Daf 9 — Bechoros 9 Summary

Bechoros 9 – Good Morning Raboisai 1 ⃣ Rebbe Yehoshua and the Sages of Athens Continue 👉 The Daf continues the famous encounter between Rebbe Yehoshua ben Chananya and the sixty Sages of Athens. They challenge him with a series of strange questions. Although the questions appear unusual, the shiur notes that there are deeper explanations given by the Maharal and others. 9_shiur 2 ⃣ Why Lend Money Again? 👉 They ask: A person lent money and had tremendous difficulty: ● Collecting the debt. Why would he ever: ● Lend money again? Rebbe Yehoshua compares it to someone who goes to a swamp to: ● Cut reeds. He cuts more than he can carry. While waiting for someone to help transport them: ● He cuts even more. 👉 Once he is continuing with the business, he hopes that further success will: ● Make up for his earlier difficulty or loss. 3 ⃣ The Mule That Gave Birth 👉 They challenge him with an impossible story: A mule: ● Gave birth and the offspring had a document around its neck stating: ● An enormous debt was owed. Rebbe Yehoshua immediately exposes the contradiction: ● A mule cannot give birth. The entire premise: ● Cannot be true. 4 ⃣ How Do You Preserve Salt? 👉 They ask: How can you prevent: ● Salt from spoiling? He answers: ● With the placenta of a mule. But: ● A mule does not give birth and therefore has no placenta. And: ● Salt itself does not spoil. 👉 He answers their impossible question with: ● An equally impossible answer. 5 ⃣ Build Us a House in Midair 👉 They tell Rebbe Yehoshua: ● Build us a house in the air. He says Hashem’s Name and rises: ● Into the air. He then tells them: ● Bring me the bricks and mortar. Since they cannot: ● Get the materials up to him, they cannot expect him to: ● Build the house. 6 ⃣ Where Is the Centre of the World? 👉 They ask: Where is: ● The centre of the world? Rebbe Yehoshua points to: ● A particular spot. When they demand proof, he tells them: ● Bring measuring ropes and measure the entire world. If they cannot prove otherwise: ● They cannot challenge his answer. 7 ⃣ Bring the Well into the City 👉 They tell him: We have a well outside the city. ● Bring it into the city. He tells them: ● Make me a rope from weak material and I will pull it in. The challenge itself is impossible without: ● The proper tools. 👉 The shiur brings out the idea that bringing Kedushah into one’s life also requires: ● The proper Keilim. 8 ⃣ Sew Up a Broken Millstone 👉 They show him: ● A broken millstone and tell him: ● Sew it together. Rebbe Yehoshua answers: ● Make me a thread from stone, and I will sew it. Again: ● An impossible request receives an impossible condition. 9 ⃣ A Field That Grows Knives 👉 They ask: How do you harvest: ● A field that grows knives? He answers: ● With the horn of a donkey. They object: ● A donkey has no horn! He responds: ● Neither is there a field that grows knives. 🔟 Which Egg Came from Which Chicken? 👉 They bring him: ● Two identical eggs and ask: Which came from: ● A black chicken and which from: ● A white chicken? Rebbe Yehoshua brings: ● Two pieces of cheese and asks them: Which came from: ● A black goat and which from: ● A white goat? If they cannot distinguish his: ● Two cheeses, they cannot demand that he distinguish their: ● Two eggs. 1 ⃣ 1 ⃣ Where Does the Ruach Leave an Egg? 👉 They ask: If a chick dies inside its egg: ● Where does its Ruach leave? Rebbe Yehoshua answers: ● From the same place it entered. If they accept that the Ruach: ● Entered, there is no greater difficulty understanding how it: ● Left. 1 ⃣ 2 ⃣ Something That Costs More to Use Than It Is Worth 👉 They ask him to show them an object where: ● Using it costs more than the object itself. He brings a large: ● Reed mat. When opened, it cannot fit: ● Through the doorway. To bring it inside, one would have to: ● Break and rebuild the entrance. 