Gemara Clarity

Shevuos 26b

שבועות כ״ו ע״ב

Shevuot 26b

Learn Shevuos 26b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shevuos 26b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

When a false oath counts as a mistake that brings a קרבן, and whether an oath needs spoken words (שמואל).

Overview

רבא asks רב נחמן how a false oath about the past can ever be a mistake that brings a קרבן. If the person knew the truth, he lied on purpose, and if he did not know, he could not help it. רב נחמן answers that the person knew the oath was forbidden but did not know it requires a קרבן. Even the רבנן, who usually disagree with מונבז on this point, agree here, because a קרבן for a plain לאו with no כרת is unusual. Next, רבינא asks about a hungry man who forgot his oath and ate the loaf he swore off. רבא answers from a ברייתא that a קרבן comes only if knowing would have stopped him. Then שמואל rules that an oath decided in the heart must be said out loud. The גמרא defends this rule against two ברייתות. רב ששת rereads the first one, and the second, about the gifts to the משכן ('כל נדיב לב'), is shown to be a holy matter that cannot teach the rule for everyday oaths.

Opening lines

אֵיזוֹ הִיא שִׁגְגַת

What is the unknowing case of

שְׁבוּעַת בִּיטּוּי לְשֶׁעָבַר?

an oath on an utterance about the past?

אִי דְּיָדַע – מֵזִיד הוּא!

If he knows, he is acting on purpose!

אִי דְּלָא יָדַע – אָנוּס הוּא!

If he does not know, he could not help it!

The steps (21)

  1. QuestionHow can a false oath about the past be unintentional?
  2. ResponseHe knew it was forbidden but not that it requires a קרבן
  3. ChallengeDoes this answer only work for מונבז?
  4. ResolutionEven the רבנן agree here, because this קרבן is unusual
  5. ResolutionWhy even the רבנן agree in the case of an oath
  6. Questionרבינא's question: an oath on a loaf and a life in danger
  7. Rejectionרבא: in danger, he is simply allowed to eat
  8. QuestionThe real question: suffering from hunger and forgetting the oath
  9. Responseרבא answers: a קרבן only if knowing would have stopped him
  10. StatementAn oath must be said with the lips
  11. ChallengeA ברייתא counts an oath decided in the heart
  12. ChallengeThe ברייתא seems to contradict itself
  13. ResolutionTwo different kinds of 'deciding in the heart'
  14. ChallengeThe ברייתא still seems to go against שמואל
  15. Resolutionרב ששת rereads the ברייתא so the words are always spoken
  16. ChallengeA second ברייתא: a decision in the heart counts
  17. ResolutionGifts to the משכן are a special case
  18. ChallengeWhy not learn from the משכן gifts?
  19. ResolutionTwo פסוקים that say the same thing do not teach
  20. ChallengeWhat about the opinion that two פסוקים do teach?
  21. ResolutionWe do not learn חולין from קדשים