Shabbos 15a

שבת ט״ו ע״א

Shabbat 15a

Learn Shabbos 15a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

The eighteen decrees, the three personal disputes of שמאי and הלל, and who made the decree on ארץ העמים and glass

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an earlier answer: שלמה decreed טומאת ידים for קדשים, and later שמאי and הלל extended it to תרומה. Next, רב יהודה in the name of שמואל says the Sages argued about the eighteen decrees. A ברייתא seems to say they agreed, and the גמרא answers that they argued on the day of the vote and all agreed the next day. רב הונא then says שמאי and הלל themselves disagreed in only three places: the minimum dough for חלה, how much drawn water ruins a מקוה, and how far back a woman who finds blood becomes טמאה. In the מקוה case, two weavers bring a tradition from שמעיה and אבטליון, and the Sages accept it. The גמרא challenges the count of three with two more disputes, סמיכה and grapes picked for the press. It answers that סמיכה was already argued by earlier generations, and that in the grape case הלל gave in. Finally, the גמרא asks how the first זוג could have made the decrees on ארץ העמים and glass. A tradition from רבי ישמעאל ברבי יוסי dates them to the last 80 years before the חורבן, and the two יוסי's lived long before then. Along the way, the גמרא explains that the סנהדרין stopped judging capital cases once it left its chamber. The question about the two יוסי's continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (23)

1. Resolutionשלמה decreed for קדשים; later Sages extended it to תרומה
2. StatementEighteen decrees, made after eighteen disagreements
3. ChallengeA ברייתא says they agreed
4. ResolutionThey disagreed that day and agreed the next
5. Statementשמאי and הלל disagreed in only three places
6. StatementFirst dispute: minimum dough for חלה
7. StatementAfter the measures grew: five quarters of flour
8. StatementSecond dispute: drawn water that disqualifies a מקוה
9. ConclusionTwo weavers testify: three לוגין disqualify the מקוה
10. StatementThe third dispute: how far back a woman becomes impure
11. ChallengeChallenge: laying hands on offerings is another dispute
12. ResolutionAnswer: רב הונא counted only disputes that started with them
13. ChallengeSecond challenge: harvesting grapes for the press
14. ResolutionAnswer: הלל went silent and accepted שמאי's view
15. StatementRe-quoting the decree on foreign lands and glass vessels
16. ChallengeChallenge: these decrees came from much later sages
17. Proofרב כהנא's story begins as the source for the challenge
18. ProofThe timeline sent by רבי ישמעאל ברבי יוסי in his father's name
19. QuestionWhat practical law follows from the סנהדרין moving out?
20. ResponseFirst answer: they stopped judging fines
21. ChallengeCould it really be fines?
22. ResolutionCorrection: they stopped judging capital cases
23. ChallengeThe two יוסי's could not have lived in the last 80 years