[69a - 32 lines; 69b - 40 lines]

1)[line 4]מאי תלמודא?MAI TALMUDA?- What is the basis for the deduction [of the Rabanan] from this verse?

2)[line 4]אדרבי יוסי הגליליAD'REBBI YOSI HA'GLILI- it (this verse) [actually] refers to [the opinion of] Rebbi Yosi ha'Glili (and is the basis of his deduction)

3)[line 10]דאושפזיכניהUSHPIZICHNEI- his host

4)[line 12]זיל גנוב ואיזדבן בעבד עבריZIL GENOV, V'IZDABEN B'EVED IVRI- go out and steal [money that you will not be able to reimburse] and have yourself sold as an Eved Ivri (see Background to Kidushin 68:7b)

5)[line 14]שהיובלYOVEL

(a)The year after 7 Shemitah cycles of 7 years each is called the Yovel year. There is an argument among the Tana'im as to whether the 50th year is not counted as one of the years of Shemitah, or whether it is part of the count and is itself both the Yovel and the 1st year of the next Shemitah cycle.

(b)The Halachos of the Shemitah year apply in the Yovel year with regard to not working the land and maintaining the sanctity of the fruits that grow (see Background to Kidushin 58:12). In addition, at the start of the Yovel year, all Jewish slaves (Eved Ivri, see Background to Kidushin 68:7b) are set free and all properties that were sold since the previous Yovel year are returned to their original owners (see Background to Kidushin 17:17). On Yom ha'Kipurim of the Yovel Year, Beis Din blows a Shofar to denote that the time has come to set free all of the slaves (Vayikra 25:9).

(c)There is an argument among the Tana'im as to what is considered the beginning of the Yovel year. According to the Chachamim, Yovel starts with the Shofar blast of Yom ha'Kipurim. According to Rebbi Yochanan ben Berokah, it begins at Rosh Hashanah, and the Shofar blast only denotes the completion of the process of freeing the slaves (Rosh Hashanah 8b).

6)[line 17]לו הלך אחר פסולוLO, HALECH ACHAR PESULO- the verse (Devarim 23:3) adds an extra word, "Lo," that is seemingly unnecessary; it teaches that the Mamzer transfers his sullied lineage to all his future generations

PEREK #4 ASARAH YUCHASIM

7)[line 23]עשרה יוחסיםASARAH YUCHASIM- ten genealogical stocks

8)[line 23]חלליCHALALEI (CHALAL)

(a)The Torah (Vayikra 21:14) commands a Kohen Gadol not to marry a widow (Almanah), divorcee (Gerushah), prostitute ("Zonah" — see Background to Gitin 79:22), or Chalalah. An ordinary Kohen (Hedyot) is permitted to marry a widow, but not any of the other women listed above. The child from one of the above-mentioned unions is invalidated from the Kehunah, and is called a "Chalal." The Rabanan also prohibited all Kohanim from marrying a Chalutzah (see Background to Kidushin 67:6), and made the children of a Kohen from a Chalutzah Chalalim mid'Rabanan.

(b)A Chalal does not have the sanctity that a Kohen normally has. For this reason, both the privileges and the restrictions that apply to a Kohen do not apply to him. For example:

1.He may not serve in the Beis ha'Mikdash, and according to some sources he is Chayav Misah b'Yedei Shamayim if he does (MINCHAS CHINUCH 275:5).

2.A Chalal may not eat Terumah or the Kodshim reserved for Kohanim (Terumos 8:1).

3.He is not restricted with regard to the women that he is allowed to marry.

4.Chalalim are not prohibited from coming into contact with corpses.

5.He is not accorded the honors that are normally accorded to a Kohen.

(c)A widow, divorcee, or prostitute who has relations with a Kohen Gadol, and a divorcee or prostitute who has relations with a regular Kohen, becomes a "Chalalah." Female children born through such a union are also Chalalos. Also, any Jewish woman who has relations with a Chalal becomes a Chalalah (even though she is permitted to have relations with him).

