Gemara Clarity

Kereisos 12a

כריתות י״ב ע״א

Keritot 12a

Learn Kereisos 12a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Why the חכמים believe a person who denies two witnesses: self-belief or מיגו, tested through cases of טומאה

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a proof: one witness is believed about someone's sin as long as the person does not deny it. Then the גמרא turns to the מחלוקת in the משנה. Two witnesses say a person ate חלב, and he says he did not. רבי מאיר obligates him with a קל וחומר, while the חכמים exempt him. The גמרא asks for the חכמים' reason. One possibility is that a person is believed about himself more than a hundred people. The other is a מיגו, since he could have said 'I did it on purpose.' The practical difference is a case of טומאה. Under the מיגו reason, old טומאה is exempt because he could say 'I immersed,' but new טומאה is not. A ברייתא seems to prove the first reason, but רבי אמי reads it as a מיגו. The גמרא then brings a second ברייתא, where the חכמים agree with רבי יהודה about חלב and entering the מקדש but not about טומאה. It begins asking what kind of טומאה case that ברייתא means, and the discussion continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

אֶלָּא לָאו בְּחַד,

Rather, isn't it about one witness,

וְקָתָנֵי כִּי אֵין מַכְחִישָׁן מְהֵימַן,

and it teaches that when he does not contradict him, he is believed?

שְׁמַע מִינָּה.

Learn from it.

אָמַר רַבִּי מֵאִיר: קַל וָחוֹמֶר.

Rabbi Meir said: It is a קל וחומר.

The steps (15)

  1. ConclusionThe ברייתא must be about one witness, so he is believed
  2. Statementרבי מאיר's argument from a קל וחומר
  3. QuestionWhy do the חכמים exempt him?
  4. QuestionWhat difference does it make?
  5. ResponseThe difference shows up in a case of טומאה
  6. ResponseIf the reason is מיגו, only old טומאה is exempt
  7. ResponseUnder מיגו, new טומאה is obligated
  8. ProofProof from a ברייתא that the reason is 'believed more than a hundred'
  9. Rejectionרבי אמי reads 'believed more than a hundred' as a מיגו
  10. ChallengeIf so, the טומאה case is the same as the חלב case
  11. ResolutionEven in impurity he can explain his words: 'I immersed'
  12. ProofA new ברייתא: only one who confesses brings the offering
  13. ProofTwo witnesses: רבי מאיר versus רבי יהודה
  14. ProofThe חכמים agree for חלב and entering the מקדש, but not for impurity
  15. QuestionWhat kind of impurity case is the ברייתא talking about?