Pesachim 37b

פסחים ל״ז ע״ב

Learn Pesachim 37b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Pesachim 37b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Which doughs count as 'bread' for חלה: pot-cooked and scalded doughs, borderline baking methods, and dough of מעשר שני

Overview

This amud finishes explaining why רבא's teaching was needed: a תודה loaf baked only to the מצה הינא standard (it pulls out no strands of dough when broken) still counts for the קרבן תודה, though one might have thought it counts as a 'broken' loaf. The גמרא then challenges רבי יוחנן, who holds that pot-made dough is obligated in חלה. It quotes a ברייתא about מעיסה and חליטה, two doughs made with boiling water, in which the חכמים say that dough made in a pot is exempt. Along the way the גמרא explains why בית שמאי and בית הלל seem to switch sides: the ברייתא is a 'break' (תברא) joining two separate teachings. רבי יוחנן answers that this is a dispute between תנאים. An attempt to prove that a תנא agrees with him is pushed off: everyone may exempt dough cooked only in a pot, and the real argument is about dough cooked first and then baked in an oven. רבא gives the source for רבי יהודה, 'ten women shall bake your bread in one oven.' In עולא's study hall, רבי זירא explains why two borderline baking methods need no question: dough heated from outside the pot is plain pot-cooking, while a torch facing the dough is how most poor people bake. Finally, רב אסי rules that whether dough of מעשר שני needs חלה depends on the מחלוקת between רבי מאיר and the חכמים, a topic that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (19)

1. ResolutionWhy רבא's ruling on half-baked loaves was needed: the 'one whole loaf' rule
2. ChallengeChallenge from the dispute about scalded doughs
3. QuestionThe ברייתא asks to define the two doughs
4. ResponseDefining מעיסה and חליטה
5. Statementרבי ישמעאל ברבי יוסי treats both doughs the same
6. StatementThe חכמים: pot-made is exempt, oven-made is obligated
7. QuestionWhy do the schools switch sides?
8. ResponseThe ברייתא is a 'break': two different teachers
9. ChallengeThe Sages' ruling seems to refute רבי יוחנן
10. Resolutionרבי יוחנן answers that this is a dispute between תנאים
11. Challengeרבי יהודה seems to say the same thing as the תנא קמא
12. ProofSuggestion that the two argue about pot-cooked dough
13. RejectionRejection: they argue only about dough baked in an oven afterward
14. Statementרבא explains the verse behind רבי יהודה
15. Questionרבה asks about dough stuck inside a pot and heated from outside
16. Responseרבי זירא: עולא would call it ordinary pot-cooking
17. Questionרב יוסף asks about dough stuck inside with a torch facing it
18. Responseרבי זירא: עולא would say most poor people bake this way
19. Statementרב אסי: whether מעשר שני dough needs חלה depends on a dispute