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CHARTS FOR LEARNING THE DAILY DAF
brought to you by Kollel Iyun Hadaf of Har Nof
Rosh Kollel: Rabbi Mordecai Kornfeld
Email - daf@dafyomi.co.il
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Moed Katan Chart #2
Moed Katan Daf 6a
THE STATUS OF THE AREA BETWEEN TWO STONES
UPON WHICH ARE
MARKERS (LIME, OR "SID") INDICATING THE PRESENCE OF TUM'AH
| |
(A)
THE AREA BETWEEN
THE STONES HAS NOT
BEEN PLOWED(1) |
(B)
THE AREA BETWEEN
THE STONES HAS
BEEN PLOWED |
| 1) |
THERE IS LIME (SID)
BETWEEN THEM |
Tamei(2) |
Tamei(3) |
| 2) |
THERE IS NO LIME
(SID) BETWEEN THEM |
Excess lime: Tamei(4)
No excess: Tahor |
Tahor |
==========
FOOTNOTES:
==========
(1) "Choresh" (plowed) refers to the area between the two stones (RASHI). TOSFOS, however, has
a different Girsa which reads "Cheres." According to Tosfos, the Gemara
means that the area between the stones was also marked but not with a
bright white marker such as lime, but with a darker white such as that
of Cheres (Charsit; potsherd cement), in order to indicate that the
area between the stones does *not* contain the grave and is *not*
Tamei. This is also the Girsa of the Rambam, although he explains that
"Cheres" refers to pieces of potsherds between the stones which
indicate that the excess of lime was not meant to mark a grave between
the two stones but is leftover from a structure that was once built
between the stones and was destroyed.
(2) It is the practice of those who make markers for graves to mark the
entire area above the grave with lime. Only in a field do they mark
*around* the field, due to its large size (TOSFOS HA'ROSH).
(3) The lime between the stones indicates that a known source of Tum'ah
is certainly there. (With regard to an unquestionable source of Tum'ah,
the Chachamim were not lenient to say that it is not Metamei b'Ohel if
it was plowed over. See TOSFOS,
and Insights to 5:2).
(4) The Gemara uses the word "Merudad" which means that some of the
lime has spilled down the sides of the stones and now covers part of
the area between the stones, making it look as though the entire area
is a marker for Tum'ah. The Rishonim argue about why the area between
the two stones is Tamei when there is a spillover of lime, unless that
area is plowed over:
(a) RASHI and the RA'AVAD (Hilchos
Tum'as Mes 8:11) explain that "Choresh" means that the area between the
stones was plowed over. Since the lime does not cover *all* of the
ground between the stones, we may assume that the lime which spilled
over fell from the stones as a result of the plowing, and the only
place which is Tamei is the area directly beneath the stones.
(b) TOSFOS'
text reads "Cheres," as explained above (footnote 1). Tosfos explains
that a darker-colored cement (potsherd cement, as opposed to lime)
between the two stones indicates that the area between them is *not*
Tamei, and we may assume that the person spilled an excess of lime down
the sides of the stones so that it would fuse with the rest of the
cement and form a strong covering for the entire area, but *not* so
that it would indicate the presence of a grave in that area.
(c) The RAMBAM
(Hilchos Tum'as ha'Mes 8:11), whose text also reads "Cheres," explains
that potsherds between the stones is a sign that the abundant lime was
spilled on the stones in order to strengthen a structure that was
originally built upon the two stones, and not to indicate any grave.
The Rambam's words imply that in the presence of potsherds, the
*entire* area -- even the area beneath the stones -- is Tahor (since
the lime covered neither the stones alone nor the entire area between
the stones, but rather the stones and some of the area between them).
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