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Week 125 - Friday - 19 April 2002

EDUYOT: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 6

A barrel of pickled olives - the School of Shammai says, He need not perforate; but the School of Hillel says, He must perforate. They agree that if he made a hole and dregs closed it, it is clean. One who anoints with clean oil and he became unclean, he went down and immersed himself- the School of Shammai says, Even though he drips, it is clean; but the School of Hillel says, Enough to anoint a small limb. And if the oil was unclean from the start, the School of Shammai says, Enough to anoint a small limb; but the School of Hillel holds, Liquid which is moist. R. Yehudah says in the name of the School of Hillel, It is moist and makes moist.

Kehati

The Torah states (Lev. 11:34), "Of all food which may be eaten, that on which water comes shall be unclean" - from here our Sages learn that food fit for human consumption cannot become unclean unless it has once come in contact with water. This is known as preparation for uncleanness, for the water prepares the food to become unclean. Nor is this law restricted to water alone, but other liquids, amongst them wine and oil, also make food susceptible to becoming unclean. Now, the liquid only "prepares" the food if it moistened with the approval of the owner, as it states (Lev. 11:38), "But if water is put upon the seed, and any part of their [swarming thing] carcass fall thereon, it is unclean unto you." In the Torah the word for "put" is written yiten (a kal active) whilst it is read yutan (a passive). From this, our Sages expounded: yutan (passive) must resemble yiten (active). Just as yiten implies the owner's consent, so too must yutan involve the owner's consent. The first part of our mishnah deals with the liquid which exudes from olives pickled in salt, if the owner desires this liquid for the sake of the olives, it prepares the olives to become unclean.

A barrel of pickled olives - which were pickled in salt, the School of Shammai says, He need not perforate - the barrel, to allow the liquid to flow out, thereby indicating that he does not desire the liquid, and the liquid, accordingly, does not prepare the olives to become unclean. According to the School of Shammai it is common knowledge that such a liquid is not wanted by the owner. For such olives are meant to be eaten, and the liquid does not improve them, and may spoil them by making them too soft to be eaten. Thus such a liquid does not prepare the olives to become unclean; but the School of Hillel says, He must perforate - the barrel, to prove by his action that he does not want the liquid and wants it to flow out of the barrel through the hole he has made, and only then does the liquid not prepare the olives to become unclean. If, however, he did not do something to reveal his mind that he does not want the liquid, then the liquid prepares the olives to become unclean. Some explain that the argument between the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel is whether this liquid is one of the types of liquid, which prepare food to become unclean. The School of Shammai holds that this type of liquid is like fruit juice and does not prepare food to become unclean, whilst the School of Hillel holds that this liquid is like oil and does prepare food to become unclean (Rashi, Yevamot 15b).

They - The School of Hillel, agree that if he made a hole- in the barrel, and dregs closed it - The hole was blocked up by dregs, so the liquid does not flow out, it is clean - The olives in the barrel are not prepared to become unclean. By perforating the barrel he has shown that he does not desire the liquid, and the olives therefore are not prepared to become unclean.

One who anoints - his body with clean oil and he became unclean - while the oil is still on him, and then he went down and immersed himself - in a mikveh to purify himself from his uncleanness, the School of Shammai says, Even though he drips - The oil drips from his body after he immersed himself, it is clean - the oil; and even though the only liquid that can become clean by immersion is water, this oil is neutralized by his body, and when his body becomes clean by immersion, the oil on him becomes clean as well; but the School of Hillel says, Enough to anoint a small limb - If only enough oil remained on the person to anoint a small limb, namely the small finger of the hand, the oil becomes clean by the immersion of the body, but if more oil than that remained on the body the oil is unclean, for a liquid does not become clean by immersion in a mikveh.

