[61a - 52 lines; 61b - 30 lines]
1a)[line 6]ãøê îøâìåú äîèäDERECH MARGELOS HA'MITAH- by way of the foot of the bed
b)[line 7]ãøê òìéäDERECH ALIYAH- by way [of the outer edge of the bed, the way] that one goes up [to the bed] (RASHI, without the emendation of the Bach)
2)[line 11]âì èîàGAL TAMEI- a heap of stones under which there is a k'Zayis of a corpse
3)[line 16]ëì ãáø ùäåà áçæ÷ú èåîàäKOL DAVAR SHE'HU B'CHEZKAS TUM'AH- any [field] that had an affirmed status of Tum'ah remains in that status until the source of the Tum'ah is identified (such as the bones in a Beis ha'Peras). Every section that one checks and does not find a bone is presumed to be Tahor, until one checks the entire field and finds no bone, in which case the Chezkas Tum'ah tells us that his checking was inexact and retroactively the entire field is considered to be Tamei. This is taught by our Mishnah, which states, "A Tamei pile (i.e. with a k'Zayis of a corpse in it) became mixed up with two Tahor piles. If they check one pile and find it to be Tahor, that pile is Tahor and the other two are considered Teme'im. If they check two piles and find them to be Tehorim, those two are Tehorim and the third is Tamei. If they then check the third pile and find it to be Tahor as well - all three are Tamei" [because there is a Chezkas Tum'ah that tells us that a Tamei pile is somewhere in the group].
4a)[line 19]ñìòSELA- bedrock
b)[line 19]áúåìäBESULAH- ground that has never been turned
5)[line 21]îùåìáåúMESHULAVOS- lying in a position that they are pressed together with their legs tangled together
6)[line 25]òåøáOREV- (O.F. corbeau) raven or crow
7)[line 26]ù÷îä ùì ëôø ñáàSHIKMAH SHEL KFAR SAVA- a sycamore tree (or Egyptian fig) in Kefar Sava (a city in Shomron)
8)[line 27]äéå îçæé÷éï áä èåîàäHAYU MACHAZIKIN BAH TUM'AH- people were convinced that there was something Tamei in its vicinity
9)[line 28]ìéîéí ðùáä áå äøåç åò÷øúåL'YAMIM NASHVAH VO HA'RU'ACH V'AKARASO- after a few years a strong wind uprooted it
10)[line 28]âåìâåìúGULGOLES- skull
11)[line 29]úçåáä ìå áòé÷øåTECHUVAH LO B'IKARO- wedged in between its roots
12)[line 31]îòøä ùì ùéçéïME'ARAH SHEL SHICHIN- a cave of Shichin, a town near Tzipori in the lower Galilee
13)[line 33]çì÷ä ëöôåøïCHALAKAH K'TZIPOREN- as smooth as a fingernail
14)[line 34]ðúæå á÷øãåîåúéäïNITZU B'KARDUMOSEIHEN- they chopped with their axes
15)[line 35]îëúùúMACHTESHES- a mortar-shaped cavity
16)[line 37]ñìò áéú çåøåïSELA BEIS CHORON- "the rock of Beis Choron." Beis Choron is the name of twin towns on the border between Binyamin and Efrayim, located in the foothills leading up from Lod to Yerushalayim. The altitude of Beis Choron Elyon (Upper Beis Choron) is 600 meters, and the altitude of Beis Choron Tachton (Lower Beis Choron) is 400 meters. The distance between them is three and a half kilometers. The road that connects them is bordered on both sides by steep cliffs and wadis and is called Morad Beis Choron.
17)[line 42]éùîòàì áï ðúðéä / éùîòàì áï ÷øçYISHMAEL BEN NETANYAH / GEDALYAH / YOCHANAN BEN KERE'ACH- After Nevuchadnetzar destroyed the Beis ha'Mikdash ha'Rishon in Yerushalayim (in 3338; see Melachim II 25:8-26) and exiled most of the people of Bnei Yisrael to Bavel, he appointed Gedalyah ben Achikam to be the Jewish governor (in the city of Mitzpah) of the remnant of the people who remained in Eretz Yisrael. The poor people were left to be workers in vineyards and fields. Gedalyah was warned by Yochanan ben Kereach that the king of Amon had sent Yishmael ben Netanyah to kill him. Gedalyah ignored the warning and was killed by Yishmael on Rosh ha'Shanah. Two days after the assassination, when the event was not yet known, many men came from the Shomron on their way to the Beis ha'Mikdash (having just found out about the destruction). As they neared Mitzpah, Yishmael tricked them into coming into the city to visit Gedalyah. As soon as they were in the city, Yishmael and his men slaughtered most of them, filling a pit with their bodies. Most of the remnant of the people then fled to Egypt out of fear of the Kasdim (the Babylonians) and the land remained desolate (see Yirmeyahu 40-43).
