Menachos 31b

מנחות ל״א ע״ב

Menachot 31b

Learn Menachos 31b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Menachos 31b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Whether the הלכה follows רבי שמעון שזורי even in a ברייתא, when a torn ספר תורה sheet may be sewn and still be כשר, and the proper layout and rolling of a מזוזה.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an earlier discussion: רבי חנינא's rule that the הלכה follows רבי שמעון שזורי applies wherever he taught, not only in our משנה. It then turns to a tear in the parchment of a ספר תורה. רב rules that a tear running into two lines may be sewn, but one running into three lines may not. רבא limits the three-line rule to 'old' parchment, which the גמרא explains means parchment not processed with gall, and the sewing must be done with sinew, not thread. רב יהודה בר אבא's question about a tear between columns or between lines stays unresolved (תיקו). The גמרא then turns to the layout of a מזוזה: lines of two words each are כשרה, and uneven lines of two, three and one are also כשרה, as long as the shape is not a 'tent' or a 'tail'. רב חסדא places ״על הארץ״ alone on the last line, with two views on where in that line it goes. Finally רבי חלבו reports how רב הונא rolled a מזוזה and wrote its sections סתומות, and the גמרא begins a challenge from a ברייתא about רבי מאיר that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (16)

1. ResolutionThe rule covers every place he taught, not only our משנה
2. StatementA tear of two lines may be sewn, but not a tear of three
3. StatementThe three-line rule applies only to old parchment
4. StatementWhat 'old' and 'new' really mean, and sewing with sinew
5. QuestionWhat about a tear between columns or between lines?
6. ConclusionThe question stays unresolved
7. StatementA מזוזה written two words per line is כשרה
8. QuestionWhat about uneven lines of two, three, and one words?
9. ResponseUneven lines are surely כשרה, like a song
10. ChallengeA teaching says writing it like a song makes it invalid
11. ResolutionThat ברייתא is about a ספר תורה
12. Proofרבי יוחנן also allows uneven lines, with two limits
13. Statement״על הארץ״ goes on the last line, end or beginning
14. StatementWhy each view places ״על הארץ״ where it does
15. StatementHow רב הונא rolled and laid out a מזוזה
16. ChallengeBeginning a challenge from how רבי מאיר wrote a מזוזה