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REVIEW QUESTIONS ON GEMARA AND RASHI

prepared by Rabbi Eliezer Chrysler
Kollel Iyun Hadaf, Jerusalem

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Menachos 40

1)

(a) Beis Shamai exempt a Sadin from Tzitzis.
Why is that? What is a Sadin?

(b) What do Beis Hillel say?

(c) What are the dual ramifications of their Machlokes?

(d) Why does the Tana use the expression 'Potrin' and 'Mechayvin' and not 'Osrin' and 'Matirin'?

2)
(a) Over what do Beis Shamai and Beis Hillel argue, besides woolen Tzitzis on a linen garment?

(b) Then why did he pick specifically 'Sadin be'Tzitzis'?

3)
(a) What is Rebbi Eliezer b'Rebbi Tzadok coming to teach us, when he declares that whoever attaches Techeiles (i.e. Tzitzis) to his linen garment in Yerushalayim creates a stir?

(b) Rebbi disagrees with Rebbi Eliezer b'Rebbi Tzadok.
According to him, why did the Rabbanan forbid Sadin be'Tzitzis in Yerushalayim?

(c) What right did the Rabbanan have to allow people to wear garments without Tzitzis?

4)
(a) Alternatively, Rebbi Eliezer b'Rebbi Tzadok comes to query Beis Shamai.
What does he then mean to ask when he says 've'ha'Lo Kol ha'Matil Techeiles bi'Yerushalayim Eino Ela min ha'Masmihin'?

(b) What is Rebbi then saying?

(c) What did Rava reply when Rabah bar Chanan asked him why, according to Rebbi, they did not ...

  1. ... organize ten men to go to the market-place, each wearing a Sadin be'Tzitzis (to publicize the Heter)?
  2. ... announce at the Pirka (the big Yom-Tov D'rashah, which everyone attended) that Sadin be'Tzitis is permitted? If it was not the D'rashah of Semuchin that the Chachamim were worried about, then what *were* they worried about?
5)
(a) What do we mean when we ask 've'Lo Yehei Ela Lavan'?

(b) And we answer with a statement of Resh Lakish.
What statement did Resh Lakish make regarding 'Kol Makom she'Atah Motzei Asei ve'Lo Sa'aseh? When does the Asei override the Lo Sa'aseh, and when does it not?

(c) On what grounds do we refute the current explanation of Kala Ilan? Why would the Chachamim have been unlikely to have issued such a decree?

(d) So we suggest that the decree to which Rebbi refers is that of 'Te'imah'.
What is 'Te'imah'?

(e) Alternatively, the Kashya 'Ve'livdekeih' means that whoever purchases dye for Techeiles should examine it for forgery, in which case there is no reason to worry about Kala Ilan.
What does 'Ela Gezeirah Mishum Te'imah then mean?

6)
(a) But this too, we query 've'Lichtevah a'Diski'.
What does that mean?

(b) How do we try and refute that?

(c) Rava however, upholds the Kashya of 'Diski', since we rely on 'Diski' regarding Chametz on Pesach and Yom Kipur.
What is he referring to?

(d) How does that then substantiate our previous Kashya?

Answers to questions

40b---------------------------------------40b

7)

(a) Rava explains the decree of Rebbi ('Lamah Asruhah? L'fi she'Ein Beki'in') in connection with the concern that people whose Kanaf tore, might stitch it with linen threads, leaving some of it hanging from the corner.
What were the Chachamim afraid that they may then do when attaching the Tzitzis?

(b) So what if they do?

(c) What was Rava referring to when he added that Rebbi Zeira in Eretz Yisrael agreed with him?

(d) Rav Zeira explained 'Gezeirah Mishum K'sus Laylah'.
What did he mean by that?

8)
(a) What does Rava say about a regular garment with corners of leather, or vice-versa? What is the criterion for Tzitzis, the Beged or the Kanaf?

(b) Whom did he claim agreed with him?

(c) What does Rav Acha'i say?

9)
(a) What does Rava say about attaching Tzitzis to a three-cornered garment and then cutting the garment to make a fourth corner?

(b) How will Rava then explain the Beraisa 'Chasidim ha'Rishonim she'Argu Bah Shalosh, Hayu Matilin Lah Techeiles'?

10)
(a) What does Rebbi Zeira say about attaching Tzitzis to a garment that already has Tzitzis, and cutting off the first ones?

(b) How will Rava (who holds "Ta'aseh", 've'Lo min he'Asuy') explain this?
Why is it not also "Ta'aseh", 've'Lo min he'Asuy'?

(c) On what grounds does Rav Papa query Rava's explanation?

11)
(a) How do we initially interpret Rebbi Zeira ... Amar Shmuel's statement, exempting Tzitzis from Kil'ayim, even in the case of a Talis which is Patur?
What does the final phrase mean?

(b) How does the Beraisa describe a Talis that does ...

  1. ... have a Shi'ur?
  2. ... not have the Shi'ur?
(c) The Tana adds 've'Chein le'Inyan Kil'ayim'.
What would be the ramifications of this statement, assuming he meant that the Din of Arai applies to Kil'ayim, too?

(d) How do we know that this is not what the Tana means? What does the Mishnah in Kil'ayim say about this?

12)
(a) So how does Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak explain 've'Chein le'Inyan Kil'ayim'?

(b) In light of the ruling that there is no Arai by Kil'ayim, how will we explain Rebbi Zeira's statement 'va'Afilu be'Talis Peturah'? What kind of P'tur is he referring to?

(c) But did Rebbi Zeira not already teach us 'Hitil le'Muteles, Kesheirah'?

Answers to questions

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