Yoma 36b

יומא ל״ו ע״ב

Learn Yoma 36b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Yoma 36b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The disagreement between רבי עקיבא and רבי יוסי הגלילי over which prohibitions count as a לאו הניתק לעשה (a prohibition that, once broken, can be fixed by a positive command). Two explanations are offered: the case of נבילה, or the word ״תעזוב״ in the laws of לקט, שכחה and פאה.

Overview

This amud has three sections. First, the גמרא finishes explaining where רבי עקיבא and רבי יוסי הגלילי disagree about a לאו הניתק לעשה. One view says the argument is about נבילה, while אביי says everyone agrees about נבילה and the argument is about the word ״תעזוב״ in the gifts to the poor. Next, a ברייתא gives the order of the כהן גדול's וידוי. רבי מאיר says עויתי, פשעתי, חטאתי, following the פסוקים of the שעיר המשתלח and of משה. חכמים say it should go from light to heavy: חטאתי, עויתי, פשעתי. They explain that משה's verse was a request to treat זדונות like שגגות, and רב rules like חכמים. A story about a חזן who followed רבי מאיר shows how the verse of משה could mislead people. Finally, a ברייתא proves that the word וכפר by the כהן גדול's פר means atonement through spoken וידוי, not through blood.

Opening lines

The steps (22)

1. ResponseThe dispute is about the prohibition of נבילה
2. ResponseEach side's view on נבילה
3. Responseאביי: everyone agrees about נבילה; the dispute is about ״תעזוב״
4. Response״תעזוב״: from the start, or now?
5. Statementרבי מאיר's order of confession
6. StatementThe Sages define the three kinds of sin
7. ChallengeYou don't go back to small sins after confessing big ones
8. ResolutionThe Sages' correct order: חטאתי, עויתי, פשעתי
9. ProofSupport from דוד, שלמה, and דניאל
10. ChallengeBut what about משה's verse?
11. Resolutionמשה asked that deliberate sins be treated as accidental
12. ConclusionThe הלכה follows חכמים
13. ChallengeIsn't that obvious?
14. Resolutionמשה's verse might have tipped the scales
15. Challengeרבה challenges a prayer leader who followed רבי מאיר
16. ResolutionThe prayer leader defends himself with משה's verse
17. StatementA ברייתא: the word 'atone' refers to atonement through words
18. QuestionMaybe 'atone' means atonement through blood
19. ProofProof by comparison to the scapegoat
20. ProofSecond proof: 'atone' comes before the bull is slaughtered
21. QuestionWhy did the ברייתא need a second proof?
22. ResponseThe first comparison could have pointed to the inner goat instead