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Moed Katan 5b

מועד קטן ה׳ ע״ב

Learn Moed Katan 5b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Marking places of corpse טומאה (צִיּוּן): which remains and doubtful places are marked, and the kinds of בית הפרס

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a story from the previous page with a פסוק that רבי ינאי applied to his student. Then a ברייתא teaches the rules of marking places of corpse טומאה with a צִיּוּן: which remains are marked, that only doubtful places are marked, and that the marker goes near the spot, not on it and not far away. The גמרא asks how a כזית of a corpse can go unmarked when a משנה says it makes things טמא through an אהל. רב פפא answers that an exact כזית will soon shrink, so a marker would mislead people forever. The גמרא then defines the doubtful places: overhanging branches, protruding stones, and a בית הפרס. When it challenges whether a בית הפרס really makes things טמא through an אהל, רב פפא splits it into two kinds: a field where a grave was lost and a field where a grave was plowed. A משנה lists three kinds of בית הפרס, and the גמרא explains the third, the weepers' field. Finally, a ברייתא about a marked field with trees is answered: the field was marked for a lost grave that was later plowed, and the trees stand along the borders.

Opening lines

קָרֵי עֲלֵיהּ:

He read about him:

״וְשָׂם דֶּרֶךְ אַרְאֶנּוּ בְּיֵשַׁע אֱלֹהִים״.

"And to him who orders his way, I will show the salvation of God."

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן:

The Rabbis taught:

אֵין מְצַיְּנִין לֹא עַל כַּזַּיִת מִן הַמֵּת,

We do not mark an olive-size of a corpse,

The steps (20)

  1. ConclusionClosing the story with a verse from תהלים
  2. StatementWhich human remains get a warning marker
  3. StatementMark doubtful places, and place the marker carefully
  4. ChallengeDoesn't a כזית of a corpse make things טמא through a tent?
  5. ResolutionAn exact כזית will shrink, so it is not marked
  6. StatementExplaining the doubtful places: overhanging branches and protruding stones
  7. StatementDefining a בית הפרס
  8. ChallengeDoes a בית הפרס really make things טמא through an אהל?
  9. Resolutionרב פפא: two different kinds of בית הפרס
  10. QuestionIs a plowed-grave field called a בית הפרס?
  11. ResponseYes, a משנה lists three kinds of בית הפרס
  12. QuestionWhat is a weepers' field?
  13. ResponseThe field where people part from the dead
  14. QuestionWhy is a weepers' field a concern?
  15. ResponseBecause the owners gave up on lost pieces
  16. ChallengeA ברייתא shows a plowed-grave field is marked
  17. Challengeרבי יהודה's condition closes the challenging source
  18. Resolutionרב פפא: the source is about a lost grave, and trees tell the difference
  19. ChallengeMaybe the trees are inside and the grave is outside
  20. ResolutionLike עולא: the trees stand along the borders