Pesachim

R. Judah B. Bathyra said: Kutah1 and all kinds of kutah!2 may not be sold thirty days before Passover.3 AND BENEFIT THEREOF IS PERMITTED. That is obvious?4 It is necessary [to teach it] only where he charred it [in the fire] before its time,5 and he [the Tanna] informs us [that the law is] as Rabbah. For Rabbah said: If he charred it [in the fire] before its time, benefit [thereof] is permitted even after its time.6 WHEN ITS PERIOD HAS PASSED, BENEFIT THEREOF IS FORBIDDEN. That is obvious? — It is necessary [to state this] only in respect of the hours [when leaven is interdicted] by Rabbinical law.7 For R. Gidal said in the name of R. Hiyya b. Joseph in R. Johanan's name: He who betroths from the sixth hour and onwards, even with wheat of Cordyene. We have no fear of his betrothal.8 AND HE MAY NOT FIRE AN OVEN OR A POT-RANGE WITH IT. That is obvious? — This is necessary only according to R. Judah, who maintained: There is no removal of leaven save by burning. You might argue, since R. Judah said, Its precept demands burning, then while he is burning it let him benefit from it. Hence we are informed [that it is not so]. Hezekiah said: How do we know that leaven during Passover is forbidden for [general] use?9 Because it is said, there shall no leavened bread be eaten:10 [meaning,] there shall not be in it permission [i.e.. the right] of eating.11 [Thus] the reason is because the Divine Law wrote, ‘there shall no leavened bread be eaten’; but if ‘shall not be eaten’ were not written, I would say, prohibition of eating is implied, [but] prohibition of benefit is not implied. Now he differs from R. Abbahu, for R. Abbahu said: Wherever it is said, ‘It shall not be eaten,’ ‘that shalt not eat,’ ‘ye shalt not eat,’ the prohibitions of both eating and benefit [in general] are understood, unless the Writ expressly states [otherwise], as it does in the case of nebelah.12 For it was taught: Ye shall not eat of [nebelah] anything that dieth of itself: thou mayest give it unto the stranger [ger] that is within thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto a foreigner:13 know only that it may be ‘given’ to a stranger14 or ‘sold’ to a foreigner [heathen]; how do I know [that] selling to a stranger [ger] [is permitted]? Therefore it is stated, ‘thou mayest give it unto the stranger [ger] that is within thy gates ... ‘or sell.’15 How do we know [that] giving to a foreigner [is permitted]? Because it is stated, ‘thou mayest give it, that he may eat it, or thou mayest sell it unto a foreigner’,16 thus the result is17 that [to] a stranger [ger] and a foreigner [heathen] alike, both selling and giving [are permitted]: this is R. Meir's view. R. Judah said: The words are as they are written, [viz..] to a ger it must be given and to a heathen it must be sold. What is R. Judah's reason? If you should think as R. Meir says,let the Divine Law write, thou mayest give it unto the stranger [ger] that is within thy gates, that he may eat it, and thou mayest sell it: why state ‘or’? Infer from this that the words are as they are written. And R. Meir?18 — ‘Or’ is to show that giving to a ger takes precedence over selling to a heathen. And R. Judah?- No verse is required for this: since you are commanded to maintain a ger, but you are not commanded to maintain a heathen,19 a verse is not required, [for] it stands to reason. On the view of R. Meir who maintained,[to] a ger and a heathen alike, both selling and giving are permitted, it is well: since a verse is required to permit benefit from a nebelah, it follows that all other things forbidden in the Torah are forbidden in respect of both eating and [general] benefit. But according to R. Judah, who maintained, it comes from [the purpose of teaching that] the words are as they are written, whence does he know that all [other] things forbidden in the Torah are forbidden in respect of benefit? He deduces it from, [ye shall not eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field;] ye shall cast it to the dogs:20 459b. understood here. thirty days before, and therefore from that time one might not sell his kutah to a Gentile. whatsoever, for generally the monetary value of any benefit is expended on food. Jewish poor, v. Git. 61a.