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Arakhin 3 for kids: Who Can Join In?

ערכין ג׳

🔎 The daf asks who is included when a teaching says “everyone.” It looks at group blessings, skin marks, and mitzvot for priests.

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Stories from Arakhin 3

Words to know

Rashi and Tosafot on Arakhin 3 in simple English

Rashi on Arakhin 3a, in English Tab translation (16)
  1. To include women — Women are obligated to read the Megilla and are qualified to read it aloud so that men fulfill their obligation by hearing them.
  2. They form a zimmun for themselves — Three women may form a zimmun, as may three slaves. But women or slaves do not join men to form one, because men say parts of Grace after Meals that women or slaves do not: women do not say “the covenant,” and slaves do not say “our inheritance.”
  3. Any man — The verse says, “When any man has an issue out of his flesh” (Leviticus 15:2).
  4. From karet — This verse concerns someone who enters the Temple while impure and makes him liable to karet. “The man” excludes a minor, who is not subject to punishment. A minor nevertheless becomes impure and imparts impurity to food and drink like an adult.
  5. And the leper — This suggests another leper as well, including a woman.
  6. If so, why does it say “man” regarding what follows? — It implies a man and not a woman. This does not refer to becoming impure from leprosy, which applies to women too, but to the following verse about letting the hair grow wild and rending clothes.
  7. Everyone may inspect, and everyone is qualified to inspect — These are two statements of the same rule; they were not taught together.
  8. Who is not expert — A Torah scholar who is not a priest goes with him, examines the mark, and tells the priest to say “impure” or “pure.” The priest says it, because the ruling of impurity or purity depends on the priest’s declaration. This is taught in Sifra.
  9. But didn’t the Master say — This is stated in the first chapter of Shevuot (6a).
  10. If it is explained to him and he understands — That is, the laws of leprous marks.
  11. To sanctify — To mix spring water with the ashes of the red heifer. The reasons for the views of the Rabbis and Rabbi Yehuda are explained in Yoma, in the chapter “The Lot Was Snatched from the Box” (43a).
  12. Uncircumcised — His brothers died as a result of circumcision.
  13. Who sprinkled — He sprinkled purification water on an impure person.
  14. His sprinkling is valid — The reason is explained in Yevamot, in the chapter “The Uncircumcised” (72b): He is like someone who has immersed but must wait until sunset, who may not eat teruma but is qualified for the red-heifer rites.
  15. Everyone may slaughter — This phrase occurs twice in the first chapter of Hullin (2a and 15b).
  16. Everyone may bring others up — This is in the last chapter of Ketubot (110b), concerning moving to the Land of Israel.
Tosafot on Arakhin 3a, in English Tab translation (14)
  1. To include women — Women are obligated to read the Megilla and, according to one explanation, may read it on behalf of men. But Halakhot Gedolot disagrees. It cites a Tosefta stating that women, slaves, and minors are exempt from reading the Megilla, and adds that they are nevertheless obligated to hear it, since everyone was in danger of being destroyed.
  2. Rabbi Yehoshua would gather his household — He would read the Megilla to them. Rabbi Yona, the father of Rabbi Menahem, made a point of reading it to the women of his household, because all had been in danger and all must hear it. Thus, the inclusion of women here means that a woman may read for other women, but not for men. The Gemara could also have said that it includes a minor, following Rabbi Yehuda, who permits a minor to read the Megilla.
  3. They form a zimmun for themselves — Three women may form one, as may three slaves. But two women do not join a man to form a zimmun, since their Grace after Meals differs: women do not say the blessing’s reference to the covenant, and slaves do not say “the land You gave our ancestors.” Forming a zimmun is optional for women, not obligatory. This explains why the Gemara cites this teaching in support of the view that women may form a zimmun if they wish; it also explains why women in our communities do not do so.
  4. To include a minor who knows to Whom one blesses — This follows Rav Nahman. Berakhot says that the law follows him rather than the other teachings there. Nevertheless, we follow Rabbi Yosei’s statement in the Jerusalem Talmud: although he often ate with his father, Rabbi Halafta, and his uncle, they did not include him in a zimmun until he had grown two pubic hairs.
  5. As it is taught: “When any man has an issue” — The Gemara cites this baraita rather than the mishna stating that a day-old baby can become impure through ziva because the baraita explains the derivation more fully.
  6. To exclude a minor from karet — This verse concerns someone who enters the Temple while impure and makes that person liable to karet. “Man” excludes a minor from that penalty, though a minor can become impure and impart impurity to food and drink like an adult. Why is a verse needed, when minors are not ordinarily punished? Perhaps one might have thought that, since the Torah includes a minor in the laws of impurity, it also makes him liable to karet; the verse teaches otherwise.
  7. And the leper — The additional reference to “the leper” includes a woman. “Man,” then, does not limit who becomes impure; it limits the following requirements to leave one’s hair unkempt and tear one’s clothes. Although the Torah mentions a woman in the laws of scalp and beard marks, that verse is needed because women do not ordinarily grow beards. One might instead have included women through the word “person,” used elsewhere for women, and read these verses as including minors in impurity while excluding them from those requirements. But it is more reasonable to exclude women from leaving their hair unkempt and tearing their clothes, since that would be degrading for them.
