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Daf Ditty Yoma 11: Liminal Spaces and Thresholds

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Daf Ditty Yoma 11: Liminal Spaces and Thresholds Daf Ditty Yoma 11: Liminal Spaces and Thresholds 1 2 All the gates that were there on the east side of the Temple courtyard did not have a mezuza except for the Gate of Nicanor, as in the courtyard just inside the gate was the Chamber of Parhedrin, in which there is an obligation to affix a mezuza. Therefore, a mezuza was affixed to the gate as well. Apropos the mezuza in the High Priest’s chamber, the Gemara discusses other halakhot of mezuza. The Sages taught with regard to the verse: ,And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house 9 ט כוּ תְ בַ תְּ םָ ַﬠ ל - תוֹזֻזְמ ,Vֶתיֵבּ ,Vֶתיֵבּ תוֹזֻזְמ {and upon thy gates. {S בוּ שִׁ ﬠְ ָ ֶ ר .Vי }ס{ Deut 9:16 “And you will write them upon the doorposts of your houses and upon your gates” With regard to the gates of houses, and the gates of courtyards, and the gates of cities, and the gates of towns, all of them are obligated in the mitzva of mezuza in that place, due to the fact that it is stated: “And you will write them upon the doorposts of your houses and upon your gates.” Steinzaltz 3 And Rabbi Yehuda said: There was an incident involving an examiner [artavin], who was examining mezuzot in the upper marketplace of Tzippori during a period when decrees were issued against the Jewish people, and a Roman official [kasdor] found him and collected a fine of one thousand zuz from him. The Gemara raises a difficulty: But didn’t Rabbi Elazar say that those on the path to perform a mitzva are not susceptible to harm throughout the process of performing the mitzva? The Gemara responds: In a place where danger is permanent it is different, as one should not rely on a miracle, as it is written with regard to God’s command to Samuel to anoint David as king in place of Saul: And Samuel said: 'How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will 2 ב רֶמאֹיַּו לֵאוּמְשׁ kיֵא ,kֵלֵא עַמָשְׁו לוּאָשׁ לוּאָשׁ עַמָשְׁו ,kֵלֵא kיֵא לֵאוּמְשׁ רֶמאֹיַּו kill me.' And the LORD said: 'Take a heifer with thee, and ;יִנָגָרֲהַו רֶמאֹיַּו ,הָוהְי תַלְגֶﬠ רָקָבּ חַקִּתּ ,Vֶדָיְבּ ,Vֶדָיְבּ חַקִּתּ רָקָבּ תַלְגֶﬠ ,הָוהְי רֶמאֹיַּו ;יִנָגָרֲהַו .say: I am come to sacrifice to the LORD ,ָתְּרַמָאְו ַחֹבְּזִל הָוהיַל .יִתאָבּ הָוהיַל ַחֹבְּזִל ,ָתְּרַמָאְו I Sam 16:2 “And Samuel said: How will I go, and Saul will hear and kill me; and God said: Take in your hand a calf and say: I have come to offer a sacrifice to God” 4 Even when God Himself issues the command, there is concern with regard to a clear and present danger. Steinzaltz Actually they said: There is a legal tradition that a building housing a bathroom, and a building housing a tannery [burseki], and a bathhouse, and a building housing a ritual bath for immersion, and any places of which women make use are exempt from the obligation of mezuza. This baraita is inconsistent with the opinions of both Rav Kahana and Rav Yehuda. Therefore, Rav Kahana interprets the baraita according to his line of reasoning, and Rav Yehuda interprets it according to his line of reasoning. 5 6 Rav Kahana interprets it according to his line of reasoning: Your house means your house that is designated for your residence, to the exclusion of a storehouse for hay, and a cattle barn, and a woodshed, and a storehouse, which are exempt from the mitzva of mezuza in a case where their use is standard and they are not used for bathing or other immodest acts. And some obligate these structures in the mitzva of mezuza in a case where their use is standard. In truth they said the following with regard to a bathroom, and a tannery, and a bathhouse, and a ritual bath for immersion, and any places of which women make use; and what is the meaning of the term: Make use? It is that women bathe there. These places are exempt from the obligation of mezuza. And Rav Yehuda interprets the baraita according to his line of reasoning, and this is what it is teaching: Your house means your house that is designated for your residence, to the exclusion of a storehouse for hay, and a cattle barn, and a woodshed, and a storehouse, which are exempt from the mitzva of mezuza even in a case where women adorn themselves there. And some obligate these structures in the mitzva of mezuza in a case where women adorn themselves there. However, in a case where use of the building is standard, everyone agrees that these structures are exempt from the mitzva of mezuza. In truth they said that a bathroom, and a tannery, and a bathhouse, and a ritual bath for immersion, even though women adorn themselves there, are exempt from the obligation of mezuza, because its filth is extensive. 