1)
(a)'Tanu Rabbanan, Ein Govlin es ha'Kali; ve'Yesh Omrim, Govlin'. What is Kali?
(b)Who is the Yesh Omrin?
(c)What sort of Shinuy is nevertheless needed?
1)
(a)Kali - is flour that is made from roasted ears of wheat, and that therefore has a sweet taste.
(b)The Yesh Omrim - is Rebbi Yossi b'Rebbi Yehudah, who does not render someone who adds liquid to a solid Chayav, until he mixes them.
(c)The Shinuy required is to stir only a little at a time, rather than in bulk.
2)
(a)The Tana Kama agrees that one may stir Shasis (a flour made with Kali and vinegar). Why?
(b)Here too, a Shinuy is necessary. What sort of Shinuy?
(c)We learnt above in a Beraisa that, according to all opinions, one is not permitted to mix the bran on Shabbos. So how did Rav Huna bar Chiya, the son of Rebbi Yirmiyah bar Aba, vindicate the baker of the Bei Nasha, who mixed the food before feeding the ox?
(d)What does he advise one to do if the bran does not mix sufficiently when the Shinuy of Shesi va'Erev is employed?
2)
(a)The Tana Kama agrees that one may stir Shasis - because one adds a lot of liquid, to make a thin paste, and this does not constitute Lishah.
(b)During the week, one tends to pour the vinegar first, so, on Shabbos, one must pour the mixture first, and the vinegar afterwards.
(c)The baker of the Bei Nasha mixed the food before feeding the ox - but he did so with a Shinuy - by stirring it vertically and horizontally (in two actions) instead of the single circular motion that is normally employed.
(d)If that method was ineffective - one could always pour the mixture from vessel to another to mix it well.
3)
(a)Rav Huna bar Chiya told the baker: 'Govlin ve'Lo Mesafin, u'de'Lo Lakit be'Lishnei, Mehalketin Lei ...'. What is the meaning of 've'Lo Mesafin'?
(b)Rebbi Chiya forbade mixing, but permitted Piruk. What is Piruk?
(c)He forbade however, to take from in front of three animals to put in front of two. Why is this Asur, and will it also be forbidden to take from two animals to place in front of one?
(d)About what did Rebbi protest vehemently, but in vain?
3)
(a)Rav Huna bar Chiya told the baker: 'Govlin ve'Lo Mesafin, u'de'Lo Lakit be'Lishnei, Mehalketin Lei ...'. 've'Lo Mesafin' - has the same meaning as 'Ein Ma'amirin' which we learnt in the our, and which, according to Rav Yehudah, means that one should not stuff the food to a point where the animal is unable to eject it) ...
(b)'Piruk' (which Rebbi Chiya permits) - means to take from in front of one animal to place in front of another one, or to take from in front of two animals to place in front of two.
(c)It is forbidden to take from in front of three animals to put in front of two - because one does not normally do so during the week (which is presumably forbidden because of unnecessary Tircha. And if taking from three animals to place in front of two is forbidden, how much more so will taking from in front of two to place in front of one be forbidden.
(d)Rebbi protested vehemently - about the Babylonians, who used to mix the Shesisa, but he protested in vain, because they followed the opinion of Rebbi Yossi b'Rebbi Yehudah, who permitted it - with a Shinuy.
4)
(a)Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi wrote in his ledger that anyone born on Sunday would be 'a man of one kind and no other'. What did he mean?
(b)Why, if he was born ..
1. ... on Monday, would he be a man with a temper?
2. ... on Tuesday, would he be both wealthy and have a tendency to immorality?
3. ... on Wednesday, would he be clever and enlighten others?
4. ... on Thursday, would he be a kind man?
5. ... on Friday, would he run after Mitzvos?
(c)What did Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi have to say about somebody who is born on Shabbos? What will he nevertheless be called?
(d)On what grounds did Rebbi Chanina disagree with Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi, and according to him, what is the criterion that determines a person's character
4)
(a)Anybody born on a Sunday, claimed Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi, would be a leader (just like Sunday was the head of the days) - he might be a Rosh Yeshivah (like Rav Ashi), or he might lead a band of robbers (like Dimi bar Kakuzta - who were both born on Sunday - but a leader he will be!
(b)If he was born ...
1. ... on Monday, he would be a man with a temper - because just as Hash-m separated between the upper water and the lower water, so too, will he, with his angry outbursts, separate between one man and the other.
2. ... on Tuesday, he would be both wealthy and with a tendency to immoral behavior - like the blades of grass, which increase profusely and very quickly (which has a connotation of immorality).
3. ... on Wednesday, he would be a Talmid-Chacham and enlighten others - like the sun and moon, which were placed in the sky on Wednesday (and the Torah is called light).
4. ... on Thursday, he would be a kind man - because that is when the birds and the fish were created, who do not need to work hard for their sustenance, but are fed purely by the kindness of Hash-m.
