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Makkos 11a

מכות י״א ע״א

Makkot 11a

Learn Makkos 11a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Harsh language about ערי מקלט and disputes of רבי יהודה; which כהן גדול's death frees the killer; the power of prayer and of a חכם's curse

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a question about why the section on ערי מקלט in ספר יהושע uses the harsh word דיבור. It answers that the cities are a מצוה of the תורה, then shows that דבר is harsh while ידבר is gentle. After a סימן, it lists three disputes involving רבי יהודה without saying who holds which view: the reason for the harsh language, what יהושע wrote 'in the scroll of the תורה,' and whether a ספר תורה sewn with linen is כשר. רב reports seeing תפילין sewn with linen, but the הלכה requires sinews. A new משנה lists which kinds of כהן גדול free the accidental killer when they die, and רבי יהודה adds the משוח מלחמה. The משנה also says the mothers of the כהנים fed and clothed the exiles so they would not pray for their sons' death. The גמרא learns the kinds of כהן גדול from the פסוקים and explains that a prayer against the כהן גדול can work, because he should have prayed for his generation. It closes with two teachings: a חכם's curse comes true even when it is baseless (דוד and אחיתופל) and even when it is conditional (עלי and שמואל).

Opening lines

בְּלָשׁוֹן עַזָּה,

in harsh language,

דִּכְתִיב:

as it is written:

״וַיְדַבֵּר ה׳ אֶל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ לֵאמֹר

"And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying:

דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר

Speak to the children of Israel, saying:

The steps (35)

  1. QuestionWhy is the section about ערי מקלט in harsh language?
  2. ResponseBecause ערי מקלט are a מצוה of the תורה
  3. QuestionDoes every form of 'speaking' mean harsh speech?
  4. ResponseYes — proof from יוסף speaking harshly
  5. ChallengeA ברייתא says this word means gentle speech
  6. ResolutionDifferent forms of the word mean different things
  7. StatementA memory aid for the coming disputes
  8. Statementרבי יהודה and the רבנן disagree about the reason for harsh language
  9. StatementWhat did יהושע write in the scroll of the תורה?
  10. ChallengeHow does the ערי מקלט view fit the words 'scroll of the תורה'?
  11. ResolutionRereading the פסוק: יהושע wrote in his own book
  12. StatementA ספר תורה sewn with linen thread
  13. StatementWhy linen is פסול: the תורה is compared to תפילין
  14. RejectionThe other view: the comparison covers only kosher animals
  15. Statementרב saw תפילין sewn with linen, but the הלכה is not like that
  16. StatementWhich kinds of כהן גדול free the killer when they die
  17. StatementThe mothers of כהנים supplied the exiles so they would not pray for their sons' death
  18. QuestionWhere do we learn these three kinds of כהן גדול?
  19. ResponseThree פסוקים mention the death of the כהן גדול, one for each kind
  20. ResponseThe verse רבי יהודה uses for the משוח מלחמה
  21. ResponseHow the other view reads that same verse
  22. ChallengeCan a prayer against an innocent כהן גדול work?
  23. ResolutionThe curse is not baseless: they should have prayed
  24. StatementA second version: the exiles pray for the כהנים
  25. ChallengeWhat could the כהן גדול have done?
  26. ChallengeTwo sayings about suffering for someone else's sin
  27. ResolutionThe elder's answer: the כהנים גדולים failed to pray for their generation
  28. Proofרבי יהושע בן לוי and the man eaten by a lion
  29. StatementA חכם's curse comes true even without a real reason
  30. Proofדוד's question about the rising deep, and his curse
  31. Proofאחיתופל's קל וחומר saves the world
  32. ProofEven so, אחיתופל died by strangling
  33. StatementA חכם's curse comes true even when it was conditional
  34. ProofThe source: עלי's conditional curse on שמואל
  35. Proofשמואל kept the condition, yet his sons did not follow his ways