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Shevuos 3
1) [line 1] ZAKAN (HASHCHASAS ZAKAN)
(a) It is forbidden by a Lav in the Torah for a Jewish male to remove any of
the five "corners" of his or another Jewish male's beard with a razor, as
the verse states, "...v'Lo Sashchis Es Pe'as Zekanecha." - "...nor shall you
mar the corners of your beard." (Vayikra 19:27). One who transgresses this
prohibition is liable to Malkus. From the word "Tashchis," Chazal learn that
the prohibition only includes shaving with a razor (Makos 21a), since only a
razor leads to Hashchasah (destruction) of the hair.
(b) The Rishonim argue as to which exact sections comprise the "corners" of
the beard that are included in this prohibition. The current practice is not
to shave any part of the beard with a razor.
(c) The prohibition of Hashchasah applies both to the person shaving and to
the one being shaved, if he helps the shaver (by moving his head to the
correct position). It is prohibited to shave the beard of a male minor as
well. This prohibition does not apply to a woman who is shaved by a man or
who shaves the beard of a man. (The prohibition, however, does apply to the
man who is being shaved by a woman.) (RAMBAM Hilchos Avodah Zarah 12:7; see
Nazir Chart #13)
2a) [line 10] AIDI D'ZUTRIN MILAIHU, PASIK SHARI LEHU - since its Halachos
are few, he (the Tana) stopped [discussing the Halachos of Shevu'os and]
freed himself of them (the Halachos of Yedi'os ha'Tum'ah) [first] (RASHI,
PARDES YITZCHAK)
b) [line 11] V'HADAR TANI SHEVU'OS DI'NEFISHAN MILAIHU - and afterwards
taught [the Halachos of] Shevu'os, the Halachos of which are many
3a) [line 21] SE'ES V'SOLADTAH - [the mark of Tzara'as named] "Se'es,"
[which is the color of white newborn lamb's wool,] and its Toldah (lit.
offspring), [the mark of Tzara'as that is the color of the membrane on the
inside of an eggshell]
b) [line 21] BAHERES V'SOLADTAH - [the mark of Tzara'as named] "Baheres,"
[which is the color of snow,] and its Toldah (lit. offspring), [the mark of
Tzara'as that is the color of the plaster that was used to whitewash the
Beis ha'Mikdash] (see Background to Shevuos 2:4, Nig'ei Vasar)
3b---------------------------------------3b
4) [line 4] MALKUS
(a) It is a Mitzvah to administer the punishment of Malkus Arba'im (Torah
lashes) to one who is liable to Malkus, as the Torah states, "v'Hipilo
ha'Shofet v'Hikahu" - "and the judge shall cast him down and whip him"
(Devarim 25:2). Malkus d'Oraisa are administered in Eretz Yisrael by a court
of three judges who are Semuchin (Halachically ordained), whether the Beis
ha'Mikdash stands or not (RAMBAM Hilchos Sanhedrin 16:2). Courts outside of
Eretz Yisrael can administer only Makas Mardus (Rabbinic lashes, see
Background to Kidushin 70:32).
(b) A person is only liable to Malkus Arba'im if he transgresses a *Lav* (a
negative commandment) of the Torah that is not "modified," such as a Lav
shebi'Chelalos (see Background to Nazir 38:20), a Lav she'Nitak l'Aseh (see
below, entry #13), etc. A prohibition that is implied by a positive
commandment is never punishable by Malkus. In addition, in order to be
liable he must transgress in front of witnesses after receiving a proper
warning.
(c) Malkus are administered in numbers of three, with a maximum amount of
thirty-nine for each transgression. The culprit is examined to determine how
many lashes he can withstand. He stands leaning against a post and his
clothes are ripped until his heart is revealed. The agent of Beis Din, a
Torah scholar who is specifically weak, stands on a rock behind him,
whipping one third of the lashes on his chest and two thirds on his back,
one third on each shoulder (Makos 22b).
(d) During the whipping, the most distinguished judge of the court reads the
verse "Im Lo Sishmor La'asos Es Kol Divrei ha'Torah ha'Zos... v'Hifla HaSh-m
Es Makoscha..." - "If you will not be careful to perform all the words of
this Torah... then HaSh-m will make your blows extraordinary..." (Devarim
28:58-59). For each blow, the deputy judge counts out loud the number of
each lash and a third judge calls out "Hakehu!" - "Whip him!" If the culprit
dies from the lashing, the agent of Beis Din is exempt from any punishment.
