Moed Katan 14b-15b - Gemara Marking System

Gemara Marking System
Sample Sugya:
Moed Katan 14b - 15b
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Print out this entire document.
Place the first pages side by side, just as they appear in a regular Gemara.
Then begin reading the commentary, starting on page 4.
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Sample Sugya • GemaraMarkings.com • Moed Katan 14b-15b • page 4
This sugya from meseches Moed Katan begins on daf 14b
- 16 lines down. The double-slash indicates start of a new
sugya.
In the right-hand margin is a gray box titled "Noseh." The
first line contains three words, indicating the three different
types of halachic status:
1) Avel - a mourner
2) Menudeh - an excommunicate
3) Metzorah - afflicted with the disease tzaraas
Contained within this gray box are the basic markings for
this sugya:
- Underneath the words "Avel, Menudeh, Metzorah" is a
list of 14 different halachas that the Gemara will explore.
the Gemara will compare and contrast these halachas as
they pertain to each of these three types of people - the
Avel, Menudeh, and Metzorah.
- Each number is marked by a diamond, which is a “series
marking” that will be used throughout this sugya.
Whenever a diamond appears in this sugya, that means
the Gemara is beginning the next topic on our list of 14.
- Next to the first item in the list is indicated :sh the daf
where this sugya begins. Item #3 begins on .uy, and item
#10 is on :uy.
- If you scan down the page, you'll see in the outer margin
of the page a large diamond with the number 1, indicating
the first of these 14 halachas. At the bottom of this amud
is diamond-2, and on the next amud diamonds 3-thru-9,
and finally on 15b diamonds 10-thru-14. Throughout this
entire sugya, every time the Gemara begins to discuss
the next in this list of 14 halachas, that will be indicated
by a diamond.
Furthermore, in the thin margin just to the right of the
Gemara text, are the same numbered diamonds, only
smaller. This creates an easy overall view of the sugya
structure. And if you’re learning in a shiur, it enables
everyone to find the place easily and quickly.
- In the gray box, notice as well that the words Avel,
Menudeh, Metzorah are double-underlined. Throughout this
entire sugya, every time the Gemara discusses Avel,
Menudeh or Metzorah, that word will be double-underlined,
to clearly delineate the structure. A quick glance at the
three amudim of Gemara shows where each new point is
introduced, indicated by the double-underlines.
We'll get started with the Gemara in a moment. But let's
first get a micro-structure of the first of these 14 halachas.
Remember: a diamond is the halachic topic, and a doubleunderline is the type of person. So notice that on the first
line of the sugya is a diamond on the word Regel - this
refers to the three festivals, the Shalosh Regalim. The
Gemara will be discussing what happens when someone's
personal restrictions conflict with the mitzvah to rejoice on
the Yom Tov. What takes precedence?
Also on the first line of the sugya, the word Avel is doubleunderlined, because first we'll examine the mitzvah to
rejoice on the festivals vis-à-vis a mourner. Then four lines
later, the word Menudah is double-underlined, because the
Gemara will then examine the mitzvah to rejoice on the
festivals vis-à-vis the Menudah. And then 20 lines after
that, the word Metzorah is double-underlined, because the
Gemara will examine the mitzvah to rejoice on the festivals
vis-à-vis the Metzorah.
In this same way, the Gemara will go through all 14 different
halachas: Each of the 14 diamonds will be examined as
they pertain to each of the 3 types of people - the Avel, the
Menudeh, and the Metzorah. As a mnemonic device, we
could call it a 14/3 structure: 14 halachas, 3 types of people.
The Gemara begins:
'kdrc u,ukhct dvub ubht kct
/ldjc ,jnau rntba
A mourner does not conduct himself as a mourner during
the festivals, as it says (Devarim 16:14): "You shall rejoice
on your festival." The two-word quote from the posuk is
indicated by quotation marks.
After the posuk is a standard punctuation, a colon, indicating
that the Gemara will now examine the circumstances that
this applies. Notice that the word ht is marked by a squiggle
underline, and the letter (A) is written above the word.
