Study Sukkah folio 6B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
דבר תורה, רובו ומקפיד עליו — חוצץ, ושאינו מקפיד עליו — אינו חוצץ. וגזרו על רובו שאינו מקפיד משום רובו המקפיד, ועל מיעוטו המקפיד משום רובו המקפיד.
By Torah law, if there is an interposition between a person and the water, and it covers the majority of his body, and he is particular about it and wants the interposing substance removed, only then is it considered an interposition that invalidates immersion in a mikveh. However, if he is not particular about that substance, it is not considered an interposition. The rabbis, however, issued a decree that it is prohibited to immerse with a substance covering the majority of one’s body with regard to which he is not particular, due to substances covering the majority of one’s body with regard to which he is particular. And, they issued a decree that it is prohibited to immerse with a substance covering the minority of his body with regard to which one is particular, due to substances covering the majority of his body with regard to which one is particular.
וליגזר נמי על מיעוטו שאינו מקפיד משום מיעוטו המקפיד, אי נמי משום רובו שאינו מקפיד!
The Talmud raises a question: Then let us also issue a decree deeming substances covering the minority of one’s body with regard to which he is not particular an interposition, due to substances covering the minority of his body with regard to which he is particular, or alternatively, due to substances covering the majority of his body with regard to which he is not particular.
היא גופא גזירה, ואנן ניקום ונגזר גזירה לגזירה?!
The Talmud answers: We do not issue that decree because the halakha that deems both an interposition covering the minority of his body about which one is particular and an interposition covering the majority of his body about which one is not particular an interposition is itself a decree. should we then arise and issue one decree to prevent violation of another decree? In any case, these details with regard to interpositions are neither written nor alluded to in the Torah; rather, they are halakhot transmitted to Moses from Sinai.