7 a gatehouse, used to guard the entrance to a courtyard, a portico [akhsadra], an open porch, and a balcony serving as a corridor to several residences. Therefore, the verse states: House; just as a house is a place that is designated for residence and is obligated in the mitzva of mezuza, so too all similar structures are obligated. This is to the exclusion of those structures that are not designated for residence but for other purposes, which are exempt from the mitzva of mezuza. I might have thought that I include in the obligation of mezuza even a bathroom, and a tannery, and a bathhouse, and a ritual bath for immersion. Therefore, the verse states: House; just as a house is a place that is designed to honor people who enter it, so too, all places that are designed to honor those who enter are obligated in the mitzva of mezuza, excluding those structures that are not designed to honor. § The Sages taught in a baraita: A synagogue, a woman’s house, and a house jointly owned by partners are all obligated in the mitzva of mezuza. The Gemara asks: That is obvious; why would these structures be exempt? Lest you say that it is written: “Your house,” in the masculine, and not her house; “Your house,” in the singular, and not their house, excluding a jointly owned house. Therefore, the baraita teaches us that those houses are obligated in the mitzva of mezuza like all others. Summary 8 Rav Avraham Adler writes:1 All the gates that opened into the Courtyard of the Bais HaMikdash did not have a mezuzah affixed except for the Gate of Nikanor. All the gates that opened into the Courtyard of the Bais HaMikdash did not have a mezuzah affixed to them except for the Gate of Nikanor, which had a mezuzah because the Gate of Nikanor led into the Courtyard of the Bais HaMikdash, which led into the Parhedrin Chamber. This ruling can even be in accordance with Rabbi Yehudah. Although Rabbi Yehudah maintains that the requirement that the Parhedrin Chamber itself have a mezuzah affixed to its doorpost is rabbinic in nature, because we are concerned that otherwise people will say that the Kohen Gadol is locked away in jail, the requirement to have a mezuzah on the Gate of Nikanor is part of that original decree. The reason for this is because if the Nikanor Gate would not require a mezuzah, people would still say that that the Parhedrin Chamber was a jail and not a true home, because a true home requires that even the courtyard leading to the home have a mezuzah affixed to it. Thus, the requirement that the Parhedrin Chamber and the Gate of Nikanor have a mezuzah is deemed to be one single decree. The gates of houses, courtyards, provinces and cities all have the obligation of mezuzah. It is said and you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. This teaches us that whether they are gates of houses, whether they are gates of courtyards, whether they are gates of provinces, or whether they are gates of cities, they all have the obligation of mezuzah to HaShem. This is because when it is said and you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, the word gates is written in the plural form. A synagogue that has a dwelling area for the sexton of the synagogue is required to have a mezuzah. A synagogue that has a dwelling area for the sexton of the synagogue is required to have a mezuzah. Although normally a synagogue does not require a mezuzah because it does not function as a dwelling area for any particular Jew, when the synagogue functions as a dwelling area for the sexton of the synagogue, it does require a mezuzah. The mezuzah of an individual must be checked twice every seven years and a public mezuzah must be checked only twice in the Yovel cycle. The mezuzah of an individual must be checked twice every seven years, but a public mezuzah only needs to be checked only twice in a Yovel cycle, which is twice every fifty years. The Chachamim were more lenient regarding a public mezuzah because regarding a shared responsibility, people are more lax and expect someone else to do the job. If it was too difficult to check a public mezuzah, no one would do it at all, so the Chachamim said that a public mezuzah only has to be checked once every twenty-five years. 1 http://dafnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Yoma_11.pdf 9 When it is probable that one will get hurt, one will not necessarily be protected while performing a mitzvah.
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