Then at the end of the next line, the word htu is also
squiggle-underlined, and marked with a letter (B). The
squiggle underline indicates that (A) and (B) are related in this case, they represent two possible sets of
circumstances:
tuv trehgns ,ukhct ht
If we're talking about a mourning requirement that began
before the festival arrived, the rule is:
shjhs vag hjsu ohcrs vag h,t
The positive mitzvah of rejoicing, which is incumbent on
the entire Jewish people, supersedes the positive mitzvah
Sample Sugya • GemaraMarkings.com • Moed Katan 14b-15b • page 5
of mourning, which is incumbent only on the individual.
That's a logical conclusion: a national mitzvah takes
precedence over a private mitzvah. [These words are
marked with a "phrase marking" - right angles - to indicate
that this is to be read as a singular phrase.]
[Notice that the word ,jnau (rejoicing) is written right
into the Gemara, so we known exactly which "public"
mitzvah we're referring to. Also, the word ,ukhct
(mourning) is written into the Gemara, so we known which
"individual" mitzvah we're referring to.]
The Gemara continues:
Now look at the far right of this page, at the gray box
entitled Mivneh - structure. Regarding the issue of Niduy,
which we are now discussing, we see that a right-side-up
house is of the opinion that the Menudah is required to
maintain restrictions during the festival, while the inverted
house is of the opinion that the Menudah is not required
to maintain restrictions during the festival. These markings
are very helpful when there are many back-and-forth
opinions, to enable us to keep track of the flow of the
Gemara.
:gna t, :;xuh cr rnt
tuv t,avs ,ukhct htu
Rav Yosef brings a Tannaic source to support his position,
and like all Tannaic sources, it is enclosed in a box.
After the word t,avs is a marking called a "connector."
This tells us not to pause after t,avs but rather keep on
reading. The Gemara says: If we're talking about a
mourning requirement that began only during the festival,
i.e. after the obligation to rejoice on the festival had taken
effect, the rule is as follows [dash]:
Notice the letter 'R' above the word ihbs - this indicates to
look at Rashi, who explains that this Baraisa is speaking
about Chol HaMoed. This point is so key that the words
"Chol HaMoed" have been written right into the Gemara.
Now here's the source from Rav Yosef:
/ohcrs vag hjsu shjhs vag h,t tk
/,ubunn hbhsu ',ufn hbhsu ',uapb hbhs ihbs
In a case where the national mitzvah of rejoicing occurred
first, certainly the mitzvah of mourning, which is incumbent
only on the individual, does not supersede the mitzvah of
rejoicing, which is incumbent on the entire Jewish people.
So that's our answer: The mitzvah to rejoice on the festival
supersedes the mitzvah of mourning, and thus the halacha
is that no public displays of mourning are observed on a
festival.
Next the Gemara discusses the Menudah, someone who's
been excommunicated. This word is double-underlined,
to indicate that it is the next halacha to be examined visà-vis the mitzvah to rejoice on the festival.
As this sugya will later discuss, a Menudah is required to
observe various restrictions: one of which is that he must
generally refrain from greeting other people. Yet with all
the Jewish people gathering in Jerusalem on the festival
to rejoice together, greeting people becomes a major issue.
So the Gemara asks:
?kdrc uhushb duvbha uvn 'vsubn
Given that there is a mitzvah to rejoice on the festival, is
the Menudah required to maintain his restrictions on Yom
Tov? [question mark]
Notice that next in the Gemara is a house-shaped box
around the name Rav Yosef. Five lines later is an inverted
house around the name Abaye. This indicates a machlokes
between them.