5. ... on Friday, he would run after Mitzvos - because on Erev Shabbos, people tend to run after Mitzvos.
(c)Someone who is born on Shabbos - will also die on Shabbos, according to Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi (having caused the Shabbos to be profaned on his account, by dying on Shabbos, he will atone for that by sanctifying the Shabbos - he will die on Shabbos, and nobody will profane it on his account). However, he will still be referred to as a great, holy man' - because he was born on a great, holy day.
(d)Rebbi Chanina disagrees with Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi - on the grounds that it is not the day of the Mazal under which one is born that determines his character, but the hour.
5)
(a)That someone born under the Mazal Chamah (Sun) will enlighten others with his knowledge is easily understood. But why will ...
1. ... he not steal, and fail if he tries to?
2. ... all his secrets be revealed?
(b)Why will someone born under ...
1. ... Mazal Nogah (Venus) be wealthy and have a tendency to behave immorally?
2. ... Mazal Kochav (Mercury) be a person who enlightens and is wise?
3. ... Mazal Levanah (Moon) be the exact antithesis of one who is born under Mazal Chamah?
4. And why will he also bear suffering, and build and demolish, demolish and build?
(c)Why will the plans of someone born under Shabsai (Saturn) always fail (others say that the thoughts of those who plan against him will fail)?
(d)What will be the tendency of someone born under Mazal Tzedek (Jupiter)?
5)
(a)If someone is born under the Mazal Chamah ...
1. ... he will not steal - just like the sun, which never encroaches on the moon at night, only shining in the day; and all his attempts to steal will fail.
2. ... all his secrets will be revealed - just like the sun shines publicly, and has no permission to hide its light.
(b)Someone who is born under ...
1. ... Mazal Nogah will be wealthy and have a tendency to behave immorally - because fire was created on that day, and fire is symbolical of a strong Yetzer-ha'Ra - to which Chazal usually attach the character-trait of desire.
2. ... Mazal Kochav (Mercury) will be a person who enlightens and is wise - because Kochav is also known as 'Sun's Scribe'.
3. ... Mazal Levanah (Moon) will be the exact antithesis of one who is born under Mazal Chamah - because the moon encroaches on the sun's domain by shining in the day, and its light has the connotation of secrecy - because its light, unlike that of the sun, becomes constantly smaller (it is also surrounded in darkness - clouded in secrecy).
4. And he will also bear suffering - like the moon, which wanes (a sign of suffering - its punishment for suggesting that one of the major sources of light should be reduced (so it was); and he will build and demolish, demolish and build - like the moon wanes and then grows and then wanes once more.
(c)The plans of someone born under Shabsai always fail (others say that the thoughts of those who plan against him will fail - because one of the meanings of Shabbos is to cease (like in the Pasuk in No'ach "Yom va'Laylah Lo Yishbosu").
(d)The tendency of someone born under Mazal Tzedek - will be to give a lot of Tzedakah.
6)
(a)What will be the tendencies of someone who is born under Mazal Ma'adim (Mars)?
(b)What are the four (possible) practical ramifications of this statement?
(c)How did the statement effect Rabah, who was born under Mazal Ma'adim?
(d)According to Rebbi Chanina, all this cannot be changed. Rebbi Yochanan disagrees. He holds 'Ein Mazal le'Yisrael'.
1. What does this mean?
2. What is his source for this?
3. What did Avraham mean when he said "ve'Hinei ben Beisi Yoresh Osi" (Lech-Lecha)?
4. What did Hash-m mean when he told Avraham that he would move Tzedek from the West to the East?
6)
(a)Someone who is born under Mazal Ma'adim - will tend to spill blood.
(b)He will either be a blood-letter (a doctor), a robber, a butcher or a Mohel.
(c)Rabah was born under Mazal Ma'adim, and that explains why he punished those who were guilty and sometimes sentenced them to death.
(d)
1. 'Ein Mazal le'Yisrael' - means that the Mazal does not finally determine a Jew's character, because he has the power to change it for the better (through Tefilah and Tzedakah).
2. Rebbi Chanina's source for this is the Pasuk in Yirmiyah "Koh Amar Hash-m ... u'me'Osos ha'Shamayim al Yechatu, ki Yechatu ha'Goyim me'Heimah" - the gentiles need to be afraid of them, but not us.
3. When Avraham said "ve'Hinei ben Beisi Yoresh Osi" - he was responding to Hash-m's promise to bless him. What is the use of blessings, he asked Hash-m, since he was unable to have children, and all his wealth would go to his slave Eliezer, after his death?
4. When Hash-m told Avraham that he would move Tzedek from the West to the East - He meant that although Avraham's Mazal, Tdedek, was now in the West (symbolizing coldness and infertility [which is how Avraham knew that he could not have children], He would move it to the East, symbolizing that his Mazal had now changed and that he would now have children.
