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Zevachim 100a

זבחים ק׳ ע״א

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Topic

An אונן on ערב פסח and the קרבן פסח: רב מרי's day-of-death answer fails, and אביי's before/after midday split is proven from two ברייתות.

Overview

רבי שמעון seems to contradict himself about an אונן on ערב פסח. In one place, he may not take part in the קרבן פסח. In another, he cites the rule that 'an אונן immerses and eats his קרבן פסח at night.' רב מרי answers that the first case is a death on the 14th, which is Torah-level mourning. The second is a burial on the 14th after a death on the 13th, which is only rabbinic. רב אשי shows this would make רבי שמעון's proof to רבי יהודה pointless, and the גמרא leaves רב מרי with a difficulty. אביי answers instead that it depends on whether the death was before or after midday on the 14th, since from midday the person is already fit for the קרבן פסח. The גמרא supports this from two ברייתות that seem to clash. In one, יוסף הכהן was forced to become impure for his wife on ערב פסח. In the other, a person on his way to his פסח may not become impure for a relative. The גמרא considers that the clash is just a מחלוקת between רבי ישמעאל and רבי עקיבא. It then shows that both ברייתות are רבי עקיבא's, so the before/after midday split stands.

Opening lines

לָא קַשְׁיָא;

It is not difficult;

כָּאן שֶׁמֵּת לוֹ מֵת בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר

here, it is where his relative died on the fourteenth

וּקְבָרוֹ בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר,

and he buried him on the fourteenth;

כָּאן שֶׁמֵּת לוֹ מֵת בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה עָשָׂר

there, it is where his relative died on the thirteenth

The steps (15)

  1. Resolutionרב מרי's answer: day of death versus day of burial
  2. ResolutionWhy the day matters: Torah-level versus rabbinic mourning
  3. Challengeרב אשי: רבי שמעון's proof would then make no sense
  4. ConclusionThe challenge stands
  5. Resolutionאביי's answer: before midday versus after midday
  6. ResolutionWhy midday matters: was he already fit for the פסח?
  7. QuestionWhere do we see a before-midday and after-midday split?
  8. ProofA כהן is forced to become impure for his wife on ערב פסח
  9. ChallengeA contradicting ברייתא: on the way to his פסח, he may not become impure
  10. StatementThe ברייתא continues: a מת מצוה is different
  11. ProofThe answer: one case is before midday, the other after
  12. RejectionMaybe the two ברייתות are an argument between תנאים
  13. ResolutionThe ברייתא about the נזיר is רבי עקיבא's
  14. StatementFather, mother, brother: even a very holy person buries a מת מצוה
  15. ProofThe 'ולאחותו' teaching is also רבי עקיבא's