During the festival period, the courts may judge cases of
capital punishment, lashes, and monetary matters. The
connector marking indicates to keep reading on, as Rav
Yosef makes a deduction from the Baraisa:
/vhk ibh,nan - tbhs ,hhm tk htu
If the defendant does not listen to the judges' ruling, we
impose excommunication. The three words tbhs ,hhm tk
are a phrase marking, to be read all together. And
vhk ibh,nan is the key point so it is dash-underlined. Rav
Yosef continues to develop his point:
- kdrc uhushb dvub ubht l,gs tekx htu
vhk hjs kdr h,t - trehgn h,tu ,nuan
And if it were true that a Menudeh does not observe
restrictions during the festival, meaning that someone who
was in a state of excommunication prior to the festival,
has his restrictions superseded by the festival…
!?ibt vhk ibh,nan t,av
would it make any sense to impose a new term of
excommunication during the festival itself? [The Gemara
asks this as a rhetorical question - and to indicate this,
the word vhn,c has been written right into the Gemara.]
Of course not! Therefore it is obvious that the restrictions
of excommunication are not superseded by the festival.
That's Rav Yosef's position.
Sample Sugya • GemaraMarkings.com • Moed Katan 14b-15b • page 6
Now comes an inverted house around the name Abaye.
This will attempt to rebuff Rav Yosef's position.
Notice in the thin margin between the Gemara text and
Rashi, is a dashed vertical line. This is a "long-point"
marking, because Abaye will use multiple steps to prove
his point, and the long-point marking indicates to keep on
reading and following the single train of thought. The letter
daled, circled at the top of the long-point marking, indicates
that this point is a vhjs, a rebuff of Rav Yosef's position.
vhbhsc hbuhgk tnksu :hhct vhk rnt
Although the Gemara is very terse - using only three words
vhbhsc hbuhgk tnksu to explain Abaye, Rashi "reads between
the lines," so to speak. That's why the letter ‘R’ is indicated
in the text of the Gemara to see Rashi for the full
explanation. The dibur hamaskil of Rashi is also underlined
for quicker reference.
Abaye says: The source that Rav Yosef cited could be
understood differently: When the Baraisa says that "during
the festival, we judge cases of capital punishment, lashes
and monetary matters," it only means that the judges
can investigate and study the case - but they do not
actually announce any decision during the festival period.
Thus no new rulings of excommunication are issued during
the festival. Hence the source is not dealing with
excommunication, and has no bearing on our discussion.
Here we have a comma-connector, which means pause
slightly, but keep on reading - because Abaye continues
to bolster his point:
- hfv tnh, tk hts
?vhk ihkyes hnb hfv 'hb,es ,uapb hbhs
/cuy ouh ,jnan hgbnhn te tvu
Abaye says: If you don't learn the Baraisa as I do, then
how would you explain the part of the Baraisa which
mentions judging capital cases?
[These words - ,uapb hbhs - are in a phrase marking, to
indicate it is a requote from an earlier source. But
sometimes it's hard to quickly find the original source - so
in the margin just to the right of the Gemara text is an
arrow. Whenever you se an arrow, you should scan the
page to find the corresponding arrow - in this case, it is
five lines up, which focuses us quickly back to the original
source that the words ,uapb hbhs are taken from.]
Abaye says: Would judging capital cases actually mean
executing the person on the festival - vhn,c. This cannot
possibly be, because it would result in depriving the judges
of enjoying the festival. As the Gemara explains [connector
- keep reading]:
ihrsvbxk ihbn :rnut tcheg hcr 'thb,s
- ouhv u,ut kf ihnguy ihta apbv ,t udrva
/osv kg ukft, tk rnuk sunk,
A Baraisa quotes Rabbi Akiva: From where do we know
that if the court sentenced someone to the death penalty,
the judges would not eat anything that entire day?
[question mark] The verse says (Vayikra 19:26, in
quotation marks), "Do not eat over the blood" - in other
words, "on a day of court-appointed execution, you should
not eat." And since not eating is antithetical to enjoying
the festival, the Torah would not permit a court-appointed
execution on the festival. Therefore Abaye concludes
[connector - keep reading]:
/vhbhsc hbuhgk - hnb tfv 'vhbhsc hbuhgk - tkt
Rather, we should understand the Bariasa's reference to
"judging capital cases" as meaning that the judges merely
investigate the case, but do not issue any ruling. So too
with regard to the rest of the Baraisa - for example,
monetary cases - the judges only study the case, but do
not issue any ruling that may result in excommunication.
