[56a - 54 lines; 56b - 52 lines]
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We recommend using the textual changes suggested by the Bach and the marginal notes of the Vilna Shas. This section is devoted to any other important corrections that Acharonim have pointed out in the Gemara and Rashi.
[1] Rashi 56b (to the Mishnah) DH Ba'in ã"ä áàéï:
This should be DH ha'Ba'in ã"ä äáàéï
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1)[line 11]îúòâì åéåöàMIS'AGEL V'YOTZEI- it builds up inside the body until it eventually comes out
2)[line 18]çåæø åðáìòCHOZER V'NIVLA- it is re-absorbed by the body
3)[line 24]ùìãå ÷ééîúSHILDO KAYEMES- and its remains (which are mostly ashes) have retained the shape of the body
4)[line 31]äðé æáåâé ãîçåæàHANEI ZEVUGEI D'MECHOZA- (O.F. froit, bot) those toads of Mechoza
5)[line 34]îèìéú äîäåäàMATLIS HA'MEHUHAH- a worn-out cloth (which can no longer be used, and is therefore no longer Mekabel Tum'ah)
6)[line 50]îáåéMAVOY- an alley
7)[line 50]ùòú ëáåãSHE'AS KIBUD- the last time that it was swept
56b----------------------------------------56b
8)[line 8]ñèøàSITRA- at the edge (where there are folds and stitches)
9)[line 22]àí ðãçä îøàéúåIM NIDCHAH MAR'ISO- if its color became fainter
10a)[line 25]î÷ãéøMAKDIR- (O.F. trestrest) penetrates
b)[line 26]îâìéãMAGLID- forms a coating
11)[line 30]àîøèåèé àéîøèèIMARTUTEI IMARTET- (a) it would have broken up into pieces (TOSFOS HA'ROSH); (b) it would have lost its hair (ME'IRI)
12)[line 34]ëåúéíKUSIM (KUSIM, SAMARITANS)
(a)The King of Ashur brought the people of Kusa to Eretz Yisrael and made them settle in the Shomron (Melachim II 17:24). They converted to Judaism after they found themselves under attack from lions (ibid. 17:25-28). The Chachamim disagree as to whether their conversion was honest and valid (Geirei Emes) or not (Geirei Arayos - converts because of lions).
(b)After the times of the Mishnah, the Kusim were found worshipping an image of a dove and the Chachamim gave them the status of Nochrim. (According to most Rishonim, this means that they decided to treat them like Nochrim l'Chumra, even if they were Geirei Emes. According to the RAMBAM (Peirush ha'Mishnayos), however, this means that they decided that their conversion was not sincere and deemed them Nochrim (Geirei Arayos) for all Halachic matters.)
(c)The Kusim kept many Mitzvos of the Torah down to their last detail. For example, Matzos that were baked by the Kusim, besides being perfectly free of Chometz, were fit to be used for the Mitzvah d'Oraisa of eating a k'Zayis of Matzah Shemurah on the Seder night (Tosefta Pesachim 2:2, Kidushin 76a). As is evident from another Sugya (Chulin 3a), they were also meticulous with regard to Shechitah. However, there were other Mitzvos that they did not keep at all. For example, the Kusim did not refrain from causing others to sin (which is prohibited by the verse, "Lifnei Iver Lo Siten Michshol" - "You shall not put a stumbling block before the blind" — Vayikra 19:14). They interpreted this verse literally, stating that it only applies to a stumbling block, and only before the blind.
(d)One of the Halachos about which the Kusim were not careful was the requirement of Kidushin (betrothal) before marriage. Kidushin forms a bond of husband and wife that is only severed by a Get (bill of divorce), but Kusim would not give their wives a Gitin when they wanted to terminate their marriages. It is possible that one Kusi affected Kidushin with a woman and another Kusi married her before she received a Get from her first husband, a situation that led Chazal to fear that many of their offspring might be Mamzerim (RASHI to Yevamos 37a).
