[5a - 54 lines; 5b- 43 lines]
1)[line 2]חפירהCHAFIRAH- digging [them to begin with]
2a)[line 3]שאין רבים צריכין להםEIN RABIM TZERICHIN LAHEM- the public do not require them [(a) for drinking purposes, but rather for other purposes (RASHI); (b) until well after the festival has passed (TOSFOS); (c) since there is an alternate water supply nearby (RAMBAN)] (these opinions are recorded by the RITVA)
b)[line 3]רבים צריכין להםRABIM TZERICHIN LAHEM- the public require them [(a) for drinking purposes (RASHI); (b) immediately following the festival (TOSFOS); (c) since any other water supply is far away (RAMBAN)] (these opinions are recorded by the RITVA)
3a)[line 5]בורותBOROS- round wells
b)[line 6]שיחיןSHICHIN- elongated ditches [used for water storage]
c)[line 6]ומערותME'AROS- caves [used for water storage]
4)[line 12]כונסיןKONSIN- one may gather
5)[line 13]ולא שפין את סדקיהןV'LO SHAFIN ES SIDKEIHEN- and one may not smooth [plaster] over their cracks. The Girsa of the RIF, RAMBAM, ROSH, and other Rishonim is V'SHAFIN ES SIDKEIHEN - and one may smooth [plaster] over their cracks (see Chart #1, footnote 1)
6)[line 18]אבל לא שפין את סדקיהן ולא חוטטין לתוכןAVAL LO SHAFIN ES SIDKEIHEN V'LO CHOTETIN L'SOCHAN- however, one may not smooth [plaster] over their cracks nor scrape dirt and debris into them. For possible explanations of the term "CHOTETIN L'SOCHAN," see Insights #1. The Girsa of all extant Rishonim and early manuscripts is "V'SHAFIN ES SIDKEIHEN AVAL LO CHOFRIN OSAN" - and one may smooth [plaster] over their cracks, though he may not dig them [to begin with] (Dikdukei Sofrim #8)
7)[line 19]סדין אותן בסידSADIN OSAN B'SID- line them with plaster
8)[line 30]לקווץKAVETZ- remove thorns
9a)[line 30]הרחובותRECHOVOS- open marketplaces
b)[line 31]האסטרטאותISTERATYA'OS- inter- and intra-city thoroughfares
10)[line 31]ולמודLA'MUD- to measure
11)[line 32]ארבעים סאהARBA'IM SE'AH (MIKVAH)
If a person (or utensil) becomes Tamei, then he (or it) must be immersed in either a Mikvah (a cavity of gathered rainwater) or a spring as part of the purification process. A Mikvah must contain at least forty Se'ah of rainwater for it to be Metaher. This is equal to approximately 288, 331.78 or 576 liters, depending upon the differing Halachic opinions.
12)[line 32]מרגיליןMARGILIN- we direct [without lifting from the ground]
13)[line 34]מעלה עליהם הכתובMA'ALEH ALEIHEM HA'KASUV- the Torah considers it
14)[line 34]"והיה עליך דמים""V'HAYAH ALECHA DAMIM"- "[And innocent blood shall not be spilled in the midst of your land that HaSh-m your G-d has given you as an inheritance, in which case] that blood would be your responsibility" (Devarim 19:10) - This verse is written regarding one's obligation to erect a fence around his flat roof, lest a tragedy occur. Similarly, one who is responsible for removing a thorn or other obstacle in a public place where it could cause damage who did not do so is at fault, even though he committed no action (TOSFOS DH v'Hayah).
15)[line 37]"וראה עצם אדם ובנה אצלו ציון""V'RA'AH ETZEM ADAM U'VANAH ETZLO TZIYUN" - "[And when one who is passing through Eretz Yisrael] sees a human bone, he shall build a marker next to it, [until the undertakers bury him in the valley of Hamon Gog]" (Yechezkel 39:15) (GOG U'MAGOG)
(a)Magog was one of the sons of Yefes son of Noach (Bereishis 10:2). The prophet Yechezkel (chapters 38-39) describes a cataclysmic war lead by Gog from the land of Magog, wherein many nations will combine forces to wage war against Eretz Yisrael. The prophet assures Gog that HaSh-m Himself will undermine the war effort and destroy all of his forces. Tradition has it that this war will occur at the end of days, preceding the revelation of HaSh-m as Master of the world.
