Keritot

a disconnected spell of time is an impossibility, for they hold that it is the second birth that is of avail.1 It must, therefore, be in accordance with the view of R. Judah; and it proves that he upholds his view only if it leads to greater stringency, but not if it leads to greater leniency.2 R. Ashi, too, said: Come and hear: ‘Six days’ may mean both a connected and disconnected spell of time;3 therefore it is written ‘sixty’: as the sixty days are connected, so also the six. With whom does this conform? Shall I say with the Rabbis? Surely, according to the Rabbis a disconnected spell of time is an impossibility, for they hold it is the second birth that is of avail. It must therefore be according to R. Judah, and this proves that he upholds his view only if it leads to greater stringency but not if it leads to greater leniency. This is indeed proved. MISHNAH. THE FOLLOWING PERSONS BRING AN OFFERING OF HIGHER OR LESSER VALUE:4 ONE WHO REFUSES TO GIVE EVIDENCE,5 ONE WHO HAS BROKEN THE WORD OF HIS LIPS [SUPPORTED BY AN OATH],6 ONE WHO WHILE UNCLEAN HAS ENTERED THE SANCTUARY OR HAS PARTAKEN OF HOLY THINGS,7 A WOMAN AFTER CONFINEMENT8 AND A LEPER.9 GEMARA. Our Rabbis taught: Some bring the offering of the poor and of the rich, some of the poor, and some of the poorest. A woman after confinement brings the offering of the poor and of the rich,10 a leper that of the poor,11 while one who refuses to give evidence, or breaks his word, or defiles the Sanctuary or holy things offers the offering of the poor and of the poorest. 12 Another [Baraitha] taught: Sometimes one offering replaces13 one, sometimes two replace two, sometimes two replace one and sometimes one replaces two; this teaches that the tenth of an ephah14 is worth a perutah.15 The woman after confinement offers one instead of one, namely a single bird in the place of the lamb16 ; a leper offers two birds in the place of two lambs; one who refuses to give evidence or one who breaks his word or one who defiles the Sanctuary or holy things offers two birds instead of one lamb, and in the case of direst poverty one tenth of an ephah in the place of two birds. It says, ‘This teaches that the tenth of an ephah is worth a perutah’. Whence do we know this? — Our Rabbis have taught: If one says, I vow an offering for the altar worth a sela’, he offers a lamb, for no offering can be offered for a sela’ but a lamb. Whence do we know this? — Since the Divine Law stated that the ram of the guilt-offering is valued at two shekels,17 from this we learn that a one-year old lamb is valued at one sela’,18 for it is said,A lamb of the first year,19 [from which follows that] a ram is of the second year.20 Then we have learnt:21 ‘The pair of sacrificial birds on that day stood at a quarter [of a denar]’.22 We thus see that the Divine Law has spared the poor and has fixed their sacrifice at the sixteenth part of that of the rich; we may then assume that the sacrifice of the poorest is to be the sixteenth part of that of the poor. Consequently the offering of the poor is worth a quarter of a denar. Since a quarter of a denar has forty-eight perutahs, a sixteenth thereof would be three perutahs, while it has been stated: ‘This teaches that the tenth of an ephah is worth a perutah’. Why a perutah? Did you not say the tenth of an ephah is the offering of the poorest and that this offering is worth one sixteenth part of that of the poor, which we found was three perutahs? — The Tanna derives his proportions from the instance of the woman after confinement, who offers in the place of a lamb one bird, the value of which23 is one thirty-second part of that of a lamb. But is not the offering of the poorest still the sixteenth part of the poor,24 as it is inferred from the comparison of the lamb and the ram?25 The ephah should then be valued at a perutah and a half!26 — Said Raba, All is derived from the instance of the woman after confinement in the following manner: Since the Divine Law has spared the poor and has fixed their sacrifice at one thirty-second part of that of the rich, as we find in the instance of the woman after confinement, so we assume that the Divine Law has spared the poorest in fixing their sacrifice at the thirty-second part of that of the poor. If so, the ephah should be valued at three-quarters of a perutah! — Indeed, so it is, except that it is not becoming to offer to the Lord less than a perutah. MISHNAH. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HANDMAID27 AND THE FORBIDDEN CONNECTIONS28 FROM WHOM SHE DEVIATES BOTH IN REGARD TO THE PENALTY AND THE OFFERING? IN THE CASE OF ALL OTHER FORBIDDEN CONNECTIONS A SIN-OFFERING IS BROUGHT, IN THAT OF A HANDMAID A GUILT-OFFERING; IN THE CASE OF THE OTHER FORBIDDEN CONNECTIONS A FEMALE ANIMAL IS OFFERED, IN THAT OF THE HANDMAID A MALE; IN THE CASE OF THE OTHER FORBIDDEN CONNECTIONS MAN AND WOMAN ARE ALIKE IN RESPECT OF LASHES AND THE SACRIFICE,29 IN THAT OF THE HANDMAID THE MAN IS UNLIKE THE WOMAN REGARDING THE LASHES, AND THE WOMAN IS UNLIKE THE MAN REGARDING THE SACRIFICE;30 IN THE CASE OF ALL OTHER FORBIDDEN CONNECTIONS SEXUAL CONTACT31 IS PUNISHABLE AS WELL AS CONSUMMATED CONNECTION, AND ONE IS GUILTY FOR EACH CONNECTION SEPARATELY;32 FINALLY THE CASE OF THE HANDMAID IS MORE STRINGENT abolished. the second birth supersede three of the days of the period of cleanness of the first birth. The question is again whether these three days are to be made up or not. The rest of the discussion is similar to that of the two previous ones. person pigeons or turtle-doves, and a very poor person a meal-offering. oath, or swearing falsely himself that he does not know the facts; Lev. V, 1. the past, also with reference to his own person, e.g., that he fasted; Lev. V, 4. three instances is stated in the text, v. 6ff. A rich person offers one lamb, a poor person two doves, a very poor person a meal-offering. refused evidence, broken promise and defilement of the Sanctuary and holy things. In these instances two birds replace one lamb. The proportion of the offering of the rich and that of the poor is sixteen to one. The same proportion must then hold good with reference to the offering of the poorest towards that of the poor. poorest, is thus worth one and a half perutahs. transgression in error. each connection separately.