Pesachim 109b

פסחים ק״ט ע״ב

Learn Pesachim 109b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Pesachim 109b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The size of a מקוה, whether the שולחן came apart, and why the four cups at the סדר are not a dangerous pair (זוגות)

Overview

This amud opens at the end of a teaching about the size of a מקוה: one אמה by one אמה, three אמות high, which holds forty סאה. רב אשי reports that רבין בר חיננא proved the שולחן in the מקדש was built from detachable parts, because a whole table could not fit into such a small מקוה. The גמרא rejects this proof. Maybe they immersed the table in the huge ים של שלמה, which רבי חייא says held 150 מקואות. The גמרא then returns to the משנה's rule that even a poor person gets at least four cups of wine. It asks how חכמים could require this, since a ברייתא warns that doing things in pairs (זוגות) is dangerous. רב נחמן answers that ליל פסח is ליל שמורים, a night protected from harmful forces. רבא answers that the כוס של ברכה counts toward the מצוה but not toward a dangerous pair. רבינא begins a third answer: each cup is its own separate act of freedom, and his sentence finishes on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (10)

1. StatementThe size of a מקוה: one by one by three אמות, forty סאה
2. StatementThe Temple table was made of detachable parts
3. ProofProof: a solid שולחן could not fit into a one-אמה מקוה
4. RejectionRejection: maybe they immersed it in the huge ים של שלמה
5. Proofרבי חייא: the ים של שלמה held 150 מקואות
6. StatementBack to the משנה: a poor person gets at least four cups
7. ChallengeChallenge: four cups is a pair, and pairs are dangerous
8. Resolutionליל פסח is a protected night
9. ResolutionThe cup of Grace counts for the good but not for the bad
10. ResolutionEach cup is its own separate act of freedom