PREVIOUS CYCLE DEDICATION

PESACHIM 109 (3 Cheshvan) - dedicated l'Iluy Nishmas Shlomo Mordechai ben Yakov Sobol, in honor of his son Aaron.

1)

(a)Rebbi Eliezer in a Beraisa says 'Chotfin Matzah Bishvil Tinokos she'Lo Yishnu'. What two meanings does this have?

(b)What else could it mean, if one were to omit the words 'she'Lo Yishnu'?

(c)Which are the only two occasions on which Rebbi Akiva would tell the Talmidim to leave the Beis Hamedrash?

1)

(a)'Chotfin Matzah Bishvil Tinokos she'Lo Yishnu' - means either that one eats quickly at the Seder so that the children should not fall asleep before the Afikoman and Hallel - or that one removes the Matzos from the children's hands on Erev Pesach - so that they should not fall asleep before they have asked the four Kashyos.

(b)If one were to omit the words 'she'Lo Yishnu' - it could also mean that one lifts up or removes the Seder-plate - so that the children will be encouraged to ask why.

(c)Rebbi Akiva would tell the Talmidim to leave the Beis Hamedrash only on Erev Pesach (in order to put the children to sleep in the day, so that they do not fall asleep at the Seder, or to start the Seder on time, to make it easier for the children to stay awake during the Seder), and on Erev Yom Kipur (in order to feed their children - so that they should be able to fast for a few hours on Yom Kipur).

2)

(a)What do we learn from the Pasuk in Re'eh "v'Samachta b'Chagecha", and how is this Mitzvah performed, according to ...

1. ... the Tana Kama of the Beraisa?

2. ... Rebbi Yehudah?

(b)If a man living in Eretz Yisrael fulfills this Mitzvah vis-a-vis his wife by buying her nicely-laundered linen clothes, how does a man living in Bavel fulfill it?

(c)How does Rebbi Yehudah ben Beseira (in another Beraisa) reconcile the Pasuk in Ki Savo "v'Zavachta Shelamim, v'Achalta Sham, v'Samachta ... " with the Pasuk in Tehilim "v'Yayin Yesamach Levav Enosh"? What causes Simchah, meat or wine?

2)

(a)We learn from the Pasuk in Re'eh "v'Samachta b'Chagecha", that a person is obligated to make his wife and children happy (as well as himself), according to ...

1. ... the Tana Kama of the Beraisa - by providing them with wine.

2. ... Rebbi Yehudah - by providing the men with wine, the women, with nice clothes and the children, with roasted kernels.

(b)A man living in Eretz Yisrael fulfills this Mitzvah vis-a-vis his wife by buying her nicely-laundered linen clothes; whereas a man living in Bavel fulfills it by buying his wife colored clothes.

(c)Rebbi Yehudah ben Beseira explains that the Pasuk in Ki Savo "v'Zavachta Shelamim, v'Achalta Sham, v'Samachta ... " - refers to the era of the Beis Hamikdash, when the only real Simchah comes about through the meat of Shelamim, whereas the Pasuk in Tehilim "v'Yayin Yesamach Levav Enosh" - refers to nowadays, when there is no Shelamim, in which case one can only attain Simchah through wine.

3)

(a)Which measure in the Beis Hamikdash was the Kasta d'Murisa in Tzipori the equivalent of, and what was it used for?

(b)The original Tomen-measuring cup of Teverya was twenty-five per-cent larger than the Kasta d'Murisa. How did they measure the Revi'is of Pesach?

(c)How is a Revi'is shel Torah measured by finger-breadths?

(d)What are examples of a Revi'is shel Torah (since the Revi'is of wine on Pesach is purely mid'Rabanan)?

3)

(a)The Kasta d'Murisa in Tzipori resembled the Lug in the Beis Hamikdash. It was used to measure the four cups on Pesach, each consisting of a Revi'is ha'Lug.

(b)The original Tomen-measuring cup of Teverya was twenty-five per-cent larger than the Kasta d'Murisa. They measured the Revi'is of Pesach - by pouring it into the Kasta d'Murisa; what remained in the cup, was a Revi'is ha'Lug.

(c)A Revi'is shel Torah consists of two Etzba'os by two Etzba'os (square) by two and seven tenths (height) finger-breadths.

(d)examples of a Revi'is shel Torah - are a Revi'is of wine for a Nazir, a Revi'is of blood that comes from two corpses and a Revi'is of oil for the wafers of a Nazir.

4)

(a)The Torah writes in Metzora "v'Rachatz ba'Mayim es Kol Besaro". What do we learn from ...

1. ... "ba'Mayim es Kol Besaro"

2. ... "ba'Mayim"?

3. ... "es Kol Besaro"?

(b)Based on the latter Pasuk, what is the Shi'ur of a Mikvah?

