Menachot

of Pashrunia taught: A scroll of the Law, tefillin and mezuzoth written by a min,1 a Cuthean, a gentile, a slave, a woman, a minor, or an apostate Jew,2 are invalid, since it says, And thou shalt bind them . . . and thou shalt write them,3 which indicates that those who ‘bind’ may ‘write’, but those who do not ‘bind’ may not ‘write’. And yet when made by an Israelite no blessing is pronounced; for R. Hiyya the son of R. Huna sent the following decision in the name of R. Johanan: Over the hand-tefillah one must say, ‘Blessed . . . who hast sanctified us by thy commandments and hast commanded us to put on the tefillin’. Over the head-tefillah one must say, ‘Blessed . . . who hast sanctified us by thy commandments and hast given us command concerning the precept of the tefillin’. But one never says, ‘[Blessed . . . and hast commanded us] to make the tefillin!’ — Indeed this is the true principle: Wherever a precept is completed by a single act,4 e.g., circumcision, although it may be performed by a gentile, when an Israelite performs it he must pronounce a blessing; and wherever a precept is not completed by a single act, e.g., the tefillin,5 although it may be made by a gentile, when an Israelite makes it he does not pronounce a blessing. And as regards the zizith they differ6 in this: One holds that [the law of zizith] is an obligation resting upon the garment,7 whilst the other holds that it is an obligation incumbent upon the person. 8 R. Mordecai said to R. Ashi, You have had it reported so;9 but we had it reported thus: Rab Judah said in the name of Rab, Whence do we know that the zizith made by a gentile is valid? Because it is said, Speak unto the children of Israel and bid them that they make them fringes;10 others may make [the fringes] for them. Rab Judah said in the name of Rab, If a man made [the zizith] from the fringes11 of the cloth, or from sewing threads,12 or from tufts11 of the cloth, they are invalid;13 but if he made them from a ball of thread they are valid.14 When I repeated this before Samuel he said that even if he made them from a ball of thread they are invalid, because it is necessary that the weaving of the thread be done for this purpose. This, however, is a matter of dispute between Tannaim, for it has been taught:15 If a man overlaid [the tefillin] with gold or covered them with the skin of an unclean animal, they are invalid;16 if with the skin of a clean animal, they are valid, even though he did not prepare it for this specific purpose. Rabban Simeon b. Gamaliel says, Even if he covered them with the skin of a clean animal they are invalid, unless it had been prepared for this specific purpose. 17 Abaye enquired of R. Samuel b. Rab Judah, How do you dye the blue thread? He replied, We take the blood of hillazon18 together with other ingredients and put them all in a pot and boil them together. Then we take out a little in an egg-shell and test it on a piece of wool; and we throw away what remains in the egg-shell and burn the wool. One can infer three things from this: [i] that the dye used for testing is unfit;19 [ii] that the dyeing must be for the specific purpose [of the precept]; and [iii] that the dye used for testing renders the rest unfit.20 Are not the rules that the test quantity is itself unfit and that the dyeing must be for the specific purpose [of the precept] identical in meaning? — R. Ashi answered, One states the reason for the other, as much as to say: Why is the test quantity itself unfit? Because the dyeing must be for the specific purpose [of the precept]. This, however, is a matter of dispute between Tannaim, for it has been taught: The test quantity is itself unfit, for it says, All of blue.21 So R. Hanina b. Gamaliel. But R. Johanan b. Dahabai says, Even the second dyeing22 is valid, for it says, And scarlet.23 Our Rabbis taught: There is no manner of testing the blue thread;24 it should therefore be bought only from an expert.25 The tefillin can be tested,26 nevertheless they should only be bought from an expert.27 Scrolls of the Law and mezuzoth can be tested, and may be bought from anyone.28 Is there then no manner of testing the blue thread? But R. Isaac the son of R. Judah used to test it (mnemonic sign: with Ge Shem)29 thus: He used to mix together liquid alum, juice of fenugreek, and urine precept, so that it is necessary to make a blessing at the time. pronounced when inserting the fringes. which is permissible for food. specifically for the purpose of zizith. have been dyed with this dye previously. Hence the quantity of dye used in testing is not valid for the zizith. too with the blue dye. have been correctly written. ackhk,t (fenugreek) and n for ohkdr hn (urine).