Super Daf › Bekhorot 38 › Gems from the Daf
Daf prep · Bekhorot 38 · בכורות ל״ח
Before you learn Bekhorot 38
Where we left off
The previous daf examined ear hole measurements. Rav Chisda noted that Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel appeared to hold identical skull deficiency measures.
The question going in
How are the measurements of Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel differentiated, and which eye conditions constitute permanent blemishes?
Know before you start
- מַקְדֵּחַ וְחִיסּוּמוֹ (drill and its clearance): A hole widened so a drill bit enters and exits freely. This makes the opening slightly larger than the tool itself.
- כְּלִי שֶׁטֶף (rinsable wooden vessel): A utensil purified through water immersion. Rabbinic law treats its exterior and interior separately regarding liquid contamination.
- תְּבַלּוּל (ocular streak defect): A white streak bisecting the iris ring and entering the pupil. Encroachments into the white fat of the eye are not blemishes.
Who's who
- Rav Chisda (רַב חִסְדָּא, Amora): He harmonizes the skull measurements of Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel using the clearance of a drill.
- Rav Tachlifa (רַב תַּחְלִיפָא, Amora): He endorses Rav Chisda's resolution as an absolute certainty based on early rabbinic testimony.
- Rabbi Meir (רַבִּי מֵאִיר, Tanna): He defines Beit Shammai's measure as a surgeon's drill and holds that any streak across the iris is a blemish.
- Rabbi Yosei (רַבִּי יוֹסֵי, Tanna): He restricts eye blemishes to abnormal white markings that encroach directly into the pupil.