Gemara Clarity

Pesachim 11a

פסחים י״א ע״א

Learn Pesachim 11a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Pesachim 11a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

When רבי יהודה and the רבנן make a protective גזירה: חדש versus חמץ, the oil-filled eggshell, tying on שבת, and the sick בכור

Overview

The גמרא asks why רבי יהודה worries that a person handling חמץ might eat it, yet allows harvesting חדש before the עומר without that worry. רבא answers that חדש is harvested in an unusual way, which keeps the person alert. That answer is defeated by a משנה that allows normal harvesting of irrigated and valley fields. אביי then gives the lasting answer: people already keep away from חדש, but they eat חמץ all year. רבא shows that the רבנן are consistent too, since someone searching for חמץ in order to burn it will not eat it. רב אשי's alternative answer is rejected as a mistake. The גמרא then tests אביי's principle against cases of oil by a lamp and tying a bucket rope on שבת. It learns that the רבנן decree only where things are easily confused, and that for רבי יהודה a bow is itself a knot. Finally it challenges רבי יהודה from a sick בכור, and its answer, that a panicked owner may be careless, begins here and continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

שֶׁלֹּא בִּרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים (הֵן עוֹשִׂין),

they act against the will of the Sages,

דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר.

these are the words of Rabbi Meir.

רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר:

Rabbi Yehuda says:

בִּרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים הָיוּ עוֹשִׂין.

they were acting with the approval of the Sages.

The steps (28)

  1. StatementThe ברייתא on harvesting before the עומר
  2. ChallengeWhy doesn't רבי יהודה worry here about eating?
  3. Resolutionרבא: Unusual harvesting keeps him alert
  4. Challengeאביי: What about grinding and sifting?
  5. ResolutionGrinding and sifting are also unusual
  6. ChallengeChallenge from the משנה on irrigated fields
  7. Resolutionאביי: People already avoid new grain
  8. Challengeרבא asks why only רבי יהודה is questioned
  9. ResolutionBoth contradictions are resolved
  10. Resolutionרב אשי's alternative answer: only flour and roasted grain
  11. Rejectionרב אשי's answer is rejected as a mistake
  12. RejectionBlocking a defense of רב אשי based on רבא's unusual harvesting
  13. ConclusionFinal verdict that רב אשי's answer is a mistake
  14. ChallengeDoes רבי יהודה really make a גזירה whenever people don't naturally keep away?
  15. ChallengeThe eggshell of oil by the lamp: רבי יהודה is lenient
  16. ResolutionOn שבת people are extra careful and keep away
  17. ChallengeA second שבת case: the snapped bucket rope
  18. ChallengeBoth sides seem to contradict themselves
  19. ResolutionThe Rabbis: oil gets confused with oil, but a bow does not get confused with a knot
  20. Resolutionרבי יהודה: a bow simply is a knot
  21. ChallengeA second contradiction within the Rabbis' rulings
  22. QuestionWhat kind of rope does the משנה mean?
  23. ResponseThe משנה means a weaver's rope
  24. ChallengeDo the Rabbis decree here but not with the bow?
  25. ResolutionA rope can be mistaken for a rope, but a bow can't be mistaken for a knot
  26. ChallengeDoes רבי יהודה really never decree when people keep away?
  27. StatementThe Sages' view in the ברייתא: bloodletting is allowed
  28. ResolutionA בכור is different because the owner is panicked