[4a - 38 lines; 4b - 57 lines]
1)[line 1]ã÷åøéà ùì öôøéíDAKURYA SHEL TZIPORIM- (a) (O.F. rest - a string or rope) a string or rope upon which slaughtered birds are strung (RASHI); (b) a basket of slaughtered birds (TOSFOS)
2)[line 1]÷åèòKOTE'A- he cuts off
3)[line 13](ñéîï îëðé''ñ àéæî''ì áæëøé''í)(SIMAN MACHNI"S IZME"L BI'ZECHAR''IM)- this is a mnemonic device that stands for a word from the three Sugyos stated by Rav Menashe in our Masechta (this is the Girsa of the DIKDUKEI SOFRIM #6; in Avodah Zarah 30b the Girsa should be Rav Ashi - Dikdukei Sofrim to Avodah Zarah #3), as follows:
1.Machnis refers to "Amar Rav Menashe b'Machnisan Tachas Kenafav..." (line 13)
2.Izmel refers to "Amar Rav Menashe b'Izmel she'Ein Lo Karnayim..." (Daf 31a, line 19, according to the Girsa of the DIKDUKEI SOFRIM #10)
3.bi'Zecharim refers to "Amar Rav Menashi [Rav Menashe] Hani Dichrei d'Ganvei Ganavei..." (Daf 51a, line 43) (the word "Zecharim" in Aramaic is "Dichrei")
4)[line 14]áîëðéñï úçú ëðôéåB'MACHNISAN TACHAS KENAFAV- when he puts them (all of the birds) under the folds [of his cloak so that the Kusi does not know from which bird the head came]
5)[line 16]îîñîñ ìéä îñîåñéMEMASMES LEI MASMUSEI- he minces it up
6)[line 17]àéï ùçéèä ìòåó îï äúåøäEIN SHECHITAH L'OF MIN HA'TORAH
(a)The laws of Shechitah (proper ritual slaughter) that permit an animal to be eaten were handed down to us through a Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai (Chulin 28a, based on Devarim 12:21).
(b)There is a Machlokes as to whether these laws apply to birds as well. Those who maintain that the Torah (and the Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai) does not require that a bird be slaughtered learn this from the verse that states, "and he shall spill its blood" (Vayikra 17:13), which implies that spilling alone is sufficient (Chulin 27b). Even according to this opinion, a bird is permitted by the Torah only if it is killed by a person with a blow that severs the trachea or esophagus (RASHI to Chulin 27b DH Ein Shechitah).
7a)[line 18]äâøîäHAGRAMAH- to cut the Simanim (the trachea and the esophagus) such that part of the cut "slants" above the point that delimits the part of the neck upon which Shechitah may be performed.
b)[line 18]òé÷åøIKUR- to "rip out" the Simanim from the neck and then cut them. Similarly, one may not cause the Simanim to tear during Shechitah, such as by cutting them with a dull blade.
8)[line 21]îöú ëåúéMATZAS KUSI - the Matzah baked by a Kusi
9)[line 27]ìà á÷éàé áùéîåøLO BEKI'EI B'SHIMUR (SHIMUR MATZAH)
(a)The Torah states, "You shall guard the Matzos" (Shemos 12:17), teaching that during the production of Matzos, one must watch (or "guard") the wheat to prevent it from becoming Chametz (leavened) for the sake of the Mitzvah of Matzah. The Gemara (Pesachim 40a) discusses the extent to which Matzah must be watched from becoming Chametz. One opinion suggests that it must be watched from before the time that it is kneaded. The Gemara (ibid.) concludes that no proof can be brought that Matzah must be watched from before kneading. Nevertheless, Rava taught that when cutting the grain in the fields and tying it into bundles, people should have in mind that they are doing it for the sake of the Mitzvah of Matzah.
(b)The RIF rules that the Shemirah must be done from the time that the grain is cut, based on what Rava told the people.
(c)The SHE'ILTOS (Parshas Bo) writes that from the moment the wheat comes in contact with water, it must be watched from becoming Chametz. The ROSH confirms this opinion and says that where he lives there is always water found in the vicinity of the mills where the flour is ground, and therefore the practice is to watch the wheat from the time that it is ground into flour.
