Zevachim 79a

זבחים ע״ט ע״א

Learn Zevachim 79a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Two answers to a contradiction in רבי יהודה's view on ביטול (nullifying one liquid in another), and רבא's summary of the three ways a mixture is judged: by taste, by majority, and by appearance.

Overview

Just before this, the גמרא found a contradiction in רבי יהודה's view. In the משנה, he says the מי חטאת in a bucket dipped in a מקוה are nullified once most of the water is from the מקוה. But in a ברייתא, he says white wine mixed with water is not nullified. The first answer is that one ruling is רבי יהודה's own view, and the other repeats his teacher רבן גמליאל, who held that a liquid is not nullified by the same kind of liquid. רבא gives a different answer: the bucket was impure only on the outside, so by Torah law any bit of water is enough, and the stricter rule is only a rabbinic safeguard. רבא then sums up the three ways to judge a mixture: by taste, by majority, and by appearance. Next the גמרא notes that רבי אלעזר disagrees with ריש לקיש's earlier view, holding that forbidden items do not cancel each other, just as מצוה items do not. The source for the idea about מצוות is הלל, who ate the קרבן פסח, מצה and מרור wrapped together.

Opening lines

The steps (8)

1. ResolutionOne ruling is רבי יהודה's own, the other is his teacher's
2. ProofProof that רבן גמליאל holds same-kind liquids do not cancel each other
3. Resolutionרבא: the bucket was impure only on the outside
4. ResolutionWhy חכמים required more, and why a majority is enough
5. Statementרבא's three rules for judging mixtures
6. Statementרבי אלעזר: Forbidden items do not cancel each other
7. QuestionWho holds that מצוות do not cancel each other?
8. ResponseIt is הלל, who ate the פסח, מצה and מרור together