👉 The cost of using it is therefore: ● Greater than its own value. Rebbe Yehoshua Defeats the Sages 1 ⃣ 3 ⃣ Sixty Sages – Sixty Rooms 👉 Rebbe Yehoshua has now defeated them. He brings each Sage separately onto: ● The ship prepared by the Caesar. Each enters a room containing: ● Sixty seats. Seeing the empty seats, each assumes: ● His friends will soon join him. Instead: ● Each Sage is placed separately. Once all sixty are aboard: ● The ship sails away. 1 ⃣ 4 ⃣ The Soil of Athens 👉 Before leaving Athens, Rebbe Yehoshua takes: ● Some of its earth. When the Sages eventually arrive before the Caesar, they are: ● Weak ● Depressed ● And unusually quiet. The Caesar says: ● These cannot be the famous Sages of Athens. Rebbe Yehoshua gives them: ● The scent of their native soil. They regain: ● Their confidence and character. They immediately begin speaking disrespectfully to: ● The Caesar. 1 ⃣ 5 ⃣ The Vessel That Could Never Be Filled 👉 The Caesar gives Rebbe Yehoshua permission to: ● Deal with them. The shiur describes special water that: ● Swallows other water poured into it. The Sages are told: ● Fill the enormous vessel and you can leave. They keep pouring water in: ● But it continually disappears. They work until: ● They are exhausted. Eventually: ● They themselves are swallowed as well. This concludes the lengthy story of: ● Rebbe Yehoshua ben Chananya and the Sages of Athens. New Mishnah – Petor Chamor 1 ⃣ 6 ⃣ A Safek Firstborn Donkey 👉 The Mishnah returns to: ● Petor Chamor. Normally, the firstborn male donkey must be redeemed with: ● A Seh. But suppose a donkey gives birth to: ● A male and a female and we do not know: ● Which was born first. If the male came first: ● There is a Chiyuv Petor Chamor. If the female came first: ● There is no Chiyuv. Because it is a Safek: ● The Kohen cannot demand the Seh. Instead: ● מפריש טלה אחד לעצמו The owner separates a Seh: ● For himself. 1 ⃣ 7 ⃣ What Does Separating the Seh Accomplish? 👉 Although the Kohen cannot demand the sheep because: ● Hamotzi Mechaveiro Alav HaRaayah, the possible Petor Chamor still requires: ● Redemption. Therefore, the owner separates: ● A sheep. He does not have to give it to: ● The Kohen. Once the redemption is performed: ● He may keep the sheep himself. 1 ⃣ 8 ⃣ Two Donkey Mothers 👉 The Mishnah gives several variations involving: ● Two donkeys giving birth. If both definitely produce: ● Firstborn males, the owner gives: ● Two sheep to the Kohen. If only one is definitely obligated: ● He gives one. Where there is an additional Safek: ● He separates another Seh for himself. If both are doubtful: ● The necessary sheep are separated for redemption but the Kohen cannot demand them without: ● Proof. 1 ⃣ 9 ⃣ What Can Be Used for Petor Chamor? 👉 The Torah says: ● ופטר חמור תפדה בשה A Petor Chamor is redeemed with: ● A Seh. The Mishnah teaches that this includes: ● A sheep or goat ● Male or female ● Large or small ● Tamim or Baal Mum. Why? Because the Seh used for Petor Chamor does not acquire: ● Korban Kedushah. 2 ⃣ 0 ⃣ The Same Seh Can Be Used Again 👉 A single Seh can even be used to redeem: ● Multiple Petor Chamorim at different times. After using it for redemption: ● It belongs to the Kohen. If the owner later: ● Buys it back ● Or receives it back as a gift, he can use: ● The same Seh again. There is no inherent Kedushah in: ● The Seh itself. Can Two Animals Be Born at Exactly the Same Time? 2 ⃣ 1 ⃣ Efshar Letzamtzem 👉 The Gemara discusses the famous question: Can two offspring emerge: ● At precisely the same moment? Rebbe Yosi HaGelili holds: ● אפשר לצמצם It is possible for two births to occur: ● Simultaneously. This matters because if two males are born at exactly the same time: ● Both could potentially have the status of Bechor. 