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Yoma 4b

יומא ד׳ ע״ב

Learn Yoma 4b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

מתן תורה and משה's ascent into the cloud, side lessons from the verses, and the return to whether every detail of the מלואים is essential

Overview

This amud finishes רבי עקיבא's reading that the cloud covered the mountain and that משה was called up only for honor. It adds two more reasons for the call: רבי נתן says it cleansed משה's body like a מלאך, and רבי מתיא בן חרש says it filled him with awe. The גמרא then links the dispute between רבי יוסי הגלילי and רבי עקיבא to a ברייתא about whether the Torah was given on the sixth or the seventh of סיון. It checks both views against the tradition that the לוחות were broken on שבעה עשר בתמוז. Next, it asks whether all of ישראל heard ה׳'s call, and settles two verses about whether משה could enter the cloud. From 'ויקרא אל משה וידבר... לאמר' it learns two lessons of manners: call a person before speaking to him, and do not repeat what you were told without permission. Finally, it returns to the מלואים and proves that רבי יוחנן holds that every written detail is essential. The amud ends by asking what practical difference there is between רבי יוחנן and רבי חנינא.

Opening lines

״וַיְכַסֵּהוּ הֶעָנָן״, לָהָר.

"And the cloud covered it" — the mountain.

״וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה״ —

"And He called to Moshe" —

[מֹשֶׁה] וְכׇל יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹמְדִין,

Moshe and all of Israel were standing there,

וְלֹא בָּא הַכָּתוּב אֶלָּא

and the verse came only

The steps (30)

  1. StatementThe cloud covered the mountain, and משה was called up for honor
  2. Statementרבי נתן: calling משה cleansed his body like an angel
  3. Statementרבי מתיא בן חרש: calling משה was to fill him with awe
  4. QuestionWhat does 'rejoice with trembling' mean
  5. ResponseWhere there is joy, there should be trembling
  6. QuestionWhat is the root of the dispute between רבי יוסי הגלילי and רבי עקיבא
  7. ResponseTheir dispute matches a dispute about the date of the Torah's giving
  8. StatementHow each side reads 'on the seventh day'
  9. Statementרבי יוסי הגלילי follows the sixth-day view
  10. ProofProof that the sixth-day view forces רבי יוסי הגלילי's reading
  11. Statementרבי עקיבא follows the view that the Torah was given on the seventh
  12. Proofרבי עקיבא's view fits the seventeenth of תמוז
  13. Challengeרבי יוסי הגלילי's count seems to reach the twenty-third
  14. ResolutionThe six days are counted inside the forty
  15. ProofThe ברייתא supports רבי אלעזר that all of Israel heard the call
  16. ChallengeA ברייתא says only משה heard
  17. Resolutionסיני versus the אהל מועד
  18. ResolutionCalling versus speaking
  19. ChallengeTwo verses about משה and the cloud seem to contradict
  20. Resolutionהקב"ה took hold of משה and brought him in
  21. ResolutionA path opened in the cloud, like the path through the sea
  22. QuestionWhy does the Torah mention calling before speaking?
  23. ResponseThe Torah teaches manners: call someone before speaking to him
  24. ProofThis supports רבי חנינא
  25. StatementDo not repeat what you were told until permitted
  26. ConclusionBoth sages hold that every detail of the inauguration is essential
  27. StatementThe dispute over which inauguration details are essential
  28. ProofProving that רבי יוחנן holds every detail of the מלואים is essential
  29. ConclusionThe proof is accepted
  30. QuestionWhat is the practical difference between the two views?