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Shabbos 32a

שבת ל״ב ע״א

Shabbat 32a

Learn Shabbos 32a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shabbos 32a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Danger as a time of heavenly judgment: childbirth, perilous crossings, illness and its advocates, and the sins for which women die

Overview

The עמוד opens by finishing a דרשה: neglecting חלה and the שבת נר puts a woman's נשמה at risk. The גמרא asks why this judgment comes specifically at childbirth. Five אמוראים answer with folk sayings that all mean one thing: a moment of danger is a moment of judgment. For men, ריש לקיש says the equivalent is crossing a bridge or anything like it. Stories follow about רב, שמואל, רבי ינאי and רבי זירא avoiding danger, and רבי ינאי teaches never to rely on a נס, because even a נס is deducted from one's זכויות. The גמרא then pictures illness as a heavenly trial. A sick person must bring זכות, a dying person says וידוי, and his defense attorneys are תשובה and מעשים טובים, so even one part of merit in a thousand can save him. Next come ברייתות on the sins for which women die in childbirth or young, and on עמי הארץ who call the ארון הקודש 'ארנא'. The עמוד ends as רבן שמעון בן גמליאל begins to teach that הקדש, תרומות and מעשרות are the very body of the תורה, a statement that continues on the next עמוד.

Opening lines

״רֵאשִׁית״ קָרָאתִי אֶתְכֶם —

I called you 'first' —

עַל עִסְקֵי רֵאשִׁית הִזְהַרְתִּי אֶתְכֶם.

so I warned you about matters of 'first.'

נְשָׁמָה שֶׁנָּתַתִּי בָּכֶם קְרוּיָה ״נֵר״ —

The soul that I placed in you is called a 'lamp' —

עַל עִסְקֵי נֵר הִזְהַרְתִּי אֶתְכֶם.

so I warned you about matters of the lamp.

The steps (32)

  1. StatementGod's warning about חלה and the שבת lamp
  2. QuestionWhy specifically at the time of childbirth?
  3. Responseרבא: When the ox falls, sharpen the knife
  4. Responseאביי: The insolent maidservant gets one blow for everything
  5. Responseרב חסדא: Leave the drunk, he falls by himself
  6. Responseמר עוקבא: The lame shepherd settles accounts at the pen
  7. Responseרב פפא: Friends at the shop, none at the gate of disgrace
  8. QuestionWhen are men examined?
  9. Responseריש לקיש: When crossing a bridge
  10. ChallengeOnly a bridge and nothing else?
  11. ResolutionRead it as: anything like a bridge
  12. Statementרב avoided a ferry with a gentile on board
  13. Statementשמואל preferred a ferry with a gentile on board
  14. Statementרבי ינאי inspected before crossing
  15. Statementרבי ינאי's rule: never rely on a נס
  16. Proofרבי חנין's verse: יעקב's merits were diminished
  17. Statementרבי זירא avoided palm trees on a windy day
  18. StatementPray not to fall ill, because a sick person must prove his merit
  19. Proofמר עוקבא's verse: the one who falls must bring the proof
  20. Statementדבי רבי ישמעאל: the faller was destined to fall, but guilt comes through the guilty
  21. StatementA dangerously ill person is told to confess
  22. StatementStages of danger compared to arrest, chains, and trial
  23. StatementA person's defense attorneys are repentance and good deeds
  24. ProofEven one advocate against 999 accusers saves him
  25. Statementרבי אליעזר בנו של רבי יוסי הגלילי: even one part in a thousand within the same angel
  26. StatementThree sins for which women die in childbirth, and רבי אלעזר's version
  27. Statementרבי אחא: for washing children's soiled clothes on שבת
  28. Statementיש אומרים: for calling the Holy Ark just 'ארנא'
  29. ProofA ברייתא backs up the 'ארנא' opinion and adds 'בית עם'
  30. StatementThree danger-points for a woman: נדה, חלה and הדלקת הנר
  31. StatementEach version matches a different opinion
  32. StatementThe laws of הקדש, תרומות and מעשרות are the very body of Torah