Talmud - Pesahim 43a פסחים מ״ג א׳

who reached physical maturity, but had not yet reached the age of majority, and women who sought to remove hair for cosmetic purposes: They would smear daughters of the poor with lime; they would smear daughters of the wealthy with fine flour; they would smear daughters of kings with shemen hamor, as it was stated: “For so were the days of their anointing filled, six months with shemen hamor” (Esther 2:12).

The Gemara asks: What is shemen hamor? Rav Huna bar Ḥiyya said: Setaket. Rav Yirmeya bar Abba said: It is olive oil extracted from an olive that has not yet reached a third of its growth; the acidic oil is effective as a depilatory.

It was taught in a baraita: Rabbi Yehuda says that anpiknin is olive oil from an olive that has not reached a third of its growth. And why is it spread on the body? It is due to the fact that it removes [mashir] the hair and pampers the skin.

The mishna states: This is the principle: One violates these prohibitions on Passover with anything that is prepared from a type of grain. It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehoshua said: Now that we learned that by possessing anything that is a type of grain one violates the prohibition against leaven during Passover, why did the Sages list these items individually? They could have simply stated the principle. The baraita explains that the Sages provided a list of prohibited foods so that one would become familiar with these items and with their names, so that it would become widely known that these foods contain a small quantity of grain.

The Gemara cites an incident that underscores the significance of familiarity with the names of foods: As in this case of that man from the West, Eretz Yisrael, who visited Babylonia, and had meat with him, he said to his hosts: Bring me a dip with which to eat my bread. He heard them saying: Bring him kutaḥ. Since he heard the word kutaḥ, he stopped eating, as he knew that kutaḥ contains milk and may not be eaten with meat. This incident underscores that it is advantageous for one to familiarize himself with the names and ingredients of different foods, so that he will be aware of the nature of the food even if he does not recognize it.

It is stated in the mishna: These substances are included in the prohibition but are not punishable by karet.

The Gemara asks: Who is the tanna who maintains that both full-fledged, leavened grain bread in a mixture, and hardened leaven, in its pure, unadulterated form, which is not suitable for consumption, are both included in a prohibition?

The Gemara answers that Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: It is the opinion of Rabbi Meir, as it was taught in a baraita: Leavening dough, i.e., dough that is at the beginning of the leavening process and is presently hardened leaven, must be burned, or one gives it to his dog. And one who eats it is flogged with forty lashes.

Before analyzing the contents of the baraita, the Gemara addresses an apparent contradiction within the baraita. This baraita itself is difficult. You said that leavening dough must be burned; apparently it is prohibited to derive benefit from hardened leaven. And then it teaches: Or one gives it to his dog; apparently, it is permitted to derive benefit from the leaven.

The Gemara answers that this is what the baraita is saying: Leavening dough must be burned, i.e., leavening dough as defined by Rabbi Meir must be burned in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, who maintains that leavening dough is full-fledged leaven. Alternatively, the baraita may be explained as referring to leavening dough as defined by Rabbi Yehuda, in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda that it is prohibited to derive benefit from leavening dough. Each tanna maintains that it is prohibited to derive benefit from any dough classified as leavening dough by his definition. When the baraita says that one gives it to his dog, it means: Leavening dough as defined by Rabbi Meir, is only hardened leaven according to Rabbi Yehuda, and therefore one may feed it to his dog. Rabbi Yehuda maintains that it is permitted to derive benefit from this type of leaven.

With regard to the final statement of the baraita, that one who eats leavening dough is flogged with forty lashes, we have once again arrived at the opinion of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Meir holds that one who eats this leavening dough, from which it is permitted to derive benefit according to Rabbi Yehuda, is flogged with forty lashes.

According to this explanation of the baraita, we have learned that Rabbi Meir maintains that hardened leaven in its pure, unadulterated form, is included in a prohibition, and one who eats this leaven is flogged. And all the more so, one who eats full-fledged, leavened grain bread in a mixture is flogged but does not receive karet, as he is not eating the leaven in and of itself. Nevertheless, the prohibition against eating leavened bread on Passover applies in that case.

Rav Naḥman said: The mishna is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer, as it was taught in a baraita: For eating full-fledged, leavened grain bread one is punishable by karet, whereas for eating a mixture that contains leaven one is punished merely for violating a prohibition. This is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer. And the Rabbis say: For eating full-fledged, leavened grain bread one is punishable by karet; however, for eating leaven in its mixture one is not punished at all. And we learned according to Rabbi Eliezer, who said that full-fledged, leavened grain bread in a mixture is included in a prohibition, and that is true all the more so with regard to hardened leaven in its pure, unadulterated form.