(d)A Chalalah is prohibited to marry a Kohen. If she does marry (and have relations with) a Kohen, the Chalalah and the Kohen are punished with Malkos. A Chalalah may not eat Terumah. Although a Jewish woman who has living children from a Kohen normally eats Terumah, if she becomes a Chalalah she may no longer eat Terumah. Similarly, although the daughter of a Kohen normally eats Terumah until she becomes married to a non-Kohen, if she becomes a Chalalah she may no longer eat Terumah (Yevamos 69a).

(e)There is a Mitzvas Aseh for a Kohen Gadol to marry a Besulah (Vayikra 21:13). If he transgresses this Aseh and marries a Be'ulah (who is not an Almanah), the Tana'im argue as to whether the woman becomes a Chalalah and whether the child is a Chalal.

9)[line 23]גיריGEYAREI - converts (GERIM)

(a)A Kohen is prohibited to marry the daughter of a Chalal (see previous entry), even if her mother is a Jewess of unsullied lineage. Rebbi Yehudah rules that a Kohen is likewise prohibited to marry the daughter of a male convert, even if her mother is a Jewess of unsullied lineage.

(b)The SHULCHAN ARUCH (Even ha'Ezer 7:21) rules that a Kohen l'Chatchilah should not marry a woman whose parents are both converts; b'Dieved he may remain married to her. If one of her parents is Jewish, she may marry a Kohen l'Chatchilah, as long as her conception and birth took place after the conversion of the parent who is a convert (Beis Shmuel ibid. 7:42).

(c)The reason a Kohen may not marry a (actual) convert is because she is in the category of a "Zonah" (see Yevamos 60a-61a and Background to Gitin 79:22) (Vayikra 21:7).

10)[line 23]וחרוריCHARUREI - freed Nochri slaves (AVADIM MESHUCHRARIM)

(a)A Jew who owns a Nochri slave or maidservant (an Eved Kena'ani or a Shifchah Kena'anis) may release him or her from bondage in one of two ways: by accepting payment for his release, or by giving him a "Get Shichrur," or bill of release (Kidushin 22b). If he is not released in one of these two ways, he is still considered to be a slave for all Halachic matters (such as with regard to whom he is allowed to marry and what Mitzvos he is obligated to keep).

(b)A Kohen is prohibited from marrying a freed Shifchah, because she is in the category of a "Zonah" (see Yevamos 60a-61a and Background to Gitin 79:22) (Vayikra 21:7).

11)[line 23]ממזיריMAMZEIREI (MAMZER)

(a)There are prohibited marital relations that invalidate the ensuing offspring and render them Mamzerim. The Tana'im argue as to the nature of these prohibited relations. According to Rebbi Yehoshua, they must be relations that are punishable by Misas Beis Din (see Background to Kidushin 32:16). Rebbi Shimon ha'Timni rules that all relations that are punishable by Kares, even if they are not punishable by Misas Beis Din, produce a Mamzer (fem. Mamzeres). According to Rebbi Akiva, even relations that are prohibited by a Lav produce a Mamzer (Yevamos 49a). Other Tana'im argue regarding the opinion of Rebbi Akiva. There are those who assert that he rules that only relations prohibited by a Lav produce a Mamzer. Others hold that even those prohibited by an Aseh produce a Mamzer (except for a Kohen Gadol who has relations with a non-virgin — Kesuvos 30a). The Halachah follows the opinion of Rebbi Shimon ha'Timni, that only relations punishable by Kares produce a Mamzer (Yevamos ibid.)

(b)A Mamzer is prohibited to marry into the community of HaSh-m, that is, Jewish people of unsullied lineage (Devarim 23:3). He may, however, marry a Mamzeres and a Giyores (our Mishnah). The Tana'im and Amora'im argue as to whether a Safek Mamzer is prohibited mid'Oraisa to marry both a Mamzeres and a Jewess of unsullied lineage, because of the doubt, or whether he is permitted mid'Oraisa to marry either of them, since he is not included in the category of Mamzer that the Torah prohibited (Yevamos 37a, Kidushin 73a, 74a).