18)[line 43]çììéíCHALALIM- corpses
19)[line 43]"åäáåø àùø äùìéê ùí éùîòàì àú ëì ôâøé äàðùéí àùø äëä áéã âãìéäå [äåà àùø òùä äîìê àñà îôðé áòùà îìê éùøàì àúå îìà éùîòàì áï ðúðéäå çììéí.]""VEHA'BOR ASHER HISHLICH SHAM YISHMAEL ES KOL PIGREI HA'ANASHIM ASHER HIKAH B'YAD GEDALYAHU [HU ASHER ASAH HA'MELECH ASA MIPNEI BASHA MELECH YISRAEL, OSO MILEI YISHMAEL BEN NESANYAHU CHALALIM.]" - "And the pit into which Yishmael threw the corpses of all those whom he had smitten at the hand of Gedalyahu (who declined to take heed of Yochanan ben Kare'ach's warning to be on his guard) [that was the same pit that Asa the king built to prevent Basha, king of Yisrael, from attacking him, and that was the pit which Yishmael ben Nesanyahu now filled with corpses.]" (Yirmeyahu 41:9) (THE PIT THAT YISHMAEL BEN NESANYAH DUG)
(a)Yochanan ben Kare'ach warned Gedalyah ben Achikam, appointed by Nevuchadnetzar to lead the remnant of Jews who remained in Eretz Yisrael after the destruction of the first Beis ha'Mikdash, that Yishmael ben Nesanyah planned to assassinate him. Gedalyah declined to accept Yochanan ben Kare'ach's warning and refused his offer to preempt his own assassination by killing Yishmael first. Yishmael, with the assistance of his ten henchmen, murdered Gedalyah together with all of his family, his guests, and the group of Babylonian soldiers who were with him, as they feasted in Mitzpah on the second day of Rosh ha'Shanah.
(b)Yishmael took captive all the people who remained in Mitzpah. Outside the city, however, nobody was aware of what Yishmael had done.
(c)On the following day, eighty people arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Shomron. Not knowing about the destruction of the Beis ha'Mikdash that had just recently taken place, they left their homes carrying meal-offerings and incense to offer on the Mizbe'ach. When they heard about the destruction, they shaved off their beards, rent their garments, and made cuts in their flesh as a sign of mourning. They made their way to Mitzpah. There, Yishmael ben Nesanel came out to meet them, weeping as if he too was mourning for the Churban ha'Bayis, and he invited them to come and join Gedalyah ben Achikam. Once they were inside the city, however, he slaughtered them, too, and cast their bodies together with those of the first batch of victims, into the pit to which the verse refers.
(d)Yishmael murdered them all, except for ten men who managed to convince him to let them live because they had stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey in the fields, which presumably they were willing to share with him.
(e)The reason why the verse mentions the name of Gedalyah in connection with the murders that Yishmael perpetrated was that he chose to ignore Yochanan ben Kare'ach's warning, and, in so doing, was partially to blame for the ensuing events.
(f)Yishmael and his men then took captive all of the rest of the people who were in Mitzpah, including the princesses and the people whom Nevuzradan had deposited under the jurisdiction of Gedalyah, and he began leading them to Amon, where he intended to settle.
(g)However, when Yochanan ben Kare'ach (who would later defy Yirmeyahu ha'Navi and go to Egypt to escape the wrathful revenge of Nevuchadnetzar) heard what Yishmael had done, he gathered all the soldiers who were with him and set out on an offensive against Yishmael, catching up with him near the large pool in Giv'on, as he was escaping to Amon. Yishmael's captives were happy to see Yochanan and his men, and quickly went to his side. Yishmael, however, together with eight men, managed to escape and flee to Amon.