However, if he administers an extra lash due to a mistake in the count, and
the extra lash causes the culprit to die, he must go to Galus (exile, see
Background to Makos 7:10).
(e) Our Gemara answers that it is possible that the author of the Mishnah is
Rebbi Yishmael if we consider that the liability mentioned refers to Malkus
in a case of intentional transgression, rather than to the Korban Oleh
v'Yored in a case of unintentional transgression. Rebbi Yishmael rules that
a person who intentionally utters a Shevu'as Bituy lishe'Avar (referring to
an event of the past) is liable to the punishment of Malkus. As such, the
condition of "Shtayim she'Hen Arba" can be met (see Background to Shevu'os
2:1:f).
5) [line 6] SHEVU'AS SHEKER / SHEVU'AS SHAV
(a) SHEVU'AS SHAV - It is forbidden to swear in vain, as the Torah states,
"Lo Sisa Es Shem HaSh-m Elokecha la'Shav" (Shemos 20:7). There are four
types of oaths that are in vain:
1. a false oath about something known; e.g. that a marble pillar is made of
gold
2. a true oath about something known; e.g. that a stone is a stone
3. an oath to transgress a Mitzvah
4. an oath which is impossible to keep; e.g. not to sleep for three days or
not to eat for seven days.
(b) If a person swears in vain b'Mezid he receives lashes. If he swears
b'Shogeg he does *not* bring a Korban (SEFER HA'CHINUCH Mitzvah #30).
(c) SHEVU'AS SHEKER - It is forbidden to swear falsely, as the Torah states,
"v'Lo Sishav'u vi'Shemi la'Shaker" (Vayikra 19:12). Chazal learn that this
verse is referring to the topic of Shevu'as Bituy (see Background to Shevuos
2:1 and SEFER HA'CHINUCH Mitzvah #227).
(d) In general, the difference between a Shevu'as Shav and a Shevu'as Sheker
is that a Shevu'as Shav is instantly known to be in vain as soon as the
person swears, while a Shevu'as Sheker is not known to be a false Shevu'ah
at the moment the person swears, but only afterward. When a person takes a
false oath about the past, it is not always instantly known that the oath is
false. Similarly, it cannot be known that an oath about the future will be
false.
6a) [line 8] "LO OCHAL" V'ACHAL - [a person swears that] "I will not eat,"
and then he eats [in violation of his oath]
b) [line 9] "OCHAL" V'LO ACHAL - [a person swears that] "I will eat," and
then he does not eat [in violation of his oath]
7) [line 9] LAV SHE'EIN BO MA'ASEH
A Lav she'Ein Bo Ma'aseh is a negative commandment that is transgressed
without performing any action. The Tana'im argue (Makos 4b et al.) as to
whether or not one receives lashes for this type of Lav.
8) [line 13] HALACHAH KI'SETAM MISHNAH - Rebbi Yochanan rules that the
Halachah follows the opinion in a Mishnah that is recorded anonymously
("Stam," from the word "Sasam" - "to conceal")
9) [line 20] HASRA'AS SAFEK - a warning that is in doubt
(a) If a person transgresses a Lav for which the punishment is the death
penalty or lashes, he can only be put to death or lashed if he has been
given a proper Hasra'ah (warning). The warning must be, "Abstain, because
this action is prohibited and you will be punished with the death penalty or
lashes for doing it," or something to that effect. If the warning is,
"Abstain, because this action *might be* prohibited..." it is called
Hasra'as Safek. If it turns out that a transgression was done, the Amora'im
argue as to whether Malkus may be administered.
(b) For example, witnesses warn a person who was slaughtering a Korban
Pesach, "Do not slaughter that Korban, since you may own Chametz." Even if
he did possess Chametz at the time, he does not receive Malkus according to
the opinion that Hasra'as Safek is not a Hasra'ah, since the witnesses did
not warn him that he *was* about to transgress a prohibition; rather, they
warned him that he *might* transgress a prohibition.