Hence, Rav Yosef's conclusion is not be relied upon - and
we cannot conclude that Niduy is (or is not) applicable on
Yom Tov. And now we have reached the end of our "longpoint" marking, begun six lines earlier.
Rav Yosef now retorts, indicated by the right-side-up house.
Again, to help keep track of the back-and-forth, simply
refer to the gray box on the right side, which quickly
reminds us that a right-side-up house is promoting the
position that kdrc dvub hushb.
/ubhs ,t vbgn ,tmnb if ot :vhk rnt
Rav Yosef says to Abaye: If what you're saying is true,
that the court reaches a verdict without actually handing
down the ruling during the festival, then you're creating a
situation of what's known as ihsv hubg - delaying the process
of justice, which is forbidden in halacha.
Rashi adds the word tkt to the text, which we've written
in to help the flow of the reading. Rather, verdicts are
indeed issued and carried out during the festival, and
[comma-connector] Rav Yosef continues to explain a
procedure by which this is not a problem of "delaying
justice":
'vhbhsc hbhhgnu trpmn u,t
'tnuh hkuf u,au hkftu hkhhgu
'vhbhsk ibhrndu vnjv ,gheac u,t rsvu
/vhk ukyeu
Sample Sugya • GemaraMarkings.com • Moed Katan 14b-15b • page 7
In the morning, the judges investigate the case, and then
they go home to eat and drink, and finally they come back
to the courtroom just prior to sunset, where they actually
issue the verdict and immediately execute the man. As for
the issue of enjoying the festival when the prohibition
applies of osv kg ukft, tk - not eating on a day of
execution - the judges do not actually issue the ruling and
carry out the execution until the end of the day. This way
there is only a few inconsequential minutes when eating is
restricted.
So Rav Yosef has successfully explained the Baraisa to
conform to his understanding: We judge all cases during
the festival, and will even execute a defendant on the same
day. As regards to our topic as well - pronouncing new
terms of excommunication during a festival - the judges
will do that, too; so obviously hushb is observed during the
festival.
The Gemara now reverses course - as indicated by an
inverted house - with Abaye justifying the position that
excommunication should not be observed during the
festival.
/ohnfj uk urh,va vsubnu :gna t, 'hhct rnt
Abaye brings a quote from our Mishnah which refers to
"The Menudah who is released from his ban." The letter-R
indicates to see Rashi, who explains as follows: Abaye's
understanding of this source is an across-the-board
annulment, meaning that the Menudah does not observe
any restrictions during the festival.
Rava now rejects Abaye's position. Rava is in effect
defending the position of Rav Yosef, and so is marked by a
right-side-up house:
?ohnfj uvurh,va hb,e hn :tcr rnt
'vhbhs kgck vhxhhpu kzts 'hb,e ohnfj uk urh,va
/vhk urau 'ibcrs hne h,tu
Rava says: Does the Mishnah state that the Sages released
it - referring to the general idea of excommunication? No!
Rather, the Mishnah states that they released his ban. Rashi
explains that this refers to a case where a particular
Menudah went and appeased the person he had offended,
and then petitioned the Sages who annulled his ban. Thus
the Mishnah does not suggest an across-the-board
annulment on the festival, and thus it poses no challenge
to Rav Yosef, whose original contention that
excommunication continues throughout the festival could
remain viable.
This concludes the Gemara's discussion of Menudah vis a
vis the festivals, indicated by a "period" marking - full stop.
Now the Gemara will examine the third type of person:
the Metzorah, which is marked in the Gemara with a doubleunderline. The Gemara asks:
?kdrc u,grm dhvbha uvn grumn
What is the halacha regarding a Metzorah who, under
ordinary circumstances, has to observe a variety of
restrictions, as Rashi notes, for example, that he must
remain physically outside the community, and cannot get
a haircut. Do these restrictions apply during the festival,
or not?
