Shabbos 14a

שבת י״ד ע״א

Shabbat 14a

Learn Shabbos 14a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

The reasons behind the י״ח דברים, the rabbinic decrees that make תרומה פסול: eating and drinking impure items, מים שאובים, a ספר, and hands.

Overview

This amud explains the reasons behind the י״ח דברים, the rabbinic decrees that make תרומה פסול. First the גמרא asks why the list says these items only 'disqualify' תרומה. רבה בר בר חנה answers that the list follows רבי יהושע, who holds that eating impure food makes a person only a שני. Next the גמרא explains the decrees on eating impure food and drinking impure liquids: both stop a person from ruining תרומה inside his own mouth. Both are listed because one case is common and the other is rare. The decree on מים שאובים was made because rinsing with drawn water after טבילה had become a fixed habit. אביי and רבא argue about what danger that habit caused. A pure person hit by drawn water was included so that the first decree would hold. A ספר was made able to disqualify תרומה so that people would stop storing תרומה beside it. Hands were included because they are always busy, and hands that touched a ספר were included because of רבי יוחנן's warning against holding a bare ספר תורה. At the end, the גמרא begins asking which hand-decree came first, and that discussion continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (28)

1. QuestionWhy do these items only disqualify and not render impure?
2. ResolutionThe list follows רבי יהושע
3. Proofרבי אליעזר: the eater takes on the same level as the food
4. Proofרבי יהושע: the eater is at most a second-degree
5. QuestionWhy did the Rabbis decree impurity on one who eats impure food?
6. ResponseSo he won't ruin תרומה liquids in his mouth
7. QuestionWhy did the Rabbis decree impurity on one who drinks impure liquids?
8. ResponseSo he won't ruin תרומה food in his mouth
9. ChallengeAren't these two decrees really the same?
10. ResolutionOne case is common, the other is not
11. QuestionWhy the decree on one who enters drawn water?
12. ResponseRinsing with drawn water after immersion became a fixed practice
13. QuestionWhat does 'fixed practice' mean?
14. Responseאביי: people thought both waters together purify
15. Challengeרבא: what harm is there if they still immerse?
16. Responseרבא: people thought only the drawn water purifies
17. QuestionWhy decree on a pure person hit by drawn water?
18. ResponseWithout this decree, the first one would not hold
19. QuestionWhy decree impurity on a ספר?
20. Responseרב משרשיא: תרומה stored by the ספר attracted damage
21. StatementHands are impure because they are always busy
22. StatementHands that touch a ספר also disqualify תרומה
23. ResponseReason: רבי פרנך on holding a bare ספר תורה
24. ChallengeCan 'buried bare' really be meant literally?
25. Resolutionרבי זירא: bare means without מצוות
26. ChallengeCan he really lose all his מצוות?
27. ResolutionFinal reading: bare of that one מצוה
28. QuestionWhich decree about hands came first?