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Temurah 9a

תמורה ט׳ ע״א

Learn Temurah 9a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

The laws of תמורה: across kinds of animals, the extra words 'טוב', swapping with others' animals, and one-for-many versus one-for-one

Overview

The amud opens with the last line of an earlier discussion: a folk saying that a small thing in hand beats a bigger thing later. A new משנה then teaches that תמורה works across every kind of animal: flock and herd, sheep and goats, males and females, and blemished and unblemished. With blemished animals, it works only if the animal was made holy before it got its blemish. The גמרא finds the source in 'בהמה בבהמה'. אביי and רבא then argue over how the extra words 'טוב' in the פסוק teach the timing rule and the מלקות for swapping good for good. A ברייתא explains why the Torah uses two verbs for swapping, and the גמרא shows how a person can swap with someone else's holy animal: its owner gave permission. A second משנה brings a dispute: the תנא קמא allows one animal for many, while רבי שמעון allows only one for one. ריש לקיש and רבי יוחנן then argue whether רבי שמעון allows swapping the same holy animal a second time, and each has a ברייתא on his side. The amud ends as רבי אבין begins a question about an אשם that was swapped, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

בּוּצִינָא טָב מִקָּרָא.

A zucchini now is better than a gourd later.

מַתְנִי׳ מְמִירִין מִן הַצֹּאן עַל הַבָּקָר,

MISHNA: One makes a substitution from the flock onto the herd,

וּמִן הַבָּקָר עַל הַצֹּאן,

and from the herd onto the flock,

וּמִן הַכְּבָשִׂים עַל הָעִזִּים,

and from the sheep onto the goats,

The steps (36)

  1. ConclusionA zucchini now is better than a gourd later
  2. StatementThe משנה: תמורה works across all kinds of animals
  3. ProofThe משנה's source: 'good for bad or bad for good'
  4. QuestionWhat case is 'good for bad'?
  5. ResponseBlemished animals that were consecrated before their blemish
  6. QuestionThe גמרא asks: where do we learn this?
  7. ResponseThe ברייתא: 'an animal for an animal' covers every pair
  8. QuestionMaybe even animals blemished before being made holy?
  9. ResponseOnly if it was made holy before the blemish
  10. QuestionHow does the פסוק show this?
  11. Responseאביי: the extra word 'בטוב' teaches it
  12. Responseרבא: both words 'טוב' are extra and teach two lessons
  13. RejectionWhy אביי does not need a word for good-for-good
  14. Rejectionרבא: no punishment from a logical derivation
  15. Resolutionאביי: good-for-good is obvious from the verse itself
  16. Statementברייתא: one phrase for others' animals, one for his own
  17. ChallengeWhy not write only 'He shall not exchange it'?
  18. ResolutionThe second verb covers a swap that makes both animals holy
  19. QuestionWhat case is 'another person's animal'?
  20. ChallengeHe cannot make someone else's animal holy
  21. ChallengeHe cannot make a תמורה on someone else's holy animal
  22. ResolutionThe owner gave everyone permission to swap
  23. StatementThe משנה: one animal may be swapped for many, and many for one
  24. Statementרבי שמעון: only one animal for one animal
  25. QuestionWhere does this come from?
  26. ResponseThe ברייתא: 'בהמה בבהמה' allows any numbers
  27. Statementרבי שמעון reads the same words as singular
  28. ChallengeA group of animals can be called 'בהמה'
  29. ResolutionOnly 'בהמה רבה' means many, not plain 'בהמה'
  30. ChallengeWhich word is really רבי שמעון's source?
  31. Resolutionרבי שמעון used both sources, one after the other
  32. Statementריש לקיש: רבי שמעון allows swapping the same animal again
  33. Statementרבי יוחנן: no second swap either
  34. ProofA ברייתא that supports רבי יוחנן
  35. ProofA ברייתא that supports ריש לקיש
  36. Questionרבי אבין sets up a question about an אשם that was swapped