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Kiddushin 35b

קידושין ל״ה ע״ב

Learn Kiddushin 35b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Why women are exempt from the prohibitions of rounding the head, destroying the beard, and (according to איסי) making a bald spot in mourning.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a צריכותא: the Torah needed separate verses to treat women like men in three areas, including כופר, because the reason behind one case does not carry over to the others. The גמרא then turns to the משנה, which exempts women from בל תקיף, בל תשחית and בל תטמא למתים. Impurity is easy: the פסוק says בני אהרן, sons and not daughters. For the hair laws, whoever is included in השחתה is included in הקפה. Women are outside השחתה, either by סברא (they have no beard) or because the פסוק says 'זקנך,' your beard and not your wife's. A ברייתא calling a woman's beard 'like a beard for all matters' leads אביי to bring the גזרה שוה of 'פאת פאת' from כהנים. After a back-and-forth, the גמרא concludes that the extra word 'פאת' teaches two things: women are exempt, and only a razor is forbidden. That ברייתא is then explained as being about the laws of נגעים. Finally, איסי teaches that women are also exempt from קרחה, since the פסוק says בנים. The גמרא explains why that limit applies to קרחה and not to גדידה, and its answer continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

אִישׁ, דְּבַר מִצְוֹת – אִין,

A man, who is obligated in מצוות: yes,

אִשָּׁה – לָא.

a woman: no.

וְאִי אַשְׁמְעִינַן הָא:

And if it had taught us only this one:

מִשּׁוּם דְּאִיכָּא אִיבּוּד נְשָׁמָה

because there is a loss of life

The steps (32)

  1. ResolutionWithout the ransom verse, we would exclude women
  2. ConclusionThe ransom verse alone would not be enough, so all are needed
  3. StatementQuoting the משנה: the exceptions for women
  4. QuestionImpurity has a clear source; what about the hair prohibitions?
  5. ResponseThe two prohibitions are linked in one verse
  6. QuestionHow do we know women are not included in destroying the beard?
  7. ResponseFirst answer: simple logic, since women have no beard
  8. ResponseSecond answer begins: a proof from the verse's wording
  9. ResponseThe verse switches to singular: 'your beard,' not your wife's
  10. ChallengeA ברייתא says a woman's beard counts as a beard for everything
  11. Resolutionאביי: the ברייתא can't mean השחתה, because of 'פאת פאת' from בני אהרן
  12. ChallengeIf 'בני אהרן' covers the whole section, a קל וחומר would be enough
  13. ResolutionWithout the comparison, the exclusion of women would stop early
  14. ChallengeMaybe the topic is interrupted anyway
  15. ChallengeThe comparison is needed for a different lesson
  16. ProofOnly a razor is forbidden
  17. ResolutionThe extra word teaches two lessons
  18. QuestionWhat does the ברייתא about a woman's beard teach?
  19. ResponseFirst answer: impurity of צרעת
  20. ChallengeThe פסוק already says this openly
  21. ResolutionSecond answer: purification of צרעת
  22. ChallengePurification is also obvious
  23. ResolutionNeeded: we might have split the פסוק
  24. StatementIsi: women are also exempt from making baldness
  25. QuestionWhat is Isi's source?
  26. ResponseSons and not daughters
  27. QuestionWhich prohibition does 'sons, not daughters' limit?
  28. Response'A holy people' covers cutting, so 'sons' must limit baldness
  29. ChallengeWhy include cutting and leave out baldness?
  30. ResolutionCutting is broader, so it is the one included
  31. ChallengeMaybe 'a holy people' is about scratching, not cutting
  32. Resolutionאיסי holds scratching and cutting are the same