D.A.F.'s Moadim section

1) Helping the Public -

What motivated R' Shimon to engage in Tzorchei Tzibur (the needs of the public)?

1. Agadah Elucidations for Shabbos 33:5:d

2) Kohanim and Safek Tum'ah -

If it was "a burden for Kohanim to go around" the area in question, it implies that it was in Reshus ha'Rabim. But as a rule, Safek Tum'ah in Reshus ha'Rabim is considered Tahor!

1. Agadah Elucidations for Shabbos 33:5:h

3) Method, or miracle? -

What method did Rebbi Shimon use to ascertain the location of the graves, and thus purify the rest of the city?

1. Point by Point Outlines for Shabbos 34:1:d, til e

2. Agadah Elucidations for Shabbos 33:5:k

4) Rebuke to the nay-sayers -

What did R' Shimon mean in his objection to ha'Hu Saba, "People will say that harlots adorn one another, all the more so Chachamim!"

1. Agadah Elucidations for Shabbos 33:5:m

5) And Punishment -

Why were "ha'Hu Saba" and Yehuda ben Geirim indeed punished due to Rebbi Shimon's disapproval - even after Hashem rebuked him not to destroy His world?

1. Discussion for Shabbos 33:3

שבת לג: - לד.	Shabbos 33b - 34a
אמר הואיל ואיתרחיש ניסא, איזיל אתקין מילתא, דכתיב ויבא יעקב שלם... ויחן את פני העיר (בראשית לג:יח) ... אמרו ליה איכא דוכתא דאית ביה ספק טומאה ואית להו צערא לכהנים לאקופי. אמר, איכא איניש דידע דאיתחזק הכא טהרה? אמר ליה ההוא סבא, כאן קיצץ בן זכאי תורמסי תרומה! עבד איהו נמי הכי, כל היכא דהוה קשי טהריה וכל היכא דהוה רפי צייניה.	R. Shimon said: Since a miracle was done for me, I will fix something (just as Yaakov Avinu upon arriving in Shechem) ... They told him about a place of Safek Tum'ah, which was a burden for Kohanim to go around it. R. Shimon inquired if anyone knows whether that place was once Tahor (if so, it is not a cemetery, and we may use it). An elder testified: Here, R. Yochanan ben Zakai (who was a Kohen) cut legumes of Terumah (i.e., the place is Tahor). R. Shimon also made a Tikun, like Yaakov; the softened places he marked as Tamei; the hard places he marked Tahor (see Rashi, see Tosfos).
אמר ההוא סבא, טיהר בן יוחי בית הקברות אמר לו אילמלי (לא) היית עמנו ואפילו היית עמנו ולא נמנית עמנו יפה אתה אומר עכשיו שהיית עמנו ונמנית עמנו יאמרו זונות מפרכסות זו את זו תלמידי חכמים לא כל שכן! יהב ביה עיניה ונח נפשיה.	The elder exclaimed, R. Shimon has just declared the cemetery to be Tahor! R. Shimon: Had you not been with us (in the matter of demarcating the Tum'ah), or had you been there but did not agree with us, you could have dissented - but you were with us and agreed with us! If you dissent (now), people will say that if even harlots adorn one another, all the more so the Chachamim! R. Shimon put his eyes on him - and the elder died.
נפק לשוקא חזייה ליהודה בן גרים אמר עדיין יש לזה בעולם נתן בו עיניו ועשהו גל של עצמות.	R. Shimon went out and saw Yehudah ben Gerim (who had repeated R. Shimon's words, leading to the decree), and was amazed that he was still alive - he put his eyes on him, and turned him into a pile of bones.

PURIFYING THE CITY