Makkos 20a

מכות כ׳ ע״א

Makkot 20a

Learn Makkos 20a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Lashes for eating a טבל fig containing מעשר שני and the walls of ירושלים; then the משנה and ברייתא on קרחה, פאות, and שריטה for the dead.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a ברייתא in the name of רבי יוסי that counts the lashes for eating one fig that still has its gifts inside it. A כהן gets one set and a זר gets two. The גמרא infers that outside ירושלים there would be a third set for מעשר שני. That seems to contradict רבי יוחנן, who says there are lashes only once the produce 'saw the wall.' The answer is that the fig was brought into ירושלים and taken out. To explain what is new about that, the גמרא says the fig entered while still טבל, and רבי יוסי holds that unseparated gifts count as separated. A ברייתא about בית שמאי and בית הלל challenges this. רבה answers that the Torah wall for eating applies to טבל, while the rabbinic wall that 'captures' produce does not. רבינא instead says the fig was held on a reed, which would settle רב פפא's question. A new משנה then lists the bans on קרחה, rounding פאת הראש, destroying פאת הזקן, and שריטה for the dead, and counts how many liabilities each brings. The גמרא brings a ברייתא with the sources for קרחה and links כהנים and all Jews through a גזירה שוה. It then begins asking what case of 'four or five bald spots' is meant, a discussion that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (20)

1. StatementEnd of the ברייתא: one set of lashes for a כהן, two for a זר
2. ChallengeOutside ירושלים there would be three sets, even without seeing the wall
3. ResolutionThe fig was brought into ירושלים and taken out
4. ChallengeIf so, what is new about this?
5. ResolutionIt entered while still טבל, and unseparated gifts count as separated
6. ChallengeA ברייתא from רבי יוסי seems to say the opposite
7. ChallengeThe punchline: the walls should have captured it
8. Resolutionרבה: two different wall laws
9. Resolutionרבינא: the fig was held on a reed
10. ConclusionThis settles רב פפא's question
11. StatementFour forbidden acts and counting cuts for the dead
12. StatementHow many edges on the head and the beard
13. StatementOnly a razor, or also tweezers and a plane
14. StatementEach bald spot is its own liability
15. QuestionWhy does the verse add the word 'on their head'
16. ResponseThe word 'on their head' includes the whole head
17. QuestionWhere do we learn this for a regular Jew?
18. ResponseLinking the two verses through the shared word קרחה
19. QuestionWhat case of four or five bald spots is meant?
20. RejectionSeparate acts with separate warnings is too obvious