156b----------------------------------------156b
7)
(a)How do we know from an episode with Shmuel and Avalat that Shmuel too, holds 'Ein Mazal le'Yisrael'?
(b)What happened to the man whom they were discussing?
(c)What had he done to deserve it, and in which Pasuk in Mishlei is this thought expressed?
(d)How can we also learn that 'Ein Mazal le'Yisrael' ...
1. ... from Rebbi Akiva's daughter? What happened to her on her wedding-day?
2. ... from Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak? What happened to him?
7)
(a)When Avalat, a gentile astrologer, predicted that the man who was just walking past would not return, Shmuel replied that, if he was a Jew, then he may well return, since good deeds (Rashi says here 'Tefilah') could avert the disaster which the stars foretold.
(b)When the man returned, Avalat inspected his things, and discovered that his bundle of canes had cut a snake that had been about to pounce on him, in two.
(c)It transpired that that man belonged to a group that used to pool their food, and that, on that day, he had seen how one of the group did not have any food to put into the kitty; so, pretending to take from him, he gave some of his own food on his behalf. This is hinted in the Pasuk in Mishlei, which says "u'Tzedakah Tatzil mi'Maves".
(d)We can also learn the concept of 'Ein Mazal le'Yisrael'...
1. ... from Rebbi Akiva's daughter - who was destined to die on the day of her wedding. Some time on her wedding day, she stuck her hat-pin into the wall behind her, and in the process, she pierced a snake that was about to attack her, and killed it. When her father asked her what good deed she had performed that day, she told him how she had given her wedding portion to a poor man to whom nobody else had paid any attention.
2. ... from Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak - who was destined to be a thief. However, the special head-gear that his mother made him (to cover his head, to increase his Yir'as Shamayim - at a time when it was not customary to do so) - , prevented this prediction from coming true. Once, his head-gear slipped off whilst he was sitting under someone else's fruit-tree, and, on impulse, he got up and picked some of the fruit.
8)
(a)'Mechatchin es ha'Delu'in Lifnei ha'Behemah, ve'es ha'Neveilah Lifnei ha'Kelavim'. What is the common Chidush in both of these cases?
(b)What does Rebbi Yehudah hold?
(c)We know that Rav rules like Rebbi Yehudah in our Mishnah (who holds of Muktzah), because he forbade Karchi de'Zuzi. What are 'Karchi de'Zuzi'?
(d)We know that Levi too, rules like Rebbi Yehudah, because of the way he would examine animals that were Safek Tereifah on Shabbos. How (or rather where) did he used to examine them?
8)
(a)'Mechatchin es ha'Delu'in Lifnei ha'Behemah, ve'es ha'Neveilah Lifnei ha'Kelavim'. The common Chidush - is that although both of these were fit for humans when Shabbos came in, and not for animals, one may nevertheless feed them to the animals, should they become fit during the course of Shabbos.
(b)According to Rebbi Yehudah, who holds of Muktzeh - it is forbidden to feed an animal which died on Yom-Tov, since it had not been fit for animals before Yom-Tov.
(c)'Karchi de'Zuzi' (which Rav forbids) - are large mats which are used to cover cargo whilst it is being transported by boat.
(d)Levi used to examine animals that were Safek Tereifah - by a trash-heap, so that, should they turn out to be Tereifah, it would not be necessary to move them. They could just be left were they were.
9)
(a)Shmuel however, rules like Rebbi Shimon, and so too, does Ze'iri. How does Ze'iri explain the Mishnah in Beitzah 'Behemah she'Meisah, Lo Yezizenah mi'Mekomah'?
(b)Bearing in mind that Rebbi Yochanan always rules like a Stam Mishnah, how will we reconcile his ruling here with the Stam Mishnah in Beitzah, which forbids chopping up beams that were designated for building purposes, and a beam which broke on Yom-Tov (whose author is Rebbi Yehudah)?
9)
(a)Ze'iri, who holds like Rebbi Shimon regarding Muktzeh, establishes the Mishnah 'Behemah she'Meisah, Lo Yezizenah mi'Mekomah' - by an animal which is Kodshim, and which one may not feed to the animals. Consequently, even Rebbi Shimon will agree that this is the Halachah.
(b)The Mishnah in Beitzah, which forbids chopping up beams that were designated for building purposes, and a beam which broke on Yom-Tov - may well be a Stam Mishnah (like which Rebbi Yochanan always concurs); however, Rebbi Yochanan has another Stam Mishnah (above on Daf 143a), which holds like Rebbi Shimon. The Mishnah there quotes Beis Shamai as saying that one may remove the bones and the shells from the table, and Beis Hillel disagrees. And Rebbi Yochanan agrees with Rav Nachman, who inverts the opinions. According to him, it is Beis Hillel who permits the removal of bones and shells from the table, and Beis Shamai who forbids it - and Beis Hillel is considered a Stam Mishnah (even when they argue with Beis Shamai).