(e)The Chachamim decreed that the daughters of the Kusim have the status of Nidos from birth. TOSFOS (Nidah 32a, DH Rebbi Meir) explains the disagreement of Rebbi Meir and Rebbi Yosi as to the nature of the decree. According to Rebbi Yosi, the Rabanan gave Benos Kusim the status of Nidos in order to prevent Jews from mingling with them. According to Rebbi Meir, the Rabanan gave them the status of Nidos from an early age because the Kusim did not accept the Torah Law that a one-day-old girl becomes a Nidah through a discharge of blood, and we suspect every Bas Kusi of having had a discharge of blood. See Insights to Nidah 31:2.
(f)Our Mishnah records another Halachah
of the Kusim. If garments with Kesamim (bloodstains) are found in the open in the cities of the Kusim, Rebbi Meir and the Chachamim argue as to their status. Rebbi Meir rules that the Kesamim are Teme'im, since the Kusim are not careful to hide garments with Kesamim, as is the custom in Klal Yisrael. The Chachamim rule that the Kesamim are Tehorim, as in the cities of Yisrael, since the Kusim are careful to hide garments with Kesamim.
13)[line 41]ëåúéí âøé àîú äïKUSIM GEREI EMES HEN- that the Kusim are authentic converts
14)[line 41]ëåúéí âøé àøéåú äïKUSIM GEREI ARAYOS HEN- that the Kusim only converted out of fear of the lions and their conversion was invalid
15)[line 43]äðîöàéï áòøé éùøàìHA'NIMTZA'IN B'AREI YISRAEL- the Kesamim that are found in the open in Jewish cities
16)[line 44]àöðåòé îöðòé ìäåATZNU'EI MATZNE'EI LEHU- and they hide them
17)[line 47]áéú äèîàåúBEIS HA'TEME'OS- a room used by women exclusively when they are Nidos
18)[line 49]âåøøúåGORARTO- drags it away
19)[line 51]ðàîðéí òì öéåï ÷áøåúNE'EMANIM AL TZIYUN KEVAROS- they are trusted to mark gravesites
20)[line 51]ìà òì äñëëåú åìà òì äôøòåúLO AL HA'SECHACHOS V'LO AL HA'PERA'OS (TUM'AS OHEL: SECHACHOS / PERA'OS)
(a)A k'Zayis of the flesh of a Mes (corpse) is an "Avi Avos ha'Tumah" and is Metamei through Maga (contact), Masa (carrying), and Ohel (being in the same room (lit. tent). An Ohel is defined as a covered space that is at least one Tefach in length, width and height.
(b)When an object that can be Metamei b'Ohel is located in an Ohel, the Ohel makes everything in it Tamei and protects anything that is above it from becoming Tamei. That is, an Ohel is Mevi Tum'ah (spreads Tum'ah inside of it) and is Chotzetz from Tum'ah (intervenes between the Tum'ah and the space above the Ohel, preventing Tum'ah from spreading above it).
(c)However, not all objects that cover Tum'ah are Mevi and Chotzetz. There are objects that are Mevi and not Chotzetz and other objects that are Chotzetz and not Mevi and even others that are neither Mevi nor Chotzetz (Ohalos 8:5). An object that is flying through the air, such as a bird or a Talis that is carried or caught up by the wind, is not an Ohel and is not Mevi or Chotzetz, even if it is one Tefach wide.
(d)A space that is less than a Tefach in length, width and height, is not considered an Ohel. Tum'as Mes in such an area is called "Tum'ah Retzutzah" (smashed or squashed Tum'ah) or "Tum'ah Temunah" (hidden Tum'ah). Such Tum'ah does not spread throughout the enclosure, but is Boka'as v'Olah, Boka'as v'Yoredes, i.e. it "breaks through" (Boka'as) the enclosure and goes straight up and straight down, as if it were in the open air. Similarly, if a grave has less than a Tefach of space between the body and the ceiling of the grave, the Tum'ah inside it is Tum'ah Retzutzah. The Tum'ah is Metamei everything that is above it within the boundaries of the Tum'ah (until it reaches something that is Chotzetz, thus keeping it inside an Ohel) and below it.
