Gemara Clarity

Menachos 37b

מנחות ל״ז ע״ב

Menachot 37b

Learn Menachos 37b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Menachos 37b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Where the arm and head תפילין are placed, and whether the four ציציות are one מצוה or four

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a question about a בכור born with two heads: since the תורה counts פדיון הבכור 'per skull,' this case is an exception. The גמרא then asks how we know the arm תפילין go on the upper arm. It gives three sources: a comparison to the head תפילין, 'a sign for you' (רבי אליעזר), and 'opposite the heart' (רבי יצחק). אמימר explains that 'a sign for you' only fixes the place, so visible תפילין are fine. Next, a ברייתא learns that the head תפילין go on the upper, hairy part of the head, from the איסור of a bald spot for the dead. רבי יהודה reaches the same result through the laws of צרעת. The גמרא then turns to the משנה on ציצית: are the four ציציות one מצוה or four? It offers three practical differences and rules that cutting, tying or sewing a corner does not remove the obligation. The final הלכה is not like רבי ישמעאל, as the story of מר בר רב אשי's torn ציצית shows. That story raises a challenge from כבוד הבריות, and רב בר שבא's answer begins here and continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

״אַךְ״ – חִלֵּק,

"Yet" makes a distinction,

שָׁאנֵי הָכָא

Here it is different,

דִּבְגוּלְגּוֹלֶת תְּלָא רַחֲמָנָא.

since the Merciful One made it depend on the skull.

אָמַר מָר: ״יָדְךָ״ זוֹ קִיבּוֹרֶת,

The master said: "Your arm" is the bicep.

The steps (27)

  1. ChallengeThe word 'yet' limits which firstborns are redeemed
  2. ResolutionRedemption depends on the skull
  3. QuestionHow do we know 'your arm' means the upper arm?
  4. ResponseLearning the arm from the head
  5. StatementA sign for you, not for others
  6. StatementPlaced opposite the heart
  7. StatementAiming the תפילין toward the heart
  8. Challengeרב אשי sees אמימר's תפילין showing
  9. ResolutionIt tells us the place, not that they must be hidden
  10. QuestionWhat is the source for the upper part of the head?
  11. ResponseLearning it from the איסור of a bald spot for the dead
  12. Statementרבי יהודה: compare head to arm, a place for only one kind of צרעת
  13. StatementWhy the actual space between the eyes is ruled out
  14. StatementThe משנה: the four ציציות hold each other back
  15. QuestionWhat is the practical difference between the views?
  16. Responseרב יוסף: a linen sheet with ציצית
  17. ResponseA second answer: a five-cornered garment
  18. ResponseA third answer: carrying on שבת in a garment missing ציציות
  19. StatementCutting off a corner does not remove the ציצית obligation
  20. StatementTying up a corner does not remove the ציצית obligation
  21. ProofSupport from a משנה about tied leather jugs
  22. StatementSewing up a corner does not remove the ציצית obligation
  23. Statementשמואל rules like רבי ישמעאל that the four ציציות are four separate מצוות
  24. ConclusionThe final הלכה is not like רבי ישמעאל
  25. Proofמר בר רב אשי would have taken off his garment when a ציצית tore
  26. ChallengeChallenge: doesn't כבוד הבריות override a prohibition of the תורה?
  27. Resolutionרב בר שבא begins explaining the human-dignity rule