Study Keritot folio 2B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
גמ׳ מניינא למה לי? אמר רבי יוחנן: שאם עשאן כולן בהעלם אחת – חייב על כל אחת ואחת.
Talmud: The Talmud asks: Why do I need the Mishnah to state this tally of cases where one who performs the action is liable to receive karet? Why does it state a number? All 36 are listed in the Mishnah, and one could simply count them to discover how many there are. R' Yoḥanan said: By listing the tally, the Mishnah is teaching that if one performed all of them in the course of one lapse of awareness, he is liable to receive punishment for each and every one, i.e., to bring 36 sin offerings.
ותו, הא דתנן: אבות מלאכות ארבעים חסר אחת, מניינא למה לי? שאם עשאן כולן בהעלם אחת – חייב על כל אחת ואחת.
The Talmud asks: And furthermore, with regard to that which we learned in a Mishnah (Shabbat 73a): The primary categories of labor are 40-less-one; why do I need this tally of 40-less-one? The Talmud answers: By listing the tally the Mishnah is teaching that if one performed all of the prohibited labors in one lapse of awareness during which he was unaware of the prohibition involved, he is liable to bring a sin offering for each and every one.
תו, הא דתנן: ארבעה מחוסרי כפרה, מניינא למה לי?
The Talmud asks: And furthermore, with regard to that which we learned in a Mishnah (8b): There are 4 people who have not yet brought an atonement offering to complete their purification process and may not eat sacrificial meat until they bring the requisite offerings. The Mishnah then teaches: And these are the people who have not yet brought an atonement offering: The zav, and the zava, and the woman after childbirth, and the metzora. Why do I need this tally of 4?