to say it?
8. ResolutionThe משנה teaches the rule of רב חסדא