Siman - Eruvin Daf 36
- Why Rebbe Yose holds ספק טומאה לחומרא even with טומאה דרבנן
The Gemara points out a difficulty, that on the previous Daf, Rebbe Yose said in the Mishnah in regards to an eruv techumin which is a d’Rabbanon, that ספק עירוב לקולא, whereas in the Mishnah brought from Mikvaos he holds ספק טומאה לחומרא, with a טומאה דרבנן.
Rav Huna bar Chinana said, שאני טומאה הואיל ויש לה עיקר מן התורה – tumah d’Rabbanon is different since it is a concept rooted in a d’Oraysa. Meaning that there is tumah Med’Oraysa, and therefore we are machmir even by tumah d’Rabbanon so that one will not come to be lenient by a doubtful tevillah when he is tamei mid’Oraysa. Eruv techumim, however, is purely a d’Rabbanon innovation. The Gemara provides two additional answers.
- Two loaves of terumah, one tahor, one tamei
Rav Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchak asked Rav Huna that if one had two loaves of terumah, one tamei and one tahor, and he did not know which was which, and after placing the two loaves at the edge of the techum he said: “Let my eruv be made with the tahor loaf, whichever one it is,” is the eruv valid?
Rav Huna answered that according to both Rebbe Meir and Rebbe Yose, בעינן סעודה הראויה מבעוד יום וליכא – we require a meal that is suitable while it is still day, on Friday, and it is not in this case. Meaning, that since he does not know which loaf is the tahor one, he is not permitted to eat either of them. Therefore, the eruv was not suitable to eat at the time that he placed it. Rashi explains that in the Mishnah’s case of a safek, the eruv was suitable at the time that he placed it.
- ברירה
The next Mishnah introduces the concept of ברירה, of retroactive designation, and shows how it may be used in the case of placing an eruv. A person may place two eruvin in opposite directions of his makom shevisa, and say if a chochom comes from the east, my eruv is to the east, if he comes from the west, my eruv is to the west. If one scholar comes from the west and the other from the east, למקום שארצה אלך – I shall go to the place I choose on Shabbos. This means that the eruv which is in the direction he chooses will be retroactively valid, and the other void.
Rebbe Yehudah said that in the case of two chochomim that come from different directions, if one was his Rebbe he must go to his teacher. Rashi explains that according to Rebbe Yehudah we assume that he wanted the eruv that was in the direction of his Rebbe to take effect.