  8. Everyone may inspect; everyone is fit to inspect — These are two versions of the same teaching, not two clauses taught together.
  9. But didn’t the Master say — This teaching appears in the first chapter of Shevuot.
  10. If they explain it to him and he understands — They explain the laws of leprous marks to the priest. A sage who knows the laws can inspect the mark with an inexpert priest and tell him the ruling; the priest then pronounces it, since impurity and purity depend on the priest’s declaration. The priest can be called inexpert even if he understands an explanation, because he cannot judge independently. Alternatively, “they explain it to him and he understands” refers to the knowledgeable non-priest inspecting beside him. Even if he knows only the type of mark before him, he is fit to inspect it.
  11. To prepare the water — This means mixing spring water with the ashes of the red heifer. The reasons for Rabbi Yehuda’s view and the Rabbis’ view are explained in Yoma.
  12. Uncircumcised — This refers to someone whose brothers died as a result of circumcision. If he sprinkles purification water on an impure person, the sprinkling is valid. Yevamot explains the reason: one who has immersed but awaits nightfall may not eat teruma but is fit for the red-heifer rites. An explicit baraita there could have been cited, but Rabbi Elazar’s teaching was more familiar.
  13. Two teachings of “Everyone may slaughter” — Both appear in the first chapter of Hullin.
  14. Everyone may compel a move — This teaching appears in the final chapter of Ketubot.
Rashi on Arakhin 3b, in English Tab translation (11)
  1. To include slaves — If someone has a circumcised Canaanite slave whom he wants to sell, and the slave insists on being sold only in Eretz Yisrael, the master can be compelled to take him there.
  2. From a pleasant dwelling — Outside Eretz Yisrael.
  3. To an unpleasant dwelling — In Eretz Yisrael. His wife cannot prevent the move. The same applies to a move from elsewhere in Eretz Yisrael to Jerusalem.
  4. Isn’t it obvious? — Until now, the Gemara has asked what the word “all” adds. Here it asks why the baraita needs to list priests, Levites, and Israelites: if they are not obligated, who is?
  5. They are engaged in the Temple service — Priests cannot dwell in the sukka with their wives, because the Festival service keeps them from being with their wives. One might therefore think they are not obligated.
  6. This teaches us — Although priests cannot fulfill the requirement to dwell in the sukka as they would at home, they must do so when they can. They are exempt while performing the Temple service, but obligated at other times.
  7. Since diverse kinds are permitted to them — During the Temple service, priests may wear a belt made of wool and linen. Exodus 39:29 calls it “twisted linen” and also describes it as blue, which is wool, as explained in Yoma 72a.
  8. Nothing may interpose between the priestly vestments and his flesh — Arm phylacteries must be worn against the skin, under the clothing, on the upper arm near the shoulder. Menahot 37b derives that they must be concealed from “it shall be a sign for you”—not a sign for others. The forehead plate rests on the forehead, while the turban does not reach that far forward. Thus, the place for head phylacteries remains uncovered, high on the head where an infant’s skull is soft.
  9. A day of sounding — This implies only one day.
  10. And for the blessings — On Yom Kippur of the Jubilee year, they also recited the blessings of Kingship, Remembrance, and Shofarot.
  11. They may sell at any time — Even in the Jubilee year itself, if priests or Levites sell their land, the sale takes effect. By contrast, the Gemara teaches that an Israelite may not sell land in the Jubilee year; if he does, the sale is void and the money is returned. Here the sale takes effect, the land returns in the Jubilee year, and the seller keeps the money. The land certainly returns, as the verse about land redeemed from Levites teaches that a sale of their land ends in the Jubilee year without payment.
Tosafot on Arakhin 3b, in English Tab translation (14)
  1. To include slaves — If someone wants to sell his circumcised Canaanite slave, the slave can insist on being sold only in Eretz Yisrael. In Ketubot, Rashi explains that a master can compel a Hebrew slave to move there against the slave’s will. Rabbi Yitzhak explains instead that a slave can compel his master to take him there or free him.
  2. To include a slave who fled from outside Eretz Yisrael to Eretz Yisrael — Even one who explicitly includes slaves in the first clause could not infer this case from it. On Rashi’s explanation, that clause concerns a master who wants to sell his Canaanite slave, not a slave who has left his possession. Alternatively, one might think a runaway should be penalized and not freed, or that the first clause applies only when the master regularly travels to Eretz Yisrael anyway.
  3. From a pleasant residence — A husband may move his wife from a pleasant home outside Eretz Yisrael to an unpleasant one inside it, and she cannot object; the same applies to a move from elsewhere in Eretz Yisrael to Jerusalem. Although the first clause says that all may compel a move upward, the next says that none may compel a move out, as explained in Ketubot. The second clause cannot be meant to add slaves, for the rule concerning slaves does not distinguish Jerusalem from the rest of Eretz Yisrael.
  4. Everyone is obligated in sukka — Until now, the Gemara has asked what each use of ‘everyone’ adds. Here it discusses those explicitly listed—priests, Levites, and Israelites—and asks: If they are not obligated, who is?