(d)The RAN adds another reason to watch the flour from the time that it is ground. Rava said that watching it from the time of kneading is not sufficient Shemirah; one must watch it from before the time that it is kneaded. Therefore, one must watch it from the time of grinding. This might be the opinion of RASHI in Chulin (Daf 7a) as well, who mentions that we watch the flour from the time of grinding.
(e)The ROSH (to Pesachim 2:26) rules that it is enough to have Shemirah from the time of kneading, because the proof of Rava was not established as conclusive. Even the Rif and the others who say that the flour should be watched before kneading, only mean that it is proper to watch it then, but not that it is obligatory. That is, if one does not watch it from the time that it is cut, the Matzah is still Kosher for fulfilling the Mitzvah to eat Matzah.
(f)All three opinions of the above opinions are cited by the SHULCHAN ARUCH (453:4). L'Chatchilah, one should watch the wheat from the time that it is cut in order to fulfill the Mitzvah of Matzah in the most ideal way, as the Rosh writes. If one is unable to watch it from that time, then b'Di'eved he should watch it from the time of grinding, or at least from whenever it comes near water. In extenuating circumstances, one may fulfill the Mitzvah with Matzah that was watched only from the time of kneading.
10)[line 30]àéëà áéðééäå ãëúéáà åìà àçæé÷å áäIKA BEINAIHU DI'CHESIVA V'LO ACHZIKU BAH- they differ with regard to a Mitzvah that is written in the Torah, but we have not verified that they are careful to keep this Mitzvah (RASHI)
11)[last line]çîöï ùì òåáøé òáéøä àçø äôñçCHEMTZAN SHEL OVREI AVEIRAH ACHAR HA'PESACH (CHAMETZ SHE'AVAR ALAV HA'PESACH)
There is a Machlokes Tana'im with regard to Chametz that was in the possession of a Jew during Pesach. Rebbi Yehudah rules that this Chametz is prohibited to eat and is Asur b'Hana'ah (to derive benefit from it) mid'Oraisa. Rebbi Shimon rules that it is prohibited to eat and is Asur b'Hana'ah due to a Gezeirah d'Rabanan.
4b----------------------------------------4b
12)[line 1]îôðé ùäï îçìéôéïMIPNEI SHE'HEN MACHLIFIN- since they exchange [their Chametz she'Avar Alav Es ha'Pesach for that of the Nochrim]
13)[line 11]òøìAREL- someone who is uncircumcised. The Gemara states that this refers to a person who is a Mumar l'Arlus (see next entry)
14)[line 14]îåîø ìòøìåúMUMAR L'ARLUS- a Jew who, of his own volition, refuses to circumcise himself
15)[line 20]ëéåï ããù áéä ëäúéøà ãîé ìéäKEIVAN D'DASH BEI K'HETEIRA DAMI LEI- since he has become accustomed to it (eating Neveilos), it is considered to him like permitted food
16)[line 21]îåîø ìòáåãú ëåëáéíMUMAR L'AVODAS KOCHAVIM - a person who worships Avodah Zarah (AVODAH ZARAH)
(a)Avodah Zarah is the term for a Pesel (an idol or graven image) or anything such as the sun or the moon, or even a person, which people mistakenly believe is an independent power with G-d-like attributes, which they worship and to which they pray. It is prohibited to do even the most minute action that demonstrates the ascendancy of Avodah Zarah. Avodah Zarah is one of the three cardinal sins about which we are commanded, "Yehareg v'Al Ya'avor" - "One should be killed rather than transgress." (The other two are Giluy Arayos - forbidden relations and Sheficus Damim - murder. But see RAMBAM Hilchos Yesodei ha'Torah 5:1-4.)
(b)The prohibition against serving Avodah Zarah is one of the Ten Commandments, "Lo Yiheyeh Lecha Elokim Acherim Al Panai. Lo Sa'aseh Lecha Fesel v'Chol Temunah... Lo Sishtachaveh Lahem v'Lo Sa'ovdem..." - "You shall not possess any foreign gods, ever (lit. in my presence). You shall neither make for yourself a graven image nor any likeness of that which is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the water beneath the earth. You shall not prostrate yourself to them nor worship them for I am HaSh-m, your G-d..." (Shemos 20:3-5).
