Kiddushin, Daf Lammed Vav, Part 1
Introduction
At the end of last week s daf Issi posited that women are exempted from the prohibition of making a bald spot between their eyes (Deuteronomy 14:1) just as men are. While one explanation of his opinion has already been proffered, today s section offers another one.
אביי אמר היינו טעמא דאיסי דגמר קרחה קרחה מבני אהרן מה להלן נשים פטורות אף כאן נשים פטורות ואי סבירא לן דכי כתיב קרא בכולי עניינא הוא דכתיב נשתוק קרא מיניה ותיתי בק"ו ואנא אמינא ומה כהנים שריבה בהם הכתוב מצות יתירות בני אהרן ולא בנות אהרן ישראל לא כ"ש
Abaye said: Issi s reasoning is that he learns baldness, baldness, from the sons of Aaron: just as there, women are exempt, so here too, women are exempt.
But if we hold that the phrase [ the sons of Aaron ] relates to the whole section, let the verse not say it, and I would [derive women s exemption] from a kal vehomer. For I would say: If [of] priests, for whom the verse imposes additional commandments, [we say] the sons of Aaron but not the daughters of Aaron, how much more so of Israelites!
Abaye explains that Issi exempts women from the prohibition of making a bald spot by comparing the prohibition in Deuteronomy with that in Leviticus. Since Leviticus refers only to men ( sons of Aaron ) and not daughters of Aaron.
The Talmud then asks why we need this gezerah shavah from Leviticus. We could say that the Leviticus 21:1 Speak to the sons of Aaron refers to the whole passage, including the prohibition of making a bald spot. Then we could derive from a kal vehomer that all women, not just priestly women, are exempt from the mitzvah.
אי לאו ג"ש הוה אמינא הפסיק הענין
Were it not for the gezerah shavah I would think the connection is broken.
The gezerah shavah is needed so that we can derive that the address in the beginning of Leviticus, Speak to the sons of Aaron refers to the whole passage, including that about making a bald spot. If we did not have the gezerah shavah we might have thought that women priests (daughters of priests) are prohibited from making a bald spot and that the exclusion of women refers only to the first few mitzvoth in the passage.
השתא נמי נימא הפסיק הענין ואי משום ג"ש מיבעי ליה לכדתניא לא יקרחו יכול אפילו קרח ארבע וחמש קרחות לא יהא חייב אלא אחת ת"ל קרחה לחייב על כל אחת ואחת בראשם מה ת"ל לפי שנאמר (דברים יד, א) לא תתגודדו ולא תשימו קרחה בין עיניכם למת יכול לא יהא חייב אלא על בין העינים מנין לרבות כל הראש תלמוד לומר בראשם לחייב על הראש כבין העינים
Then now too, let us say that the connection is broken; and as for the gezerah shavah, that is required for what was taught: They shall not make a bald spot : I might think that even if one makes four or five bald patches he is liable for only one [transgression]; therefore it is stated, karhah [a baldness], to make him obligated for each separate act.
On their head ? Why is this stated? Because it is said: You shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead : I might think that one is liable only for between the eyes. From where do I know to include the whole head? Scripture says: On their head, to make him liable for the [whole] head as for between the eyes.
The Talmud pushes the argument further. We could say that Speak to the sons of Aaron refers only to the first few verses and not to the prohibition of making a bald spot. And the gezerah shavah is needed for another baraita that teaches the rules governing this prohibition. [The gezerah shavah appears in the continuation]. The baraita teaches two rules. 1) One is liable for each bald spot. 2) The prohibition refers to the whole head, not just between the eyes, as is stated in Deuteronomy.
ואין לי אלא כהנים שריבה בהם הכתוב מצות יתירות ישראל מנלן נאמר כאן קרחה ונאמר להלן קרחה מה כאן חייב על כל קרחה וקרחה וחייב על הראש כבין העינים אף להלן חייב על כל קרחה וקרחה וחייב על הראש כבין העינים ומה להלן על מת אף כאן על מת
Now, I know this only of priests, for whom the verse imposes additional commandments; from where do I know this of the rest of Israel? It says here, karhah [baldness], and it says there karhah ; just as there, one is liable for every act of making baldness, and for the [whole] head as for between the eyes, so here too, one is liable for every act of baldness and in respect of the whole head as for between the eyes. And just as below, [baldness] for the dead [is meant], so here too it is for the dead!
This is the continuation of the baraita. It contains the gezerah shavah which connects Leviticus with Deuteronomy so that the rules in the former which were stated with regard to priests also apply to the latter, a verse stated with regard to all of Israel.
א"כ נכתוב קרא קרח מאי קרחה שמעת מינה תרתי
If so, let the verse write kerah [baldness] : why karhah ? Learn from this both.
The Talmud says that the word is written in an unusual fashion, which allows us to double darshan the gezerah shavah. The gezerah shavah teaches us that the verse about baldness refers only to men and it also teaches us that the rules in Leviticus apply to the priests, just as the do to Israelites.