BSD

Sukkah 49b

Shvat 30, 5783. February 21, 2023

1 – Continuing on ניסוך המים, and ניסוך היין. 

Two opinions of where the water and wine flowed to, after draining into the שיתין , thru the holes that were on top of the מזבח. Either they went into the תהום (underground water flows) or into a לול, which was a large stone vat that collected the wine. This vat needed to be emptied when full. The גמרא says:  

Once in seventy years young priests would descend there and gather from there the congealed wine, which resembled round cakes of dried and pressed figs.

2 – The גמרא discusses what makes a person more ‘satisfied’ when drinking wine. When one sips or when one drinks large amounts at one time. 

Discussed Rashi’s and the מהרש”א’s opinion. 

3 – The concepts of performing Mitzvos and studying Torah in a quite and unassuming manner בצנעה. The vice of boasting and flaunting. 

Story of Chasidim of the צמח צדק who reluctantly divulged his vast knowledge of ש״ס only because the Rebbe instructed them to go on מסירת נפש!

4-  ״וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת עִם אֱלֹהֶיךָ״ — זוֹ הוֹצָאַת הַמֵּת וְהַכְנָסַת כַּלָּה לַחוּפָּה. 

How can one help with these two מצוות and yet keep it under the wraps? 

Rashi answers this question:

הוצאת המת והכנסת כלה – דכתיב בהו לכת טוב ללכת אל בית אבל מלכת אל בית משתה (קהלת ז׳:ב׳) אף שם צריך הצנע לסעוד במדה נאה ולשמוח במדה נאה ולא להנהיג קלות ראש בעצמו

 וי”א אם צריך לבזבז להוצאת מת עני או להכנסת כלה ענייה יעשה בצנעא ולא לימא קמי מאן דלא ידע דעבדי [כן] וכן מפרש בשאלתות דרב אחאי:

1st explanation is referring to one’s personal participation. So at a wedding, although the intention is to be משמח חתן וכלה, one should keep it under control. 

The 2nd explanation by the שאלתות refers to his monetary contribution towards the burial or wedding of a poor person. “One should not divulge how much his participation is”. 

5- שאילתות דרב אחאי Topics discussed:

•  שאילתות דרב אחאי which is the first written ספר we have after the writing of the final version of the גמרא.
• Discussed the times of the רבנן סבוראי that was then followed by the גאונים. 
• Who was this רב אחא or אחאי? An אמורא or from a later time? 
• Is this  רב אחא mentioned in גמרא despite not being an אמורא? 
• His sayings in our גמרא are written using different syntax . Like פשיט רבי אחאי. 
• If he was from the times of the אמוראים then why is he called גאון when this tile was used only from the era of the רבנן סבוראי ( and primarily from גאונים) and on. 
• The structure of the שאילתות. 
• Commentary by רבי ישעי’ ברלין. See here. The massive commentary of the נצי”ב. 
• The title גאון meant that one was versed in all 60 מסכתות.  
• גאו”ן equals 60. 

[See fascinating here about this number regarding the number of Mesechtos.] 

Was there more than one רבי אחא? 

See Tosfos כתובות ב, ב. 

זבחים קב, ב. 

6 – Speaking of the importance of helping to marry off a poor חתן וכלה, we ended with the amazing comment of the מהרש”א on the following גמרא. 

אָמַר רָבָא: בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁמַּכְנִיסִין אָדָם לְדִין, אוֹמְרִים לוֹ:.

Rava said: After departing from this world, when a person is brought to judgment for the life he lived in this world, they say to him:

1. Did you conduct business faithfully? נָשָׂאתָ וְנָתַתָּ בָּאֱמוּנָה? 
2. Did you designate times for Torah study? קָבַעְתָּ עִתִּים לַתּוֹרָה? 
3. Did you engage in procreation? עָסַקְתָּ בִּפְרִיָּה וּרְבִיָּה?
4. Did you await for Hshem’s help? צָפִיתָ לִישׁוּעָה?
5. Did you engage in the wisdom of Torah? פִּלְפַּלְתָּ בְּחׇכְמָה?
6. Did you try to fully understand Torah? הֵבַנְתָּ דָּבָר מִתּוֹךְ דָּבָר?

