Gemara Clarity

Sotah 45b

סוטה מ״ה ע״ב

Learn Sotah 45b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Sotah 45b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Hidden sheaves and מין במינו, then the laws of עגלה ערופה: which bodies and cities are included, how and from where to measure, and the ceremony itself.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a side discussion about a sheaf placed on top of another sheaf and then forgotten. The גמרא concludes that, for רבי יהודה, even something covered by its own kind (מין במינו) counts as hidden (טמון). Next, a ברייתא reads each word of the פסוק about עגלה ערופה as a limit. רבי אלעזר answers that only the extra word 'חלל' creates a limit. The גמרא then explains the משנה's rules: there is no עגלה ערופה near the border or near a city of mostly נכרים, and a city with no בית דין is skipped when measuring. A new משנה follows. It covers a body found exactly between two cities, why ירושלים is excluded, a head and body found apart, and where on the body the measuring starts. The גמרא explains each of these, including רבי יצחק's view that the head-and-body dispute is really about burying a מת מצוה. The amud ends with another משנה describing the ceremony itself: the heifer, the strong stream, the breaking of the neck, and the elders' declaration that they did not neglect the traveler.

Opening lines

תְּנֵיתוּהָ:

You learned it:

עוֹמֶר שֶׁהֶחְזִיק בּוֹ לְהוֹלִיכוֹ לָעִיר,

A sheaf that he held in order to take it to the city,

וְהִנִּיחוֹ עַל גַּבֵּי חֲבֵירוֹ וּשְׁכָחוֹ —

and he placed it on top of another sheaf and forgot it —

הַתַּחְתּוֹן שִׁכְחָה

the lower one is a forgotten sheaf

The steps (39)

  1. ProofA ברייתא about a sheaf placed on another sheaf
  2. StatementAssumption: both sides follow רבי יהודה
  3. ProofSuggestion: they argue whether מין במינו is hidden
  4. RejectionRejection: everyone agrees מין במינו is hidden
  5. ChallengeChallenge: why use a sheaf on another sheaf?
  6. ResolutionAnswer: to show how far רבי יהודה goes
  7. StatementA ברייתא reads each word of the פסוק as a limit on עגלה ערופה
  8. ChallengeThe Sages challenge רבי אלעזר from the strangled case
  9. Resolutionרבי אלעזר: 'חלל' is written an extra time
  10. StatementWhy the border and a city of mostly נכרים are excluded
  11. StatementWhy we do not measure to a city with no בית דין
  12. ChallengeIsn't the rule 'measure only to a city with a בית דין' obvious?
  13. ResolutionSkip the city without a court and measure to the next one
  14. StatementA body found exactly between two cities, and ירושלים
  15. StatementHead and body found in different places
  16. StatementWhich point on the body we measure from
  17. QuestionWhy does רבי אליעזר require two calves?
  18. ResponseExact measuring is possible, and 'nearest' can mean more than one city
  19. StatementWhy ירושלים does not bring an עגלה ערופה
  20. QuestionWhat is the head-and-body dispute about?
  21. RejectionIt cannot be about measuring
  22. Responseרבי יצחק: the dispute is about burial
  23. StatementReading the משנה as a burial rule
  24. QuestionWhy do they disagree about the burial spot?
  25. ResponseWhich part moved after the killing?
  26. QuestionWhy do they disagree about the measuring point?
  27. ResponseWhere is a person's life mainly found?
  28. QuestionIs this like the dispute over how an embryo forms?
  29. Statementאבא שאול: the embryo forms from the navel
  30. RejectionForming a baby is different from where life sits
  31. StatementThe third view: measure from the neck
  32. QuestionWhy the neck?
  33. ResponseA פסוק links the slain to the neck
  34. StatementThe city's elders bring the heifer
  35. StatementBringing it down to a strong stream
  36. StatementBreaking the neck, and the rules for the land
  37. StatementThe elders wash their hands and declare
  38. QuestionWould anyone suspect the judges of murder?
  39. ResponseThey mean they did not neglect him