12)[line 23]ונתיניNESINEI (NESIN/NESINAH)

(a)In the times of Yehoshua, the Giv'onim (a people of the Chivi, one of the seven nations whom the Jewish People were commanded to destroy upon entering Eretz Yisrael) came and presented themselves before Yehoshua as if they came from a far-off land. Since they claimed not to be residents of Eretz Yisrael, they requested to be converted and to make peace with the Jewish People. After Yehoshua agreed to accept them, it was discovered that they were one of the seven prohibited nations. Having already accepted them, Yehoshua did not want to break his oath and covenant with them (even though they tricked him and the oath was uttered in error) so as not to cause a Chilul HaSh-m (a desecration of HaSh-m's Name). Yehoshua accepted them and appointed them to be woodchoppers and water drawers to supply the needs for the sacrificial service on the Mizbe'ach (Yehoshua 9:3-27). Earlier, in the times of Moshe Rabeinu, Giv'onim also came to be converted as they did in the times of Yehoshua, and Moshe also made them woodchoppers and water drawers. (This incident is not written explicitly. It is stated in the Gemara Yevamos 79a, and is based on the verse in Devarim 29:10.) These people became known as "Nesinim" (from the root "Nasan," to give) since they were "given over" by Moshe and Yehoshua ("va'Yitenem..." - "And he appointed them..."; Yehoshua 9:27) to perform the tasks of chopping wood and drawing water.

(b)A Nesin is prohibited to marry into the community of HaSh-m, that is, Jewish people of unsullied lineage. RASHI and TOSFOS (Kesuvos 29a and elsewhere) argue as to whether they are prohibited mid'Oraisa or mid'Rabanan. We find that the Gemara (Yevamos 79a) states that Moshe Rabeinu "decreed" regarding the Nesinim of his generation, and Yehoshua extended the "decree" to last as long as the Mishkan or Beis ha'Mikdash would stand. David ha'Melech later extended the "decree" to include all time, even if the Beis ha'Mikdash would be destroyed (because of the trait of cruelty that the Nesinim exhibited, which showed that they were not worthy of uniting with the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yakov). According to Rashi, these decrees were prohibitions against marriage, and as such the prohibition against marrying Nesinim is an Isur mid'Rabanan. According to Tosfos, these decrees were appointments of servitude. The prohibition against marrying them, though, is mid'Oraisa, since the Torah commands against marrying the seven prohibited nations even if they convert to Judaism (Devarim 7:3; Yevamos 76a).

13)[line 24]שתוקיSHESUKEI (SHESUKI)

A Shesuki is a person (male or female) whose paternal lineage is in doubt, and the possibility exists that he is a Mamzer (see above, entry #11). The term is derived from the word Shesikah, silence, since when he calls for his father, his mother tells him to be silent.

14)[line 24]ואסופיASUFEI (ASUFI)

An Asufi is a person (male or female) whose paternal and maternal lineage is in doubt, and the possibility exists that he is a Mamzer (see above, entry #11). The term is derived from the word Le'esof, to gather or bring in, since he was brought in from the streets not knowing the identity of his parents.

15)[line 28]בדוקיBEDUKI- lit. "one who is examined" (the Gemara on 74a will explain the meaning of this phrase)

16)[line 30]"... וקמת ועלית אל המקום אשר יבחר ה' א-לקיך""... V'KAMTA V'ALISA EL HA'MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR HASH-M EL-KECHA"- "... you shall arise and go up to the place that HaSh-m your G-d will choose" (Devarim 17:8).

69b----------------------------------------69b

17)[line 3]"לכן הנה ימים באים...""LACHEN, HINEH YAMIM BA'IM..."- "Therefore, behold days are coming, says HaSh-m, and they will no longer say, 'By the life of HaSh-m, Who raised up the children of Yisrael from the land of Egypt,' but rather, 'By the life of HaSh-m, Who raised up and Who brought the seed of the house of Yisrael from the land of the north and from all of the lands to which I banished them there" (Yirmeyahu 23:7-8).