20a)[line 45]ì÷áåìé ìà îáòéL'KIBULEI LO MIBA'I- it is prohibited to accept it
b)[line 45]îéçù ìéä îáòéMEICHASH LEI MIBA'I- one must be cautious about it
21)[line 45]áðé âìéìàBNEI GELILA- Galileans
22)[line 46]ðô÷ òìééäå ÷ìà ã÷èåì ðôùàNAFAK ALAIHU KOLA D'KATUL NAFSHA- a rumor was spread that they were guilty of murder
23)[line 46]ìèîøéðï îøL'TAMRINAN MAR- [you,] the master should hide us
24a)[line 47]çæå éúééëåCHAZU YASAICHU- people will see you
b)[line 48]"åéàîø ä' àì îùä, 'àì úéøà ...""VA'YOMER HASH-M EL MOSHE, 'AL TIRA …" (Bamidbar 21:34)- This matter is brought here because we learn from it how much a person must be careful with the information that he receives, lest it be to his detriment. Og informed Avram of Lot's capture with the sinister hope that Avram would be killed in battle and Og could then take Sarai for himself, as described in Bereishis Rabah 42:8. (Nevertheless, Moshe still worried that Og would be victorious in the war with Bnei Yisrael due to this merit.) (TOSFOS, TOSFOS HA'ROSH)
25)[line 49]÷îñúôéKA'MISTEFI- he was worried
26)[line 50]îúùåáúå ùì àåúå öãé÷, àúä éåãò îä äéä áìáåMI'TESHUVASO SHEL OSO TZADIK, ATAH YODE'A MAH HAYAH V'LIBO- (lit. from the answer of that righteous person, we learn what was in his heart) since HaSh-m had to reassure Moshe that he need not fear Og, we learn that Moshe was indeed afraid of Og's merit
27)[line 50]ùîà úòîåã ìå æëåú ùì àáøäíSHEMA TA'AMOD LO ZECHUS SHEL AVRAHAM AVINU- lest he benefit from the merit of [helping] Avraham Avinu
28)[line 51]"åéáà äôìéè åéâã ìàáøí äòáøé""VA'YAVO HA'PALIT VA'YAGED L'AVRAM HA'IVRI"- "And the refugee came, and told Avram the Hebrew... [And Avram heard that his brother (Lot) was captured...]" (Bereishis 14:13-14)
29)[line 51]ùôìèSHE'PALAT- who was saved
30)[last line]ùáòä ñîîðéïSHIV'AH SAMEMANIN
The seven cleansing agents that remove stains of Dam Nidah. See below, entry #51
31)[last line]åîáèìåU'MEVATLO- (a) and he annuls it (the blood, and it is no longer Metamei); (b) according to the Girsa U'MATBILO - and he immerses it (the garment) in a Mikvah, to complete its purification process (see ARUCH LA'NER)
61b----------------------------------------61b
32)[line 1]áåã÷å ùëåðåú ùëåðåúBODKO SHECHUNOS SHECHUNOS- he checks it bit by bit (lit. neighborhood by neighborhood), i.e. in patches of three square Etzba'os
33a)[line 2]çãùCHADASH- a new [garment]
b)[line 2]ùçå÷SHACHUK- a worn out [garment]
34)[line 4]áâã ùàáã áå ëìàéíBEGED SHE'AVAD BO KIL'AYIM - a garment in which a thread of Kil'ayim was lost (KIL'AYIM: SHA'ATNEZ)
(a)The word Kil'ayim means "forbidden mixture," which refers to two items, each of which is permitted, which the Torah prohibits to combine. The term "Kil'ayim" can refer to many different types of forbidden mixtures. Three types of Kil'ayim apply to plants: Kil'ei ha'Kerem (see Background to Bechoros 54:1), Kil'ei Zera'im (see Background to Chulin 114:25) and Harkavas ha'Ilan (see Background to Kidushin 39:23a:d). Two types of Kil'ayim apply to animals: Harba'ah (see Background to Nidah 40:32), and Charishah b'Shor va'Chamor (see Background to Kerisus 21:17). One type of Kil'ayim applies to clothing: Sha'atnez (see below). (It is also prohibited to cook meat and milk together, but this is not referred to as "Kil'ayim.") Our Gemara refers to the Kil'ayim of clothing.
(b)Sha'atnez is a mixture of wool and linen which is prohibited, as the Torah states in Devarim 22:11. Chazal teach that the word "Sha'atnez" is made up of three smaller words - "Shu'a" (combed), "Tavi" (spun) and "Noz."
(c)The Rishonim disagree over the translation of the word "Noz":
1.RASHI (here and to Horayos 11a DH Noz) and the RASH (Mishnayos Kil'ayim 9:8) learn that Noz means woven together (the wool and linen are woven together in a garment).