2 ⃣ 2 ⃣ Two Firstborn Donkeys 👉 A Beraisa discusses a donkey that gives birth to: ● Two males whose heads emerge: ● At the same time. According to Rebbe Yosi HaGelili: ● Both require redemption. This creates a difficulty with the suggestion that simultaneous birth applies only to: ● Kosher Bechor animals. The Beraisa explicitly applies the concept to: ● Petor Chamor as well. 2 ⃣ 3 ⃣ Does One Twin Block the Other? 👉 The Gemara then asks: If two offspring emerge together, each one is touching only: ● Part of the womb. The other offspring is blocking: ● Part of the opening. Perhaps each twin should therefore create a: ● Chatzitzah for the other. The discussion connects with the concept that: ● Min B’Mino Eino Chotzetz something of the same type may not constitute: ● A Chatzitzah. Is a Petor Chamor Assur B’Hanaah? 2 ⃣ 4 ⃣ Why Separate a Sheep for Yourself? 👉 The Mishnah says that in a Safek case: ● Mafresh Taleh Echad L’atzmo. The Gemara asks: What is accomplished by separating: ● The sheep? This suggests that until redemption, the donkey itself may be: ● Assur B’Hanaah. Otherwise, why would the owner need to: ● Redeem it at all? 2 ⃣ 5 ⃣ Rebbe Yehudah and Rebbe Shimon 👉 This leads to a Machlokes: Rebbe Yehudah holds: ● A Petor Chamor is Assur B’Hanaah before redemption. Rebbe Shimon holds: ● It is permitted to benefit from the donkey even before redemption. According to Rebbe Yehudah: ● The redemption removes the Issur Hanaah. 2 ⃣ 6 ⃣ Why Specifically a Seh? 👉 The Gemara asks: If redemption is required, why does the Torah specifically tell us to use: ● A Seh? Petor Chamor can also be redeemed with: ● Other items of value. The special advantage of a Seh is: ● It does not have to equal the donkey’s value. A donkey worth far more can still be redeemed with: ● A relatively inexpensive Seh. But when redeeming with other property: ● The full value must be given. 2 ⃣ 7 ⃣ Kiddushin with Maaser Sheni 👉 The Gemara compares this with: ● Maaser Sheni. The Torah normally requires Maaser Sheni to be redeemed onto: ● Money with a Tzurah – a minted coin. Yet there can still be monetary value in: ● The Maaser itself. The Gemara discusses a woman being Mekudeshes with: ● Maaser Sheni and compares this to: ● Petor Chamor. 2 ⃣ 8 ⃣ Kiddushin with a Petor Chamor 👉 Even according to the view that a Petor Chamor is: ● Assur B’Hanaah before redemption, it can still have monetary significance. The woman can: ● Redeem the donkey with a cheaper Seh and retain the difference between: ● The value of the donkey ● And the value of the Seh. That remaining value can therefore provide: ● Monetary value for Kiddushin. 📌 Key Chazarah ● Rebbe Yehoshua ben Chananya completes his contest with the sixty Sages of Athens and brings them to the Caesar. ● Their strange challenges are repeatedly answered by exposing the flaw in the question or answering an impossible request with an impossible condition. ● The new Mishnah discusses Safek Petor Chamor. ● In a Safek, the owner may have to separate a Seh even though the Kohen cannot demand it. ● A Seh for Petor Chamor may be male or female, large or small, Tamim or Baal Mum. ● The Seh itself does not acquire Korban Kedushah. ● The same Seh can be used again if it returns to the owner after a previous redemption. ● Rebbe Yosi HaGelili holds Efshar Letzamtzem – two offspring can emerge at precisely the same time. ● The Gemara discusses whether twins emerging together create a Chatzitzah for one another. ● Rebbe Yehudah holds a Petor Chamor is Assur B’Hanaah before redemption; Rebbe Shimon permits Hanaah. ● A Seh can redeem a Petor Chamor even when worth much less than the donkey. ● Other items used for redemption must equal the donkey’s full value. ● The Gemara compares Petor Chamor with Maaser Sheni and discusses their monetary value for Kiddushin. 📘 Catch up, review, download previous Dafim & more: https://www.dafchazarah.co.uk 📲 Now available as an app (Apple, Google & Amazon): https://dafchazarah.co.uk/download 🤝 Sponsor a day: https://dafchazarah.co.uk/sponsor לעילוי נשמת אמי מורתי רות בת הרב מנחם מנדל