1)

(a)It forbidden to place more than one wheat-kernel at a time into boiling water - because we are afraid that one of the kernels will get caught in the crack of the other, thereby preventing the heat of the water (which prevents the wheat from becoming Chametz) from reaching those parts of the kernel.

(b)Abaye forbade scorching two wheat-kernels together - in case water subsequently drips from the one and enters the other, thereby causing it to become Chametz.

(c)If that was so, argued Rava, then one should even be forbidden to scorch one kernel, in case water drips out of one end and enters the other.

(d)Rava maintains that the juice of the wheat-kernel is considered fruit-juice, which is not Machmitz.

2)

(a)Abaye retracted - not because Mei Chatas Ein Machmitzin, but because liquid which falls, tends to slip off the surface but not penetrate it.

(b)We know that that is what he holds because he said that - if the jar containing the kernels that were dried in the oven, was turned upside-down (allowing any liquid to drain from the jar), then the kernels would be permitted (since water that is draining does not cause grain to become Chametz); but if the jar was standing upright, then the kernels would be forbidden.

3)

(a)Making Lesisah with barley on Pesach is prohibited. The barley becomes forbidden when it splits.

(b)Rebbi Yosi suggests that, as soon as he sees the starting to rise - one should place it in vinegar to freeze it, thereby preventing it from becoming Chametz.

(c)Mar Ukva explains that if, were one to place the barley on to a barrel, the wine would cause it to split, it is called split (with regard t our Halachah in a.)

(d)The advantage that wheat has over barley is that it is harder than barley; its disadvantage is that it has a split, whereas barley does not.

4)

(a)Since the Beraisa permits Pas Nekiyah on Pesach, and it is impossible to obtain Pas Nekiyah without Lesisah - it is clear that Lesisah on Pesach is permitted.

(b)'ha'Kemachin v'ha'Siltos shel Nochrim shel Kefarim, Tehorim' - speaks when there is no sign of Chimutz on them (i.e. neither has the dough got cracks in it, nor has it turned pale).

(c)Now why are the doughs of the gentile villagers Tahor (as opposed to the doughs of the townspeople)? Is it not because they do not make Lesisah with their flour, in which case it is not Huchshar Lekabel Tum'ah), yet the Beraisa refers to the dough as Soles ('ha'Kemachin v'ha'Siltos shel Nochrim' ...). So we see, concludes Rav Papa, that it is possible to obtain Pas Niki'ah (which is synonymous with So'les) without making Lesisah - and Rava's proof was based on the fact that it is not.

(d)Rava replied that 'shel Kefarim Tehorim' - refers exclusively to 'ha'Kemachin' (but not to 've'ha'Siltos).

5)

(a)Shmuel said that they did not make Lesisah with the wheat for the Menachos, yet the flour from which they are made, is called So'les. Rav Papa was upset that he did not query Rava from here.

(b)Rava then proves from the Pasuk in Bo "u'Shemartem es ha'Matzos" that it is even a Mitzvah to make Lesisah on the Matzos shel Mitzvah - because if not from the time of Lesisah (at the time when it is still wheat), then when should one make Shemirah (guard it from becoming Chametz)?

(c)Rav Huna says that although one is permitted to eat as many gentile doughs that show no signs of having turned Chametz, as one wishes, one must however, make sure that one eats a k'Zayis Shemurah at the end of the Seder (since one cannot fulfill the Mitzvah with them). It seems, Rava points out, that Shemirah during the last stages of preparation is not included in the required Shemirah of the Torah; otherwise, why could they not have made Shemirah during the final stages of baking - after receiving the dough from the gentile (e.g. whilst arranging the dough to place in the oven, which the Gemara now equates with the kneading, although the dough was not guarded then, since it was then in the gentile's possession).

(d)Maybe, the Gemara concludes, Shimur of kneading is sufficient (and Lesisah is therefore not required) - however, it must be specifically at the time of kneading, when water is added to the dough, and not at a later stage. By the doughs of gentiles, which the Jew only received after the kneading had already been performed, there was no way that the Shemirah could be performed.

6)

(a)Rava instructed the harvesters that, when they arranged the sheaves, that they should do so for the sake of the Mitzvah.

(b)This proves that Rava did not retract from his original contention that Shemirah is required even before the kneading, already from the time that it was still called Dagan (see Tosfos DH 'Ki Mahafchisu').

(c)Mar B'rei d'Ravina's mother would place wheat right from the beginning of the harvest, in special containers to guard it from becoming Chametz, on behalf of her son. Note: Both Rava and Mar B'rei d'Ravina were being Machmir (since Shemirah before the kneading would have sufficed) - Rosh, Siman 26. The Minhag, he says, is to make Shimur from the time the wheat is placed into the water-mill to be ground.

7)

(a)Rabah bar Liva'i did not understand how could Rava permit selling a boat-load of wheat that sank in the River Chishta to gentiles - in light of the Beraisa, which forbids selling a garment which contains unmarked Sha'atnez to a gentile, because the gentile is likely to re-sell it to a Jew, who will not know that it contains Sha'atnez and wear it. Likewise, why did Rava not suspect that the gentiles may re-sell the Chametz to a Jew, who, not knowing that it fell into the river, proceed to eat it on Pesach.

(b)It is permitted to use a garment which contains unmarked Kil'ayim as shrouds for a dead person - because once a person dies, he is Patur from keeping the Mitzvos.

(c)Rava subsequently permitted the disposal of the boat-load of wheat - by selling it to Jews well before Pesach in small quantities of not more than one Kav at a time.

8)

(a)Melilah (in the context of Pesach) - means adding flour and vinegar to a pot that is cooking. The Tana Kama permits it - provided one places the flour first and the vinegar afterwards (so that the still-potent sharpness of the vinegar prevents the flour from becoming Chametz).

(b)Rebbi Yehudah says - that although one is permitted to place spices into a Kli Sheni, this is forbidden if it already contains vinegar or fish-juice (from which we see that, in his opinion, the vinegar remains potent even when it is already mixed with the food.

(c)Rebbi Yosi may well say that vinegar freezes dough, preventing it from rising - but that is only vinegar on its own. Who says that he also holds like that once it has become mixed with other foods?

(d)Ula forbids Melilah in all cases - because of 'Lech Lech Amrinan, Nezira, Sechor Sechor, l'Karma Lo Sikrav'! It is merely a Chumra to avoid inadvertently transgressing.

9)

(a)Rava objected to Rav Papi, who permitted the bakers of the Resh Galusa to add flour to his cooked dishes on Pesach, because of the servants who tend to allow themselves all sorts of leniencies ('Give them a finger and they will take a hand'). That is no reason however, for Rava himself to adopt such a Chumra. According to Tosfos DH 'Rava', this Sugya is talking, not about adding flour to cooked dishes, but about using lentil-flour (Kitnis) on Pesach.

10)

(a)If someone inadvertently added flour to mustard on Pesach ...

1. ... according to the Tana Kama - he may eat it, but must do so immediately.

2. ... according to Rebbi Meir - that is forbidden.

(b)We learn from the extra word "u'Vashel Mevushal ba'Mayim" - that the Korban Pesach may not be cooked in any liquid at all.

(c)It is permitted however, to anoint the flesh of the Korban Pesach whilst it is being roasted, or to dip it into liquids whilst it is being eaten.

11)

(a)The water that the baker used to cool his hands during the baking of the Matzos - must be poured away.