(c)A person who serves Avodah Zarah b'Mezid (intentionally) is liable to the Kares punishment. If he received the proper warning and witnesses saw his action, he is liable to Sekilah (stoning). A person who worships Avodah Zarah b'Shogeg (unintentionally) is liable to offer a Korban Chatas (RAMBAM Hilchos Avodas Kochavim 3:1). A person who makes an idol or other Avodah Zarah, even for a Nochri, is liable to Malkus (lashes) (Rambam ibid. 3:9). Any adult Nochri can annul an idol made for or served by a Nochri (Avodah Zarah 43a), while an idol made for or served by a Yisrael can never be annulled.
(d)Many rites were invented for specific forms of Avodah Zarah. If a person serves an Avodah Zarah with a rite specific to it, he is Chayav as above, (c). If one serves an Avodah Zarah with a rite that was intended for another Avodah Zarah, he is exempt from punishment. However, the verses show that a person who performs the services of Zibu'ach (sacrificing an animal), Kitur (burning incense), Nisuch (pouring a libation) and Hishtachava'ah (bowing down) is Chayav, whether it is specific to the Avodah Zarah or not (Sanhedrin 60b, see Rambam ibid. 3:3). The prohibition against Avodah Zarah is included in the seven Mitzvos Benei Noach, the seven commandments in which all of humanity is obligated (see Background to Avodah Zarah 46:4).
17a)[line 27]"... åéæáç ìå àçàá öàï åá÷ø ìøåá, åìòí àùø òîå, åéñéúäå ìòìåú àì øîåú âìòã""[VA'YERED L'KETZ SHANIM EL ACHAV L'SHOMRON], VA'YIZBACH LO ACHAV TZON U'VAKAR LA'ROV, VELA'AM ASHER IMO, VA'YESISEHU LA'ALOS EL RAMOS GIL'AD" - "[After several years, he (Yehoshafat) went down to Achav in Shomron.] Achav slaughtered for him and for the people who were with him many sheep and cattle, and he persuaded him to go up to [battle against] Ramos Gil'ad" (Divrei ha'Yamim II 18:2) (Achav and Yehoshafat Go to War to Recapture Ramos Gil'ad)
(a)Although Yehoshafat was a Tzadik, he took Achav's daughter as a wife for his son Yehoram. This friendship with the wicked king caused him to be punished when all his ships sank in the sea.
(b)Yehoshafat agreed to accompany Achav to Ramos Gil'ad, an area which Yisrael had established as theirs in the days of Moshe Rabeinu, but had never actually inhabited, leaving others to take possession of it (or perhaps they had inhabited it, but others had captured it from them).
(c)Achav, together with Yehoshafat, went there with an army to recapture it from Aram. This endeavor was not destined to succeed; HaSh-m had planned that the ensuing confrontation with Aram would lead to the death of Achav as a punishment for his treatment of Navos, whose vineyard he had taken by force and whom he subsequently had killed (see next entry).
b)[line 27]àçàáACHAV
(a)Achav ben Omri was one of the wicked kings of the ten tribes of Yisrael (Melachim I 16:29 - 22:40, Divrei ha'Yamim II 18:1-34). Although he united the people and was successful in battle, he filled the land with idol worship and sins that angered HaSh-m like no one before him had ever done (ibid. 16:30-33). Eliyahu was told to inform Achav, the wicked king of the ten tribes of Yisrael, that he will be punished for the murder of Navos ha'Yizre'eli, his relative. Achav greatly desired the vineyard of his relative Navos ha'Yizre'eli. His wicked queen Izevel devised a sinister plot in which false witnesses were hired to testify that Navos had blasphemed Hash-m and deserved the death penalty. Navos was executed and Achav inherited his vineyard. Hash-m held Achav responsible for the murder, and He notified Achav through Eliyahu ha'Navi that "where the dogs licked the blood of Navos shall the dogs lick your blood" (Melachim I 21:19). The time had arrived for Divine retribution to be meted out upon Achav for this and his many other sins (ibid. Chapter 21).
(b)Achav's advisors advocated going to war with Aram (Melachim II 22). The king's false prophets, including Tzidkiyah ben Kena'anah, predicted Achav's victory. Concurrently, the true prophet Michaihu beheld a vision in which the spirit of Navos offered to entice Achav into the battle that would lead to his doom. It was this spirit that was responsible for the false prophecies of victory.
