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Yoma 80a

יומא פ׳ ע״א

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Topic

The source of the Torah's eating and drinking measures: כביצה for טומאת אוכלין, the Sinai origin of measures, and the cheekful measure for drinking on יום הכפורים

Overview

A ברייתא teaches that almost every eating measure in the Torah is a כזית. The exception is טומאת אוכלין, where the measure is a כביצה, and יום הכפורים is brought as a parallel case: the פסוק says ״לא תעונה״, and the measure is a ככותבת. The גמרא first tries to learn the כביצה from 'food that comes from food,' a chicken egg. That approach runs into challenges about other foods and about bigger and smaller eggs. רבי אבהו then gives his own source: food eaten at one time, and the throat holds no more than a chicken egg. רבי אלעזר advises someone who eats חלב today to write down the amount, in case a future בית דין changes the measures, and the גמרא works out what 'increase the measures' means. רבי יוחנן teaches that the measures of punishments are הלכה למשה מסיני; the court of יעבץ only restored measures that had been forgotten. Finally, the גמרא explains the משנה's drinking measure, מלא לוגמיו, as one cheek that looks like a full mouth. It defends this reading against a ברייתא, and רב הושעיא's challenge about בית שמאי and בית הלל continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

כׇּל הַשִּׁיעוּרִין כּוּלָּן בִּכְזַיִת,

All the measures, all of them, are an olive-size,

חוּץ מִטּוּמְאַת אוֹכָלִין,

except for the impurity of foods,

שֶׁשִּׁינָּה הַכָּתוּב בְּמַשְׁמָעָן,

for the verse changed its wording about them,

וְשִׁינּוּ חֲכָמִים בְּשִׁיעוּרָן.

and the Sages changed their measure.

The steps (35)

  1. StatementAll eating measures are an olive, except impure food
  2. QuestionHow Yom Kippur shows changed wording and a changed measure
  3. QuestionWhy bring Yom Kippur as extra proof?
  4. ResponseWithout Yom Kippur we would dismiss the wording as style
  5. QuestionWhere do we learn the egg-size for impure food?
  6. ResponseFood that comes from food: a chicken egg
  7. ChallengeWhy not a young goat?
  8. ResolutionA goat still needs שחיטה
  9. ChallengeWhy not a בן פקועה?
  10. ResolutionA בן פקועה still needs cutting
  11. ChallengeWhy not the giant egg of a בר יוכני?
  12. ResolutionWhen unsure, take the smaller amount
  13. ChallengeThen why not a tiny bird's egg?
  14. Resolutionרבי אבהו's own source: food eaten in one swallow
  15. StatementOne who eats forbidden fat should write down the amount
  16. QuestionWhat does it mean to increase the measures?
  17. ChallengeAn offering is brought only if knowing would have stopped him
  18. ResolutionA future court may require a larger olive
  19. QuestionHow did the first reading explain the word 'increase'?
  20. ResponseMore offerings because of the measures
  21. StatementMeasures and punishments come from Sinai
  22. ChallengePunishments are written in the Torah
  23. ResolutionThe measures for punishments are from Sinai
  24. ProofA ברייתא supports רבי יוחנן
  25. StatementThe court of יעבץ set the measures
  26. ChallengeA נביא may not add new laws
  27. ResolutionForgotten and then restored
  28. Statementשמואל defines the drinking measure as one cheek that looks like a full mouth
  29. ChallengeThe משנה's wording seems to mean a real cheekful
  30. ResolutionRead the משנה as 'like a cheekful'
  31. ChallengeA ברייתא has בית הלל say 'a cheekful' as a separate view from 'like a cheekful'
  32. ResolutionRead the ברייתא the same way as the משנה
  33. ChallengeThen בית הלל and רבי אליעזר would say the same thing
  34. ResolutionThey differ over a 'tight' cheekful
  35. Challengeרב הושעיא: this would make בית הלל stricter than בית שמאי