1)

(a)In Rebbi's time, they wanted to declare Bavel 'Iysah' to Eretz Yisrael (like Rav Yehudah Amar Shmuel). Rebbi was unhappy about that - because he was a descendant of Hillel ha'Bavli (and such a statement would place his own family's Yichus in jeopardy).

(b)Besides 'a dough', Iysah might mean - the sediment of grapes from which all the juice has been squeezed.

(c)The findings of Rebbi Chanina bar Chama, Rebbi's emissary (quoting Rebbi Yishmael b'Rebbi Yosi quoting his father) were - 'Kol Aratzos Iysah l'Eretz Yisrael, v'Eretz Yisrael Iysah l'Bavel'.

2)

(a)The same happened in the days of Rebbi Pinchas. He decided to first teach them another Halachah before telling them 'Eretz Yisrael Iysah l'Bavel' - to keep their minds occupied, so that, when he taught them the second Halachah, they would still be busy with the first one, giving him a chance to run away (to prevent them from making any further enquiries).

(b)He specifically chose the Halachah of 'Ein Shechitah l'Of min ha'Torah' - because to them, it was a big Chidush, and was therefore bound to divert their attention from the second issue.

(c)We learn this from the Pasuk in Acharei-Mos (in connection with Kisuy ha'Dam) - "v'Shafach Es Damo" ('bi'Shefichah b'Alma').

(d)He instructed his men - that the moment he finished speaking, they should pick up his stretcher and run, since he himself was too old to run.

3)

(a)The Talmidim chased after him but could not catch him. Clearly, they were eager to discover who the Pesulim were and wanted to sift them out. When we say that they made inquiries 'Ad she'Higi'u l'Sakanah', we mean - that they began inquiring into the families of the powerful elite, and to continue with their inquiries might have had dire consequences.

(b)When Rebbi Yochanan said ...

1. ... 'Heichla, b'Yadeinu Hu!", he meant - that he knew who the Pesulim were. 'Heichla' - is an expression of Shevu'ah ('I swear by the Heichal!').

2. ... 'Aval Mah E'eseh ... ' - that although he was able to sift them out, he preferred not to, because the leaders of the generation had also intermarried into those families.

(c)The Halachic basis for remaining silent was - Rebbi Yitzchak's Halachah (quoted earlier) 'she'Mishpachah she'Nitme'ah, Nitme'ah'.

(d)Abaye proves this from a Mishnah in Eduyos, which speaks about one family which ben Tziyon rejected by force and another which he accepted by force. The Tana then adds - that it is cases such as these (where the Psul is known) that Eliyahu will need to sort out, but with regard to unknown Pesulim, this will not be necessary, because of the principle 'Mishpachah she'Nitme'ah, Nitme'ah'.

4)

(a)And the Tana of a Beraisa speaks of a family which the Chachamim knew to be Pasul, but which they did not want to publicize. So what they did instead - was to pass on its name to their children and their disciples.

(b)Some say that they would do this once every seven years. Others say - twice every seven years.

(c)Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak prefers the first version on the basis of a Tosefta in Nazir, which rules that if someone says 'Hareini Nazir Im Lo Agaleh Mishpachos' - Yiheyeh Nazir v'Lo Yegaleh Mishpachos' (which proves that the less one publicizes the Pasul Mishpachos the better).

(d)We find the same two opinions - regarding the teaching of Hash-m's four-letter Name (and there too, Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak prefers the first version).

5)

(a)Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak's basis for Darshening the correct way of pronouncing Hash-m's four letter Name once every seven years (and not twice) is the Pasuk in Shemos "Zeh Sh'mi Le'olam" - from which we Darshen 'Zeh Sh'mi l'Olam' (This is My Name, to hide it).

(b)That old man found it necessary to quote this Pasuk to Rava - to prevent him from publicizing it during his Yom Tov Derashah.

(c)In the Pasuk "Zeh Sh'mi l'Olam v'Zeh Zichri l'Dor Dor" - Rebbi Avina explains the first "Zeh" with reference to the Name of Hash-m the way it is written (Havayah) and the second "Zeh" to the way it is pronounced (Adnus), the first to be hidden, the second, to be used.

