Pesachim 10a

פסחים י׳ ע״א

Learn Pesachim 10a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Doubts about חמץ after בדיקה: why a lenient assumption works for rabbinic בדיקת חמץ, and how the mouse-between-two-houses case compares to the משנה of שני שבילין (two paths, one טמא and one טהור)

Overview

This amud opens at the end of a challenge from the previous amud. The גמרא had compared a doubtful חמץ case to two baskets of תרומה and חולין, where we are lenient, but the challenge says that works only for rabbinic תרומה. The גמרא answers that בדיקת חמץ itself is only rabbinic, since by Torah law ביטול is enough. It then goes through a series of mouse-and-חמץ cases and links each one to a known dispute. If the mouse went into one of two checked houses, it is like שני שבילין, and רבא (or רבי יוחנן) explains the dispute there between רבי יהודה and רבי יוסי. If we are unsure whether the mouse went in at all, it is like the בקעה case, where רבי אליעזר and the חכמים disagree. If the mouse surely went in and a search found nothing, it follows רבי מאיר and the חכמים about a place with a חזקת טומאה. If the search found a piece, it follows רבי and רבן שמעון בן גמליאל about a lost grave that was found. Finally, leaving nine pieces and finding ten, or leaving ten and finding nine, follows רבי and the חכמים about found מעשר שני money.

Opening lines

The steps (20)

1. ChallengeThe leniency may work only for rabbinic תרומה
2. ResolutionSearching for חמץ is itself only rabbinic
3. StatementA mouse takes חמץ, and two checked houses stand before it
4. ProofQuoting the משנה of the two paths
5. Statementרבי יהודה and רבי יוסי disagree about the two paths
6. Statementרבא explains where both opinions agree
7. ConclusionThe real dispute: one person asks about himself and his friend
8. StatementUnsure if the mouse entered: like the valley case
9. ProofThe source: the person unsure if he entered the impure field
10. Statementרבי אליעזר's reason: doubt about entering versus doubt about touching
11. StatementThe mouse surely entered, but the search found nothing
12. Proofרבי מאיר: a known impurity stays until you find it
13. ProofThe Rabbis' side: search all the way down to bedrock
14. StatementNew case: the mouse entered, we searched, and found a piece of חמץ
15. ProofThe lost grave that was later found
16. StatementNew case: he left nine pieces and found ten
17. ProofHe left one hundred and found two hundred: רבי's view
18. ProofThe Sages say all the found money is ordinary
19. StatementLeft ten pieces and found nine
20. ProofLeft two hundred and found one hundred