Commentaire sur Sotah 5:2
בּוֹ בַּיּוֹם דָּרַשׁ רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, (ויקרא יא) וְכָל כְּלִי חֶרֶשׂ אֲשֶׁר יִפֹּל מֵהֶם אֶל תּוֹכוֹ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר בְּתוֹכוֹ יִטְמָא, אֵינוֹ אוֹמֵר טָמֵא אֶלָּא יִטְמָא, לְטַמֵּא אֲחֵרִים, לִמֵּד עַל כִּכָּר שֵׁנִי שֶׁמְּטַמֵּא אֶת הַשְּׁלִישִׁי. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, מִי יְגַלֶּה עָפָר מֵעֵינֶיךָ, רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי, שֶׁהָיִיתָ אוֹמֵר, עָתִיד דּוֹר אַחֵר לְטַהֵר כִּכָּר שְׁלִישִׁי, שֶׁאֵין לוֹ מִקְרָא מִן הַתּוֹרָה שֶׁהוּא טָמֵא. וַהֲלֹא עֲקִיבָא תַּלְמִידְךָ מֵבִיא לוֹ מִקְרָא מִן הַתּוֹרָה שֶׁהוּא טָמֵא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, כֹּל אֲשֶׁר בְּתוֹכוֹ יִטְמָא:
Ce jour-là [le jour où Rabban Gamliel a été destitué de la position de prince], Rabbi Akiva a expliqué: "tout récipient en terre cuite dans lequel l'un d'entre eux tombera, tout ce qu'il contient deviendra impur" (Lévitique 11:33) Il ne dit pas " impur "mais" devient impur "- ainsi cela rend les autres impurs. Ceci enseigne qu'un pain d'impureté du deuxième degré peut rendre un pain impur au troisième degré. Rabbi Yehoshua a dit, qui va enlever la saleté de vos yeux Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai? Vous aviez l'habitude de dire qu'à l'avenir, une autre génération purifiera un pain du troisième degré, car il n'y a pas de verset de la Torah qui le rend impur. Maintenant, voici, Akiva votre élève apporte un verset de la Torah qu'il est impur! Comme il le dit, «tout ce qu'il contient devient impur».
Bartenura on Mishnah Sotah
בו ביום דרש – every place where it teaches: "בו ביום"–on that selfsame day is the day where they appointed Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah to the presidency, when the [number of] students were increased, they gave permission to all to enter (see Talmud Berakhot 28a). [And because of] of this exposition of נטמאה ונטמאה–she defiled herself (Numbers 5:27); and defiles herself (Numbers 5:29), also was expounded on that selfsame day, we take it as a tradition for all of these here.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sotah
Introduction
The remaining four mishnayoth all contain midrashim which were stated “on that day.” According to the Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 28a, this refers to the day that the rabbis deposed Rabban Gamaliel and appointed Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya in his place. According to the story, when Rabban Gamaliel was head of the Sanhedrin, he limited access to the study sessions. When R. Elazar ben Azarya took over, he opened the doors and that day became a day of great Torah learning. Regardless of whether this story is historically accurate, it seems to touch on a profound truth true wisdom comes from intellectual exchange with fellow students and not from isolated speculation or from the gathering of the elite. When people study together they can question each other, pointing out the weaknesses in each other’s arguments. In such a manner, which one could deem as being both rabbinic and Socratic, the truth is best revealed. Rabban Gamaliel should not have excluded people from the bet midrash for we can never know who will help arrive at the truth.
The reason that this chapter brings these midrashim is that the first three were stated by Rabbi Akiva, the author of the midrash which began yesterday’s mishnah.
As a note, I translate “darash” as expounded. This is the root of the word “midrash”, a word which I use to mean the expounding of a word or phrase from a Biblical text.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sotah
כלי חרס – it is a first level of ritual impurity which was defiled from the unclean reptile which is one of the direct causes of Levitical impurity.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sotah
On that day, Rabbi Akiva expounded, “And every earthen vessel, into which any of them falls, everything in it shall be unclean” (Leviticus 11:33), it does not state tame (is but yitma’, (shall make. This teaches that a loaf which is unclean in the second degree, makes unclean [food and liquids which come into contact with it] in the third degree. The verse in Leviticus states that anything that falls into an unclean earthen vessel becomes itself unclean. The verse uses the word “yitma”, which if vocalized differently could be read “yetame”, which means “will make unclean”. Rabbi Akiva uses this proposed alternative vocalization to conclude that something which falls into an unclean vessel makes other things unclean. The thing that falls into the vessel has “second degree” defilement, and that which it makes impure becomes defiled in the “third degree”, a lesser form of defilement. What defiled the vessel was a primary source of impurity, such as a creepy crawly thing, a menstruant, a zav, etc. The primary source of impurity made the vessel into a first degree defiler, which made the loaf into a second degree, which when it comes into contact with other things will give them third degree defilement.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sotah
אינו אומר טמא – (Leviticus 11:33): “everything inside it shall be unclean”; it does not say טמא–is impure–unclean but rather יטמא–will be unclean–impure. It comes to expound also – that יטמא means – that it defiles other things.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sotah
Rabbi Joshua said: who will remove the dust from your eyes, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, since you used to say that in the future another generation will pronounce clean a loaf which is unclean in the third degree on the grounds that there is no text in the Torah according to which it is unclean! Has not Rabbi Akiva your student brought a text from the Torah according to which it is unclean, as it is said “everything in it shall be unclean.” Rabbi Joshua, one of Rabbi Akiva’s teachers, speaks wistfully to his own, deceased teacher, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai. He laments the fact that Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai is no longer alive, for he would have been astounded at the brilliance of Rabbi Akiva’s midrash. Evidently, the issue of third degree defilement was one of some contention in Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai’s time; he feared that eventually people would claim that there is no third degree defilement. The reason why they would forget this halakhah is that there is no clear proof for it from any biblical verse. In Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai’s time it was only a tradition, not rooted in the Torah. Rabbi Akiva improved and solidified the status of this halakhah by tying into a biblical verse.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sotah
למד על ככר שני – therefore it took the tradition of a loaf because it is found in an oven.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sotah
שמטמא את השלישי – and even that which is non-holy, for the Biblical verse was written undefined.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sotah
דור אחר – from those who will come in the future who will purify the third level of Levitical impurity, and even Terumah–priest’s due which has no Biblical verse regarding it from the Torah.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sotah
והרי עקיבא תלמידך מביא לו ראיה מן המקרא שהוא טמא – even for non-holy produce, but the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Akiva and something that is second level of Levitical impurity does not make something third level of Levitical impurity for non-holy produce, but only for produce dedicated to the Temple.
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