Gemara Clarity

Horayos 13b

הוריות י״ג ע״ב

Horayot 13b

Learn Horayos 13b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Things that help or harm Torah learning, honor for the leaders of the סנהדרין, and the story behind the labels 'אחרים' and 'יש אומרים'

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a point about how destructive mice are. A ברייתא then lists five things that make a person forget his learning and five things that bring it back. Two items are supported by sayings of רבי יוחנן (olive oil) and רבא (wine and spices). The salt item leads to a dispute about one or two fingers. A list of ten things harmful to learning follows. Next, a ברייתא describes the honor shown to the נשיא, the אב בית דין and the חכם, and how scholars and their sons are seated. רב פפא, רבא and רב add limits to some of these rules. Finally, רבי יוחנן tells the story behind the honor rules: רבי מאיר and רבי נתן tried to embarrass and replace רבן שמעון בן גמליאל, failed, and were punished by having their teachings quoted as 'אחרים' and 'יש אומרים'. The amud ends with רבי teaching his son a teaching of 'אחרים', and that exchange continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

רַב פָּפָּא אָמַר:

Rav Pappa said:

אֲפִילּוּ שׁוּפְתָּא [דְּ]מָרָא גָּיְיצִי.

They gnaw even on the handle of a hoe.

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן.

The Rabbis taught:

חֲמִשָּׁה דְּבָרִים מְשַׁכְּחִים אֶת הַתַּלְמוּד:

Five things make one forget his learning:

The steps (30)

  1. StatementMice gnaw even on a hoe handle
  2. StatementFive things that make a person forget his learning
  3. StatementFive things that bring back forgotten learning
  4. ProofOlive oil item supports רבי יוחנן
  5. ProofWine and spices item supports רבא
  6. Statementריש לקיש: Dipping only one finger in salt
  7. ProofThe same question is a dispute between תנאים, with a memory aid
  8. StatementTen things that are harmful for Torah learning
  9. StatementHow people honor the נשיא, the אב בית דין, and the חכם when they enter
  10. StatementScholars needed by the public may step over the crowd
  11. StatementWhere the sons of a community leader sit
  12. Statementרבי אלעזר בר רבי צדוק: The sons are honored at a feast too
  13. StatementReturning to your seat only applies to a short bathroom trip
  14. ProofSupport: a person should train himself to go morning and evening
  15. StatementNowadays people are weaker, so even after big needs one may return
  16. StatementSons sit beside their fathers at a feast only while the father is alive and present
  17. StatementThe ברייתא of honors was taught in the days of רבן שמעון בן גמליאל
  18. Statementרבן שמעון בן גמליאל wanted a difference between his honor and theirs
  19. Statementרבי מאיר and רבי נתן find out about the new rule
  20. Statementרבי מאיר's plan to remove the נשיא
  21. Statementרבי יעקב בן קדשי quietly warns the נשיא
  22. StatementThe נשיא notices and prepares
  23. StatementThe test fails and the נשיא passes
  24. StatementSent out, but still sending in Torah
  25. Statementרבי יוסי protests: the Torah is outside
  26. StatementThe נשיא lets them back in, but with a penalty
  27. StatementHow their teachings were quoted without their names
  28. StatementA dream tells them to make peace, but only one goes
  29. StatementThe נשיא's sharp words to רבי נתן
  30. StatementA generation later: רבי teaches his son a teaching of 'אחרים'