Study Yoma folio 79A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
ככותבת שאמרו, בגרעינתה: או בלא גרעינתה? בעי רב אשי: עצם כשעורה, בקליפתה או בלא קליפתה, בלחה או ביבשה? רב אשי לא מבעיא ליה הא דרב פפא, ״גסה״ איתמר — כל כמה דגסה. רב פפא לא מבעיא ליה הא דרב אשי: לחה — שבולת מיקרי, שלא בקליפתה — אושלא מיקרי.
The large date-bulk that they said is the measure that determines liability for eating on Yom Kippur, does this refer to the volume of a large date with its pit or without its pit? Rav Ashi asked a similar question: The Mishnah that states that a bone that is a barley-grain-bulk imparts ritual impurity, does this refer to the volume of a barley grain with its husk or without its husk? And is that referring to a wet kernel or a dry one? The Talmud clarifies: Rav Ashi did not ask the question that Rav Pappa asked, regarding the size of the date-bulk on Yom Kippur because the answer was clear to him. Since it is stated in the Mishnah: Large, it means as large as possible, which must include the pit. Conversely, Rav Pappa did not ask the question that Rav Ashi asked regarding the size of the barley-grain-bulk because the answer was clear to him. Wet barley is called shibbolet and not barley; without its shell it is no longer called barley but is called ushla. Therefore, the Mishnah must be referring to dry barley within its shell.
אמר (רבא) אמר רב יהודה: כותבת הגסה שאמרו, יתירה מכביצה. וקים להו לרבנן דבהכי מיתבא דעתיה, בציר מהכי — לא מיתבא דעתיה. מיתיבי: מעשה והביאו לרבן יוחנן בן זכאי לטעום את התבשיל, ולרבן גמליאל שתי כותבות ודלי של מים. ואמרו: העלום לסוכה. ותני עלה: לא מפני שהלכה כך, אלא שרצו להחמיר על עצמן.
Rava said that Rav Yehuda said: The volume of a large date that they said is larger than an egg-bulk. The rabbis have an accepted tradition that with this amount of food, the mind of the one who eats is settled, and he is not afflicted. Less than this amount, the mind is not settled. The Talmud raises an objection from what we have learned: An incident happened on the festival of Sukkot. They brought a cooked dish to Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai to taste, and they brought to Rabban Gamliel two dates and a tankard of water. Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai and Rabban Gamliel said to them: Bring them up to the sukka, and we will eat there. And a baraita was taught in that regard: They did not act this way because that is the halakha, that such food must be eaten in the sukka. Rather, they wished to be stringent upon themselves and not eat anything outside of the sukka.