Overview
Chullin 137 continues the laws of ืจืืฉืืช ืืื and addresses three major questions:
- Why does Reishit HaGez apply only to sheep?
- How much wool is needed to create the obligation?
- Why is the accepted practice based on Rabbi Ilaโiโs view regarding Reishit HaGez?
Why Only Sheep?
The Mishnah taught:
ืจืืฉืืช ืืื ืืื ื ื ืืื ืืื ืืจืืืื
Reishit HaGez applies only to sheep.
The Gemara derives this through a gezeirah shavah:
- Here: โืจืืฉืืช ืื ืฆืื ืโ
- There: โืืืื ืืืฉื ืืชืืืโ
Just as the verse in Iyov refers specifically to sheepโs wool, so too Reishit HaGez concerns sheep.
The Gemara further explains that the mitzvah applies only to wool suitable for normal use and clothing.
Goats and Other Fibers
The Gemara asks:
Why not obligate goat hair?
The conclusion is:
The Torah requires something that is normally called ืืืื and is suitable for clothing.
Sheepโs wool meets that definition in the classic Torah sense.
Washed Sheep
A dispute appears regarding:
ืฉืืืฃ ืืช ืืจืืืื
A person who gathers wool by washing or combing sheep rather than shearing them.
The Gemara connects this to Rabbi Yoseโs view regarding agricultural mitzvot and whether the Torah focuses on the normal method of harvesting.
How Many Sheep Are Required?
The Mishnah brought several opinions.
Beit Hillel
Five sheep.
Rabbi Yishmael son of Rabbi Yose
Four sheep.
The Gemara discusses the source of each opinion.
Rabbi Yishmael derives four from:
ืืจืืข ืฆืื ืชืืช ืืฉื
Yet Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi remarks that because Beit Hillelโs view is supported by accepted tradition (divrei kabbalah), we follow them.
Rabbi Yochanan explains that the tradition goes back to:
ืืื, ืืืจืื ืืืืืื
How Much Wool Is Required?
A major debate:
Rav
A total of a ืื ื ืืคืจืก.
Shmuel
Sixty units, with one sela given to the Kohen.
Rabbi Yochanan
Five parts remain with the owner and one part is given.
Rabbi Elazar
The Mishnah literally means any amount.
The Gemara works through how each opinion fits the Mishnahโs requirement that the Kohen receive enough wool to make a meaningful gift.
The Rule of One-Sixtieth
The Gemara then presents a famous statement:
Rav and Shmuel:
ืจืืฉืืช ืืื ืืฉืฉืื
Reishit HaGez is calculated according to a ratio of one-sixtieth.
The Gemara compares this to:
- Terumah
- Peโah
and explains that while Torah law may not require a fixed minimum, the Rabbinic standard became one-sixtieth.
A Memorable Story About Rav
When Isi bar Hini came to Eretz Yisrael, he found Rabbi Yochanan teaching.
During the discussion he referred to Rav as:
ืืื ืืจืืื
Rabbi Yochanan responded with great admiration, recalling how Rav sat before Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi and that sparks of Torah seemed to pass between them.
This passage highlights the extraordinary stature of Rav.
The Accepted Practice
Near the end of the daf, Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak states:
The world follows three elders.
One of them is:
Rabbi Ilaโi regarding Reishit HaGez
Meaning:
Reishit HaGez is practiced only in Eretz Yisrael.
This became the accepted minhag in many communities.
The Final Sugya: Treifot
The Mishnah had compared Reishit HaGez with Matanot Kehunah.
The Gemara explains that according to Rabbi Shimon, a treifah is exempt from Reishit HaGez.
He derives this from a comparison to Maโaser Behemah:
Just as an animal that cannot pass normally under the rod is excluded from maโaser, so too a treifah is excluded from Reishit HaGez.
Big Idea of the Daf
The central theme of Chullin 137 is:
Reishit HaGez is not merely a gift of wool. The Torah defines a very specific type of flock, a specific type of wool, and a minimum significant quantity before the obligation begins.
The daf carefully defines those boundaries and concludes with the famous statement that Jewish practice follows Rabbi Ilaโi regarding Reishit HaGez.
Final Summary
Chullin 137 explains why Reishit HaGez applies specifically to sheep, discusses whether wool gathered without shearing qualifies, analyzes the minimum number of sheep and quantity of wool required, and records several opinions regarding the proper amount to give a Kohen. The daf concludes with Rav Nachman bar Yitzchakโs ruling that the accepted practice follows Rabbi Ilaโi, limiting Reishit HaGez to Eretz Yisrael, and discusses Rabbi Shimonโs exemption of treifot from the mitzvah.