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1)

(a) When Rabah bar Rav Ada ... Amar Rav says 'Im Nifsak Chut Me'ikro, Pesulah, he means - that if the Tzitzis tear right down to the Kanaf (leaving no G'dil), they are Pasul.

(b) When Rav Nachman repeated Rav's ruling, Rava queried it from a Beraisa, which requires the full Shi'ur only Lechatchilah, and continues 'Aval be'Sofo Sheyarav ve'Gardumav Kol-Shehu'. Rava interpreted ...

1. ... 'Sheyarav' to mean - that the Tzitzis tore at the end (leaving the G'dil intact).
2. ... 'Gardumav' - that they tore right down to the Kanaf (a Kashya on Rav).

(c) Rav Nachman refuted Rava's Kashya on Rav - by explaining 'Sheyarav and Gardumav' as one thing 'Sheyarei Gardumav' (but the G'dil must be intact).

(a) The Tana nevertheless needed to mention 'Sheyarav', to teach us - that the Gardumin require a Shi'ur (as we learned earlier).

(b) And 'Kol-Shehu' means - 'K'dei Le'anvan' (enough to tie a knot, as we learned earlier).

(a) Rabah in the name of Rav rules - that the thread that one uses to wind round the other threads (to form the G'dil) is included in the eight threads of Tzitzis.

(b) When Rabah quoting Shmuel, said 'Techeiles she'Karach Rubah, Kesheirah' - he meant that if one arranged two-thirds of the Tzitzis as G'dil and one third, P'sil (instead of the other way round), the Tzitzis are Kasher.

(c) And by 'Techeiles' he meant 'Tzitzis' (something which Chazal often do).

(a) Rav Yosef disagreed with Rabah over the authorship of both of his statements. He attributed the first statement to Shmuel, the second to Rav.

(b) In fact, it was exactly as Rav Yosef claimed, since both his statements are corroborated, the first (according to one text at least) by Rabah bar bar Chanah, and the second by Rav Huna.

(c) Rebbi Chiya b'rei de'Rav Nasan adds two details to Rav Huna ... Amar Rav's quotation. When he gives one Chulya as the minimum Shi'ur for the G'dil, he means - three K'richos (windings).

(d) As 'Noy T'cheiles' (the ideal way of arranging the Tzitzis) he prescribes - one third G'dil and two-thirds P'sil.

(a) The Beraisa gives the minimum Shi'ur G'dil as seven K'richos, and the maximum as thirteen; seven - corresponding to the seven Heavens (leading to Hashem's Throne); thirteen - to include the six spaces between the seven Heavens.

(b) The connection between the Mitzvah of Tzitzis and the seven Heavens - is based in the Mitzvah of Techeiles, as Chazal have said 'Techeiles resembles the sea, which resembles the sky ... , as we shall see later in the Perek.

(c) According to another Beraisa, the first and last K'richah are done with a Lavan thread; the first K'richah - because of the D'rashah "ha'Kanaf", 'Miyn ha'Kanaf' (as we already explained); and the last - because the Lavan is more Kadosh than the T'cheiles, and we have a principle 'Ma'alin ba'Kodesh ve'Lo Moridin' (so we conclude the Mitzvah by rising from T'cheiles to Lavan).

(d) The reason for the Minhag to arrange five knots (and consequently four Chulyos) in our Tzitzis - is based on Chazal's comparison of Tzitzis to all the Mitzvos. Consequently, seeing as the numerical value of Tzitzis (the way it is pronounced) is six hundred, plus the eight threads, which add up to six hundred and eight. To this, we add the five knots, to make up the total number of Mitzvos (Taryag).

6)

(a) What was unusual about ...

1. ... the garment of the man who once walked past Rabah bar bar Chanah and Rav was - the fact that it was made entirely of Techeiles.
2. ... the same man's Tzitzis was - that they consisted entirely of G'dil.

(b) Rav commented that ...

1. ... his garment - was beautiful, but ...
2. ... his Tzitzis were not (because they require also P'sil [i.e. Anaf - loose threads]).

(c) Rabah bar bar Chanah maintained - that both the garment and the Tzitzis were beautiful.

