Menachos 39a

מנחות ל״ט ע״א

Menachot 39a

Learn Menachos 39a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Menachos 39a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

How ציצית are tied and wound: the Torah status of the top knot, torn strings, the winding string, and the number and order of the windings.

Overview

The amud opens by rejecting a proof that a knot is needed between each set of windings: the sons of רבי חייא may have tied those knots by choice. רבה then proves that the top knot (קשר עליון) is דאורייתא. Without a real knot, wool ציצית on a linen garment would not count as joined, so the Torah would not have needed to permit כלאים there. רב rules that a string torn at its base makes the ציצית פסולה. רבא challenges this from a ברייתא about leftover and torn strings, and the גמרא answers that the ברייתא means the remainder of torn strings, which must still be long enough to tie a loop. Next come two rulings: the winding string counts as one of the strings, and winding most of the strings is still כשר. In each case רב יוסף corrects which sage said it. A fuller version adds that even one חוליא is כשר, and the nicest look is one-third winding and two-thirds loose. A חוליא is at least three windings, and the ideal is seven to thirteen sets, matching the רקיעים and the air spaces between them. The windings start and end with white. The amud ends by starting a story about a man in a cloak made entirely of תכלת, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (21)

1. RejectionMaybe they tied knots by choice
2. ProofThe top knot is required by Torah law
3. StatementA string torn at its base makes the ציצית unfit
4. Challengeרבא challenges from a ברייתא allowing leftover strings
5. ChallengeExplaining 'leftovers' and 'torn pieces' to sharpen the challenge
6. ResolutionThe ברייתא teaches one rule, not two
7. ChallengeThen why mention 'remainder' at all?
8. ResolutionEnough must be left to tie a loop
9. StatementThe winding string counts as one of the strings
10. Rejectionרב יוסף: It was שמואל, not רב
11. ProofAnother chain reports the same ruling
12. StatementWinding most of the strings is still כשר
13. Rejectionרב יוסף: It was רב, not שמואל
14. ProofA chain of רבנן confirms it was רב
15. StatementEven one set of windings works, and the nicest look is one-third winding
16. QuestionHow big is one set of windings?
17. ResponseA set is at least three windings
18. StatementBetween seven and thirteen sets
19. StatementWhy seven and why thirteen
20. StatementStart and finish the windings with white
21. StatementA man walks by in a cloak made all of תכלת