2.TOSFOS (DH Shua Tavi v'Noz) disagrees with Rashi's explanation. We learn that the prohibition of Sha'atnez applies only when the wool and linen are woven together from the word "Yachdav" in the verse. If so, Noz does not mean "woven together." Rather, Noz means that the threads must be twisted or wound.
(d)The Rishonim disagree as to how the wool and linen must be joined in order to transgress the Torah prohibition of Kil'ayim:
1.RASHI (ibid.) holds that the wool and linen must be combed, spun, and woven together. That is, the strands of wool must be combed together, spun together, and then woven together with the linen in order to transgress the prohibition of Sha'atnez. If the strands of wool are combed or spun separately from the strands of linen, even though they are later woven into a garment together, the Torah prohibition of Sha'atnez has not been transgressed.
2.TOSFOS (ibid.) learns that one transgresses the Torah prohibition if the wool and linen are combed, spun, and twisted separately, and are then joined together by two stitches. The RASH (ibid.) agrees with Tosfos, and rules that if the wool and linen are combed and spun separately and then joined, the prohibition of Sha'atnez has been transgressed. (However he does not require that the threads be twisted, see c:1.)
35)[line 5]ìà éòùðå îøãòú ìçîåøLO YA'ASENU MARDA'AS L'CHAMOR- he may not make it into a saddle pad (O.F. bastel) (or pack-saddle) for a donkey (TOSFOS to Avodah Zarah 65b DH Harei explains that the Chachamim prohibited using the cloth as a saddle pad, lest the owner's garment tears and he inadvertently takes a piece of the cloth in order to mend his garment, thereby transgressing the Isur d'Oraisa of Sha'atnez)
36)[line 6]àáì òåùä îîðå úëøéëéï ìîúAVAL OSEH MIMENU TACHRICHIN L'MES- but he may make it into shrouds for a Mes Mitzvah (because a dead person is not obligated to fulfill the Mitzvos); a Mes Mitzvah refers to a dead Jew found unattended with no relatives to deal with his burial
37)[line 9]ñôãåSAFDO- [dress him in them when people] eulogize him
38)[line 12]"áîúéí çôùé""BA'MESIM CHOFSHI"- "Among the dead who are free" (Tehilim 88:6)
39a)[line 17]òîøàAMRA- wool
b)[line 18]ëéúðàKISNA- and linen
40)[line 18]áäããé ìà ñìé÷ ìäå öáòàBA'HADADEI LO SALIK LEHU TZIV'A- they do not absorb dye in the same way
41)[line 19]îðúø ðúøMINTAR NASAR- it fell out
42)[line 21]ãøîéD'RAMI- who put in
43)[line 21]âìéîéäGELIMEI- his coat
44)[line 21]ðú÷éäNASKEI- he pulled it out
45a)[line 22]ùåòSHUA- combed
b)[line 22]èååéTAVI (alt. TAVUY)- spun
c)[line 22]ðåæNOZ- see above, entry #34:c
46)[line 23]ëéåï ãìà éãò àé ðú÷éäKEIVAN D'LO YADA IY NASKEI- since he does not know if he pulled it out
47)[line 28]ôåìîåñ ùì àñôñéðåñPOLMOS SHEL ASPESYANUS- Vespasian's war against Yerushalayim
48)[line 28]òèøåú çúðéíATAROS CHASANIM- crowns worn by grooms
49)[line 28]äàéøåñHA'EIRUS- a bell or tambourine used at parties
50)[last line]ùáòä ñîðéïSHIV'AH SAMANIN (THE SEVEN CLEANSING AGENTS)
(a)Our Mishnah lists seven cleansing agents that are used to check whether a stain on an article of clothing is blood of Nidus or another substance, such as paint. If the article of clothing is treated with these cleansing agents in the order that they are listed, a stain of blood of Nidus will disappear at the end of the cleaning process. Any other stain, such as paint or dye, will remain.
(b)The seven cleansing agents that remove stains of Dam Chatas, Mar'os Nega'im and Dam Nidah are:
1.ROK TAFEL - tasteless saliva; a person's saliva upon awakening in the morning after not having eaten since midnight. (See Insights to Nidah 63:1.)
2.MEI GERISIN - shelled beans that have been chewed (and are mixed with saliva)
3.MEI RAGLAYIM - fermented urine that is at least three days old
4.NESER - natron, native carbonate of soda
5.BORIS - an alkaline plant
6.KIMONYA / KIMOLYA - an alkaline clay
7.ASHLAG / ASHLACH - a kind of alkali or mineral used as a soap (Ashlag is the Hebrew word for potash)