(d) Rabah bar bar Chanah reconciled the two Pesukim "*Gedilim* Ta'aseh Lach" and "Ve'nasnu ... *P'sil* Techeiles" - by explaining that 'either one or the other' is required (but not both).

(a) According to Rav, both are necessary, and the reason the Torah writes "Gedilim" (in the plural) - is to teach us that one requires, not just two threads (as would have been implied by 'G'dil'), but four (before entering them into the hole in the Kanaf and doubling them over).

(b) We conclude 'Asei Gedil u'Pasleihu mi'Tocho', which means - either that the thread which one uses for winding should be one of the four threads, or that the P'sil should hang from the G'dil, and not vice-versa.

(a) We permit Sha'atnez on a linen garment (Sadin be'Tzitzis) - on the grounds that the Techeiles must consist of wool.

(b) The problem with Shmuel's ruling permitting even the Lavan to be made of wool too - is that seeing as one has the option of using linen Tzitzis, surely that is what he ought to do, in order to fulfill the specification of "ha'Kanaf", 'mi'Miyn ha'Kanaf'.

(c) We nevertheless permit it - on the grounds that seeing as the Techeiles threads render the linen garment Yotzei, the white Lavan threads will, too.

(d) We ask what the Din will be in the reverse case, whether one may also at tach linen Tzitzis to a woolen garment. This might be permitted - based on the Pasuk "Lo Silbash Sha'atnez, Tzemer u'Fishtim Yachdav. Gedilim Ta'aseh Lach", we compare Pishtim to Tzemer. Just as the latter renders linen garments Yotzei, so too, will the former render woolen garments Yotzei.

(a) We resolve this She'eilah from a statement of Rachbah Amar Rav Yehudah, who permitted attaching ...

1. ... woolen Tzitzis on to a linen garment and vice-versa.
2. ... Tzitzis of wool (for Techeiles) and linen (for Lavan) on to silken garments.

(b) The basis of Rav Yehudah's latter ruling is - the fact that silk is Chayav Tzitzis min ha'Torah. Otherwise, it would be Kil'ayim she'Lo be'Makom Mitzvah.

(a) Rav Nachman disagrees with Rav Yehudah. In his opinion, silken garments of four corners - are Patur from Tzitzis.

(b) When Rava queried Rav Nachman from ...

1. ... a Beraisa which specifically obligates a garment of silk or of Chalach or Sarikin (by-products of silk), he replied - that the Chiyuv is only mi'de'Rabbanan.
2. ... the Seifa 've'Chulan Tzemer u'Pishtim Potrin Bahem' - he interpreted the Beraisa to mean 'O Tzemer O Pishtim' but not both together).

(c) The Beraisa rules in the Seifa that Tzitzis made of silk - render Yotzei silken garments exclusively.

(d) We attempt to prove from there that silken garments are indeed only Chayav mi'de'Rabbanan (like Rav Nachman) - because (we think) mi'd'Oraysa, only woolen and linen Tzitzis may be used (seeing as the Torah juxtaposes "Tzemer u'Pishtim" next to "Gedilim Ta'aseh Lach".

(a) We refute this proof however, with a D'rashah of Rava. To reconcile "ha'Kanaf", 'Miyn Kanaf' with "Tzemer u'Pishtim", Rava learns - that wool and linen Tzitzis may be used on any kind of garment, whereas Tzitzis made of any other kind of material may only be used on a garment of the same material (mi'd'Oraysa).

(b) Rav Nachman however, learns like Tana de'Bei Rebbi Yishmael. Even though the Torah writes "al Kanfei Bigdeihem" S'tam, Tana de'bei Rebbi Yishmael learns that it refers exclusively to wool and linen garments - from a 'Binyan-Av' from Nega'im (Tzara'as Begadim) that it is confined to garments of wool and linen.

(c) Abaye cites another Tana de'Bei Rebbi Yishmael. The Beraisa learns from the word "O" ("be'Veged Tzemer O be'Veged Pishtim") - that Nig'ei Begadim extends even to a garment made of the hair of camels, hares or goats, silk or the by-products of silk.

(d) Abaye extrapolates from there - that Tana de'Bei Rebbi Yishmael seems to contradict himself (and in the second place, to support Rava's opinion).