Gemara Clarity

Menachos 42a

מנחות מ״ב ע״א

Menachot 42a

Learn Menachos 42a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Menachos 42a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The size, placement and tying of ציצית, and whether making a מצוה item needs a ברכה

Overview

The גמרא first explains that ציצית, like לולב, have no maximum length but do have a minimum. A ברייתא then teaches that ציצית means hanging strands, and אביי adds that they must be partly loose. Next comes a מחלוקת about attaching the strings at the very tip of the corner or on the border. רב's rule that ציצית must hang down onto the corner follows רבי אליעזר בן יעקב. רבי יעקב requires the hole to be at least a thumb joint from the edge, and together with רב פפא's rule this sets a range. A story with רבינא shows that this distance only matters when the ציצית are made. The גמרא lists three ways of tying the strings, then asks whether tying ציצית needs a ברכה. This leads to רב חסדא's rule linking a גוי's ability to make a מצוה item with whether a Jew says a ברכה. The rule is tested on מילה and supported by סוכה, and the refutation from תפילין continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

אֵין לָהּ שִׁיעוּר לְמַעְלָה,

It has no measure upward (no maximum),

אֲבָל יֵשׁ לָהּ שִׁיעוּר לְמַטָּה.

but it does have a measure downward (a minimum).

דְּאִי לָא תֵּימָא הָכִי,

For if you do not say so,

כַּיּוֹצֵא בּוֹ לוּלָב אֵין לוֹ שִׁיעוּר,

in a similar case, 'a lulav has no measure,'

The steps (33)

  1. ResolutionNo maximum length, but there is a minimum
  2. ProofComparing to לולב, which also has 'no measure'
  3. ProofThe משנה shows לולב needs three טפחים
  4. ConclusionBoth לולב and ציצית have a minimum but no maximum
  5. StatementThe word ציצית means hanging strands
  6. Statementאביי: the strings must be partly loose
  7. StatementStrings attached at the corner tip or the border are valid
  8. Statementרבי אליעזר בן יעקב invalidates both
  9. QuestionWhose view does רב's ruling follow?
  10. ResponseIt follows רבי אליעזר בן יעקב
  11. StatementThe hole must be a full thumb joint from the edge
  12. StatementWhy רבי יעקב's rule is needed alongside רב פפא's
  13. ConclusionWhy רב פפא's rule is needed alongside רבי יעקב's
  14. Challengeרב סמא questions רבינא's torn cloak
  15. ResolutionThe rule applies only when the ציצית are made
  16. Statementרב אשי comforts the embarrassed רב סמא
  17. Statementרב אחא בר יעקב's method of folding and looping
  18. Statementרב ירמיה מדפתי uses eight strings without looping
  19. Statementמר בריה דרבינא does it like us
  20. Statementרב נחמן stops a ברכה on tying ציצית
  21. Challengeרב חסדא contrasts two teachings of רב
  22. QuestionWhat is the contradiction?
  23. Responseרב יוסף explains רב חסדא's rule
  24. ChallengeIs that really a rule? The case of circumcision
  25. ChallengeYet a Jew doing מילה must say a ברכה
  26. ResolutionThe rule only needs to fit רב, who holds that מילה by a גוי is פסול
  27. ProofProof that רב invalidates מילה by a גוי
  28. Statementרבי יוחנן's source: only a circumcised person may do מילה
  29. ProofThe law of סוכה supports רב חסדא
  30. RejectionThe law of תפילין refutes רב חסדא
  31. ProofA סוכה built by a גוי is valid
  32. ProofNo ברכה is said on building a סוכה
  33. Challengeתפילין refute the rule because they are invalid when made by a גוי