The Gemara will now engage in a back-and-forth on this
issue, which we'll mark with triangles and inverted triangles.
The triangles are a different shape than the houses we
used previously, in order to emphasize that the Gemara is
discussing a topic unrelated to the previous discussion.
Again, on the outside margin, in the gray box titled Mivneh
("structure"), we've indicated that the right-side-up triangle
is of the opinion that the Metzorah is required to observe
restrictions during the festival, and the inverted triangle is
that the Metzorah is not required to observe these
restrictions during the festival.
:gna t, 'hhct rnt
/u,rvyk u,tnuyn grumnvu rhzbvu
Abaye says: Come and learn from our Mishnah, which says:
"The Nazir and the Metzorah who conclude their respective
periods and achieve a state of tahara, may get a haircut
during the festival." But then Abaye draws the obvious
inference:
/dhvb - u,tnuy hnhc tv
This is only if they conclude their state of tuma. But if they
are still in a state of tuma, then they must continue to
observe the restrictions: As we've written into the Gemara,
the restrictions during the festival.
The Gemara now deflects that conclusion, as indicated by
the inverted triangle.
:rnte thgchn tk
'dhvb tks u,tnuy hnhc thgchn tk
'uh,ubcre vvah tna ruzdhb - u,rvyk kct
The Mishnah used a thgchn tk form of reasoning. thgchn
tk means "it's not necessary to mention this point, but we
do so anyway," as follows [colon]: It's not necessary to
mention that while in a state of tuma, the Nazir and
Sample Sugya • GemaraMarkings.com • Moed Katan 14b-15b • page 8
Metzorah do not observe their restrictions during the
festival. [But - kct - we've added in the vowels to that
word, to avoid confusion with the Avel - a mourner - one
of the key repeated topics of our sugya.] But we do state
the law regarding those who achieve a state of tahara: for
we might think they should not be allowed to cut their
hair on the festival, due to a concern that they will delay
bringing their offerings until the last day of the festival.
Since the last day of Sukkos and Pesach is a Yom Tov, it is
forbidden to bring private offerings on that day. [This
explanation comes directly from Rashi, and these key
words have been dash-underlined in the text of Rashi.]
/ik gnan te
The Mishnah informs us that we do not make such a decree,
and in fact the Nazir and Metzorah who conclude their
respective periods and achieve a state of tahara may get
a haircut during the festival. Thus we've deflected Abaye's
attempt to draw an inference from the source, and in fact
no proof can be brought from the Mishnah as to whether
or not the festival supersedes the restrictions of a Metzorah.
As should be clear from the marking, a triangle, Rava is
now going to bring a source to support the contention
that a metzorah is required to maintain his restrictions
during the festival.
As it says in a Mishnah: A Kohen Gadol may perform the
Temple service, even while he is an Onen (though he does
not eat the offerings). But this only applies to a Kohen
Gadol. Anyone else - for example a regular kohen - may
not perform the Temple service as an Onen. Therefore it
stands to reason that a Metzorah is required to maintain
his restrictions during the festival. [This conclusion is dashunderlined in the text of Rashi.]
As we said, there are 14 halachas covered in this sugya,
and we now move on to halacha #2 - diamond #2 in our
series of 14, indicated in the far right margin as Tisporet getting a haircut. And as expected, we'll examine this issue
vis-a-vis our three different people: Avel, Menudah and
Metzorah. And as expected, the first case - Avel - is marked
with a double-underline.
',rupx,c ruxt kct
irvt hbck tbnjr uvk rntesn
- ugrp, kt ofhatr
/ruxt tnkg hkufs kkfn
Rava says: Come and learn from a Baraisa, which says:
gurmvu - the verse in Vayikra 13:45 adds an extra word to
teach that a Kohen Gadol who becomes a Metzorah must
observe the laws of tzaraas.
