Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Tuesday's Thoughts on the Daf - Kiddushin 69

Kiddushin 69 contains the start of the fourth perek in Kiddushin, Asarah Yuchsin, which details the various classes who came to Israel from Bavel with Ezra.

An interesting tidbit from this daf is that it is the root of the concept that going to the Land of Israel involves a spiritual elevation (aliyah). The gemara asks why the mishna uses the term "alu" (went up) instead of merely saying that the classes went from Bavel to Israel. The gemara answers that it was meant to teach that Israel is higher (on a spiritual level) than any other land.

Another interesting point can be found on 69b in connection with the Levi'im who went to Israel with Ezra. Within the discussion of whether Ezra forced the classes to accompany him or merely took volunteers, the gemara asks about a pasuk found in the 8th chapter of the book of Ezra where Ezra states that he assembled the people and scrutinized them, but did not find any of the children of Levi. The gemara asks - if Ezra forced the classes to come up with him, then he would have known definitively who accompanied him? The gemara answers that he knew which classes of pesulim accompanied him, but not those whose class was untainted.

Tosafos (d'h "U'mibnei") asks the obvious question - since the mishna indicates that the Levi'im went up from Bavel with Ezra, why does the pasuk indicate that he could not find any Levi'im? Tosafos answers that the Levi'im who came up had physical defects (loss of the behonos) and were therefore ineligible to perform the service in the Beis Hamikdash.

The last interesting point I would like to discuss has to do with the nickname given to Nechemia - Hatirshasa. Rashi explains (citing to the Yerushalmi) that he earned this name because he was the one who would give the king to drink. However, the king would not drink without having someone else taste the wine (for poison) before he drank it. This presented a problem as Nechemia could not partake of the wine as it was stam yaynam. Rashi explains that Nechemia received a heter permitting him to drink the stam yaynam and it was because of this that he drew the nickname hatirshasa (heter l'shtos).

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