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Yevamos 72a

יבמות ע״ב ע״א

Yevamot 72a

Learn Yevamos 72a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Weather and the danger of מילה, the מָשׁוּךְ and תרומה (רב הונא refuted), and the טומטום in the ברייתא

Overview

The amud opens by finishing the question of why the Jewish people did not do מילה in the מדבר. One answer is that the healthy north wind did not blow for them, so מילה was dangerous. רב פפא learns from this that we do not do מילה or bloodletting on a cloudy day or a day of south wind. He adds that nowadays people rely on ״שומר פתאים ה׳״. A ברייתא adds that the north wind did blow every night at midnight, because midnight is an עת רצון. Next, רב הונא rules that by Torah law a מָשׁוּךְ may eat תרומה, but the רבנן decreed against him. The גמרא explains that a פסוק quoted for redoing his מילה is only an אסמכתא. In the end, a ברייתא that lets a מָשׁוּךְ eat תרומה refutes רב הונא. The גמרא then works through that ברייתא's rules about a טומטום, with אביי and רבא each explaining how a טומטום can have 'wives'. Finally, it begins comparing the מָשׁוּךְ question to a dispute of תנאים about who may be circumcised only by day, and that discussion continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

וְאִיבָּעֵית אֵימָא:

And if you wish, say:

מִשּׁוּם דְּלָא נְשִׁיב לְהוּ רוּחַ צְפוֹנִית.

because the north wind did not blow for them.

דְּתַנְיָא: כׇּל אוֹתָן אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה

As it is taught: All those forty years

שֶׁהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּמִּדְבָּר

that Israel was in the wilderness,

The steps (35)

  1. ResolutionAnother reason they skipped מילה: no north wind
  2. ProofA ברייתא proves the north wind did not blow
  3. QuestionWhy was the north wind held back?
  4. ResponseTwo reasons: they were under rebuke, or to protect the clouds
  5. Statementרב פפא: no מילה or bloodletting on a cloudy or south-wind day
  6. StatementNowadays people rely on ה׳ protecting the simple
  7. StatementA ברייתא: the north wind blew every night at midnight
  8. QuestionHow does the פסוק show this?
  9. ResponseA time of Divine favor is something real
  10. StatementA מָשׁוּךְ may eat תרומה by Torah law
  11. ChallengeA ברייתא says a מָשׁוּךְ needs מילה
  12. ResolutionThe requirement is only rabbinic
  13. QuestionWhy was this ever a challenge?
  14. ResponseHe was misled by the end of the ברייתא
  15. ProofThe רבנן answer רבי יהודה with history and פסוקים
  16. QuestionWhy bring a second פסוק?
  17. ResponseThe first פסוק could be about leftover shreds
  18. ResponseThe verse was only a support, not the source
  19. ChallengeA ברייתא about who may eat תרומה
  20. ChallengeThe ברייתא lets a מָשׁוּךְ eat, against רב הונא
  21. Conclusionרב הונא is refuted
  22. QuestionHow can a טומטום have wives?
  23. ResponseSuggesting that he betrothed a woman
  24. ChallengeHis betrothal may only count to be strict, not to be lenient
  25. Resolutionאביי: a טומטום whose testicles are visible
  26. Resolutionרבא: 'his women' means his mother
  27. ChallengeIsn't it obvious that his mother eats?
  28. ResolutionEven a son who cannot have children lets his mother eat
  29. ProofThe ברייתא's repeated line fits אביי
  30. ChallengeHow does רבא explain the second mention of a טומטום?
  31. ResolutionThe later טומטום means a definite ערל
  32. ChallengeWhy teach that a definite ערל cannot eat?
  33. ResolutionThe later line gives the reason
  34. ProofSuggesting the מָשׁוּךְ dispute matches a dispute of תנאים
  35. Statementרבי אלעזר בר שמעון begins his opposing view