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Pesachim 69b

פסחים ס״ט ע״ב

Learn Pesachim 69b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Why מילה but not הזאה overrides שבת for רבי אליעזר, the הלכה like רבי עקיבא on preparations, and the משנה about the חגיגה brought with the פסח.

Overview

According to רבי אליעזר, preparations for the קרבן פסח override שבת, so the גמרא asks why מילה overrides שבת but הזאה does not. רבא first answers with a mirror principle: a community of ערלים must circumcise, so an individual must too, but a community of טמאים brings the פסח בטומאה, so an individual is not required to purify. רבא defends this principle against a challenge from פסח שני. A ברייתא then shows that even a טמא שרץ gets כרת, which breaks the mirror principle. So רבא gives a new answer: one may slaughter for a טמא שרץ or a טמא מת on his seventh day. The הזאה is needed only for eating, and eating the פסח is not essential. He explains that such a person is not שלא לאוכליו, because he is fit and only not yet prepared. רב rules like רבי עקיבא that only what cannot be done before שבת overrides שבת, for both פסח and מילה, and the גמרא explains why both rulings are needed. A new משנה then teaches when a חגיגה is brought with the פסח and what animals it may come from. The גמרא explains that the חגיגה fits here because, like carrying the פסח, it does not override שבת. רב אשי begins drawing a lesson about the חגיגה of the fourteenth, and his statement continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

וְכׇל שֶׁאִילּוּ בְּיָחִיד נִדְחֶה,

And anything (any impurity) which, for an individual, would push him off,

בְּצִיבּוּר עָבְדִי בְּטוּמְאָה.

for a community, they perform it in impurity.

וְכׇל מִילְּתָא דְּאִיתָא בְּצִיבּוּר,

And any matter that applies to the community,

אִיתָא בְּיָחִיד.

applies to the individual.

The steps (20)

  1. StatementA community brings the פסח even while impure
  2. StatementWhat applies to the community applies to the individual
  3. StatementApplying the principles to an uncircumcised person
  4. StatementApplying the principles to an impure person
  5. ChallengeChallenge from פסח שני
  6. ResolutionThe community already brought the first פסח
  7. ChallengeA ברייתא says even unfit individuals get כרת
  8. ChallengeSpelling out why the ברייתא breaks the mirror principle
  9. Resolutionרבא's new explanation: sprinkling is only for eating
  10. ChallengeObjection: a פסח slaughtered for people who cannot eat it
  11. ResolutionFit but not yet prepared is different from unable to eat
  12. Statementרב rules like רבי עקיבא about the פסח
  13. StatementThe same rule and ruling for circumcision
  14. ResponseWhy a ruling on פסח alone would not cover מילה
  15. ConclusionWhy a ruling on מילה alone would not cover פסח
  16. StatementWhen a חגיגה is brought with the פסח
  17. StatementWhich animals the חגיגה comes from and how long it is eaten
  18. QuestionWhy does the משנה mention the חגיגה here?
  19. ResponseThe link: like carrying the פסח, the חגיגה does not override שבת
  20. Statementרב אשי begins a conclusion about the חגיגה of the fourteenth