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Eruvin 56a

עירובין נ״ו ע״א

Learn Eruvin 56a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Healthy and harmful foods, hilly cities and aging, squaring a city to the true directions for תחום שבת, and שמואל's rules about the timing of the תקופות.

Overview

This amud opens at the end of a קשיא. A ברייתא calls ירק (vegetables) harmful, which seems to clash with רב הונא's praise of vegetables. The גמרא answers that רב הונא means garlic and leeks. A ברייתא calls צנון (radish) an elixir of life, and another calls it deadly; the גמרא settles this by plant part (leaves vs. roots) or by season (summer vs. winter). Next, רב יהודה quotes רב that hilly cities make people 'die at half their days.' The גמרא corrects this to 'age at half their days,' and רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע confirms it from his own life. The גמרא then returns to תחום שבת: a city's square must line up with the true compass directions, found by the stars. רבי יוסי offers a backup method using the sun's seasonal path, supported by a פסוק in קהלת, but רב משרשיא rejects the solstice part of that method. Finally, שמואל teaches the fixed times when each of the four תקופות begins, the 91-day-and-7.5-hour math behind them, and the harm that comes when a season begins in the hour of צדק.

Opening lines

פַּת קִיבָּר

Coarse bread

וְשֵׁכָר חָדָשׁ וְיָרָק.

and new beer, and vegetables.

לָא קַשְׁיָא:

It is not difficult:

הָא — בְּתוּמֵי וְכַרָּתֵי,

this one refers to garlic and leeks,

The steps (19)

  1. ChallengeThe list of harmful things ends with vegetables
  2. ResolutionGarlic and leeks versus other vegetables
  3. ProofA ברייתא praises garlic, leeks, and radish
  4. ChallengeAnother ברייתא calls radish deadly
  5. ResolutionRadish leaves versus radish roots
  6. ResolutionRadish in summer versus winter
  7. StatementHilly cities shorten life
  8. ChallengeDo they really die young?
  9. ResolutionThey age early, not die early
  10. ProofThe hills aged רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע
  11. StatementSquaring a city along the compass directions
  12. StatementThe stars as a sign for north and south
  13. Statementרבי יוסי: Use the sun's seasonal path to find the directions
  14. ProofA פסוק in קהלת supports the sun's path
  15. Rejectionרב משרשיא rejects the solstice rules
  16. Statementשמואל: The spring equinox begins at one of four quarter-points of the day
  17. StatementThe fixed times for the summer, autumn, and winter seasons
  18. StatementThe math behind the chart: 91 days and 7.5 hours per season
  19. StatementSeasons that begin in the hour of Jupiter bring damage