(d)When people began abusing Hash-m's twelve-letter Name - they took to teaching it exclusively to discreet Kohanim. The others would Duchen using the four-letter Name of Hash-m, and those Kohanim who knew the twelve-letter Name would say it so fast that, on the one hand, they would finish it together with the others, and on the other, they would prevent the people from picking it up.

6)

(a)Once, when Rebbi Tarfon, as a youngster, followed his maternal uncle up to Duchen - he tried to listen to the Kohen Gadol pronouncing the twelve-letter Name of Hash-m, but did not succeed, for reasons that we just explained.

(b)He went up to Duchen - because he was a Kohen.

(c)Rav Yehudah Amar Rav discusses Hash-m's forty-two letter Name. It is only taught to people who are discreet and humble and who have reached the age of thirty-five. The ...

1. ... other three requirements that are needed for a person to be eligible are - that he never gets angry, never gets drunk and forgoes the harm that others do to him.

2. ... two requirements that are needed in order to be beloved above and well-liked below are - that one knows the Name and that one is careful in its use.

(d)The other advantages that one gains from knowing the forty-two letter Name (besides the fact that people stand in awe of one) are - that one inherits both this world and the next.

7)

(a)Shmuel quoting his grandfather, declared that all families in Bavel are presumed Kosher until proven Pasul. He said that the families ...

1. ... of other lands - are presumed Pasul until proven Kosher.

2. ... of Eretz Yisrael - are divided into two groups; those that have a Chezkas Psul are Pasul, and those that have a Chezkas Kashrus are Kosher (in fact, there is a third group, as we shall now see).

(b)The discrepancy between the first and the last statements is - that the first statement implies that families that are a Safek are Kosher, whereas the last implies that they are Pasul.

(c)Rav Huna bar Tachlifa in the name of Rav answers 'Ka'an Lehasi'o Ishah, Ka'an Lehotzi Ishah mi'Yado', by which he means - that a Safek is considered Kosher (and does not require examination) if he is already married; but should he come to marry initially, he is considered Pasul (and requires examination [which will be described later]).

8)

(a)Rav Yosef determined that someone came from Bavel - if he spoke the local dialect of Aramaic.

(b)That method of determining become obsolete however - when tricksters who did not hail from Bavel began learning the dialect, in order to pass off as Bavli'im.

(c)Ze'iri declined to marry Rebbi Yochanan's daughter - because he came from Bavel, against which Eretz Yisrael (Rebbi Yochanan's place of birth) was considered Iysah.

(d)As Ze'iri was once carrying Rebbi Yochanan across the river - the latter asked him why it was that if his Torah was good enough, his daughter wasn't.

9)

(a)The basis of Rebbi Yochanan's opinion (that the Yichus of Bavel was no better than that of Eretz Yisrael) - was that, just as some Kohanim, Leviyim and Yisre'elim remained behind in Bavel, so too, did some of the Pesulim.

(b)His mistake lay in that he had not heard the statement of his Talmid Rebbi Elazar - who stated that Ezra did not leave Bavel before he had made it like refined flour.

(c)Rav Yehudah attributed the fact that his son Rav Yitzchak was still single, despite the fact that he was of eligible age - to the fact that he did not know which families had remained pure (see Agados Maharsha).

(d)Ula's response to that was - that if that was the case, how would anybody ever know how Kosher his ancestors were, as we are about to explain.

10)

(a)We reject the suggestion that Ula was referring to the Pasuk in Eichah "Nashim b'Tziyon Inu" - because according to those who hold 'Eved v'Akum ha'Ba Al bas Yisrael, ha'Vlad Kosher', there is nothing to worry about.

(b)We refer instead, to the Pasuk in Amos "ha'Shochvim Al Mitos Shein, u'Seruchim Al Arsosam". Rebbi Avahu rejects Rebbi Yosi b'Rebbi Chanina's explanation that this refers to the people who used to urinate in front of their beds naked - because such a relatively minor sin would not justify the harsh punishment that follows: ''Therefore they will go at the head of the exiles".

(c)So Rebbi Avahu (and Ula) establishes the Pasuk - by people who after eating and drinking together, join their beds, swap wives and soil their beds with semen that is not their own. Their children of course, are Mamzerim.

