The Weekly Daf #229 Eiruvin 56-62 Week of 5-11 Tammuz 5758 / 29 June-5 July 1998 Parshas Chukas =========================================================================== This publication is available in HTML format at http://www.ohr.org.il/yomi/yomi229.htm =========================================================================== Measuring Jerusalem In measuring the distance of 2,000 amos which constitute the techum of a city -- the distance which one may walk beyond the city limits without the need of an eruv -- there are specific requirements for both the nature of the measuring instrument and its length. The instrument must be a rope made of flax and its length must be fifty amos -- no more and no less. As an explanation for the size of the rope, the gemara tells us that if it is shorter it is so flexible that it can easily be stretched by the people holding it at opposite ends and this increases the distance. If it is longer than fifty amos its weight is likely to cause some sagging in the middle and the distance is shortened. But why not use a metal chain for measuring which would eliminate both the danger of stretching and that of sagging? The answer is that our Sages saw in the words of a passage in the book of Zecharia (2:5) an indication that measuring in connection with a city must be done with a rope. The prophet Zecharia describes his vision of a man with a rope in his hand who informed him that he was measuring Jerusalem to determine its breadth and length. This was a Heavenly message that the return of the Jews from Babylonian exile to Jerusalem which took place in Zecharia's day would result only in a limited settlement in the city. Then came an angel, Zecharia continues, to inform him that there will be another redemption and return to Jerusalem which will render measuring the city obsolete. At that time "Jerusalem shall be inhabited like unwalled towns because of the multitude of men and cattle in it." Will this population explosion which leaves Jerusalem without protective walls endanger the security of the city's inhabitants? "I, says Hashem, will be to her like a wall of fire all around her and will be the glory in her midst." * Eruvin 58a =========================================================================== Balance of Forces An interesting problem of violent conflict between two Jewish communities in Eretz Yisrael came before the leader of the generation, Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi (Rebbi). The inhabitants of Geder were a rather rough bunch, and when they became a little inebriated on Shabbos they would attack the residents of the neighboring city Chamsan who came to visit their town. Rebbi's solution to this problem of violence was to forbid the residents of Chamsan to enter Geder on Shabbos. Since he did not wish to create a complete rift between these two neighboring communities he did permit the residents of Geder to enter Chamsan on Shabbos. But does this eliminate the danger of violence, asks the gemara, if the spirited visitors from Geder are let loose on their neighbors in Chamsan? "A dog removed from his habitat will not bark for seven years" is the folk saying applied to explain Rebbi's strategy. Although the fellows from Geder may be aggressive on their own turf, there was little likelihood that they would make trouble away from home. "What about the residents of Chamsan?" asks the gemara. Won't they take advantage of this weakness of their visiting neighbors to attack them in retribution for the pain they suffered at their hands on earlier visits? The answer given is a brilliant application of the principle of coexistence based on a balance of forces. The edge which the Gederites had over the Chamsanites in terms of aggressiveness was offset by their being on foreign ground, so that each side was deterred from any action against the other. * Eruvin 61a =========================================================================== Do you link to us? Let everyone know about the Ohr Somayach Home Page by dropping the following text into the HTML document of YOUR home page: The Ohr Somayach International Home Page =========================================================================== SUBSCRIBE! to one of the many weekly "lists" published by Ohr Somayach Institutions: weekly - Summary of the weekly Torah portion dafyomi - Rav Mendel Weinbach's insights into the Daf Yomi ask - The Rabbi answers YOUR questions on Judaism parasha-qa - Challenging questions on the weekly Torah portion yossi - Yossi & Co. comic strip in PDF Format os-special - All the SPECIAL publications produced by Ohr Somayach ohrnet - Torah Weekly, Q&A, Ask the Rabbi & Daf Yomi in PDF Format ohrnews - Keep up-to-date with the Ohr Somayach Web Site month - Seasons of the Moon - The Jewish Year through its months os-alum - "B'Yachad" - the Ohr Somayach Electronic Alumni Newsletter judaismo - Spanish-Language newsletter on the Parsha & Judaism judaismo-p - Portuguese-Language newsletter on the Parsha & Judaism Ohr Somayach NEVER charges for any of the above lists. To subscribe, see the page http://www.ohr.org.il/web/sub.htm Or send the message: subscribe {listname} {your full name} to listproc@virtual.co.il =========================================================================== "I'm looking for the E-Mail address of a student at Ohr Somayach..." Look no further than: http://www.ohr.org.il/web/alumni/email.htm =========================================================================== Dedication opportunities are available for The Weekly Daf. Please contact us for details. =========================================================================== Written and Compiled by Rabbi Mendel Weinbach General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman Production Design: Eli Ballon =========================================================================== Prepared by the Jewish Learning Exchange of Ohr Somayach International 22 Shimon Hatzadik Street, POB 18103 Jerusalem 91180, Israel Tel: 972-2-581-0315 Fax: 972-2-581-2890 E-Mail: info@ohr.org.il Home Page: http://www.ohr.org.il =========================================================================== (C) 1998 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved. This publication may be distributed to another person intact without prior permission. We also encourage you to include this material in other publications, such as synagogue newsletters. However, we ask that you contact us beforehand for permission, and then send us a sample issue.