And, nevertheless, beyond all these, if the fear of the Lord is his treasure, yes, he is worthy, and if not, no, none of these accomplishments have any value. וַאֲפִילּוּ הָכִי, אִי יִרְאַת ה׳ הִיא אוֹצָרוֹ — אִין, אִי לָא — לָא

The Maharsha comments on #3 above. If this simply means “did you have children” then it it should have said קיימת פריה ורביה? 

Rather, says the Maharsha, עסקת refers to the ‘occupation of assisting a poor חתן וכלה to get married’!

7 – A short note about the discussion of last week (SHIUR SUKKAH 49A 2/14/23)

.חסורי מחסרי והכי קתני and the 3 methods (A, B, C) of explaining this statement. 

A:

חסורי מחסרי means the version we have in our Mishnah is simply incorrect; it’s missing a few words. 

והכי קתני – and it should say so and so. [See there for explanations B & C]

A question arises,  if it’s  a typo, then why didn’t the גמרא simply correct the text of the משנה to avoid future confusion and misunderstanding?  

The תפארת ישראל has an very interesting and novel explanation. We mentioned this idea several years ago: SHIUR 08/08/2017 BEITZA 24A-B

The Mishnayos, prior to them being written, were studied and transmitted verbally. [At that time, writing the משנה was prohibited]. In order to assist in the memorization, they were repeated with a particular song. The words of every Mishna fit to a particular tune, thereby easing the memorization.

Mishna, with Trop (cantillation)

If we were to add the missing words it would cause chaos and the memorization process would be diminished!

This idea is truly unique and original.

תפארת ישראל על המשניות מסכת ערכין פרק ד’ משנה א’   

BS”D

Sukkah 49a

Shvat 23, 5783. February 14, 2023

1- We continued talking about the fascinating Yerushalmi that G-d didn’t create anything square. See last week’s notes. Here. 

We added another tidbit to the Rebbe’s take on this. In 1962 an author sent to the Rebbe his ספר containing charts on מסכת יבמות וקנים . See here. באר יעקב על מס’ יבמות וקנים

The Rebbe responded to him with a letter thanking him for sending the ספר and added some comments on the ספר. 

The author used symbols to explain the many scenarios of family relationships concerning marriages, יבום and חליצה. 

This is his code page for his charts. 

Sample page

The last note of the Rebbe concerns the symbol of a square the author chose designating a זכר. 

Since there are ‘no squares in מעשה בראשית’ using a square is not proper! 

 ועוד להעיר משטח אחר לגמרי, שלא נראה לי מרובע לסימן (זכר), שהרי אין מרובע מששת ימי בראשית.

2 – We spoke about ‘always turning to the right’ when going up to the בימה. Here is the Shulchan Aruch OC, 141, 7. 

Basically- when going up for an Aliya (or the חזן holding the ספר תורה) one takes the shortest way to the Bima and the reverse when leaving the Bima. If both routes are equal, one takes the path to his right. 

3 – The Gemara expands on the story of the Mishna of the Esrogim that were thrown on the צדוקי. As Rashi explains they also threw rocks and that caused the  מזבח to be damaged and lose its ‘perfect square’.

A not perfect square invalidates the כשרות of the מזבחץ 

ושלשה נביאים עלו עמהם מן הגולה. אחד העיד להן על מקום המזבח. ואחד העיד להן על מדותיו. ואחד העיד להן שמקריבין על המזבח הזה כל הקרבנות אע”פ שאין שם בית:

 We discussed the Tosfos about the smooth rocks and cement that was used to build the מזבח and whether they used the שמיר for the second בית המקדש. 

Mentioned the interesting explanation of the אבני נזר on this גמרא. CM 70

Spoke about the salt that was sprinkled on the כבש to avoid slipping. Mishnah, Eiruvin 104

 4-  The שיתין.

