Study Shevuot folio 6A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
האי מאי? בשלמא בלא סיד היכל, קרום ביצה לא קשיא – דאף על גב דקרום ביצה מתתאי דשאת, רחמנא אמר ״ולשאת ולספחת״ – ספחת טפילה לשאת, אף על גב דמנחתא מיניה טובא. אלא סיד היכל – קשיא, אלא מחוורתא מתניתין דלא כרבי עקיבא.
The Talmud answers: What is this comparison? Granted, it would all be well were it not for the difficulty with regard to a mark the color of the lime plaster of the Sanctuary walls, as the difficulty raised with regard to an egg membrane–colored mark is not difficult. As even though the shade of an egg membrane is two stages below that of a se’et, God states: “And for a se’et and for a sappaḥat” (Leviticus 14:56), which indicates that a sappaḥat is secondary to a se’et and can combine with it even though a sappaḥat is of a much lower degree of brightness than it. R' Akiva holds that both of the additional shades not explicitly mentioned in the Torah are derived from the word: Sappaḥat, and so both of them can combine with a se’et. But the difficulty raised with regard to a mark the color of the lime plaster of the Sanctuary walls is indeed difficult. Rather, it is clear that the Mishnah is not in accordance with the opinion of R' Akiva.
והיכא שמעינן לרבי עקיבא זו למעלה מזו?
§ The Talmud elaborates on R' Akiva’s opinion: And where have we learned that according to R' Akiva the different shades should be ordered this one above that one, i.e., according to their degrees of brightness, and only two adjacent shades can combine together?
אילימא מהא – דתניא: אמר רבי יוסי, שאל יהושע בנו של רבי עקיבא מרבי עקיבא: מפני מה אמרו מראות נגעים שנים שהן ארבעה? אמר לו: ואם לאו, מה יאמרו? יאמרו מקרום ביצה ולמעלה טמא!
If we say we learned it from that which is taught in the following baraita, it is difficult. The baraita teaches: R' Yosei said that Yehoshua, son of R' Akiva, asked of R' Akiva: For what reason did the rabbis say that the different shades of leprous marks are two types that are 4, and proceed to specify their names? R' Akiva said to him: But if not that, what else could they say? R' Yehoshua answered him: Let them say that any mark of a degree of brightness from that of an egg membrane and above is ritually impure.