Gemara Clarity

Pesachim 42b

פסחים מ״ב ע״ב

Learn Pesachim 42b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Pesachim 42b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Explaining the משנה's list of חמץ mixtures, with side discussions on Edomite vinegar, tithing תמד, and קולן של סופרים

Overview

This amud opens by finishing a medical tangent. The גמרא defines פת נקיה, בשר שמן and יין ישן, and names five foods that help the whole body. It then returns to the משנה's list of חמץ mixtures. It explains that שכר המדי and חומץ האדומי both have barley in them. This leads to a then-and-now story: Judean wine was once so strong that it needed barley to sour, and now the same is true of Edomite wine. Two פסוקים show that Israel and its enemies never thrive at the same time. A ברייתא of רבי יהודה about tithing vinegar bought from an עם הארץ seems to clash with his own view on תמד, and the גמרא gives two answers. Next the גמרא explains זיתום המצרי, dyers' bran water, cooks' dough, and קולן של סופרים, and it debates whether that last item is a cosmetic paste or shoemakers' glue. Finally, it rereads רבי אליעזר's 'women's jewelry' as women's cosmetics and begins a supporting statement of רב יהודה in the name of רב, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

דִּסְמִידָא,

[Refined bread is bread] of fine flour;

בָּשָׂר שָׁמֵן — דִּצְפִירְתָּא דְּלָא אִפְּתַח,

fatty meat — of a young female goat that has not yet given birth;

יַיִן יָשָׁן — עַתִּיק עַתִּיקֵי.

aged wine — very, very old [wine].

כׇּל מִילֵּי דִּמְעַלֵּי לְהַאי — קָשֵׁה לְהַאי,

Anything that is beneficial for this is harmful for that,

The steps (25)

  1. StatementDefining refined bread, fatty meat, and aged wine
  2. StatementGeneral rule: remedies help one thing and hurt another, with five exceptions
  3. StatementWhy Median beer is forbidden on פסח
  4. StatementWhy Edomite vinegar is forbidden on פסח
  5. StatementIn earlier times, Judean wine only soured with barley
  6. StatementNow Edomite wine only sours with barley, as the verse predicts
  7. ProofA second verse for the same idea
  8. Statementרבי יהודה on tithing vinegar bought from an עם הארץ
  9. ChallengeBut רבי יהודה elsewhere obligates תמד in tithing
  10. Resolutionעמי הארץ are not suspected about תמד
  11. ResolutionTwo kinds of תמד: from dregs or from pits
  12. QuestionWhat is זיתום המצרי?
  13. Responseרב יוסף: barley, safflower and salt
  14. Statementרב פפא puts wheat in place of barley, with a memory aid
  15. StatementHow זיתום המצרי Is Prepared and Its Effects
  16. StatementDefining Dyers' Broth
  17. StatementDefining Cooks' Dough
  18. StatementDefining Scribes' Paste
  19. Statementרב שימי: It is the wealthy girls' hair-removal paste
  20. ChallengeChallenge: The משנה's list includes tradesmen's items
  21. ChallengeCounter-question: Then why is it named after scribes?
  22. Resolutionרב אושעיא: Shoemakers' paste that scribes also use
  23. ChallengeCan jewelry really contain חמץ?
  24. ResolutionRead it as women's cosmetics
  25. ProofSupport from רב יהודה in the name of רב