(a) On daf 40a: the tosefot both here and in moed katan say that the reason for wearing black and moving to a place where no one recognizes you is to do teshuva not to sin, but in haggiah the tosefot there seems to arues with reb chaim a. what exactly is that tosefot saying and b. it seem that tosefot is going against peshat in the gemara, so is there a less forced way to understand rebi aleiya's svara?
(b) Why are gets and trumah all of the sudden considered Hulin on this daf? are there other places in shas wher get's are defined as "hol"?
(c) What is the difference between a "sad ha shava" and the proff of the gemara here that we can learn out from pesach and get to trumah? why is the loshon of hada and trtie used here?
(a) There is a Machlokes between Rabeinu Chananel and Tosfos. Rabeinu Chananel does not accept that it is possible that the Chachamim allow a person to sin, and therefore he chooses the less literal reading of the Gemara, that what his heart desires means what his heart will desire after he has appeased it and his lust has passed. Tosfos accepts the more literal meaning of the Gemara, for such an explanation fits better with the Gemara in Chagiga.
(b) Throughout Shas, anything which is not Kodshim is considered Chol.
(c) They are the same. We see many times the phrase "Teisi m'Tarti," or learn from two other areas through a Tzad ha'Shaveh.
D. Zupnik
I would like to add to your comment on the gemorrah of someone dressing in black and moving to another place.
The Beis Ephraim explains that pshat in "mah shelibo rotzeh" is not that he can do what his heart desires, as in aveiros chas veshalom, but that "mah shelibo rotzeh" means that his heart actually WANTS to do what is good and yosher and that is what he will do once he relocates and "cools off."
Thanks! That seems to be exactly the intention of the Rabeinu Chananel we quoted. Here is what the Kollel wrote on the subject in Insights to Moed Katan 18:2, for a more in-depth look at this Gemara:
2) PERMISSION TO SIN
QUESTION: The Gemara quotes Rebbi Ila'i who said that if a person sees that his Yetzer ha'Ra is overcoming him, he should go to a place where nobody knows him, dress in black clothing, wrap himself in black, and then do what his heart desires, in order not to be Mechalel Shem Shamayim in public.
How could Rebbi Ila'i give permission to a person to sin?
ANSWERS:
(a) RABEINU CHANANEL explains that Rebbi Ila'i is not actually permitting a person to sin. Rather, he is referring to a person who has an urge to drink wine while listening to alluring songs in order to make himself merry in a way that will arouse his Yetzer ha'Ra to want to sin. In such a situation, Rebbi Ila'i directs to do the merry-making activities, which are not themselves sins per se, in private and dressed in black, to prevent Chilul Hash-m. Rabeinu Chananel adds that even these actions Rebbi Ila'i does not permit one to do, but rather Rebbi Ila'i is saying that by going to a foreign place and wearing black, one's heart will be humbled and his desire to engage in this merry-making activities will be broken.
(b) RASHI in the name of Rav Hai Ga'on says that Rebbi Ila'i is indeed referring to doing actual sins of immorality. He is not giving permission to do them, though. Rather, he is saying that if the would-be sinner goes to a foreign place and dresses in black, Rav Ila'i guarantees that the person will become humbled and his urge to sin will leave him.
(c) RASHI in his other explanation says that Rebbi Ila'i's words are to be taken at face value. If a person feels compelled to sin, he should do so in private so that he not be Mechalel Shem Shamayim in public. Sinning in private removes some aspect of the severity of the sin.
(d) The RIF writes that the Halachah does not follow Rebbi Ila'i, but even if a person has the urge to sin, he is not permitted to go to a far-away place and dress in black. Rather, he should make every effort to break his urge to sin, for it is certainly within his ability to refrain from sinning. We rule, as the Gemara in Berachos (33b) says, that "ha'Kol b'Yedei Shamayim, Chutz m'Yir'as Shamayim" -- "everything is in the hands of Hash-m, except for [a person's own choice to acquire] fear of Hash-m."
The Rif's words imply that he understands Rebbi Ila'i to disagree with the cardinal principle of free choice, and that is why he says that if a person is unable to choose to refrain from sinning, he should sin in private and not be Mechalel Shem Shamayim in public. How can this be? Bechirah, free choice, is the most fundamental principle of Torah observance! RAV ELCHANAN WASSERMAN raises this question and leaves it unanswered (KOVETZ MA'AMARIM 7:8 ).
Apparently, the Rif means that there are times when a person's desire is so strong that he does not have the willpower to overcome it. His level of Bechirah has fallen to such a realm that choosing not to sin in this particular sin is not part of his Bechirah (see MICHTAV M'ELIYAHU, I:2:2, p. 113), like an addiction. However, since he cannot know for certain that he is unable to overcome his urge, he must put forth every effort to overcome the desire.