Eduyos 4:6-7

Eduyos 4:6

Beis Shammai say that a barrel of pickled olives need not be perforated (which will let the liquid drain to indicate that he doesn’t desire it) but Beis Hillel say that it must be perforated (otherwise we infer that he wants the liquid, the difference being in whether the olives will be susceptible to ritual impurity). Beis Hillel and Beis Shammai agree that if the owner made a hole to let the liquid drain but the dregs stopped it up, then the olives are not susceptible to ritual uncleanliness (because he clearly did not desire the liquid). Let’s say that a person anointed himself using ritually-clean oil and he was then rendered ritually unclean, so he immersed himself in a mikva. Beis Shammai say that even though the oil drips from him, it is still ritually clean; Beis Hillel say this is only the case with a volume of oil that is small enough to anoint one’s pinky finger. If the oil he used to anoint was originally ritually unclean, Beis Shammai say that a volume that is small enough to anoint one’s pinky will be rendered ritually clean; Beis Hillel say that if there is enough oil that it feels moist, it will not be rendered clean. Rabbi Yehuda says in the name of Beis Hillel that the measure is that it feels moist and makes another body part it touches feel moist.

Eduyos 4:7

Beis Shammai say that a woman can be betrothed by giving her a dinar (a denomination of coin) or something worth a dinar; Beis Hillel say by giving her a prutah (a much smaller denomination) or something worth a prutah. A prutah is one-eighth of an Italian isar. (An isar is 1/24 of a dinar so a prutah is 1/192 of a dinar!) Beis Shammai say that a man can divorce his wife using an old get but Beis Hillel prohibit this. An old get is one that he wrote for her but they were subsequently alone together. (If one were permitted to use such a get, one might use it years later, casting aspersions on any children born after the date in the get.) If a man divorced his wife and they subsequently stayed together at an inn, Beis Shammai say that she does not require a new get but Beis Hillel say that she does. This is the case when she was divorced from him following marriage but if she was divorced following betrothal she does not need a new get because he is not familiar with her in that way.