11)

(a)Ula finally advised Rav Yehudah - to judge the pure Yichus of a family by the extent of its ability to remain silent (to avoid entering into arguments).

(b)They would test for Yichus in Eretz Yisrael - by seeing which party would hold its tongue first.

(c)When we say 'Rav Ikla l'Bei bar Shefi (or 'le'Bei Shichla) u'Badak Behu', we mean - that Rav would examine them according to their ability to remain silent. He said 'Examine them by seeing whether they remain silent or not'.

(d)Both Rav Yehudah Amar Rav and Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi explain two feuding families that just cannot make peace with each other - as being Divinely inspired, to prevent them from intermarrying, because one of them is Pasul.

12)

(a)When Rav Papa says ...

1. ... 'Bavel B'riah' he means - that the whole of Bavel is Meyuchas.

2. ... 'Meishan Miysah' - that the whole of Meishan is Pasul.

3. ... 'Madai Choleh' - that most of Madai is Kosher (just like most sick people recover).

4. ... 'Eilam Goseses' - that most of Eilam is Pasul (just like the majority of Gos'sim die).

(b)Bavel basically lay between two rivers; the Diglas (alias the Chidekel) to the east and the Pras (the Euphrates) to the west. Eretz Yisrael was south (south-west) of Bavel. The Pras flowed - northwards from Eretz Yisrael into the Chidekel in the north-east (see Tosfos DH 'ad Heichan').

(c)According to Rav, Bavel extended in the north, to the east of the River Diglas, as far as the River Azak and to the south (of the River) until Baghdad and Avna; whereas according to Shmuel it extended further eastwards (in the north) to the River Yuni and further south to as far as Mushchani. The ramifications of their Machlokes is - whether those who lived in between were considered Kosher (regarding Yuchsin) or not.

(d)We amend the statement 've'Lo Mushchani bi'Chelal' to 'u'Mushchani bi'Chelal', because of a statement of Rebbi Chiya bar Aba Amar Shmuel - who said that Mushchani was like Bavel regarding Yuchsin.

13)

(a)Bavel in the north stretched as far as the lower Apamya - which was actually outside the border ...

(b)... whereas the upper Apamya was within.

(c)Despite the fact that the two Apamyas were no more than one Parsah apart, they would not even borrow a light from one another - upon the instigation of the upper Apamya, to ensure that they did not mix with the families of the lower Apamya.

(d)The sign to remember which Apamya is Pasul is - by bearing in mind that the latter, which was close to Meishan, spoke the Meishan language, and the families of Meishan, as we learned earlier, were Pasul, too.

14)

(a)The Western border is the River Pras, and here too, Rav and Shmuel argue over the southern extremity; Rav says 'until Akra d'Tulbanki' 'ad Gishra (the bridge) d'Bei Pras - which we initially think was further south.

(b)Rav Yosef cursed the opinion of Rav - which was too lenient (because, according to our current understanding, he sided with Rebbi Yochanan, whose opinion we shall cite shortly).

(c)That being the case - he would certainly have meant to incorporate Shmuel who is even more lenient than Rav (and it is as if he had said Rav and 'Kal va'Chomer' Shmuel).

(d)Alternatively, we explain, the position of the bridge was changed - because in fact, on this particular border, Shmuel is more stringent than Rav (and his location is further north than that of Rav). Only whereas our Kashya assumes that the bridge was to the south of Rav's location (as it was at the time of the late Amora'im, in the time of Shmuel it was further north, and it was the Persians who later moved it southwards.

(e)A third opinion is that of Rebbi Yochanan, who places the south-western extremity as the crossing of Gizma, which is further north than the opinions of Rav and Shmuel, explaining why Rav Yosef cursed the opinion of Rav, but not of Rebbi Yochanan.

15)

(a)The elite of Pumbedisa used to marry into families from Biyram - which was west of the River Pras.

(b)Rav Yosef prove to Abaye from there - that although the River Pras was generally the western border of Bavel, the border did extend slightly to its west.

(c)We do not query the status of people who lived 'below' (north of) the River Pras - because the Pras ran into the Chidekel in the north and we have already dealt with that northern area when we discussed the lower Apamya and the upper Apamya.