Study Nedarim folio 56A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
מתני׳ הנודר מן הבית — מותר בעלייה, דברי רבי מאיר. וחכמים אומרים: עלייה בכלל הבית. הנודר מן עלייה — מותר בבית.
Mishnah: For one who vows that a house is forbidden to him, entry is permitted for him in the upper story of the house; this is the statement of R' Meir. And the Rabbis say: An upper story is included in the house, and therefore, entry is prohibited there as well. However, for one who vows that an upper story is forbidden to him, entry is permitted in the house, as the ground floor is not included in the upper story.
גמ׳ מאן תנא ״בבית״ לרבות את היציע, ״בבית״ לרבות את העלייה? אמר רב חסדא: רבי מאיר היא, דאי רבנן, האמרי רבנן: עלייה בכלל הבית, למה לי קרא ״בבית״ לריבויא?
Talmud: The Talmud asks: Who is the tanna who taught with regard to the halakhot of tzara'at that in the verse “it appears to me as it were a plague in the house” (Leviticus 14:35), the term “in the house” comes to include the gallery, a half story above the ground floor, and “in the house” comes to include the upper story? Rav Ḥisda said: The tanna is R' Meir, as, if the tanna were the Rabbis, didn’t the Rabbis say that a second story is included in the house? Why then do I need the verse containing the phrase “in the house” to include the second story?
אביי אמר: אפילו תימא רבנן, בעיא קרא. דסלקא דעתך אמינא ״בבית ארץ אחזתכם״ כתיב. דמחבר בארעא — שמיה בית, עלייה — הא לא מחבר בארעא.
Abaye said: Even if you would say that the tanna is the Rabbis, they too require a verse to include the second story in this case, as it might enter your mind to say that since it is written: “In a house of the land of your possession” (Leviticus 14:34), only that which is attached to the ground has the status of a house but with regard to a second story, that is not attached to the ground. Even according to the Rabbis, the verse is necessary to prevent the conclusion that the legal status of a second story is not that of a house with regard to tzara'at.