Our Gemara quotes a פסוק  from 7, 2 in  שיר השירים and uses דרש to connect it to the שיתין. 

חַמּוּקֵי יְרֵכַיִךְ כְּמוֹ חֲלָאִים מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי אׇמָּן

Your hidden thighs are like jewels,

The work of a master’s hand.

אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר בַּר חָנָה אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: שִׁיתִין, מִשֵּׁשֶׁת יְמֵי בְּרֵאשִׁית נִבְרְאוּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״חַמּוּקֵי יְרֵכַיִךְ כְּמוֹ חֲלָאִים מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי אׇמָּן״. ״חֲמוּקֵי יְרֵכַיִךְ״ — אֵלּוּ הַשִּׁיתִין. ״כְּמוֹ חֲלָאִים״ — שֶׁמְּחוֹלְלִין וְיוֹרְדִין עַד הַתְּהוֹם. ״מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי אׇמָּן״ — זוֹ מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי אוּמָּנוּתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא.

Drain to Shiloah…

Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The drainpipes [shisin] built into the altar and extending beneath it were created during the six days of Creation, as it is stated: “The hidden of your thighs are like jewels, the handiwork of a skilled workman” 

The Gemara interprets the verse homiletically:

 “Your hidden thighs”; these are the drainpipes that are concealed within the altar;

“are like jewels [ḥala’im]”; they are hollow [meḥolalin] and descend to the depths; “the handiwork of a skilled workman”; this is the handiwork of the Holy One, Blessed be He.

The word חַמּוּקֵי literally means hidden. The גמרא says that it refers to the hidden drainpipes that were in the מזבח that extended to the תהום  – groundwater flows. 

5 – The topic of חסורי מחסרי והכי קתני. This is an expression mentioned many times in ש”ס  

It applies to a discussion in גמרא where we are trying to decipher a cryptic and difficult statement in a particular Mishna. 

The גמרא suggests an explanation,  but the issue is – that is not what is stated in the משנה. 

The גמרא then suggests that to understand the Mishna  חסורי מחסרי והכי קתני.

We mentioned that there are 3 ways to understand this statement. 

A – חסורי מחסרי – The version we have in our Mishnah is simply incorrect; it’s missing a few words. 

והכי קתני – and it should say so and so. Why the text was not corrected is another topic. BL”N next week. 

B – Prior to רבינו הקדוש there were many schools of תנאים, each with its particular version of the myriad of  הלכות that eventually were compiled into the משניות. Each school had its tradition as to what the text and the  הלכה is. 

Now Rebi chose the ‘Reb Meir Edition’. He decided that this version is the correct one. 

Sanhedrin 86 …לא ס”ד דאמר ר’ יוחנן סתם מתני’ ר’ מאיר

Generations later when the אמוראים tried to decipher the משניות, as codified by Rebi, they encountered difficulties. It caused them to state that חסורי מחסרי והכי קתני, meaning that the הלכה is, not as Rebi wrote. Rather the correct version is the Mishna edition of another school and their tradition.  

C – The explanation offered is indeed correct. The reason it does not fit into the words of the משנה as we see it, is for the following reason:

רבינו הקדוש who wrote or compiled the Misnayos chose to write it using very few words. בדרך קצרה. 

Nevertheless, the words he did write were carefully chosen in a way that future generations, when trying to understand the Mishna, by analyzing these short words, would see that Rebi hinted to the suggested explanation thereby solving the problems that would arise. 

So חסורי מחסרי means that the meaning of the words of the משנה lack ones understanding at first. By applying oneself diligently to the Mishna, by spending time to grasp its true meaning then והכי קתני , one will see that Rebi actually meant to say this very explanation. 

6 – Mentioned the פנים יפות (BO) who ties the above, the application to Torah study, to the פסוק our גמרא quotes regarding the ‘hidden drain pipes’ inside the מזבח. 

  חַמּוּקֵי יְרֵכַיִךְ hidden thighs or pipes, refers to what is hidden in the words of תורה. 