18)[line 10]כסולת נקיהK'SOLES NEKIYAH- like finely sifted flour

19)[line 14]אפרושי אפרושינהוAFRUSHEI AFRESHINHU- they separated [those of sullied lineage]

20)[line 16]כל ארצות עיסה לארץ ישראלKOL ARATZOS ISAH L'ERETZ YISRAEL- (a) All lands are considered waste in comparison with Eretz Yisrael; the Kohanim and the other inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael were careful to inspect the lineage of all of its inhabitants (RASHI). (Rashi (below, 71a) cites REBBI MOSHE ME'ROMAT, who claims that the word "Isah" refers to the solid grape waste that is left after the juice is squeezed out.) (b) All lands are considered as a dough with regard to Eretz Yisrael; just as the different ingredients of a dough are indiscernible from one another, the different families that live outside of Eretz Yisrael are indiscernible (which ones are of reputable lineage and which ones are Mamzerim) (RASHI to Kesuvos 111a).

21)[line 19]"ואקבצם אל הנהר...""VA'EKBETZEM EL HA'NAHAR..."- "And I gathered them together at the river that runs to Ahavah, and we encamped there for three days; and I inspected the people, and the Kohanim, but found there none of the sons of Levi" (Ezra 8:15) - RASHI and TOSFOS explain that Leviyim did travel with Ezra to Eretz Yisrael, however they were Ba'alei Mum who were unable to play the musical instruments for the service in the Beis ha'Mikdash. When they were captured and exiled by Nevuchadnetzar, he asked them to play for him the songs of the Beis ha'Mikdash. Totally distraught by their predicament and the blasphemous request, they bit off their thumbs so they were unable to play the Temple instruments. Other Leviyim, who were needed for the Temple service, did not travel with Ezra.

22a)[line 21]בפסוליםPESULIM- people of sullied lineage

b)[line 21]בכשיריםKESHEIRIM- with people of pure lineage

23)[line 22]"וישבו הכהנים והלוים...""VA'YESHVU HA'KOHANIM VEHA'LEVIYIM..."- "And they settled — the Kohanim, and the Leviyim, and some from the nation, and the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the Nesinim — in their cities, and all of Yisrael in their cities" (Ezra 2:70) - The mention of singers in this verse, which includes those Leviyim who played the Temple instruments, seems to contradict the verse cited previously (ibid. 8:15). The Mefarshim offer several answers. Some suggest that the musicians came from countries other than Bavel, or that they came from Bavel to Eretz Yisrael previously, arriving before Ezra (RITVA). Others suggest that Ezra sent for those Leviyim who were fit to play instruments afterwards, as is recorded in the ensuing verses (ibid. 8:16-19). The TOSFOS ROSH writes that the Leviyim in the time of Ezra played non-string instruments, which did not require thumbs to play (Leviyim do not become unfit for service in the Beis ha'Mikdash due to Mumim — Chulin 24a).

24)[line 24]חזקהCHAZAKAH - the situation as it stood until now, i.e. an assumption that is legally reliable

(a)One of the most confusing aspects of the subject of "Chazakah" is that the term "Chazakah" is used to describe so many unrelated laws. Just about any logical clarification of a doubt (and more) is referred to by this name. In our Sugya, it is referring to the rule that when doubt arises as to whether the status of a certain person/object has changed, we assume that is has not changed.

1.Such a "Chazakah" may be used in regard to a purely Halachic status (such as Tamei/Tahor or Mutar/Asur), or in regards to a physical status that effects the Halachah (such as an animal not being a Tereifah, or a Mikvah not lacking the necessary amount of water).

2.A Chazakah may work forward in time (Chazakah D'Ikara), proving what will be, or backward in time (Chazakah D'Hashta), proving what was.

(b)The word Chazakah is sometimes used to refer to what is actually a Ruba d'Leisa Kaman (see Background to Yevamos 119:6), such as "Chazakah Sheli'ach Oseh Shelichuso" (Chulin 12a). This is not the Chazakah we are discussing here.

(c)Another Chazakah proves that if a woman and man have acted as mother and son for a long enough time, it is accepted as strong enough evidence of their kinship to cause them to be executed for having forbidden relations with each other (Kidushin 80a). This too, is not the subject of our Sugya.

