Shabbos 77b

שבת ע״ז ע״ב

Shabbat 77b

Learn Shabbos 77b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Spelling questions, carrying measures (milk, egg white, honey, oil) on שבת, and an אגדה section on the purpose of creation

Overview

The גמרא opens with three spelling questions about words in the משנה: is each one written with an א or an ע? Each time a פסוק using the same root proves it is ע. Next, a ברייתא gives the minimum amounts (שיעורים) for carrying animal milk, a woman's milk, egg white and an eye-bandage on שבת. The משנה gives the amount for honey. רב אשי asks two precise questions about the bandage and the honey, and both end in תיקו. The word 'sore' then leads into a long אגדה section: nothing in creation is useless, weak creatures frighten mighty ones, רב יהודה explains why animals are built as they are, and many everyday Aramaic words are read as hidden phrases. The גמרא then returns to the משנה's measure for oil, which דבי רבי ינאי define as a small limb of a day-old baby. It defends that view against a ברייתא, then asks whether two תנאים argue about it. It answers that both reject a newborn's small limb, and their real disagreement continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (42)

1. QuestionHow is the word for 'seeds' spelled?
2. Responseרבא בר עולא proves the spelling with ע from a verse
3. QuestionHow is the word for 'dimming' coals spelled?
4. Responseרב יצחק בר אבדימי proves the spelling with ע
5. QuestionHow is the word for closing a dead person's eyes spelled?
6. Responseרבי יוחנן proves the spelling with ע from a verse in ישעיהו
7. StatementMinimum amounts for carrying milk, egg white, and an eye-bandage
8. Questionרב אשי asks how to measure the bandage
9. ConclusionThe question stays unresolved
10. StatementThe משנה's measure for honey
11. StatementA ברייתא sharpens the honey measure
12. Questionרב אשי asks: the whole sore or just its top?
13. ConclusionThe question stays unresolved
14. StatementNothing in creation is useless
15. QuestionHow is the gecko remedy made?
16. ResponseCook a black and a white gecko and spread it
17. StatementFive small creatures that frighten big ones
18. ProofThe verse behind the five fears
19. Statementרבי זירא finds רב יהודה in a good mood
20. QuestionWhy do goats walk ahead of sheep?
21. ResponseLike creation: darkness first, then light
22. QuestionWhy are sheep covered and goats exposed?
23. ResponseMeasure for measure: sheep cover us
24. QuestionWhy is the camel's tail short?
25. ResponseBecause camels eat thorns
26. QuestionWhy is the ox's tail long?
27. ResponseBecause oxen must swat mosquitoes in the marshes
28. QuestionWhy is the grasshopper's antenna soft?
29. ResponseIt lives among plants, and a hard antenna would break
30. Proofשמואל: Remove the antenna and the grasshopper is blinded
31. QuestionWhy does the chicken's lower eyelid close upward?
32. ResponseChickens live on rafters, where smoke rises
33. StatementHouse words: door, stairs, spices, house, small house
34. StatementHousehold items: barrel, bricks, fence, jugs, washing tubs, mortar and pestle
35. StatementClothing, bed, empty pit, scholar's head covering, and palace
36. StatementThree creatures grow stronger as they age
37. Statementדבי רבי ינאי: The oil measure is a small limb of a day-old baby
38. ChallengeA ברייתא seems to give a larger measure
39. ResolutionThe ברייתא means 'a small limb of a day-old baby'
40. QuestionIs this the same as an argument between תנאים?
41. ProofReading the two תנאים as arguing about the size of the limb
42. RejectionBoth agree a newborn's small limb is not enough