Shevuos 14b

שבועות י״ד ע״ב

Shevuot 14b

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

Open Shevuos 14b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Becoming טמא in the עזרה, the dispute over forgetting the מקדש, how to count the ידיעות, and two unresolved questions about partial knowledge.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing the משנה. An addition to the עזרה made without the full ceremony does not make a טמא person liable for entering it. A person who became טמא inside the עזרה and forgot one fact or both brings a קרבן עולה ויורד if he bowed, stayed as long as a bow takes, or left by the long way. If he left by the short way, he is פטור. The משנה ties this to הוריות and contrasts it with the מצוה of נדה, where pulling out immediately makes a man חייב. רבי אליעזר and רבי עקיבא hold there is no קרבן for forgetting the מקדש, and רבי ישמעאל holds there is. In the גמרא, רב פפא and אביי debate how 'two that are four' adds up. The two versions of רב פפא's answer disagree about which four of the eight kinds of knowing the תנא counts. Two questions about partial knowledge, a lentil-sized שרץ and a newcomer who does not know where the מקדש is, both end in תיקו. Finally, רב שימי בר חייא begins bringing a פסוק as the source that additions to the עזרה are treated like the original, and the quote continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (25)

1. StatementFinishing the expansion ceremony, and when entering the new area counts
2. StatementBecoming impure while already inside the courtyard
3. StatementThis is the Temple מצוה for which there is no liability
4. QuestionWhich מצוה of נדה does carry liability?
5. ResponsePulling out right away still counts as a sin
6. Statementרבי אליעזר: Liable only for forgetting the שרץ
7. Statementרבי עקיבא: Liable only for forgetting the טומאה
8. Statementרבי ישמעאל: Liable for both kinds of forgetting
9. Challengeרב פפא: Shouldn't it be 'two that are six'?
10. Challengeאביי pushes back: by your counting there would be eight
11. Rejectionרב פפא rejects eight: impurity is one category, so six remains
12. Resolutionרב פפא's answer: there are eight, but only the four that lead to an offering count
13. ResolutionSecond version: only the four found nowhere else in the Torah count
14. Questionרב פפא asks about forgetting the laws of impurity
15. QuestionWhat case could רב פפא mean? Not basic Torah laws
16. ResponseThe real case: touching a lentil-sized piece
17. QuestionThe two sides: general knowing or detail forgotten?
18. ConclusionThe question stays unresolved
19. Questionרבי ירמיה asks about a newcomer who never knew where the מקדש was
20. ChallengeWhose opinion is this question based on?
21. ResolutionThe question only matters according to רבי
22. QuestionDoes knowing a מקדש exists count as knowing?
23. ConclusionThe question is left unresolved
24. QuestionSource for treating the added עזרה like the original
25. Responseרב שימי בר חייא begins quoting a פסוק about the משכן