An Avel is forbidden to get a haircut, as the verse (Vayikra
10:6) says in addressing the sons of Aaron, following the
death of their brothers, Nadav and Avihu: "Do not leave
your hair uncut." There's a double-negative here: Don't
leave your hair uncut - i.e. you are permitted to get a
haircut, even though you are in mourning. The Gemara
infers from here: You, the sons of Aaron are permitted to
get a haircut, but any other Avel is forbidden [as we've
written in the Gemara] - forbidden to get a haircut. [This
is all explained clearly in Rashi, indicated in the Gemara
with the letter-R.]
'hns tnkg hkufk kdrf - vbav kfs kusd ivf tvu
Moving to the top of 15a - we see the double-underlines:
[The words vbav kfs kusd ivf are marked with a "phrase
marking" - right angles - to indicate that this is to be read
as a singular phrase.]
?,rupx,c iv vn ihgrumnu ihsubn
:gna t, 'tcr rnt
/kusd ivf ,ucrk - gurmvu
The Gemara notes that when it comes to laws of mourning,
the state in which a Kohen Gadol is in the entire year,
corresponds [i.e. marked this with an equal sign] to the
status of a regular person during a festival [connector keep reading], which - as the words written into the
Gemara indicate - means that a regular person would
indeed observe the Metzorah restrictions during the
festival.
/kfut ubhtu ibut chren kusd ivf :ib,s
/vbhn gna 'kdrc u,grm dvub :vbhn gna
Regarding a Menudah and Metzorah - are they permitted
to get a haircut?
The Gemara answers:
/xcfku rpxk ihruxt ihgrumnu ihsubn :gna t,
Learn from a Baraisa: The Menudah and Metzorah are
forbidden to get a haircut and to wash clothes. We've
marked two words - rpxk ihruxt - with a dash-underline,
as this is the pertinent information necessary to answer
our question.
Sample Sugya • GemaraMarkings.com • Moed Katan 14b-15b • page 9
Notice that the Baraisa continues for another six lines.
This information is not germane to our topic, so in order to
appreciate that nuance, the remainder of the Baraisa is
placed in brackets. This is no way implies that this
information is less important, or in any way erroneous,
but it is simply not part of the main flow of our sugya.
Look at Rashi, the second line from the top, who indicates
that these lines are brought by the Gemara for the simple
reason that they are the continuation of the Baraisa. Rashi
is actually accentuating a structural marking, and we've
taken Rashi's comment and superimposed it on the Gemara
itself.
An Avel is obligated to cover his head. We learn this from
an incident where Hashem tells the prophet Yechezkel that
his wife will soon die. The verse (Yechezkel 24:17) says:
"You should not cover your lips" - i.e. don't cover your
head in mourning. The Gemara infers from here: You,
Yechezkel, should not cover your head, but as the Gemara
concludes, any other Avel should cover his head. [Period full stop.]
So the Baraisa continues:
What is the halacha of a Menudah vis-à-vis covering the
head?
uburt ,t ihkeux ihs ,hc - ,na vsubn
:rnut vsuvh hcr
'ifg ka ukdf ohbct kd uhkg ushngha tk
If a person who died while in the state of excommunication,
the court stones his coffin. Rebbe Yehuda says: This is not
to suggest that they pile a heap of stones on his coffin,
like the heap of stones piled on the grave of Achan. (As
Rashi notes: The book of Joshua, chapter 7, describes how
a man named Achan had illegally taken war spoils, and
was then stoned to death, after which stones were piled
on his grave.)
Next, the double-underlined word Menudah:
?atrv ,phygc uvn vsubn
:gna t, :;xuh cr rnt
Rav Yosef says: Learn from this Baraisa. [To get our
bearings, we've written in that the Baraisa is speaking about
a period of time when there is a serious lack of rainfall.]
ohkctfu ihsubnf ihcauhu ihpyg,n ivu
/ohnav in ovhkg unjrha sg
The Baraisa says that during a time of drought, people
should cover their heads and sit like excommunicates and
like mourners, until Hashem has mercy on them.