תורה has its simple meaning. However, the hidden aspect of תורה needs to be ‘dug’ in order to understand their deeper meaning.  A person should not become depressed when encountering difficulty in understanding תורה. On the contrary, his lack of understanding is a sign that G-d wants him to work hard until he figures out the פשט. 

As the רמ”ע מפאנו writes: חַמּוּקֵי is the ראשי תיבות of חסורי מחסרי והכי קתני!

—————————-

מאמר הנפש חלק רביעי פרק א. 

BSD

Sukkah 48b (2) 

Shvat 16, 5783. February 7, 2023

We continued the topic of ניסוך המים. 

1- משנה  – And the appointee says to the one pouring the water into the silver basin: Raise your hand, so that his actions would be visible, as one time a צדוקי intentionally poured the water on his feet, as the צדיקים did not accept the oral tradition requiring ניסוך המים.  In their rage all the people pelted him with their אתרוגים.

The גמרא in Yuma 26b (below) quotes our Mishna to establish that ניסוך המים took place in the morning during שחרית.  As Rashi explains, the proof is from the אתרוגים that were hurled at the צדוקי. 

We mentioned the Ritvah that asks there :  This incident occurred in ירושלים where the Minhag of many was to walk around all day holding on to the ‘ד מינים. Sukka 41b.

?וא״ת והלא אנשי ירושלם נוטלין היו לולביהן כל היום כדאיתא התם

The Ritva concludes that the proof is from the words ‘all the people pelted him with their אתרוגים. ‘All the people’ implies a time when there is a large crowd and not just individuals. 

2- We discussed the issue of using the Esrog to pelt someone. Besides the issue of ביזוי אוכלין there is also the Mitzvah aspect of the Esrog; הוקצה למצוותו . 

The above Ritva has an interesting line:

וי״ל דהא פשי׳ דכיון שהכירו בו שהוא צדוקי זהו כבודו של אתרוג לקדש בו השם לענין כזה:

3- We discussed the Yerushalmi that tries to figure out if the 3 צדוקים stories in ש”ס were talking about the same fellow. 

1- Our Mishna with the צדוקי not pouring the water properly. 

2- The צדוקי who put the קטורת on the coals prior to entering the קודש קדשים. 

3- The צדוקי that dragged out the process of the burning the פרה אדומה until after nightfall. 

4- We discussed the cryptic גמרא  describing a seemingly foolish argument between two heretics call ששון ושמחה. 

Anyone with a good explanation please come forth next week. 

5- The topic of always turning to the right in the בית המקדש and when circling the מזבח. 

6- Discussed the מזבח and the importance of it being perfectly square. See here. 

7- The Yerushalmi in שבועות and other places that:

• Swearing that one saw a square snake as wide as the beams of an olive is considered a שבועת שוא. 
• At the time of creation ‘nothing was created in a perfect square’. 
• What does this ‘nothing’ include? Animals? Food items? 

8- Question to the Rebbe in 1948 by Reb Sholom Rivkin about a quote in a מאמר where it seems to say that some items were created square. 

The Rebbe’s response here. 

The Rebbe’s mentioning that salt crystals are square. 

9  – Suggestion that perhaps the building a perfectly square מזבח is the ultimate לעבדה ולשמרה. The human improvement on מעשה בראשית, by ‘creating’ something that Hashem Himself didn’t do. 

BSD

Sukkah 48b

Shvat 9, 5783. January 31, 2023

Topics discussed about ניסוך המים. The pouring of well water (about 1 liter) on the מזבח on the seven day of סוכות. 

1 –  משנה- One would fill a golden jug with a capacity of three log with water from the Siloam pool. When those who went to bring the water reached the Gate of the Water, they sounded a tekia, sounded a terua, and a tekia. The Cohen ascended the ramp of the מזבח and turned to his left. There were two silver basins there into which he poured the water. Rabbi Yehuda said: They were limestone basins, but they would blacken due to the wine. 

Tosfos has an issue with מעלין בקודש ואין מורידין. The water was drawn in a gold flask/jug and then poured into something of lesser value and importance –  either silver or  plaster/clay bowls that were on top of the מזבח. 

