Gemara Clarity

Me’ilah 17a

מעילה י״ז ע״א

Meilah 17a

Learn Me’ilah 17a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Me’ilah 17a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

When טמא items of a שרץ join together to reach the שיעור for טומאה, the source that שרץ blood is טמא, and the start of the story of the Roman decrees.

Overview

The amud opens with רבא's answer to רב אדא בר אהבה: the Torah links animals to שרצים only for the איסור of בל תשקצו, not for the שיעור needed for טומאה. A new משנה then teaches that the blood and meat of a שרץ join together (מצטרפין) to reach the size needed to make something טמא. רבי יהושע adds a rule: items join only if both their טומאה and their שיעור are the same. In the גמרא, רב זעירא limits the משנה to blood and meat from the same creature. A teaching of רבי יוסי בר רבי חנינא seems to say all שרץ pieces join. רב יוסף answers that one source speaks of a whole creature and the other of only part of one. The גמרא proves this split from a ברייתא about blood spilled on a slope. Then רבי מתיא בן חרש asks רבי שמעון בן יוחאי in Rome for the source that שרץ blood is טמא, and this opens a story about Roman decrees against שבת, מילה, and נדה. רבי ראובן בן איסטרובלי gets the decrees canceled, but they return once he is found out, and the story continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

אֲמַר לֵיהּ:

He said to him:

כִּי קָא מַקֵּישׁ רַחֲמָנָא –

When the Merciful One compares them,

לְבַל תְּשַׁקְּצוּ,

it is for 'do not make yourselves disgusting,'

אֲבָל לְשִׁיעוּרִין – לָא.

but for measurements, no.

The steps (18)

  1. ResolutionThe Torah's comparison is only for the prohibition, not for sizes
  2. StatementBlood and meat of a creeping creature combine
  3. Statementרבי יהושע's rule for when items combine
  4. StatementThe גמרא begins with a statement from רב חנין
  5. ChallengeA ברייתא says all שרץ pieces join together
  6. ResolutionWhole creature versus part of a creature
  7. ProofProof from blood spilled on a slope
  8. QuestionWhat does 'part of it' mean?
  9. ConclusionThe proof works: whole versus part
  10. QuestionWhere do we learn that שרץ blood is טמא?
  11. ResponseThe source is the פסוק 'וזה לכם הטמא'
  12. StatementThe students praise him, but it was a known teaching
  13. StatementThe government's harsh decree
  14. StatementA clever argument cancels the שבת decree
  15. StatementCanceling the decree against ברית מילה
  16. StatementCanceling the decree about נדות
  17. StatementHe is found out and the decrees return
  18. QuestionWho will go to cancel the decrees?