The Gemara asks: And what is the reason that Rav Naḥman did not state his opinion in accordance with the explanation of Rav Yehuda, that the mishna is in accordance with Rabbi Meir’s ruling?

The Gemara answers that Rav Naḥman could have said to you that the following distinction applies: Perhaps Rabbi Meir stated his opinion only there, with regard to hardened leaven in its pure, unadulterated form; however, with regard to full-fledged, leavened grain bread in a mixture, no, one is punished not with mere lashes but with karet.

The Gemara asks: And what is the reason that Rav Yehuda did not state his opinion in accordance with the explanation of Rav Naḥman, that the mishna is in accordance with Rabbi Eliezer’s ruling?

The Gemara answers that Rav Yehuda could have said to you: Rabbi Eliezer stated his opinion only there, with regard to full-fledged, leavened grain bread in a mixture that it is included in the prohibition. However, with regard to hardened leaven in its pure, unadulterated form, he did not state his ruling and perhaps Rabbi Eliezer maintains that it is permitted to eat hardened leaven.

The Gemara notes that it was taught in a baraita in accordance with the opinion of Rav Yehuda, who said that the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Meir’s opinion: “You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat matzot” (Exodus 12:20). The Sages taught: This verse comes to include Babylonian kutaḥ, Median beer, Edomite vinegar, and Egyptian zitom. I might have thought that one who eats any of these items will be punishable by karet. Therefore, the verse states: “For whoever eats leavened bread…that soul shall be cut off from Israel” (Exodus 12:15), from which the Sages derived: For eating full-fledged, leavened grain bread one is punished with karet, but for eating its mixture one is only in violation of a prohibition.

The Gemara analyzes the above statement: Whom did you hear that said that for eating a mixture which contains leaven one is in violation of a prohibition? It is Rabbi Eliezer. However, the baraita is not stating the halakha of hardened leaven in its pure, unadulterated form. This baraita lists only items that contain leaven in a mixture, but not other substances whose legal status is that of hardened leaven, e.g., broth, worked dough, and glue. Learn from this that Rabbi Eliezer is not of the opinion that hardened leaven is prohibited.

The Gemara asks: And Rabbi Eliezer, from where does he derive the halakha that leaven in its mixture is included in a prohibition? The Gemara answers that he derives it as it is written: “You shall eat nothing leavened.”

The Gemara challenges this derivation: If so, if the expression: Anything leavened, includes leaven in a mixture, let one also be liable to receive karet for eating leaven in a mixture. As it is written: “Seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses; for whosoever eats anything [kol] leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the people of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or one born in the land” (Exodus 12:19). Apparently, one is punished with karet for eating anything that contains leaven.

The Gemara answers that Rabbi Eliezer needs that phrase: Anything leavened, in order to derive for that which was taught in a baraita: From the phrase: Anything leavened, I have derived only that an item that became leavened on its own is prohibited. However, from where do I derive that one is punished with karet for eating an item that became leavened due to a different factor? The verse states: “Whosoever eats anything [kol] leavened…shall be cut off,” indicating that food that became leavened due to a different factor is considered leavened bread.

The Gemara asks: If so, if the phrase: Anything leavened, is referring to food that became leavened by means of something else, then when this same phrase appears with regard to the prohibition, I should explain that it comes for that purpose as well. Consequently, there should be no violation for eating a mixture that contains leaven, as apparently, the phrase: Anything leavened, does not refer to that case at all.

Rather, the reason for the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer is that he derives this halakha from the term anything [kol]. He does not derive his opinion from the term leavened; he bases his ruling on the inclusive term anything.

The Gemara raises a difficulty: There, too, in the verse that mentions the punishment of karet, isn’t it written: “For whosoever [kol] eats anything leavened, that soul shall be cut off”? The Gemara answers: Rabbi Eliezer requires that term to include women who are also punishable by karet for eating leavened bread.

The Gemara asks: Is this source necessary to derive this halakha? The fact that women may not eat leavened bread is derived from the statement that Rav Yehuda said that Rav said. As Rav Yehuda said that Rav said, and similarly, the Sage in the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: The verse said: “Speak to the children of Israel: A man or woman, when they commit any of the sins of men, to commit a trespass against the Lord, and that soul shall be guilty” (Numbers 5:6). The Torah rendered a man equal to a woman for all punishments of the Torah. Since the punishment of karet for eating leavened bread on Passover is included in this general principle, there is no need for a separate source to include women.

The Gemara answers: Nonetheless, it is necessary to cite a source that men and women are equal specifically with regard to the punishment of karet for eating leavened bread,

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Pesachim 43a explores cosmetic hair-removal oils like shemen hamor, then examines why the Mishnah lists specific grain-based foods forbidden on Passover.