[5a - 43 lines; 5b - 16 lines]

1)[line 1]îáúé òøé çåîäBATEI AREI CHOMAH

Batei Arei Chomah are houses from a city that was walled at the time of Yehoshua's conquest of Eretz Yisrael. If a person sold a house in one of the Arei Chomah, the Torah gives him the right to purchase it back within one year of selling it. If he does not buy it back during that time, it becomes the permanent property of the buyer.

2)[line 8]îùåí ëåáã âîéøMISHUM KOVED GAMIR- is learned to determine the amount of time that passed before Avshalom's hair became heavy

3)[line 15]"îéîéí éîéîä úìëðä áðåú éùøàì ìúðåú ìáú éôúç äâìòãé àøáòú éîéí áùðä""MI'YAMIM YAMIMAH TELACHNAH B'NOS YISRAEL LE'SANOS L'VAS YIFTACH HA'GIL'ADI, ARBA'AS YAMIM BA'SHANAH" - "Each year, the daughters of Yisrael would go to mourn for the daughter of Yiftach ha'Gil'adi, four days in the year." (Shoftim 11:40) (YIFTACH'S DAUGHTER)

(a)See Background to Ta'anis 4:16.

(b)Others translate "le'Sanos" as "to talk to (and comfort) her." According to this interpretation, Yiftach did not kill his daughter but sent her to live alone the life of a hermit, and her friends would visit her once a year for four days to console her in her misery.

(c)One of the saddest (and most incomprehensible) aspects to this story is the fact that Pinchas was alive at that time, who could have annulled Yiftach's Neder, but Yiftach refused to go to Pinchas because he considered it below his dignity to do so, while Pinchas maintained that since Yiftach needed him, it was up to Yiftach to come to him. Both parties seem to have transgressed the Lav of "Lo Sa'amod al Dam Re'echa."

4)[line 18]æå äéà ùéáä æå äéà áéàäZU HI SHIVAH, ZU HI VI'AH (NIG'EI BATIM - Tzara'as that infects houses)

(a)The marks of Tzara'as for houses consist of intense green or intense red streaks or spots that are at least the size of two Gerisin (a Gris is a Cilician bean, approximately the size of a dime) (Nega'im 12:3). If Tzara'as is found on the walls of a house, it is put into quarantine by a Kohen for a week. Before the Kohen puts the house into quarantine, he commands that the house be emptied of its contents to prevent its utensils from becoming Tamei.

(b)The Torah states (Vayikra 14:39) "v'Shav ha'Kohen," to prescribe that the Kohen return six days later to check the house. If the Tzara'as has spread, one must remove (Choletz) the stones with Tzara'as from the house, scrape off the surrounding plaster, insert new stones and re-plaster the entire house. The house is then put into quarantine for another week. If the Tzara'as returns to the house during the following week, the owner must dismantle (Notetz) the entire house (Vayikra 14:45). The stones from the house must be taken out of the city, and they remain Asur b'Hana'ah forever.

(c)On the other hand, if the Tzara'as did not change after the first week, the Kohen leaves it as is and returns again six days later. The verse states (Vayikra 14:44) "u'Va ha'Kohen," which means "if, when the Kohen comes back to the house to inspect it a second time, he finds that the spot of Tzara'as has spread, the house is Tamei." Chazal teach that this verse is referring to a spot of Tzara'as that does not spread during its first week. The Kohen "comes back to the house" after a second week to see whether the spot has spread, remains, or has disappeared. If the Tzara'as has either spread or remained, one must remove (Choletz) the stones with Tzara'as from the house, scrape off the surrounding plaster, insert new stones and re-plaster the entire house. The house is then put into quarantine for another week (Vayikra 14:40). If the Tzara'as returns to the house during the following week, the owner must dismantle (Notetz) the entire house (Vayikra 14:45). The stones from the house must be taken out of the city, and they remain Asur b'Hana'ah forever.

(d)Even though the words "v'Shav" and "u'Va" are not identical, they are referring to the same action; namely, the Kohen entering the house to inspect it. This relates the two verses to each other with a Gezeirah Shavah. Just as the house is not dismantled if the Tzara'as spreads during the first week - unless the stones are scraped and the Tzara'as returned to the house after a week of quarantine - so, too, the house is not dismantled if the Tzara'as spread during the second week unless it returns to the house after the quarantine period that follows the scraping.

(e)If, during one of the inspections at the end of the first or second week, the Kohen finds that the Tzara'as has disappeared or diminished in intensity such that it can no longer be classified as a Nega, the location of the spot alone is scraped and the house is declared Tahor after the owner follows the procedure for being Metaher houses (see Background to Sukah 13:11:IV). (RAMBAM Hilchos Tum'as Tzara'as 15:2)

5)[line 27]îàé àéëà áéðéä ìùàø àçåäé?MAI IKA BEINEI L'SHE'AR ACHOHI?- In what way was Avshalom different from his brothers [who would have a haircut every Erev Shabbos because they were the children of kings]?

6)[line 28]áàîöò ùáúB'EMTZA SHABBOS- in the middle of the week

7a)[line 30]öôøàTZAFRA- morning

b)[line 31]ôðéàPANYA- [towards] evening

5b----------------------------------------5b

8)[line 11]ðòùä ëàåîø ùìéîéïNA'ASEH K'OMER SHELEIMIN- that is, the Rabanan decreed that a Nazir must always observe a 30-day period of Nezirus (and not just 29 days as the Torah requires, according to Bar Pada) out of concern that we will confuse a Nazir that specified a 30-day period of Nezirus in his original Nazir-vow with a normal Nazir (and we will mistakenly allow the former to observe only 29 days of Nezirus). (TOSFOS)

9)[line 12]î÷öú äéåí ëëåìåMIKTZAS HA'YOM K'CHULO

The rule of Miktzas ha'Yom k'Chulo states that part of the last day of a finite term (e.g. the thirty days of Nezirus or the seven days of mourning), is considered Halachically as if it were the entire day.

10)[line 14]áàåîø ùìéîéïB'OMER SHELEIMIN- that is, when a person vows to observe "a thirty day Nezirus," it is as if he specified that he will observe the last day of Nezirus until sunset. The reason for this is that a normal Nezirus last thirty days in either case. Therefore, the Nazir would not have specified thirty days in his vow unless he meant to add some length to a normal Nezirus, e.g. by not having the beginning of the thirtieth day count as an entire day (that is, by not relying on "Miktzas ha'Yom k'Kulo"). (TOSFOS)