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Yoma 66b

יומא ס״ו ע״ב

Learn Yoma 66b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

The man who leads the שעיר המשתלח, רבי אליעזר's unanswered questions, the deaths after the עגל, and the escort to the cliff.

Overview

This amud finishes a ברייתא that learns from the words עִתִּי and אִישׁ about the man who leads the שעיר המשתלח. The ברייתא says he is chosen ahead of time, the goat is sent even on שבת and even in טומאה, and a זר may lead it. רב ששת explains that 'even on שבת' allows carrying a sick goat, and that this works even according to רבי נתן. רפרם learns from this that עירוב and הוצאה apply to שבת but not to יום הכיפורים. 'Even in טומאה' means an impure sender may enter the עזרה. Students then ask רבי אליעזר a series of questions, and he sidesteps each one, because he never said anything he had not heard from his teacher. A wise woman's question about why the sinners of the עגל died different deaths is answered by רב and לוי, and רב יהודה teaches that שבט לוי did not serve the עגל. The amud ends by explaining who the rude 'Babylonians' of the משנה were, and by starting a new משנה about the escort and the ten booths on the way to the cliff.

Opening lines

שֶׁיְּהֵא מְזוּמָּן.

that he should be designated in advance.

״עִתִּי״ — וַאֲפִילּוּ בְּשַׁבָּת,

'Appointed' teaches: and even on Shabbat,

״עִתִּי״ — וַאֲפִילּוּ בְּטוּמְאָה.

'Appointed' teaches: and even in a state of impurity.

״אִישׁ״ — לְהַכְשִׁיר אֶת הַזָּר.

'A man' comes to qualify a non-priest.

The steps (30)

  1. StatementThe ברייתא's lessons from the word עִתִּי
  2. ChallengeWhy do we need a פסוק to allow a זר?
  3. ResolutionThe word כפרה could have misled us
  4. QuestionWhat does 'even on שבת' actually permit?
  5. Responseרב ששת: he may carry a sick goat
  6. ChallengeDoes this go against רבי נתן?
  7. RejectionA sick animal is different
  8. Statementרפרם's inference: carrying rules apply to שבת but not יום הכיפורים
  9. QuestionWhat does 'even in impurity' come to teach?
  10. ResponseAn impure sender may enter the courtyard and send the goat
  11. QuestionIf the goat gets sick: רבי אליעזר sidesteps
  12. QuestionIf the sender gets sick: רבי אליעזר sidesteps again
  13. QuestionIf the goat survives the fall: רבי אליעזר sidesteps a third time
  14. StatementThe חכמים answer all three questions directly
  15. QuestionAsking about a certain man's share in עולם הבא
  16. QuestionSaving a ewe from a lion
  17. QuestionSaving the shepherd from a lion
  18. QuestionDoes a ממזר inherit?
  19. QuestionPlastering one's house
  20. ConclusionWhy רבי אליעזר did not answer
  21. QuestionA wise woman asks about the deaths after the עגל
  22. ResponseFirst view: the punishment matched how a person sinned
  23. ResponseSecond view: the punishment depended on witnesses and warning
  24. Statementשבט לוי did not worship the עגל
  25. ChallengeChallenge: a פסוק suggests that relatives of the לויים were killed
  26. ResolutionThe relatives in the פסוק were ישראלים from the mother's side
  27. StatementThe 'Babylonians' were really Alexandrians
  28. ProofA ברייתא from רבי יהודה says the same, and רבי יוסי is relieved
  29. StatementWhat 'take and go' really meant
  30. StatementImportant people escort the goat-leader, with ten booths on the way