(e)Most graves have a space of a Tefach between the body and the ceiling of the grave (Berachos 19b). If the grave is completely sealed on all sides, it is called a "Kever Sasum." The Tum'ah inside it fills the entire Kever and is likewise Boka'as v'Olah, Boka'as v'Yoredes until something is Chotzetz above it. A grave that has an open space of a Tefach at the side is not a Kever Sasum, and the Tum'ah within it is prevented from rising above the ceiling of the grave (Ohalos 3:7). In this case, the Tefach above the body is Chotzetz.
(f)Sechachos describe the situation of trees that are next to the road to a cemetery. It may happen that bodies are buried under these trees if the funeral procession was not able to reach the cemetery before dark. In a situation when it is known that certain branches of a tree hang over a grave ("Mesache'ach Al ha'Kever"), but it is not known which ones, the Kusim are not believed to report which branches have no grave under them.
(g)Pera'os describe a similar situation to Sechachos except that the objects that are creating the Ohel are stones protruding from a wall ("Mufra'os," "wild [unevenly placed stones]"). The Kusim are likewise not believed to say which stones have no grave under them.
21)[last line]áéú äôøñBEIS HA'PRAS
(a)Beis ha'Peras is a general term referring to a field or an area that the Rabanan decreed to be treated as though it were Tamei, in certain respects. The Mishnayos in Ohalos (18:1-4) explain that there are three specific types of Beis ha'Peras:
1.A field in which a grave was plowed over, scattering the bones in all directions. Such a field may be planted with trees, but not with vegetables or grains. Its earth can make a person Tamei through Maga or Masa.
2.A field (that is a Reshus ha'Rabim; TOSFOS to Kesuvos 24b; RASH to Ohalos 18:3) in which a grave is known to exist but it became lost and cannot be located. In such a field, trees may not be planted but vegetables or grains may be planted. It can make a person Tamei through Ohel (and according to some Girsa'os, through Maga and Masa as well).
3.A field on the edge of a town where a corpse was brought [and mourned] before burial. Such a field may neither be planted nor sown with vegetables or grains (but its earth is not Tamei if removed from its place). There are a number of reasons why the Rabanan might have made such a field Tamei:
i.Part of a corpse may have become dislodged and fallen there (RASHI to Moed Katan 5b DH Mishum Ye'ush) [or that an entire corpse may have inadvertently been left behind there - MEIRI ibid.].
ii.Alternatively, since a corpse is commonly found there, the Rabanan instituted that the area not be sown or planted, so as not to attract people to the area who will become Teme'im and spread Tum'ah. (PERUSH HA'MISHNAYOS of the Rambam to Ohalos 18:4)
iii.The prohibition against planting or sowing such a field has nothing to do with Tum'ah whatsoever. Rather, it involves a question of ownership. Since the community has made it their practice to mourn for and eulogize the dead in this field and the original owner did not protest this practice, he loses all rights to the land. The former owner cannot later decide to plant the field and deny the community the right to use it as a place for public mourning. (RITVA, RASH to Ohalos 18:4 and many Rishonim — see VILNA GA'ON to Choshen Mishpat 377:2)
(b)The Bartenura offers three explanations as to why the word "Peras" was used to describe these fields: 1. Tum'ah spreads (Pores) out in all directions from the field; 2. Bones that are broken (Perusim) are strewn in the field. (These first two explanations only apply to the first of the three types of Beis ha'Peras mentioned above, 1); 3. People's feet (Parsos) stay away from the area because of its Tum'ah.
(c)In the first type of Beis ha'Peras (a field with a burial plot that has been plowed), the Rabanan decreed that the field is Metamei in every direction from the grave for the length of the furrow of a plow, which is 50 Amos. This results in an area 100 Amos by 100 Amos around the grave (RASH to Ohalos 17:1). The Rabanan instituted a way to remove the Tum'ah from the area that was plowed (in certain cases) by blowing the dirt of each section of the field to check for small pieces of bone.