  5. And they perform the Temple service — Priests cannot dwell in a sukka as husband and wife, since their Festival service prevents them from being with their wives; one might therefore think they are exempt. They cannot be exempted as travelers, however, except when they are out in the fields, not when they are in Temple chambers or elsewhere in the Temple. The Gemara could likewise have mentioned the Levites who guard the Temple at twenty-one posts. Later, regarding shofar, it could have said that both priests and Levites needed to be mentioned, but mentions only priests.
  6. This teaches us — Although priests cannot dwell in a sukka in the usual way, they are obligated when they can do so. They are exempt while performing the Temple service and obligated when they are not.
  7. Since priests are permitted to wear wool and linen together — Rabbi Yitzhak of Orléans asks: If obligation in fringes determines who is forbidden to wear wool and linen together, why are women forbidden, since they are not obligated in fringes? The answer is that Scripture treats women and men alike in this prohibition. When Pesachim links exemption from eating matza to exemption from the prohibition on eating leaven, it also relies on a separate comparison with Sukkot that excludes women. But why not reverse the argument here and obligate women in fringes because they are forbidden to wear wool and linen together? Because the Torah’s commandments are compared to tefillin, from which women are exempt. One might then ask why this does not exempt them from matza too. The answer is that their inclusion in the prohibition on eating leaven can also establish their obligation to eat matza.
  8. Priests are permitted to wear wool and linen together during the Temple service — The priestly belt contained both, as the verse describes it as made of linen and, as taught, woven with blue thread and other materials.
  9. Nothing may separate the priestly garments from his skin — Tefillin of the arm must also be worn against the skin. The verse calls them ‘a sign for you,’ meaning a sign not visible to others.
  10. The headplate rests on the forehead — The headdress sits on the head but does not extend to the forehead. Thus the place for tefillin remains exposed high on the head, where an infant’s skull is soft. The Gemara does not use its earlier answer—‘this teaches us that they are obligated except during the Temple service’—because priests plainly remain obligated in tefillin of the head even during the service, and plainly remain obligated in tefillin of the arm when not serving.
  11. The absence of tefillin of the arm does not prevent fulfillment with tefillin of the head — Although Menachot derives from ‘frontlets between your eyes’ that whenever the head tefillin are worn, both must be worn, that means only that when putting on both, one must put on the arm tefillin first.
  12. It shall be a day of sounding the shofar for you — This implies only one day.
  13. And for the blessings — On Yom Kippur of a Jubilee year, they also recited the blessings of Kingship, Remembrance, and Shofar.
  14. They may sell at any time — Even if priests or Levites sell their land during the Jubilee year itself, the sale takes effect; the land then reverts and they keep the money. This cannot mean that their land does not revert at Jubilee, since a verse about Levite property is understood to mean that a sale ends without payment. But this explanation is difficult: Shmuel’s reason that land already sold must revert would apply equally to priests and Israelites. And according to Rav, who also says a sale reverts, what difference remains between them concerning Jubilee? The same question applies to ‘they may redeem at any time.’ The wording can perhaps be explained as referring to houses in walled cities: Israelites can redeem these only within a year, whereas priests and Levites can redeem them at any time. One might otherwise think their houses follow the rule for houses in unwalled villages and revert at Jubilee. ‘They may sell’ is then included alongside ‘they may redeem.’ Rashi explains here that priests and Levites may immediately redeem a field they sold, whereas an Israelite must wait two years. In Rosh Hashanah, Rashi cites Rabbeinu Yitzhak Halevi: ‘They may sell at any time’ and ‘they may redeem at any time’ are both mishnaic formulations included for parallelism with the rules for Israelites. Those rules restrict when an Israelite may consecrate or redeem a field near Jubilee. ‘Redeem at any time’ also reflects the contrast between an Israelite’s field, which cannot be redeemed within two years of its sale, and a Levite’s field, which can be redeemed immediately; between an Israelite’s house in a walled city, which becomes permanently sold if not redeemed within a year, and a Levite’s, which can always be redeemed; and between an Israelite’s consecrated field, which cannot be redeemed by its former owner after the Temple treasurer sells it to another person and is apportioned to the priests at Jubilee, and a Levite’s, which remains redeemable. Thus the Gemara’s statement that Levites are not subject to the Jubilee rule concerns this last case: Jubilee does not divest a Levite who consecrated his field as it would an Israelite.’

Sources

Kid summary and story cards written by Tab from the William Davidson Edition English (Sefaria, CC BY-NC 4.0).

Tab translation (machine-assisted) of Rashi and Tosafot, from the Vilna Edition Hebrew (public domain) on Sefaria. May contain mistakes.

In the app, the Gemara text comes from Sefaria (William Davidson Edition, CC BY-NC 4.0; Hebrew/Aramaic Vilna Edition). Rashi and Tosafot Hebrew: Vilna Edition (public domain) via Sefaria.

Also spelled: Arachin, Erchin 3.