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Gitin 6
GITIN 6 - has been generously dedicated by Rav BenZion Spitz of Alon Shvut
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1) [line 1] KEN KOLMOSA - (a) the *making* of the feather or reed stylus
that is used by scribes in writing scrolls of scriptures or Gitin (RASHI,
1st explanation); (b) the scratching *sound* of the stylus as the scribe is
writing letters on the parchment (there are those who have the Girsa *KAL*
or *KOL* KOLMOSA -- see TOSFOS RID) (RASHI, 2nd explanation)
2) [line 1] KEN MEGILASA - (a) the *making* of the parchment that is used by
scribes upon which to write scrolls of scriptures or Gitin (RASHI, 1st
explanation); (b) the rustling *sound* of the parchment when it is moved as
the scribe is writing upon it (there are those who have the Girsa *KAL* or
*KOL* MEGILASA -- see TOSFOS RID) (RASHI, 2nd explanation)
3) [line 12] INISH ACHARINA ASHKECHEI V'AMAR LEI - another man [whose name
was exactly like the name of the man in the Get that he was writing] found
him [while he was out in the marketplace] and told him [to write a Get for
*his* wife] (either the wives also had the same names or else the scribe had
gone out after writing the husband's name but had not begun to write the
name of the wife -- YT)
4) [line 19] MESIVTA - an established Yeshivah
5a) [line 30] HU MOSIV LAH - he asked the question
b) [line 31] V'HU MEFAREK LAH - and he himself answered it
6) [line 31] L'VAR MI'BAVEL - except for Bavel
7) [line 32] K'MACHLOKES L'YUCHASIN - just like the argument [as to the
borders of the land of Bavel] with regard to unsullied lineage (the Gemara
Kidushin 71a states that those people who live in Bavel are at a standard of
unsullied lineage that is even higher than that of the people of Eretz
Yisrael)
8) [line 34] ARBA TINYANA D'GISHRA - the second lake or marsh below the
bridge over the Euphrates (the *western* border of Bavel for Gitin -- RASHI
to Kidushin 72a)
9) [line 35] AKTISFON - Ctesiphon, a city on the Tigris River that is now in
ruins, identified with Resen (Bereishis 10:12, Yoma 10a). It was the capital
of Parthia (an ancient country of Northeast Iran) and the Parthian Empire,
and afterwards of the Sassanid Empire. (According to the TARGUM YERUSHALMI
and the MIDRASH, Kalneh, which is mentioned in Bereishis 10:10, is
Aktisfon.)
10) [line 36] BEI ARDESHIR - Weh-Ardashir or Ardjir, formerly Seleucia,
ancient city of Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). Seleucia was founded by King
Seleucus I, one of the generals of Alexander the Great, sometime after 311
BCE, on the west bank of the Tigris River northeast of Babylon, which was
despoiled to supply materials for its construction. Controlling the
navigation of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as well as the commerce of
Mesopotamia, the city rapidly rose to wealth and splendor, becoming a famous
center of Hellenistic civilization. When in the 2nd century BCE Mesopotamia
came under the rule of Parthia, Seleucia continued as a great commercial
city and in the 1st century CE had a population of 600,000. The city was
partly burned by the Roman emperor Trajan in 116 CE, and in 164 CE it was
completely destroyed by the Roman general Avidius Cassius in his campaign
against the Parthians. The destruction of Seleucia marked the end of
Hellenistic civilization in Mesopotamia. Ardashir I, king of the New Persian
Empire (224-241 CE) and founder of the Sassanid Dynasty, built Weh-Ardashir
on the ruins of Seleucia.
11) [line 40] SHUKA - marketplace
12a) [line 42] ARSA - a row of houses
b) [line 43] SHECHUNAH - a three-house "neighborhood"
13) [line 46] MECHOZA - Mechoza, a large Jewish trading town on the Tigris
River
14) [line 46] NAIDEI - they are mobile; they are constantly away from their
homes on business and do not recognize the signatures of their neighbors
15) [line 46] MISHTA'I - related [the following incident about Rav Kahana]
6b---------------------------------------6b
16) [line 6] KEFAR SISA'I - a Nochri town in Eretz Yisrael between Ako and
Tzipori
17) [line 8] SHE'LO SIZAKEK L'EDIM - so that the woman will not need to find
witnesses to validate her Get if her ex-husband contests it
18) [line 23] D'SALKEI V'NACHASEI - (lit. who go up and go down) who travel
between Eretz Yisrael and Bavel
19) [line 24] BAR SAMCHA - a reliable person (source)
20) [line 28] SHIRTUT/SIRTUT - ruling, marking lines; etching or marking
lines into the parchment as a guide for writing straight (a requirement when
writing more than three words of the Torah)
21) [line 32] LECHAYEI - it is good, understandable [that you are
challenging his authority]
22) [line 32] GEMARA - a tradition that he received from his teacher
23) [line 33] D'ASKIM MAREI AL YADEI - whose Master (HaSh-m) revealed to him
a correct interpretation of an incident in the Scriptures
24) [line 33] VA'TIZNEH ALAV PILAGSHO (PILEGESH B'GIVAH - The Concubine of
Giv'ah)
(a) A civil war ensued after the tribe of Binyamin sympathized with certain
men from the city of Giv'ah who performed abhorrent acts with the concubine
of a Levi. The Levi dissected her dead body and sent the limbs to all of the
tribes of Benei Yisrael to protest the iniquity. The apathy of the men of
the tribe of Binyamin and their unwillingness to root out the evil in their
midst caused Benei Yisrael to gather together and swear that no one would
give their daughters to the men of Binyamin as a wife. They then waged war
against the tribe of Binyamin, with confidence that they would achieve
victory and avenge the iniquity.