When changing the לחם הפנים every Shabbos they would not remove the bread from the שולחן which was gold and place it on a table that was silver. 

Tosfos answers that this rule, מעלין בקודש ואין מורידין, applies only to כלים. These two basins on the מזבח were attached to the מזבח. Thus the are not considered כלים.

There is another answer that the water of  ניסוך המים  was not really placed in these כלים since they just passed thru them. 

2 – משנה – The two basins were perforated at the bottom with two thin perforated nose-like protrusions.

Rashi says the words ‘nose like’ mean that there were two spouts in each basin and the water and wine passed thru these spouts and landed on top of the מזבח and from there into the holes that were drilled in the מזבח, eventually dripping into the underground water stream. שיתין.

Tosfos, uncharacteristically, asks on Rashi ‘where does he take this all from’? 

וזו תימא גדולה. מנין לו אותו כל הענין שמחוטם של הספלים מקלח על גג המזבח, ומשם לנקב המזבח ומשם לשיתין?  

Rather the words ‘nose like’ simply means that each flask had a hole, just as much as a nose has a nostril! 

The water and wine went straight from the flasks into the hole in the מזבח. 

3 – Mentioned the גמרא in Yuma that from the mention of the Esrogim that were hurled at the צדוקי we see that the ניסוך המים was performed in the morning. 

4 – משנה – And the appointee says to the one pouring the water into the silver basin: Raise your hand, so that his actions would be visible, as one time a צדוקי intentionally poured the water on his feet, as the צדיקים did not accept the oral tradition requiring ניסוך המים.  In their rage all the people pelted him with their אתרוגים.

Mentioned the Yerushalmi that this poor fellow didn’t survive the Esrogim pelting. Rashi says that rocks were also thrown at him. 

5 –  Another place where Esrogim were thrown is in Kiddushin when Reb Zeira ? ruled in Mechuza that גרים can marry ממזרים. Since many of the inhabitants of Mechuzah were גרים they took offense and bombarded Reb Zeira with Esrogim. 

Why Esrogim? 

Mentioned the explanation of the ספר המקנה written by a תלמיד of the Maggid of Mezritch. Here. 

 6 –  ניסוך המים in general. Mentioned the famous מאמר of the Alter Rebbe 79, 4 delving on the fact that ניסוך המים is not mentioned explicitly in the תורה. This signifies the lofty meaning and idea of ניסוך המים as opposed to ניסוך היין that was performed every day. 

The Alter Rebbe concludes that the שמחה associated with ניסוך המים is from the fact that it could not be written explicitly in תורה שבכתב and only written in תורה שבעל פה. 

הקפות is not even written in תורה שבעל פה! Thus the even greater joy. 

We mentioned half in jest that nowadays הקפות is indeed written in Shulchan Aruch. 

So the only שמחה not written is the dancing in the streets on שמחת בית השואבה…..

7 – We finished with an interesting פוילישע תורה on why we do ניסוך המים on Sukkos. 

From the פרדס יוסף. 

Here it goes:

ניסוך המים is a commemoration for the miracle of the well water that ‘miraculously came up for Rivka when she offered it to Eliezer’. 

And that occurred on the 15th of Tishrei! 

How? 

The עקידה occurred on Yom Kippur. [for those who questioned this at the Shiur see עיין בעבודת הקודש להחיד”א, כף אחת סי’ ח’ שעקידת יצחק היתה ביום כפור.]

After the עקידה, Avrohom travelled back to באר שבע. When he arrived, 3 days later on the 13th of Tishrei (ביום השלישי), he heard that Rivka was born. 

So far we have established that Rivkah was born on the 13th of Tishrei. 

At the end of מסכת סופרים it says that Rivka got engaged when she was 3 years and three days. That is the day she met Eliezer at the well! 

If her birthday was Tishrei the 13th, three days later was 13-14-15- ….. First day of Sukkos! 

So the miracle of the well water occurred on the first day of Sukkos – the 15th day of Tishrei!

ניסוך המים on Sukkos commemorates that נס.