Menachot

as referring to the prohibition, Thou shalt not turn aside.1 Another version states that [Rabina] told him of it there [in the street]; whereupon [Mar] said to him, ‘Do you think that I am going to cast it off here? Has not a Master said, Great is the dignity of man since it overrides a negative precept of the Torah?’ ‘But has not Rab b. Shabba explained it before R. Kahana as referring to the prohibition, Thou shalt not turn aside?’ ‘Here also it is only a karmelith, 2 so that the prohibition is only Rabbinic. MISHNAH. THE [ABSENCE OF THE] BLUE [IN THE FRINGES] DOES NOT INVALIDATE THE WHITE, NEITHER DOES THE [ABSENCE OF THE] WHITE INVALIDATE THE BLUE3 THE [ABSENCE OF THE] HAND-TEFILLAH DOES NOT INVALIDATE THE HEAD-TEFILLAH, NEITHER DOES THE [ABSENCE OF THE] HEAD-TEFILLAH INVALIDATE THE HAND-TEFlllah.4 GEMARA. Must we say that our Mishnah is not in accordance with Rabbi? For it was taught: That ye may look upon it,5 implies that the [absence of] one invalidates the other. So Rabbi. But the Sages say, The [absence of] one does not invalidate the other. What is the reason for Rabbi's view? — Because the text says, The corner,6 [which implies that the fringes must be] of the same [colour] as that of the corner,7 and it also says, A blue thread;6 and then the Divine Law says. ‘That ye may look upon it’, that is, both must be there together as one. But the Rabbis [say]. ‘That ye may look upon it’, signifies each one by itself. Must we then say that [our Mishnah] is not in accordance with Rabbi? — Rab Judah answered in the name of Rab, You may even say that it follows Rabbi's view, for [our Mishnah deals here] only with the question of precedence. As it was taught: The [proper performance of the] precept is to insert8 the white threads before the blue; but if a man inserted the blue before the white, it is indeed valid, but he has not fulfilled the precept. What is meant by ‘has not fulfilled the precept’? prohibition, though having for its sanction this verse in the Torah, can be set aside on account of man's dignity. anything on the Sabbath by Rabbinic decree. two blue (or, three white and one blue); nevertheless the absence of one colour is of no consequence provided there was the proper number of threads in all. Consequently it is valid if there were four blue threads, or four white threads.