(b) HaSh-m, however, caused Benei Yisrael to incur huge losses in the first
two battles of the war because of various sins of lack of faith, first and
foremost their unwillingness to avenge the honor of HaSh-m regarding Pesel
Michah (the idol constructed by Michah -- see Shoftim 17-18). After they
repented, He let them vanquish Binyamin to the extent that only six hundred
men remained from the entire tribe of Binyamin. The other tribes regretted
the loss and sought to find wives for these men, to rebuild their tribe. The
events of this tragic time in Jewish history are recorded in Shoftim 19-21.
(c) Our Gemara is discussing the events that preceded the civil war. The
Amora'im argue as to why the Levi, who was a resident of Har Efrayim, became
angry with his concubine (a fact that is not clear from the verses) such
that she ran away to her father's house in Beis Lechem for four months.
After he traveled to her father's house and appeased her, she consented to
return to their home. The abominable acts of the men of the tribe of
Binyamin were performed when they were forced to spend the night in the town
of Giv'ah on their way back from Beis Lechem to Har Efrayim.
25) [line 34] ZEVUV - a fly
26) [line 34] NIMA - a hair
27) [line 40] EIMAH - fear, dread, terror
28) [last line] IM CHASHEICHAH - before sunset
29) [last line] ISARTEM? - Did you tithe the produce [that we will eat on
Shabbos]? (KOVE'A L'MA'ASER)
(a) Every fruit (or other produce) that must be tithed may not be eaten
b'Achilas Keva (as a normal meal) before its Terumos and Ma'asros have been
removed or designated. It may, however, be eaten b'Achilas Ara'i (as a
"snack," not as a meal) until it becomes "Hukba l'Ma'aser" (designated for
tithing) through an action that demonstrates the final preparation of the
fruit for eating. After it is Hukba l'Ma'aser, it is forbidden to eat even
b'Achilas Ara'i before the tithes are separated.
(b) Seven actions can designate fruits as Hukba l'Ma'aser:
- Pickling the fruit
- Dipping the fruit in salt
- Starting to prepare the fruit to be eaten through heating (cooking, roasting, etc.)
- Designating the fruit to be eaten on Shabbos
- Separating Terumah from the fruit
- Bringing the fruit into the owner's yard
- Bringing the fruit to the market for sale
(c) The Amora'im question whether these actions designate the fruit as Hukba
l'Ma'aser even if they have not reached the stage of "Nigmerah Melachtan" or
only if they have reached the stage of "Nigmerah Melachtan." Nigmerah
Melachtan means that the fruit has reached the final stage of preparation
for which it is normally grown, such as removing the chaff from grain in the
field and making it into an evened pile ("Miru'ach") and squeezing
wine-grapes for wine. With regard to bringing the fruit into the owner's
yard (#6 above, "Chatzer"), all agree that the fruit becomes Hukba l'Ma'aser
only after it has reached the stage of Nigmerah Melachtan.
30) [last line] ISARTEM? (MA'ASER)
(a) After a crop is harvested and brought to the owner's house or yard, he
must separate Terumah from the crop and give it to a Kohen. Although the
Torah does not specify the amount to be given, the Rabanan set the
requirement at one fiftieth of the total crop.
(b) After Terumah is removed from the produce, the first tithe to be given
every year is called Ma'aser Rishon; one tenth of the produce must be given
to a Levi.
(c) A second tithe is given every year after Ma'aser Rishon has been
separated. The tithe that is separated in the third and sixth years of the
7-year Shemitah cycle is called *Ma'aser Ani* and is given to the poor.
(d) The tithe that is separated during the first, second, fourth and fifth
years is called *Ma'aser Sheni*. The Torah requires that Ma'aser Sheni be
brought and eaten by its owner in Yerushalayim.
(e) Alternatively, Ma'aser Sheni produce may be redeemed, in which case the
money used to redeem it is brought to Yerushalayim. If the owner himself
redeems the produce, he must add an additional *fifth* (of the ensuing
total, or a *quarter* of the original value). The food that is bought with
this money in Yerushalayim becomes Kodesh like Ma'aser Sheni and must be
eaten b'Taharah. Ma'aser Sheni that was redeemed by anyone besides the owner
is exempt from the additional fifth.
31) [last line] ERAVTEM? - Did you make an Eruv Chatzeiros? (ERUV
CHATZEIROS)
(a) THE TORAH LAW - According to Torah law, in a courtyard (Chatzer) that
has in it houses owned by different people, all of the neighbors may
transfer objects from their houses to the courtyard and into other houses on
Shabbos. Even though each house is a separately owned Reshus ha'Yachid and
the Chatzer is a jointly owned Reshus ha'Yachid, it is permissible to move
objects from one Reshus ha'Yachid to another.
(b) ERUV CHATZEIROS AND SHITUFEI MAVO'OS - King Shlomo decreed that
transferring objects from one Reshus ha'Yachid to another is forbidden
unless an *Eruv Chatzeiros* (lit. a mixing of the courtyard, Rambam Hil.
Eruvin 1:6; or fraternization of the courtyard, Eruvin 49a) is created on
Friday, before Shabbos begins (Shabbos 14b, Eruvin 21b). The equivalent of
an Eruv Chatzeiros for an alley or a city is called a *Shituf Mavo'os*. This
is accomplished by all of the neighbors collectively setting aside a loaf of
bread, in one common container, in one of the houses of the courtyard (or,
in the case of Shituf, in one of the courtyards of the alleyway). This shows
that all neighbors have an equal share in all of the Reshuyos ha'Yachid,
just as they all have a share in that bread. Through this act, they can be
considered one Reshus again. (RAMBAM ibid. 1:4-9)
32) [last line] HADLIKU ES HA'NER - Please light the candles
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