(b)After this occurs, the Navi informs us, special officers (undertakers) will be appointed to remove all corpses found anywhere in Eretz Yisrael to the valley of Hamon Gog and bury them there, in order to ensure that the rest of the land remains pure.
16)[line 18]מקמי דליתיMI'KAMEI D'LEISI- before he came
17)[line 40]"כל בן נכר ערל לב וערל בשר לא יבא אל מקדשי""KOL BEN NECHAR, EREL LEV, V'EREL BASAR LO YAVO EL MIKDASHI"- "... any Nochri, wicked person, or uncircumcised individual [even due to that which his brothers died as a result of circumcision] may not come to my Temple..." (Yechezkel 44:9) - This verse teaches that a Kohen who is uncircumcised may not perform the Avodah in the Beis ha'Mikdash.
18)[line 41]גמרא גמירי להGEMARA GEMIRI LAH- we learned as a Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai
19)[line 43]"וטמא טמא יקרא""V'TAMEI TAMEI YIKRA"- "[And the clothing of the one afflicted with Tzara'as shall be torn, his head left bare, and upon his upper lip a cover,] and he shall call, 'Tamei, Tamei!'" (Vayikra 13:45).
20)[line 44]פרוש!PEROSH!- stay away!
21)[line 47]"ולפני עור לא תתן מכשול""V'LIFNEI IVER LO SITEN MICHSHOL"- "... and do not place an obstacle in front of a blind person..." (Vayikra 19:14).
22)[line 48]"ואמר סלו סלו פנו דרך הרימו מכשול מדרך עמי""V'AMAR, SOLU SOLU, PANU DERECH; HARIMU MICHSHOL MI'DERECH AMI"- "And he (the Navi in the name of HaSh-m) shall say, 'Pave, pave, clear the way, [remove the obstacle from the path of My people!]'" (Yeshayah 57:14)
23)[line 50]והזרתםV'HIZARTEM- and you shall separate
24a)[line 51]"ושמרתם את משמרתי...""U'SHMARTEM ES MISHMARTI"- "And you shall guard My charge..." (Vayikra 18:30).
b)[line 51]עשו משמרת למשמרתיASU MISHMERES L'MISHMARTI- make a guard for my "Mishmeres." This refers to Terumah, which must be eaten by a Kohen when he is Tahor (see below, entry #38), and which is referred to as "Mishmeres" (Bamidbar 18:8).
25)[line 52]"ושם דרך אראנו בישע אלהים""V'SAM DERECH AR'ENU B'YESHA EL-KIM"- "[One who offers praise honors Me;] and I shall show the salvation of G-d to he who sets a path" (Tehilim 50:23).
26)[line 52]השם אורחותיוHA'SHAM ORCHOSAV- who takes stock of his direction [in life]
27)[line 53]בישועתו של הקדוש ברוך הואYESHU'ASO SHEL HA'KADOSH BARUCH HU- (a) the salvation [of Bnei Yisrael] delivered by HaSh-m (RITVA, 1st explanation); (b) the salvation of HaSh-m [himself, since he suffers, as it were, along with us in Exile (Tehilim 91:15)] (RITVA, 2nd explanation)
28)[last line]בשבתא דריגלא לא הוה מקשי ליהB'SHABATA D'RIGLA, LO HAVAH MAKSHEI LEI- on the Shabbos that fell during the festival, he did not ask him [since many were gathered to hear Rav Yanai expound on the laws pertaining to the festival, and he would have been embarrassed had he not known the answer]
5b----------------------------------------5b
29)[line 2]כזית מן המת ולא על עצם כשעורהK'ZAYIS MIN HA'MES... ETZEM K'SE'ORAH (TUM'AS MES: MAGA, MASA, OHEL)
(a)When at least a k'Zayis of a dead body or certain bones of a Mes are in a covered area which is at least one Tefach in length, width, and height (such as in a room of a house), the Ohel (lit. tent) causes all (Jewish) people, vessels, and food which have been Huchshar l'Kabel Tum'ah (see Background to Eruvin 83:1) below it to become Tamei, while at the same time preventing anything above it from becoming Tamei. That is, an Ohel is Mevi Es ha'Tum'ah (spreads the Tum'ah underneath it) and is Chotzetz bi'Fnei ha'Tum'ah (intervenes between the Tum'ah and the space above the Ohel).