10) [line 21] SETAMA ACHARINA ASHKACH - he found another Stam Mishnah (that
contained the opinion that Lav she'Ein Bo Ma'aseh *Ein* Lokin Alav)
11) [line 23] HA'MOSIR BA'TAHOR (KORBAN PESACH: NOSAR)
(a) If any meat of a Korban remains after the time that was allotted for it
to be eaten, it is termed "Nosar" and it must be burned. With regard to the
Korban Pesach, the verse states, "Do not leave any of it (i.e. the Korban
Pesach) over until the morning. Anything that is left over until the morning
must be burned in fire" (Shemos 12:10). The repetition of the phrase "until
the morning" signals that the verse is referring to the mornings of two
different days, and can be understood as follows: "Do not leave any of the
Korban Pesach over until the morning (which is Yom Tov). If anything *is*
left over, on the *following* morning (which is Chol ha'Moed), it must be
burned."
(b) The Torah warns us four times not to allow the meat of a Korban to
remain past the time during which it may be eaten, each of which is counted
as an individual Mitzvah. The first three apply to specific Korbanos (Korban
Pesach, in Shemos 12:10 and SEFER HA'CHINUCH Mitzvah #8; Korban Pesach
Sheni, in Bamidbar 9:12 and Sefer ha'Chinuch Mitzvah #382; the Chagigah that
is brought with the Pesach, in Devarim 16:4 and Sefer ha'Chinuch Mitzvah
#486). The fourth time this prohibition is written is with regard to the
Korban Todah (Vayikra 7:15 and 22:30), which serves as the source for the
prohibition of leaving over meat from *any* Korban after the allotted time
(Sefer ha'Chinuch Mitzvah #142). (The Minchas Chinuch 8:5 suggests that the
latter Lav applies even to the three Korbanos for which the Isur of Nosar is
written explicitly; however the Acharonim reject his suggestion based on the
Gemara in Zevachim 36a.)
12) [line 23] HA'SHOVER BA'TAMEI (KORBAN PESACH: SHEVIRAS ETZEM)
(a) It is a Mitzvah for all Jews to offer a Korban Pesach on the fourteenth
of Nisan in the afternoon, as it states in the Torah, "and the whole
assembly of the congregation of Yisrael shall slaughter it towards evening."
(Shemos 12:6). The Pesach is an unblemished male lamb or goat within its
first year that is roasted in its entirety.
(b) An adult (who was Tahor and was not far from the Beis ha'Mikdash on the
fourteenth of Nisan) who willfully did not offer the Korban Pesach is liable
to the Kares punishment.
(c) In order to eat from the Korban Pesach, a person must be "appointed" to
the Korban before it is slaughtered. This appointment is called "Minuy."
Each Pesach must have appointed to it people who are able to eat at least a
k'Zayis of the meat on the night of the fifteenth of Nisan. The Korban is
sacrificed in the name of all the people who were appointed for that
specific Pesach animal. The people appointed to the Pesach then eat at least
a k'Zayis of the Pesach together in a "Chaburah." (Some Tana'im maintain
that a single Pesach may be split into many Chaburos eating in different
places -- Pesachim 86a.) No bones of the Pesach are allowed to be broken
(Shemos 12:46).
(d) The verses limit the people who are permitted to eat the Korban Pesach.
Nochrim, people who are Tamei and men who are uncircumcised are prohibited
from eating the Korban Pesach (Shemos 12:43-44).
13) [line 30] BA HA'KASUV LITEN ASEH ACHER LO SA'ASEH (LAV HA'NITAK L'ASEH)
(a) A Lo Sa'aseh she'Nitak l'Aseh describes a negative commandment (Lo
Sa'aseh or "Lav") that is followed by a positive commandment (Aseh)
instructing us what to do if the Lav was transgressed. Usually, the Aseh is
an action that is performed to correct the Lav. For example, the Torah
states, "Lo Sigzol" - "You shall not steal" (Vayikra 19:13); if someone
transgresses this prohibition, the Torah tells him to correct his misdeed,
"ve'Heshiv Es ha'Gezeilah" - "He shall return the stolen object" (Vayikra
5:23).
(b) At times the Aseh follows the Lav (e.g. Temurah -- Vayikra 27:10 and
Nosar -- see above, entry #11) and at times it is found in a different
Parsha altogether (e.g. Gezel).
14) [line 32] "LO SOSIRU MIMENU AD BOKER VEHA'NOSAR MIMENU AD BOKER BA'ESH
TISROFU." - "Do not leave any of it (i.e. the Korban Pesach) over until the
morning. Anything that is left over until the morning must be burned in
fire." (Shemos 12:10)
15) [line 35] LO MIN HA'SHEM HU ZEH - the reason that you (Rebbi Yehudah)
gave is not the main reason for this Halachah (RASHI)
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