Pesachim 112b

פסחים קי״ב ע״ב

Learn Pesachim 112b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Pesachim 112b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Practical life advice and safety warnings of the חכמים: lists of instructions from רבינו הקדוש and others, dangers to avoid, and the stories of אגרת בת מחלת

Overview

This amud opens mid-sentence, finishing the reason for advice about marrying a woman who was married before: 'not all fingers are equal.' It then gives two short teachings about acts that are both a מצוה and good for a person: a fair loan arrangement and marriage. Next comes a list of four commands רבינו הקדוש gave his sons: avoid the mockers of שכנציב, beware 'the bed of an ארמית' (explained three ways), do not evade taxes, and keep away from an ox coming up from the marsh. That leads to more teachings about dangerous oxen, the calls used to drive animals, אביי's list of habits that cause צרעת, and רב פפא's warnings about cats and snakes. Then come two more lists of three instructions given to רבי, by רבי ישמעאל ברבי יוסי and by רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה, covering court cases, honest buying, waiting after immersion, going out alone at night, candles, and new bathhouses. The warning about going out at night leads to stories of אגרת בת מחלת meeting רבי חנינא בן דוסא and אביי, who decreed that she stay out of inhabited places. The גמרא then asks why harmful forces are still seen there, and its answer continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (41)

1. StatementNot all fingers are equal
2. StatementA מצוה and a big benefit: eating fruits through a fair loan arrangement
3. StatementA מצוה and a pure body: marrying a woman
4. Statementרבי's four commands: do not live among mockers
5. StatementSecond command: do not sit on an Aramean woman's bed
6. ResponseFirst explanation: do not go to sleep without קריאת שמע
7. ResponseSecond explanation: do not marry a convert
8. ResponseA third explanation: a real Aramean woman's bed
9. StatementThird command: do not evade taxes
10. StatementFourth command: do not stand in front of an ox coming from the marsh
11. StatementWhich ox and when: a black ox in ניסן
12. StatementHow far to keep away from an ox
13. StatementEven an ox eating is dangerous: climb up and kick away the ladder
14. StatementThe calls used to drive an ox, lion, camel, and ship
15. Statementאביי lists six things that cause צרעת
16. StatementExplaining each item on the list
17. StatementDon't walk barefoot in a house with a cat
18. StatementAnother version: don't walk in the dark in a house without a cat
19. StatementThree instructions: first, don't make a blemish on yourself
20. QuestionWhat does 'a blemish on yourself' mean?
21. ResponseDon't take on a court case against three people
22. StatementSecond instruction: don't act like a buyer without money
23. StatementThird instruction: wait after your wife immerses
24. Statementרב limits the rule to a Torah-level נדה
25. StatementThree warnings to רבי
26. QuestionHow long is a bathhouse new?
27. ResponseTwelve months
28. ProofWhy not stand undressed before a candle
29. StatementA baby sleeping in the bed
30. StatementFirst limit: only under one year old
31. StatementSecond limit: only near the feet
32. StatementThird limit: no hand placed on the baby
33. ProofWhy not go out alone at night
34. StatementAt first they were out every day
35. Statementאגרת threatens רבי חנינא בן דוסא
36. StatementHe bans her from settled places
37. ConclusionShe is left two nights
38. Statementאגרת meets אביי and admits Heaven protects him
39. Statementאביי decrees that she may never pass through inhabited places
40. ChallengeBut we see that they do pass through
41. ResolutionThe answer begins: these ones