(b)In order for bones of a dead body to be Metamei b'Ohel, they must meet at least one of the following three conditions:
1.They constitute a quarter of a Kav (Rova ha'Kav);
2.They are the majority of the human body (this condition is fulfilled whether they are the majority of the build [Rov Binyano] of a body or whether they are the majority of the number [Rov Minyano] of the 248 bones of a body);
3.The bone is either a complete skull or a complete spinal column. This is in contrast to the minimum requirement for a bone to be Metamei through Maga (touching) or Masa (carrying); for these Tum'os it is enough for the bone to be the size of a Se'orah (a grain of barley).
(c)One who becomes Tamei through Ohel, Maga, or Masa of a Mes must be sprinkled with Mei Chatas (see Background to Sukah 37:19) on the third and seventh day following the one on which he became Tamei in order to become Tahor.
30a)[line 3]השדרהSHIDRAH- a spinal column
b)[line 5]הגולגולתGULGOLES- a skull
31)[line 5]רוב בנין... רוב מניןROV BINYAN... ROV MINYAN- see above, entry #29:b
32)[line 6]הוודאותHA'VADA'OS- those [graves whose location is] known [and therefore obvious]
33)[line 7]סככות ופרעותSECHACHOS U'PERA'OS- those that provide cover and protrude (the Gemara defines these terms further along the Amud)
34)[line 8]ובית הפרסBEIS HA'PRAS
(a)A Beis ha'Pras is a field or area that, although Tahor mid'Oraisa, must be treated as Tamei in certain respects mid'Rabanan. There are three distinct types of Beis ha'Pras (Ohalos 18:1-4):
1.A field containing a grave that has been plowed, presumably scattering the bones therein. Trees may be planted in such a field, but not grains or vegetables. One who traverses this type of Beis ha'Pras without taking any precautions, as well as one who comes into contact with earth taken from it, is presumed Tamei through Maga or Masa (see above, entry #29).
2.A public (TOSFOS Kesuvos 24b; RASH Ohalos 18:3) field in which a known grave cannot be located. Grains or vegetables may be planted in such a field, but not trees. One who traverses this type of Beis ha'Pras can become Tamei through Ohel (and according to some Girsa'os, through Maga and Masa as well).
3.A field on the edge of a town where a corpse is brought [and mourned] before burial. Neither trees, grains, nor vegetables may be planted in such a field. Unlike the first type of Beis ha'Pras, however, earth removed from it cannot make one Tamei. There are a number of points made by the Rishonim as to why the Rabanan declared such a field Tamei and did not allow it to be planted: Either part of a corpse (RASHI DH Mishum Ye'ush) or an entire corpse (ME'IRI) may have been inadvertently left there. Since corpses frequent the area, the Rabanan instituted that the area be left barren so that there is no reason for anyone to visit it and possibly become Tamei (PERUSH HA'MISHNAYOS to Ohalos 18:4).
i.Since the original owner of the field has not protested the community's practice of eulogizing their dead in this area, he loses his rights to the land. He cannot later decide that he wishes to plant the field, denying the community the right to use it as a place for public mourning (RITVA and RASH to Ohalos 18:4, as well as many other Rishonim; see Vilna Ga'on to Choshen Mishpat 377:2).
(b)There are three possible explanations for the term "Pras" used to describe these areas:
1.Tum'ah has been spread (Pores) throughout the field.
2.Broken (Perusim) bones are strewn throughout the field. (These first two explanations apply only to the first of the three types of Beis ha'Pras; see (a:1) above.)
3.People's footsteps (Parsos) avoid the field. (BARTENURA ibid.)
(c)In the case of the first type of Beis ha'Pras described above - a field containing a grave that has been plowed - the Rabanan decreed that the field is Metamei in every direction from the grave for the length of an average furrow, or fifty Amos, resulting in an area of one hundred by one hundred Amos surrounding the grave (RASH Ohalos 17:1). The Rabanan decreed that if one blows upon the ground while walking through this type of Beis ha'Pras, he remains Tahor since in this way he will certainly identify any bone fragments that may be in his path.
