Siman - Pesachim Daf 52
- Excommunication vs. malkus
Rav Nassan bar Asya, who was from Eretz Yisrael, once travelled from the Rabbinical academy to Pumbedisa on the second day of Shavuos, thereby going beyond the techum, and Rav Yosef excommunicated him. When Abaye suggested to Rav Yosef that he should have given malkus to Rav Nassan instead, Rav Yosef replied, עדיפא עבדי ליה – I gave him the more severe punishment, for in Eretz Yisrael they vote to impose malkus on a yeshiva student who sins in a d’Rabbanon, ולא מימנו אשמתא – and they do not vote to excommunicate. Rashi explains that they try to avoid excommunicating a talmid as much as possible out of concern for kavod haTorah that the student represents. Since malkus is a less severe punishment, the publicity generated is not so damaging to the talmid’s reputation and the Torah’s honor. Rav Yosef excommunicated Rav Nassan because violating the second day of Yom Tov is a more serious offense. The Gemara brings a different version of this episode.
- Three different types of sheviis vegetables pickled in one barrel
The Mishnah on Daf 50b stated that if one transports פירות שביעית - produce of the Sabbatical year, ממקום שכלו למקום שלא כלו – from a place where they have been depleted to a place where they have not been depleted, or vice versa, חייב לבער – one must take on the chumros of both places and is chayav to do biyur. Rebbe Yehudah says, צא והבא לך אף אתה – We say to him, “Go out and bring for yourself.”
The Gemara here attempts to clarify the machlokes between the Tanna Kamma and Rebbe Yehuda with five different interpretations, rejecting some. In the fourth interpretation Rav Ashi says that they are taking sides in the machlokes in a Mishnah in Sheviis which states, הכובש שלשה כבשין בחבית אחת – One who preserves three kinds of vegetables in one barrel, Rebbe Eliezer says, אוכלין על הראשון – we may eat all three until one is depleted in the fields. The marinating process renders the three species as one entity. Rebbe Yehoshua says we may eat all three until the last species is depleted. Since the two species that have become depleted have the flavor of the third, they do not require removal. Rabban Gamliel says, כל שכלה מינו מן השדה יבער מינו מן החבית – as each species becomes depleted in the field, one shall remove that species from the barrel. The Tanna Kamma of our Mishnah goes according to Rebbe Yehoshua, while Rebbe Yehudah holds like Rabban Gamliel. The halachah goes according to Rabban Gamliel.
- שלש ארצות לביעור
The Gemara brings a Mishna that teaches, שלש ארצות לביעור – There are three lands for purposes of biyur, Yehudah, Ever HaYarden and the Galil, and each one is divided into three sub lands - mountains, lowlands, and valleys, to teach that people may eat shemittah produce in each one of the three main lands until the last subdivision in the land has become exhausted of its produce. Rav Chama bar Ukva said in the name of Rebbe Yose bar Chanina that we learn this from the passuk, ולבהמתך ולחיה אשר בארצך – And it shall be for your animals, and for the beasts that are in your lands. As long as the chayah can eat shemittah produce from the field, you shall feed it to the beheimah in your house. However, once the produce is depleted for the chayah in the field, you must remove it from the animal in the house. There is a tradition that a chayah in Yehudah does not live on produce that is in the Galil and vice versa. Rashi explains that a chayah will not travel such a great distance from Yehuda to the Galil to forage but it will travel between the various geographic areas of one land.