(c)To work out the Shi'ur of a Revi'is, we need to convert the Sa'in into Lugin and Beitzim, and the Amos into Tefachim and Etzba'os. How many ...

1. ... Kabin are there in a Sa'ah?

2. ... Lugin are there in a Kav?

3. ... Beitzim are there in a Lug?

(d)And how many ...

1. ... Tefachim in an Amah?

2. ... Etzba'os in a Tefach?

4)

(a)We learn from ...

1. ... "ba'Mayim es Kol Besaro" - that nothing should divide between the water and the flesh of the person who is Toveling (as this constitutes a Chatzitzah).

2. ... "ba'Mayim" - in the water of a Mikvah (to preclude drawn water - others say to preclude water in a vessel).

3. ... "es Kol Besaro" - to preclude a Mikvah in which a regular-size person's body will not fit.

(b)Based on this latter Pasuk, the minimum size Mikvah must contain at least forty Sa'ah.

(c)There are ...

1. ... 6 Kabin in a Sa'ah;

2. ... 4 Lugin in a Kav;

3. ... 6 Beitzim in a Lug.

(d)And there are ...

1. ... 6 Tefachim in an Amah;

2. ... 4 Etzba'os in a Tefach.

109b----------------------------------------109b

5)

(a)What was the size of the Shulchan in the Beis Hamikdash?

(b)What two facilities existed in the Azarah for Toveling the holy vessels?

(c)Given that the Shulchan could be removed from its legs, why did the Gemara presume that it must have had joints?

(d)In which way does the Beraisa of Rebbi Chiya (regarding the Yam shel Shlomo) dispense with that assumption?

5)

(a)The golden-Shulchan of Moshe was two Amos long by one Amah wide by one and a half Amos high.

(b)One could Tovel the holy vessels in the Azarah - either in the Mikvah of one Amah square, or in the stream called 'Amah', which flowed through the Azarah and, as its name suggests, was one Amah wide and one Amah deep.

(c)The Gemara presumes that the table must have had joints - because otherwise, how could one Tovel an Amah table, in a Mikvah of an Amah by an Amah (nor would it help to Tovel it diagonally, since the Tefach thickness of the table-top would still prevent it from fitting into the Mikvah.

(d)The Beraisa of Rebbi Chiya, which gives the size of the Yam shel Shlomo as large enough to contain a hundred and fifty regular Mikva'os, dispenses with that assumption - because once we contend with a Mikvah of that size, there is no problem with fitting the Shulchan into it - with ease.

6)

(a)What problem does the Gemara have with the four cups that Chazal instituted at the Seder?

(b)Which four things should one not, according to the Beraisa, do in pairs?

(c)Will the problem exist even according to those who say that 'Zugos' (pairs) is confined to the number two, but not to four?

6)

(a)How could Chazal have instituted four cups at the Seder, asks the Gemara, since four constitutes pairs, which, for some reason, arouses the ire of the demons, thereby endangering himself .

(b)According to the Beraisa, one should not eat or drink in pairs, neither should one clean oneself after defecating nor be intimate, in pairs (see 8b).

(c)The problem exists even according to those who say that 'Zugos' (pairs) is confined to the number two, but not to four - wherever there is a possibility of witchcraft, since witchcraft (to which Zugos is also subject) is applicable even by four.

7)

(a)The Gemara gives three answers to the above Kashya: Rav Nachman answers with the Pasuk in Bo "Leil Shimurim". How does that dispense with the Kashya?

(b)Rava stresses the special qualities of the Kos shel Berachah. What does he mean?

(c)Ravina says 'Arba'ah Kosos Tiknu Rabanan Derech Cheirus' ... What does he mean?

7)

(a)Rav Nachman answers with the Pasuk in Bo "Leil Shimurim" - and one of the things against which the Seder-night is guarded, is the Demons.

(b)According to Rava, the Kos shel Berachah (the third Kos) only combines for the good (i.e. to turn the two that he has already drunk into three - to remove the threat of Zugos) but not for the bad (i.e. to turn the three with the fourth cup that he will later drink - to create the threat).

(c)Ravina says 'Arba'ah Kosos Tiknu Rabanan Derech Cheirus' and he adds 'Kol Chad v'Chad Mitzvah b'Apei Nafshah Hu' - in other words, one is not drinking a set of four cups of wine, but one, and then another, and another and another - four separate cups.

8)

(a)Why can we not interpret 'Lo Ya'aseh Tzerachav Trei' literally?

(b)How then, do we interpret it?

8)

(a)We cannot interpret 'Lo Ya'aseh Tzerachav Trei' literally - because after one Tashmish, one's desire dissipates; so someone who later decides to do Tashmish again, has changed his mind, and someone who changes his mind is not subject to Zugos.

(b)We therefore interpret it to mean that after eating or drinking Zugos, one should not do Tashmish - even once.

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