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Temurah 27a

תמורה כ״ז ע״א

Learn Temurah 27a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Temurah 27a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

What תחת means when exchanging holy and non-holy animals, the chain of questions about mixed groups of animals, and whether paying the difference when redeeming a blemished animal is a תורה law.

Overview

The גמרא shows that the word תחת ('in place of') can mean two things. It can mean the holiness stays and spreads to the new animal, as in תמורה, or it can mean the holiness moves off one item onto another (אחולי). Context decides: with קדשי מזבח it means תמורה, and with קדשי בדק הבית it means moving the holiness. רבא and רב אשי add that a blemished holy animal can go either way, depending on which animal the owner's hand rests on. אביי, and later רב אשי, then ask a chain of questions about groups of holy and non-holy animals, where a person says 'these are in place of those.' Each question tests the rule that a person does not leave a permitted act to do a forbidden one. The chain ends with תיקו, unresolved. Next the גמרא quotes the משנה about redeeming a blemished holy animal. רבי יוחנן and ריש לקיש argue whether paying הקדש the difference in value is a תורה law or a rabbinic one. The גמרא then tries to pin down what price gap they are arguing about.

Opening lines

״וְאִם תַּחְתֶּיהָ תַּעֲמוֹד הַבַּהֶרֶת״.

'But if the white spot stays in its place.'

דְּאַחוֹלֵי,

[It is also a word] of transferring holiness out,

דִּכְתִיב: ״תַּחַת הַנְּחוֹשֶׁת אָבִיא זָהָב״,

as it is written: 'In place of brass I will bring gold,'

וְהִלְכָּךְ, גַּבֵּי קׇדְשֵׁי מִזְבֵּחַ

And therefore, regarding altar offerings,

The steps (22)

  1. ProofA verse where תחת means staying in place
  2. ProofA verse where תחת means replacing
  3. ResolutionThe meaning depends on the type of holy item
  4. Statementרבא: even altar offerings can mean transfer
  5. Statementרב אשי: it depends on where his hand is
  6. Questionאביי asks about blemished holy animals and unblemished non-holy animals
  7. QuestionThe two sides: making a תמורה with lashes, or choosing the permitted act
  8. QuestionFollow-up dilemma: one blemished and one unblemished in each group
  9. QuestionFirst side: he paired them by type
  10. QuestionThe second side of the doubt: crossed pairings, lashes for both
  11. QuestionAssuming he picks the permitted option, what about three and three?
  12. QuestionThe two sides of the three-and-three doubt
  13. Questionרב אשי asks about four and four
  14. QuestionFirst side: he is clearly a sinner, so four sets of lashes
  15. QuestionSecond side: even so, nobody picks the forbidden over the permitted
  16. ConclusionThe question is left unresolved
  17. StatementQuoting the משנה: a blemished holy animal can be redeemed
  18. Statementרבי יוחנן: redeemed by תורה law, paying the value is only from the רבנן
  19. Statementריש לקיש: paying the value is also from the תורה
  20. QuestionWhat case is the argument about? Maybe a one-sixth gap
  21. ChallengeHoly property has no overcharging law
  22. ChallengeMaybe a gap of more than one-sixth? Then רבי יוחנן is hard to explain