(a) One may pose the following question. If one Tana received the Gezeirah Shaveh and the other Tana did not, why did the Tana who did not have a Kabalah, not accept the Kabalah from the Tana that had a Kabalah? Rabeinu Tam (Tosfos Shabos 97a) answered that the Tana'im had a Kabalah as to how many Gezeirah Shavehs there are in the Torah. There was disagreement as to which Gezeirah Shaveh was authentic. A Tana could not simply accept a new Gezeirah Shaveh, as this would necessitate the rejection of another Gezeirah Shaveh that he has accepted from his Rebbi.

(b) Rashi in Sukah 31a says a Hekesh may not be without a Kabalah. This is also the opinion of Rashi in Sanhedrin 73a and Menachos 82b. However Rashi in Rosh Hashanah 34a states that one may learn a Hekesh by oneself. See also Rashi in Gitin 41b. Rebbi Akiva Eiger in his Gilyon ha'Shas (Rosh Hashanah 34a) points out the apparent contradiction.

I would venture to suggest, that those who hold a Hekesh may be made without a Kabalah, are of the opinion that a Hekesh differs from a Gezeirah Shaveh in that it can be regarded as a form of Drashah. This is because it is based on the juxtaposition of two words in the Torah, or on the Torah comparing two subjects. In this way, the Torah is revealing to us that the two subjects are comparable. (This may explain why Hekesh is not counted as one of the Midos she'ha'Torah Nidreshes ba'Hem. The Midos are Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai and are not regular Drashas. Hekesh is just a way of making a Drashah.) A Gezeirah Shaveh however, does not give us any hint as to the possibility of connecting the two subjects and without the Kabalah there would be no reason to connect them.

Dov Freedman