25)[line 24]"ומבני הכהנים... עד עמוד כהן לאורים ותומים""UMI'BENEI HA'KOHANIM... AD AMOD KOHEN L'URIM UL'SUMIM"- "And of the sons of the Kohanim were the sons of Chavayah, the sons of Hakotz, the sons of Barzilai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzilai the Gil'adi and became called by their name. They searched for their documents of lineage but they were not found, and they were banished from the Kehunah. Hatirshasa (Nechemyah) said to them that they may not eat from Kodshim until a Kohen arises to the Urim v'Tumim (to find out if they are genuine Kohanim)" (Ezra 2:61-63).

26)[line 29]מעלים מתרומה ליוחסיןMA'ALIM MI'TERUMAH L'YUCHASIN- we verify (lit. bring up, elevate) a person [whose lineage was not known] as a Kohen based upon the fact that people apportion Terumah to him

27)[line 30]דריע חזקתייהוD'RI'A CHEZKAIHU- there is reason to question their Chazakah

28)[line 31]בתרומה דרבנן / בתרומה דאורייתאTERUMAH D'RABANAN / TERUMAH D'ORAISA

(a)After a crop is harvested and brought to the owner's house or yard, he must separate Terumah Gedolah from the crop and give it to a Kohen (Bamidbar 18:12; Devarim 18:4). Although the Torah does not specify the amount to be given, the Rabanan set the requirement at one fiftieth of the total crop. After Terumah is removed from the produce, one tenth of the produce that remains must be designated "Ma'aser Rishon," and given to a Levi (Bamidbar 18:21). The Levi, in turn, must separate one tenth of his Ma'aser Rishon as Terumas Ma'aser, to be given to a Kohen (Bamidbar 18:26).

(b)The produce may not be eaten (and is known as Tevel) until both Terumos have been removed. The punishment for eating Tevel b'Mezid (intentionally) is Malkos and Misah b'Yedei Shamayim. A non-Kohen may not eat Terumah. Even Kohanim and their families and slaves may not eat Terumah unless they are Tehorim (ritually pure).

(c)The obligation to give Terumah is learned from the verse, "Reishis Deganecha Tiroshecha v'Yitzharecha... Titen Lo" - "The first portion of your grain, wine, and oil... give [to the Kohen]" (Devarim 18:4). The Rishonim dispute from which crops one is obligated to give Terumah mid'Oraisa.

1.According to RASHI (here and elsewhere), TOSFOS (Bechoros 54a DH u'Shnei and elsewhere), the RA'AVAD (Hilchos Ma'aser 1:9), and the SEFER HA'CHINUCH (#507), Terumah mid'Oraisa is only taken from the crops mentioned in this verse, grains, grapes, and olives.

2.According to the RAMBAN (Devarim 14:22), Terumah mid'Oraisa is only taken from grains, wine, and olive oil, but not from raw grapes and olives. (According to Tosfos in Bava Metzia 88b DH Ki, although Terumah mid'Oraisa must be taken from grapes and olives as well, that is only if they were harvested to be eaten.)

3.According to the RAMBAM (Hilchos Terumos 2:1, 6), Terumah mid'Oraisa must be taken from all produce that is not ownerless (Hefker), that grows from the ground and that is regularly eaten by humans.

(d)According to all opinions, there is at least a Mitzvah mid'Rabanan to separate Terumah from all produce that is not ownerless, that grows from the ground, and that is regularly eaten by humans (MINCHAS CHINUCH # 507).

29a)[line 37]מידי דמיקרי קדשMIDI D'MIKRI KODESH- something that is called Kodesh (Terumah)

b)[line 38]מידי דמיקרי קדשיםMIDI D'MIKRI KODSHIM- something that is called Kodshim (parts of the sacrifices, specifically the Chazeh v'Shok — see next entry)

30)[last line]במורם מן הקדשיםB'MURAM MIN HA'KODSHIM (CHAZEH V'SHOK)

The chest and the hind leg of the Korban Shelamim (peace offering) were waved in a prescribed manner and were then given as a gift to the Kohanim (Vayikra 7:28-36).