The Gemara continues [comma-connector]:
uburt kg vkusd ict ihjhbnu ihjkua ihs ,hc tkt
uhushbc ,nu vsb,nv kfa lsnkk
/uburt ,t ihkeux ihs ,hc
Rather, the court sends agents to place a single large stone
on his coffin - in order that onlookers will be aware that
when someone dies in a state of excommunication, the
court stones his coffin. That's the end of the Baraisa, and
the end of the bracketed (tangential) section.
We now move on to halacha #3 - diamond #3 in our series
of 14: Atifas HaRosh, wrapping a piece of material around
the head, mouth and nose. [Diamond #3 is indicated in
the margin.] And as expected, we'll examine this halacha
vis-a-vis three different people: the Avel, Menudah and
Metzorah.
We begin with the word "Avel" double-underlined.
'atrv ,phygc chhj kct
:ktezjhk tbnjr vhk rntesn
'opa kg vyg, tku
/hchhjhn tnkg hkufs kkfn
The two key words are marked with a dash-underline:
"cover their heads like excommunicates." This teaches that
a Menudah is required to cover his head.
However, Abaye rebuffs this, as indicated by the word vhjs
written into the Gemara text:
/rhnjs 'hbta ohnak vsubn tnks :hhct vhk rnt
Abaye says: You cannot conclude the halachas about
regular excommunicates from this source. The halacha may
be more strict in a case where Hashem has, so to speak,
imposed excommunication on a person. But our question
concerned a court-imposed excommunication, which may
in fact not necessitate covering the head. Thus this question
remains unresolved by the Gemara. [Period - full stop.]
The Gemara continues with our third person, the Metzorah,
which is double-underlined:
?atrv ,phygc uvn grumn
What is the halacha vis-à-vis a Metzorah covering his head?
vygh opa kgu :gna t,
/vbhn gna 'atrv ,phygc chhja kkfn
Sample Sugya • GemaraMarkings.com • Moed Katan 14b-15b • page 10
Learn from a Baraisa: The verse (Vayikra 13:45) says
regarding a Metzorah: "You should cover your lips." This
clearly indicates that a Metzorah is required to cover his
head.
The continuation of the Gemara follows the same pattern
with halacha #4 regarding the wearing of tefillin: Does a
mourner wear tefillin, does a Menudah wear tefillin, does
a Metzorah wear tefillin? And the Gemara follows this
pattern with all the subsequent halachas in this series:
regarding greeting other people, engaging in Torah study,
laundering clothes, tearing the garment (kriyah), turning
over the bed, going to work, bathing, wearing shoes,
marital relations, and finally halacha #14 in this sugya,
regarding the sending of korbonos through an agent.
The basic idea is clear. So for the sake of brevity, we're not
going to take the time now and go through the remaining
halachas.
We can now step back and see the big picture: over three
amudim of Gemara, there are 14 diamonds, each indicating
a different halacha under discussion. And each of these 14
halachas are discussed in terms of the Avel, Menudah and
Metzorah. It's a simple 14/3 structure.
Imagine how overwhelming and unwieldy this sugya could
be without the benefit of the Gemara Markings. Just as a
talmid chacham would map out this sugya in his “mind’s
eye,” so too the markings make it realistic for everyone to
clearly see the overall structure.
Having this foundation makes an enormous difference when
doing chazara. It is not hard to imagine that the shakla
v’tarya of these entire 3 amudim could rather easily be
learned by heart.
And the benefits of the markings goes beyond one's
individual learning. By using the markings in the context
of a shiur, the maggid shiur would have a far easier time
keeping everyone focused and on track. All he has to say
is, "We're now on Diamond #4 - Menudeh" - and everyone
can immediately find the place in the Gemara, and have a
solid context for moving forward.
With thanks to Oz Vehadar for permission to use the
Gemara pages.