Temurah 16a

תמורה ט״ז ע״א

Learn Temurah 16a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Temurah 16a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The forgotten הלכות after משה's death and how עתניאל restored them; the five חטאות מתות apply only to an individual, not the ציבור

Overview

The גמרא first finishes explaining the 'דופי' (flaw) that began after יוסף בן יועזר: it was the first מחלוקת, the dispute about סמיכה, and he argued about it only when old age had weakened him. It then returns to שמואל's teaching that 3,000 הלכות were forgotten while the people mourned משה. Leader after leader refused to recover them through prophecy, because the Torah is 'not in heaven' and a נביא may not add anything new. One of the forgotten laws was the law of a חטאת whose owner died. רבי אבהו says עתניאל בן קנז restored the lost teachings through his sharp reasoning. This leads to stories about עכסה, about כלב's family, and about עתניאל, who is also called יעבץ. רבי נתן and רבי יהודה הנשיא give two readings of יעבץ's prayer: one about Torah, one mostly about worldly blessings. Finally the גמרא returns to the משנה. רבי שמעון teaches that all five חטאות מתות apply only to an individual's offering and never to a communal one, learning the two unclear cases from the three clear ones.

Opening lines

The steps (34)

1. ResolutionThe 'flaw' means the dispute over placing hands
2. ChallengeBut יוסף בן יועזר himself argued about placing hands
3. ResolutionHe argued only in his old age
4. StatementThree thousand laws forgotten while mourning משה
5. Statementשמואל the prophet also refuses to ask
6. StatementThe law of a sin offering whose owner died was also forgotten
7. Statementפנחס and אלעזר refuse to ask Heaven
8. Statementיהושע loses 300 laws when משה dies
9. StatementGod sends יהושע to war instead of restoring the laws
10. Statement1,700 teachings forgotten while mourning משה
11. Statementעתניאל brought back the forgotten laws
12. StatementWhy she was called עכסה
13. QuestionWhat does ותצנח mean?
14. ResponseLike a hungry donkey, she cried out
15. StatementA home dry of all good, a husband with only Torah
16. Statementכלב answers: a Torah scholar needs no one to ask for him
17. ChallengeWas כלב really the son of קנז?
18. Resolutionיפונה means he turned away from the spies
19. ChallengeBut wasn't כלב the son of חצרון?
20. Resolutionכלב was the stepson of קנז
21. Statementעתניאל and יעבץ are one person
22. QuestionWhere do we see that God answered him?
23. Responseיעבץ's prayer in דברי הימים
24. StatementEach request is about Torah
25. ConclusionGod answered him right away
26. StatementA teacher who teaches gains light, and one who refuses loses his wisdom
27. StatementA second reading of יעבץ's prayer as requests for worldly blessings
28. Conclusionיעבץ's plea and God's answer in רבי יהודה הנשיא's reading
29. StatementThe same פסוק applied to a poor person asking a rich man for help
30. StatementBack to the משנה: רבי שמעון's statement
31. Statementרבי שמעון's list of five sin offerings that are left to die
32. StatementThree of the five cases cannot happen with a communal offering
33. QuestionWhat about the last two cases?
34. ResponseLearn the unclear cases from the clear ones