(c)Achav took the advice of his false prophets and went to war against Aram, where he alone was slain in battle. Although he was later buried, much of his blood was indeed lapped by dogs in the very place where Navos had been executed.
18)[line 31]"ëé éñéúê àçéê...""KI YESISCHA ACHICHA..."- "If your brother, [the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or your wife, or your friend, who is as dear to you as your own soul,] entices you [secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which you have not known, you, nor your fathers]" (Devarim 13:7) - The Gemara explains that the enticement was brought about when the instigator fed the person whom he tried to entice.
19)[line 32]áàëéìä åáùúéäB'ACHILAH UVI'SHESIYAH- this refers to giving him food (meat) to eat and wine to drink
20)[line 32]"... åúñéúðé áå ìáìòå çðí""... VA'TESISEINI VO L'VAL'O CHINAM"- "... he is still holding strong to his wholesomeness, and you persuaded Me to destroy him for no reason" (Iyov 2:3) - At the beginning of the story of Iyov, the Satan asks HaSh-m permission to entice Iyov to sin. HaSh-m lets him, and Iyov, at first, proves true to HaSh-m, even though the Satan caused him to suffer greatly. In this verse, HaSh-m chastises the Satan for his disbelief in the righteousness of Iyov.
21)[line 33]ìîòìä ùàðéL'MA'ALAH SHANI- events that refer to [HaSh-m] on high are different (where eating and drinking do not apply)
22)[line 38]ñúí ééðïSTAM YEINAM
23)[line 43]åãìîà òåáãéä æáçV'DILMA OVADYAH ZAVACH- but perhaps it was Ovadyah who slaughtered the animals. Ovadyah was an Edomite convert, who served as the steward in the house of King Achav of Yisrael. He perfected himself to the extent that he became a prophet. His prophecy is recorded as Sefer Ovadyah, one of the books of the Trei Asar, which deals with the downfall and destruction of Edom (Esav).
24)[line 46]"åäùàøúé áéùøàì ùáòú àìôéí, ëì äáøëéí àùø ìà ëøòå ìáòì...""V'HISH'ARTI B'YISRAEL SHIV'AS ALAFIM KOL HA'BIRKAYIM, ASHER LO KAR'U LA'BA'AL..." - "And I will leave in Yisrael [only] seven thousand [men,] all knees that have not kneeled to the Ba'al..." (Melachim I 19:18) (HaSh-m Informs Eliyahu of the Impending Downfall of Achav)
(a)Shortly after his confrontation with the prophets of Ba'al, Eliyahu ha'Navi was overcome with a powerful sense of zealousness against Izevel and those who continued to serve idolatry, and he requested from HaSh-m to take him from this world.
(b)HaSh-m would comply, although not in the conventional manner. Rather than take "his soul from his body" as Eliyahu had requested, He took him alive into Gan Eden.
(c)Before taking him from this world, HaSh-m presented Eliyahu with three last missions to fulfill in this world: to crown Chaza'el as king of Aram, to crown Yehu ben Nimshi as king of Yisrael, and to appoint his disciple Elisha ben Shafat as his successor. These three missions were all related, as the previous verse states: "Those who will escape from the sword of Chaza'el, Yehu will slay, and those who will escape from the sword of Yehu, Elisha will slay."
(d)These assignments were HaSh-m's response to Eliyahu's request to avenge His honor (as HaSh-m informed him in this verse).
(e)We do not find that Elisha killed anyone other than the 42 children who came out of the forest and insulted him (see Background to Bava Metzia 87:26). The RADAK explains that the verse refers to the Resha'im that he rebuked, and who were subsequently slain by the sword, who are considered to have been killed by Elisha himself.
25)[line 47]èîåøé äåå îéèîøé îàéæáìTEMUREI HAVU MITAMREI ME'IZEVEL- they were hiding from Izevel [so that she would not have them killed, and would not come out in the open to slaughter animals for Yehoshafat]
26)[line 49]"îåùì î÷ùéá òì ãáø ù÷ø, ëì îùøúéå øùòéí""MOSHEL MAKSHIV AL DEVAR SHAKER, KOL MESHARSAV RESHA'IM"- "A leader who listens to falsehood, all of his servants are wicked" (Mishlei 29:12).