Gemara Clarity

Shevuos 39b

שבועות ל״ט ע״ב

Shevuot 39b

Learn Shevuos 39b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shevuos 39b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The severity of a false שבועה, the oath ceremony, and the dispute between רב and שמואל over the two-silver-coin minimum.

Overview

The גמרא first explains why a false שבועה is so serious. For ordinary sins, others are punished only if they could have protested, but for a false שבועה every group is punished more harshly, and even צדיקים get a light punishment. It then explains lines from the ברייתא about the oath ceremony. The onlookers call both sides 'wicked', because the oath rests on both of them. The court also warns the swearer that the oath follows the court's understanding, to block tricks like the reed in רבא's court. Next, רב and שמואל argue about the משנה's 'two silver coins'. רב says the denied part must be worth two מעה, while שמואל says only the whole claim must be. רבא shows that the משנה's wording leans toward רב and the פסוקים lean toward שמואל, and each side defends its reading of the words כסף and כלים. Finally, the גמרא tests both views against the cases in the משנה, and both views survive.

Opening lines

הָתָם שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּיָדָם לְמַחוֹת,

There, it is where they had the ability to protest,

וְלֹא מִיחוּ.

and they did not protest.

מַאי אִיכָּא בֵּין רְשָׁעִים דְּמִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ

What difference is there between the wicked of his family

לָרְשָׁעִים דְּעָלְמָא;

and the wicked of the world;

The steps (30)

  1. ResolutionOthers are punished only when they could have protested
  2. QuestionHow does punishment differ between family and the wider world?
  3. ResponseHow punishment is divided for ordinary sins
  4. ResponseHow punishment is divided for a false oath
  5. StatementRefusing or agreeing to swear, and the onlookers' warning
  6. ChallengeWhy is the claimant called wicked?
  7. ResolutionThe oath rests on both of them
  8. StatementThe court's warning: not by your understanding
  9. QuestionWhy does the court need to say this?
  10. ResponseBecause of the trick with רבא's reed
  11. StatementThe משנה: the claim is two silver coins
  12. Statementרב: the denied part must be two silver coins
  13. Statementשמואל: the claim itself must be two silver coins
  14. Statementרבא: the משנה leans toward רב, the verses toward שמואל
  15. ProofHow the משנה's wording supports רב
  16. ProofHow the verses support שמואל
  17. Rejectionרב: 'This is it' only teaches partial admission
  18. Resolutionשמואל learns two rules from 'it' and 'this'
  19. Rejectionרב uses both words for other rules
  20. Resolutionשמואל: my rule follows automatically
  21. Resolutionרב explains that the word כסף teaches about the denial
  22. Rejectionשמואל says כסף teaches the claim must be for something valuable
  23. ChallengeA challenge to שמואל from the משנה about admitting a פרוטה
  24. Resolutionשמואל says the משנה means actual silver coins
  25. ChallengeThe next case in the משנה seems to break the 'actual coins' reading
  26. ResolutionBy שמואל's own rule, admitting one of two claimed items makes you liable
  27. ProofProof from the gold-and-silver case that the משנה means actual coins
  28. ConclusionSince the later case means actual coins, the first case does too
  29. ChallengeIs this a refutation of רב?
  30. Resolutionרב says only the gold case is different