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Kiddushin 39b

קידושין ל״ט ע״ב

Learn Kiddushin 39b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Reward for מצוות: the scale of merits, whether reward comes in this world, and reward for resisting sin

Overview

This amud opens by finishing an earlier discussion: the way רב planted his garden does not prove that he worried about כלאים outside ארץ ישראל. A new משנה then teaches that whoever does one מצוה receives good, long life, and a share in עולם הבא. The גמרא first raises a contradiction from משנה פאה. רב יהודה and רב שמעיה answer it by explaining how a person's merits and sins are weighed on a scale. A ברייתא then says the righteous suffer in this world while the wicked prosper. אביי answers that the righteous get both good days and bad days. רבא answers that the ברייתא follows רבי יעקב, who holds there is no reward for מצוות in this world. רבי יעקב proves this from a son who did כיבוד אב ואם and שילוח הקן at the same moment, then fell and died, and the גמרא defends his proof against several challenges. רב יוסף adds that this understanding would have kept אחר from sinning, and the גמרא gives two versions of what made אחר go astray. Finally, רבא explains that 'sitting and not sinning' earns reward only when a person faces real temptation and holds back. The story of רבי חנינא בר פפי, which continues on the next amud, shows such a person.

Opening lines

אַרְבַּע עַל אַרְבַּע רוּחוֹת הָעֲרוּגָה

Four species on the four sides of the garden bed

וְאַחַת בָּאֶמְצַע – שַׁפִּיר.

and one in the middle, that would work well.

אֶלָּא הָכָא, מִשּׁוּם נוֹי.

But here, it was for the sake of beauty.

וְאִי נָמֵי מִשּׁוּם טִרְחָא דְּשַׁמָּעָא הִיא.

Or alternatively, it is because of the trouble of the attendant.

The steps (30)

  1. Rejectionרב's garden proves nothing about mixed planting
  2. StatementThe reward for doing one מצוה
  3. ChallengeA contradiction from משנה פאה
  4. Resolutionרב יהודה: one מצוה that tips the scale
  5. ChallengeDo the special מצוות reward even one alone?
  6. Resolutionרב שמעיה: the special מצוות tip an even balance
  7. ChallengeA ברייתא says the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper
  8. Resolutionאביי: the משנה means a mix of good days and bad days
  9. Resolutionרבא: the ברייתא follows רבי יעקב, who holds there is no reward in this world
  10. Proofרבי יעקב's rule: every promised reward depends on תחיית המתים
  11. ProofThe boy who did both long-life מצוות and died
  12. ConclusionThe promises refer to the world that is all good and all long
  13. ChallengeMaybe the story never happened
  14. Resolutionרבי יעקב saw it happen
  15. ChallengeMaybe he was thinking about a sin
  16. ResolutionBad thoughts are not punished like actions
  17. ChallengeMaybe he was thinking about עבודה זרה
  18. ResolutionThen why didn't the מצוות protect him?
  19. ChallengePeople on a מצוה mission are not harmed
  20. ResolutionThe protection is only on the way there
  21. Challengeרבי אלעזר also protects the return trip
  22. ResolutionA shaky ladder is clear danger, and we don't rely on miracles
  23. ProofProof from שמואל's fear of שאול
  24. StatementIf אחר had read the verse correctly, he would not have sinned
  25. QuestionWhat made אחר go astray?
  26. ResponseFirst version: he saw a case like the ladder story
  27. ResponseSecond version: he saw a great teacher's tongue in the dirt
  28. ChallengeIs reward only for doing, or also for not sinning?
  29. ResolutionThe ברייתא means someone who was tempted and held back
  30. ProofThe story of רבי חנינא בר פפי, who escaped temptation