35)[line 9]הטהרותTAHAROS- that which must remain Tahor (such as Terumah and Kodshim)
36)[line 13]מצומצםMETZUMTZAM- exact
37)[line 14]מיחסר חסרMICHSAR CHASER- it will shrink
38)[line 15]תרומהTERUMAH (TERUMAH GEDOLAH)
(a)Once a crop is harvested and brought to the owner's house or yard, he must separate Terumah from the crop and give it to a Kohen. Terumah is one of the twenty-four Matnos Kehunah (gifts given to Kohanim by non-Kohanim). Although the Torah does not specify how much to give, the Rabanan set the requirement at between one fortieth and one sixtieth of the total crop. Until Terumah and Ma'asros have been properly separated, the produce is termed "Tevel" and may not be eaten.
(b)Terumah must be eaten by Kohanim or their wives, unmarried daughters, and Nochri slaves, when they are Tehorim. If the wife of a Kohen is not herself the daughter of a Kohen, she may eat Terumah only as long as her husband or at least one of their sons is alive (Vayikra 22:11, Bamidbar 18:11; see Nidah 44a).
39)[line 15]וקדשיםKODSHIM- parts of Korbanos
40)[line 15]לפי שעהL'FI SHA'AH- for a short period of time
41)[line 17]אילן המיסך על הארץILAN HA'MEISACH AL HA'ARETZ- a tree [whose branches] are spread above the ground. The reason why the area under this tree is considered possibly Tamei is that (a) it is near a cemetery, and a corpse may have been buried beneath it. In such a case, the entire area beneath it is an Ohel ha'Mes (first explanation of TOSFOS DH Ilan and RASHI to Nidah 57a); (b) a corpse is definitely buried under one of the branches, each of which is separated from the other branches of the tree such that they do not form a single Ohel. However, it is unknown which branch forms an Ohel over the Mes (second explanation of TOSFOS DH Ilan and RASHI to Nidah 57a); (c) it is known exactly under which branch of the tree the corpse is buried. Although the area under every other branch is clearly Tahor, the Rabanan decreed that one who walks beneath any of them is Tamei lest one confuse one with the another (RASH Ohalos 8:2).
42)[line 18]פרעותPERU'OS- that protrude (with a corpse possibly beneath them; see previous entry)
43)[line 21]מלא מענה מאה אמהMELO MA'ANAH, ME'AH AMAH- the length of an [average] furrow (fifty Amos) [in every direction from the grave, resulting in an area of] one hundred [by one hundred] Amos [surrounding it] (RASH Ohalos 17:1)
44)[line 23]מנפח אדםMENAPE'ACH ADAM- one may blow
45)[line 25]שנידשNIDASH- trampled
46)[line 25]כאן בשדה שאבד בה קברKAN B'SADEH SHE'AVAD BAH KEVER- that [which a Beis ha'Pras requires a marker] refers to a field in which a grave was lost [track of]
47)[line 48]והתנןVEHA'TENAN- This Mishnah is offered as proof of the Gemara's thesis.
48)[line 31]שמפטירין בה מתיםMAFTIRIN BAH MESIM- (a) [the pallbearers] take leave of corpses [leaving them in the care of the Chevrah Kadishah of the town in which it will be buried] (RASHI); (b) they eulogize the deceased (RASH to Ohalos 18:4, cited by the MAHARATZ CHAYOS)
49)[line 32]משום יאוש בעלים נגעו בהMI'SHUM YE'USH BE'ALIM NAG'U BAH- they dealt with it in this manner due to that which the pallbearers relinquish responsibility [there and assume that the corpse will be taken care of by others, when those others assume that just the opposite is true] (see also above, entry #34:a:3)
50)[line 35]מה טיבהMAH TIVA- what its nature is; i.e., whether it is a Beis ha'Pras in which a grave has been lost track of or one in which a grave has been plowed through
51)[line 36]בידוע שנחרש בה קברB'YADU'A SHE'NECHERASH BAH KEVER- see above, entry #34:a:1
52)[line 38]זקן או תלמידZAKEN O TALMID- an elder or a Talmid Chacham [who is aware of the status of the field]
53a)[line 42]אילנות מגואיILANOS MI'GAVA'I- the trees are on the inner part [of the field]
b)[last line]וקבר מבראיV'KAVER MI'BARA'I- and the grave is on the outer part [of the field, in which case the part of the field in which the grave is located has not necessarily been plowed]
54)[last line]בעומדין על הגבוליןOMDIN AL HA'GEVULIN- [the trees] are standing along the borders [of the field]