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Nedarim 62b

נדרים ס״ב ע״ב

Learn Nedarim 62b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

The privileges of a תלמיד חכם, including freedom from the head tax; רב אשי's sale of wood to a fire temple; and a new משנה on vows timed by the harvest and the rains.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a list of honors that a תלמיד חכם shares with a כהן: reading first, blessing first, and choosing a portion first. רבא then rules that a תלמיד חכם may refuse to pay the head tax. He bases this on a פסוק in עזרא that freed the Temple workers from royal taxes, and רבי יהודה explains its three tax words. רבא adds that a scholar may even say 'I am a servant of fire' to escape the tax, because he is only chasing a lion away from himself. Next comes a story: רב אשי sold his forest to a fire temple. רבינא challenges him with לפני עור, and רב אשי answers that most wood is used for heating. A new משנה then explains vows tied to seasons: 'until the harvest' means the wheat harvest, timed by the place of the vow. 'Until the rains' is the second rainfall, and 'until the rains stop' is the end of ניסן or after פסח. The גמרא brings a ברייתא showing that a vow follows the place where it was made, even after the person travels. It ends with רבי זירא limiting the rain dispute to someone who said 'rains' in the plural.

Opening lines

לִפְתּוֹחַ רִאשׁוֹן,

To open first,

וּלְבָרֵךְ רִאשׁוֹן,

and to bless first,

וְלִיטּוֹל מָנָה יָפָה רִאשׁוֹן.

and to take a nice portion first.

אָמַר רָבָא:

Rava said:

The steps (14)

  1. StatementFinishing the list of honors: going first
  2. StatementA Torah scholar may refuse to pay the head tax
  3. StatementExplaining the three tax words in the verse
  4. StatementA scholar may say he is a servant of fire
  5. QuestionWhy is this statement allowed?
  6. ResponseHe is only chasing away a lion
  7. Statementרב אשי sells his forest to a fire temple
  8. Challengeרבינא objects: what about לפני עור?
  9. ResolutionMost wood is just for heating
  10. StatementA vow until the harvest means the wheat harvest in the place of the vow
  11. StatementA vow until the rains: the actual second rainfall or its expected time
  12. StatementA vow until the rains stop: end of ניסן or after פסח
  13. StatementA vow made in the גליל follows the גליל's summer, even in the valleys
  14. Statementרבי זירא limits the rain dispute to someone who said 'rains' in the plural