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Shabbos 82b

שבת פ״ב ע״ב

Shabbat 82b

Learn Shabbos 82b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shabbos 82b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The טומאה of עבודה זרה: is it like a שרץ or like a נדה? רבה and רבי אלעזר explain the מחלוקת between רבי עקיבא and the רבנן differently.

Overview

The גמרא finishes quoting a משנה from מסכת עבודה זרה about a house used for idol worship. Its stones, wood and dust are טמא. The תנא קמא compares this טומאה to a שרץ, but רבי עקיבא compares it to a נדה, which makes things טמא even through carrying (משא). רבה explains the פסוק ״תזרם״ as 'treat idols like strangers.' He then says everyone agrees about משא, and the argument is only about אבן מסמא, a very heavy stone. The גמרא asks what the other comparison teaches on each side. For רבי עקיבא, the שרץ comparison is for the idol's accessories. For the רבנן, the נדה comparison teaches משא. When the גמרא asks why the Torah did not simply compare it to a נבלה, it answers that the נדה comparison also teaches that there is no טומאה through limbs. The גמרא then shows that רב חמא בר גוריא's question about limbs was asked only according to רבי עקיבא. Finally, רבי אלעזר reverses רבה's approach: everyone agrees there is no אבן מסמא, and they argue about משא.

Opening lines

הָיָה שֶׁלּוֹ וְשֶׁל עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה,

If [the wall] was his and belonged to the idolatry [house],

נִידּוֹן מֶחֱצָה עַל מֶחֱצָה.

it is judged half and half.

אֲבָנָיו וְעֵצָיו וַעֲפָרָיו

Its stones, its wood, and its dust

מְטַמְּאִים כְּשֶׁרֶץ,

transmit impurity like a creeping creature,

The steps (14)

  1. StatementA wall shared with an idolatry house is split half and half
  2. StatementThe materials of an idolatry house are טמא like a שרץ
  3. Statementרבי עקיבא: idolatry is טמא like a נדה, even through carrying
  4. Statementרבה explains the verse: push idolatry far away
  5. Statementרבה: everyone agrees about carrying, and they argue about the heavy stone
  6. QuestionFor רבי עקיבא, what does the שרץ comparison teach?
  7. QuestionFor the רבנן, what does the נדה comparison teach?
  8. ChallengeWhy not just compare it to a נבלה?
  9. ResolutionThe נדה comparison teaches that limbs do not carry טומאה
  10. ChallengeThen why was רב חמא בר גוריא unsure about limbs?
  11. Resolutionרב חמא בר גוריא asked according to רבי עקיבא
  12. Statementרבי אלעזר: everyone agrees about the heavy stone, and they argue about carrying
  13. QuestionFor רבי עקיבא in רבי אלעזר's approach: the שרץ comparison is for accessories
  14. QuestionFor the רבנן in רבי אלעזר's approach: the נדה comparison is for limbs