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Shabbos 132b

שבת קל״ב ע״ב

Shabbat 132b

Learn Shabbos 132b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shabbos 132b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Why מילה overrides שבת and צרעת: the refuted קל וחומר, the words "ביום" and "בשר", the source for a בינוני, and רב אשי's timing rule for עשה דוחה לא תעשה.

Overview

This amud opens by finishing a ברייתא's קל וחומר that מילה overrides שבת. The גמרא explains why the תנא backed away with "או אינו": maybe שבת is stricter than צרעת, or maybe a מצורע is simply unfit for the עבודה. So the source for מילה on שבת is the word "ביום". A second ברייתא teaches that מילה overrides the ban on cutting off צרעת, and that the source is the extra word "בשר" in "ימול בשר ערלתו". רבא gives two versions of why that ברייתא first leaned on logic and then dropped it. One version uses a קל וחומר from שבת. The other uses עשה דוחה לא תעשה. The גמרא then asks how we know the law for a בינוני, a boy past the eighth day but not yet an adult. אביי answers with a הצד השוה, and רבא answers with a קל וחומר, which רב ספרא challenges. רב אשי ends with a key rule: an עשה overrides a לא תעשה only when the מצוה is done in the same act that breaks the prohibition. The amud closes as the גמרא begins a comment on the רבא and רב ספרא debate, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

וַעֲבוֹדָה דּוֹחָה אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת —

and the Temple service overrides Shabbat —

מִילָה דּוֹחָה אוֹתָהּ.

yet circumcision overrides it (leprosy).

שַׁבָּת שֶׁנִּדְחֵית מִפְּנֵי הָעֲבוֹדָה,

Shabbat, which is pushed aside by the Temple service,

אֵינוֹ דִּין שֶׁתְּהֵא מִילָה דּוֹחָה אוֹתָהּ?

is it not logical that circumcision should override it?

The steps (28)

  1. ProofCompleting the chain of logic that מילה overrides שבת
  2. QuestionWhy did the תנא say "or perhaps not"?
  3. ResponseFirst flaw: maybe שבת is stricter than צרעת
  4. ResponseSecond flaw: a מצורע is simply unfit for the service
  5. ProofFalling back on the פסוק: "ביום" means even on שבת
  6. Statementמילה overrides צרעת always, but יום טוב only on the eighth day
  7. QuestionWhat is the source?
  8. Response"ימול בשר ערלתו": cut even with a בהרת
  9. ConclusionThe warning about צרעת applies everywhere except the מילה
  10. ChallengeMaybe the ban on cutting צרעת applies even at the place of מילה
  11. ResponseThe extra word "בשר" teaches that we cut even with a בהרת
  12. Challengeרבא is puzzled by the ברייתא's back-and-forth
  13. ResolutionThe תנא first relied on a קל וחומר from שבת
  14. ResolutionWhy the תנא doubted: maybe צרעת is stricter than שבת
  15. ConclusionSo the extra word "בשר" is needed
  16. ResolutionSecond version: the תנא first relied on עשה דוחה לא תעשה
  17. ResolutionWhy the תנא reconsidered: צרעת is an עשה and a לא תעשה together
  18. ConclusionSo the פסוק 'בשר' is needed to teach that מילה overrides a בהרת
  19. QuestionThe word 'בשר' covers a גדול and a קטן, but where is the source for a בינוני?
  20. Responseאביי derives the בינוני from what the גדול and the קטן share
  21. Responseרבא: a קטן at the right time needs no פסוק, because of a קל וחומר from שבת
  22. ChallengeMaybe צרעת is stricter than שבת
  23. ResolutionThe מצורע is simply unfit to serve
  24. ChallengeWhy not cut off the spot and serve?
  25. ResolutionHe still needs טבילה
  26. ChallengeWhat about pure spots?
  27. ResolutionAn עשה overrides only when done in the same act
  28. StatementIntroducing a remark on the רבא and רב ספרא debate