And if the oil was unclean from the start - If a person anointed his body with unclean oil, the School of Shammai says, Enough to anoint a small limb - If at the time he immersed himself only enough oil remained on the person to anoint a small limb, the oil is clean; but if there was more oil than that, it remains unclean; but the School of Hillel holds, Liquid which is moist - If there is enough oil on the body to moisten one's hand if he touches it, the oil is not made clean by the person's immersion, and it remains unclean, R. Yehudah says in the name of the School of Hillel, It is moist and makes moist - If there is enough oil on the person's body so that the hand which touches it not only becomes moist but can make another area moist by touching it, the oil remains unclean even after the person's immersion. The halakhah does not follow R. Yehudah.

EDUYOT: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 7

A woman is betrothed by a dinar and the value of a dinar, according to the School of Shammai; but the School of Hillel says, By a perutah or the value of a perutah. And how much is a perutah? One of eight of the Italian isar. The School of Shammai says, He dismisses his wife with an old bill of divorce; but the School of Hillel forbids. What is an old bill of divorce? Any one in which he was alone with her after they wrote it for her. One who divorces his wife and she lodges with him in an inn - the School of Shammai says, She does not need a second bill of divorce, but the School of Shammai says, She needs a second bill of divorce from him. When? When she was divorced from him from their marriage; but if she was divorced from their betrothal she does not need a second bill of divorce from him, for he is not presumptuous with her.

Kehati

Three separate laws are brought in this mishnah: a) Betrothal of a woman by money. This is a mishnah at the beginning of Kiddushin. b) An old get. This is a mishnah in Gittin (8:4). c) A person alone with his divorced wife. This, too, is a mishnah in Gittin (8:9).

A woman is betrothed by a dinar or the value of a dinar - One who betroths a woman using money must give her at least a dinar, which is a quarter of a sela, or an object which is worth at least a dinar, according to the School of Shammai - which holds that a woman is not betrothed with less than a dinar; but the School of Hillel says, By a perutah or the value of a perutah - A woman is betrothed even by a perutah or with an object the value of a perutah.

And how much is a perutah? One of eight of the Italian isar - An eighth of an Italian isar (an isar is 1/24 of a dinar). The School of Shammai says, He dismisses his wife with an old bill of divorce - A person may divorce his wife with an old bill of divorce, as explained later in the mishnah; but the School of Hillel forbids - a person to use an old bill of divorce, as detailed below.

What is an old bill of divorce? Any one in which he was alone with her -The husband and his wife, after they wrote it for her - A husband wrote a get to divorce his wife, and before he handed it to her, he was alone with her. Such a bill of divorce is known as "an old get." The School of Hillel holds that one is forbidden to divorce his wife with an old bill of divorce, for if one were permitted to use an old bill of divorce he might give it to his wife a year or two after it was written, during which time they might have other children. Later, when people look at the date on the bill of divorce they will presume that it was given the day it was written. They will then compare the date of the get with the birthdates of the children and they will then conclude that the children were born after the divorce and are children of an unmarried woman. The School of Shammai does not take into account the possibility of people saying that the bill of divorce preceded the birth of the children, and therefore permits the use of an old get. The halakhah follows the School of Hillel, and one is forbidden to use an old get. If a woman was nevertheless divorced with an old get she is considered divorced, and may remarry a priori (Talmud; Rambam, Hil. Gerushin, 3:5).

One who divorces his wife and she lodges with him - thereafter, in an inn - and there are witnesses that he was alone with her, the School of Shammai says, She does not need a second bill of divorce; but the School of Hillel says, She needs a second bill of divorce from him - For the School of Hillel holds that the witnesses to them being alone serve as witnesses that they had intercourse. Since a Jew would not indulge in licentious intercourse, he must have had intercourse with the intention of betrothing his former wife. She therefore needs a second get from him. The School of Shammai holds that though there are witnesses that the two were alone together, that is no proof that they had intercourse, and there is therefore no need for a second bill of divorce.

When - does the School of Hillel require the husband to give his former wife a second bill of divorce? When she was divorced from him from their marriage - For he is familiar with her, and presumptuous; but if she was divorced from their betrothal she does not need a second bill of divorce from him, for he is not presumptuous with her - For he is not familiar with her and therefore we do not suspect that they might have had intercourse.

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