Sukkah, Daf Heh, Part 4
Introduction
The Talmud continues to find various places in the Bible from which we can derive the height of the ark-cover.
רב הונא אמר מהכא. +ויקרא טז+ על פני הכפרת קדמה – ואין פנים פחות מטפח.
R. Huna said: [The height of the ark-cover may be deduced] from here, "Upon the face of the ark-cover" (Leviticus 16:14) on the east, and a ‘face is not smaller than a handbreadth.
R. Huna provides a new source for the height of the ark-cover. The Torah uses the word "face" in reference to the ark-cover. Therefore the ark-cover must at least be the minimal size of a face. The minimum size of a normal human face is one handbreadth.
ואימא כאפי דבר יוכני! – תפשת מרובה – לא תפשת, תפשת מועט – תפשת.
But perhaps it means a face like that of the Bar-Yokani? If you seized a large amount, you have not seized anything; but if you seized the lesser amount you have seized.
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Bar-Yokani is a legendarily large bird. The yoke of the egg was enough to drown sixty cities (Bechorot 57b). Its face must have been enormous. So if we are deriving the size of the ark-cover from the size of a face, maybe the face would have be as large as this bird’s face.
The Talmud rejects this with the same principle we saw earlier whenever possible we should be minimalist in deriving measures. We should derive the "face" of the ark-cover from the smallest face, and not from the largest one.
ואימא כאפי דציפרתא, דזוטר טובא!
אמר רב אחא בר יעקב: רב הונא פני פני גמר; כתיב הכא אל פני הכפרת וכתיב התם +בראשית כז+ מאת פני יצחק אביו.
But perhaps it means a face like that of a tziparta which is very small?
R. Aha b. Jacob said: R. Huna draws an analogy between two expressions of face . It is written here, [Upon the face of the ark-cover", and it is written elsewhere, "From the face of Isaac his father" (Genesis 27:30).
The Talmud now turns to the opposite extreme. The smallest face belongs to that of a small bird (called the tziparta). So why not learn the size of ark-cover from that small face.
The answer comes from an amora, R. Huna. R. Huna compares the use of the word "face" in Leviticus with the same word that appears in Genesis, where it refers to Isaac. Thus we should learn the size of the ark-cover from a human face, not a small bird’s face.
ונילף מפנים של מעלה, דכתיב +בראשית לג+ כראת פני אלהים ותרצני! – תפשת מרובה – לא תפשת, תפשת מועט – תפשת.
But why should we not learn from the face above, concerning which it is written, "As one sees the face of God, and You were pleased with me?" (Genesis 33:10).
If you seized a large amount, you have not seized anything; but if you seized the lesser amount you have seized.
There is yet another "face" mentioned in the Torah the "face" of God. Such a face is huge. So why not derive the height of the ark-cover from the face of God.
Again, the Talmud rejects this by referring to the minimalist principle. We shouldn’t learn from God’s face because that’s the largest face there could possibly be.
ונילף מכרוב, דכתיב +שמות כה+ אל הכפרת יהיו פני הכרבים!
אמר רב אחא בר יעקב, גמירי: אין פני כרובים פחותין מטפח.
ורב הונא נמי מהכא גמיר. ומאי כרוב? אמר רבי אבהו: כרביא, שכן בבבל קורין לינוקא רביא.
Let us learn from the cherub concerning which it is written, "Toward the face of the ark-cover shall the faces of the cherubim be?" (Exodus 25:20).
R. Aha b. Jacob answered: We have a tradition that the face of the cherubim were not less than a handbreadth and R. Huna too made his deduction from this verse.
What is a "cherub"? R. Abahu said, Like a child , for in Babylon they call a child Ravia.
Finally, there is another verse that uses the word "face" in reference to the cherubim, the two angelic figures that were on top of the ark-cover. Why not derive the height of the ark-cover from there?
R. Aha answers that indeed we could have learned the height of the ark from the size of the cherubim for they too were at least one handbreadth high. Indeed, according to R. Aha, R. Huna did derive the height of the ark-cover from the height of the cherubs.
Finally, we get a folk-derivation of the word "cherub." R. Abahu says that it comes from two words "like" (כ) and "a child" (רביא). Thus the word from the Bible is connected to Aramaic.
In summary, there are many faces, big birds, little birds, God and cherubim. But if we want to learn we should learn from a human face.