26b: Mitzva Objects and Holy Objects

Last week, we learned the gemara on 26a-26b which discusses the ways in which ownership of a synagogue can be transferred, and whether or not the site retains a degree of holiness. We discovered as well that some of these issues may depend upon fundamental question regarding the status of a shul; does it have inherent holiness, or must we treat it respectfully simply because it is a vehicle for the performance of mitzvot. We will briefly continue this theme now in the gemara on 26b - we are up to the 21st line:  

 

A gift: Rav Acha and Ravina disagreed about it. One forbade and one permitted. The one who forbade - through what is the holiness transferred? And the one who permitted: if not that he receives benefit from him - he would not give it to him. So a gift is like a sale.

מתנה, פליגי בה רב אחא ורבינא, חד אסר וחד שרי. מאן דאסר - בהאי תפקע קדושתה? ומאן דשרי: אי לאו דהוה ליה הנאה מיניה - לא הוה יהיב ליה, הדר הוה ליה מתנה כזביני.

Having already discussed the issues of selling a shul, trading it, renting it or lending it, the gemara raises one last issue regarding transfer of a shul; can one give a shul as a gift to someone else. One opinion in the gemara holds that since the shul's holiness is not transferred to any other object, since there is no sale price, it is not lifted from the shul. The other opinion argues that since the recipient of the gift will presumably repay the favor at some point, the holiness from the shul is transferred to whatever the community or current owner of the shul ends up receiving in exchange.

Once again, this issue must be understood in light of the two fundamentally different way of understanding the concept of the holiness of a shul. According to Ramban, a shul must be treated with reverence simply because it is a place used for the performance of mitzvot. The first opinion in our sugya argues that it is disrespectful to forfeit use of a shul if nothing that can be used for mitzvot is received in exchange. The second opinion in the gemara assumes that some object that is needed for communal fulfillment of mitzvot will presumably be attained in return for the gift, and it is therefore not inappropriate to give away the shul. The unspoken assumption in the gemara, according to Ramban's understanding, is that not only will some object be obtained in return for this gift, but it will also be something that will help people fulfill mitzvot.

Ran holds that there actually is inherent kedusha in the shul that must be transferred to something else. Accordingly, we understand well the first opinion in the gemara, that since nothing tangible is received right now, there is nothing to which the kedusha can transfer, and it stays with the shul. The second opinion argues that since the recipient feels obligated to reciprocate, the giver is actually receiving something now - it is as though the recipient were obligated to return the favor, and the holiness can transfer to this obligation. While Ran avoids Ramban's shaky assumption that an object of use for mitzvot will necessarily be received in return for the gift of the shul, his explanation also contains a weakness in that the second opinion in the gemara must consider the future reciprocation of the recipient as something that actually exists now.

Moving on in the gemara

The gemara now details the appropriate ways to treat different types of religious objects. We are 8 lines from the end of the short lines on 26b.

 

The sages taught: Tashmishei mitzva (objects used to perform a mitzva) may be discarded; tashmishei kedusha (accessories of kedusha) are buried. And these are tashmishei mitzva: a succa, lulav, shofar and tzitzit. And these are tashmishei kedusha: cases of books (=Torah scrolls), tefillin and mezuzot, a bag of a Torah scroll, the sack of tefillin, and its straps. Rava said: I used to say that this table is an accessory of an accessory, and permitted (for mundane use), but when I saw that they place the Torah scroll on it, I say it is an accessory of kedusha and forbidden. And Rava said: I used to say that this curtain is an accessory of an accessory, but when I saw that they fold it and place a book (=Torah scroll) on it, I say it is an accessory of kedusha and forbidden.

תנו רבנן: תשמישי מצוה - נזרקין, תשמישי קדושה - נגנזין. ואלו הן תשמישי מצוה: סוכה, לולב, שופר, ציצית. ואלו הן תשמישי קדושה: דלוסקמי ספרים, תפילין ומזוזות, ותיק של ספר תורה, ונרתיק של תפילין ורצועותיהן. אמר רבא: מריש הוה אמינא האי כורסיא תשמיש דתשמיש הוא, ושרי. כיון דחזינא דמותבי עלויה ספר תורה, אמינא: תשמיש קדושה הוא, ואסור. ואמר רבא: מריש הוה אמינא האי פריסא תשמיש דתשמיש הוא, כיון דחזינא דעייפי ליה ומנחי סיפרא עלויה אמינא: תשמיש קדושה הוא, ואסור.

The gemara here introduces the concepts of tashmishei mitzva and tashmishei kedusha. A mitzva-object is an object that is used for a mitzva, during the time of the performance of that mitzva. A shofar on Rosh Hashana or a succa on Succot are mitzva-objects and may not be used for purposes other than the intended mitzva. The term our gemara uses, tashmishei mitzva, refers to such objects after the time of the mitzva has passed; a shofar after Rosh Hashana or a succa after Succot. At that stage, the status of these objects is lower, and most poskim rule that they may be used for other, non-mitzva purposes. Similarly, if there is no longer a need for a particular such object, it may be discarded. (Nevertheless, it should be discarded in a respectful manner.)

The other category introduced here is tashmishei kedusha. There are items that contain inherent holiness, such as a Torah scroll, tefillin and mezuzot. According to most authorities, printed books of Torah (such as a chumash or gemara) also contain holiness. Objects that serve these items are known as tashmishei kedusha and also have a certain degree of holiness. As such, a tashmish kedusha may not be discarded when it is no longer needed. Rather, it must be buried - just as the holy objects themselves must be buried. The gemara provides examples of this category, which includes tefillin straps as well as bags or casings of any holy object.

Rava then tells us of two instances in which he changed his mind regarding the status of particular items. The first is the table used for Torah readings. Since there is generally a cloth spread over the table and the Torah rests upon that cloth, Rava originally ruled that the table is not a tashmish kedusha but rather one level removed - an accessory of the accessory. A tashmish d'tashmish may be used for mundane purposes. Then Rava saw that at times the Torah would be placed directly on the table, even without the cloth in between. He therefore ruled that it is to be considered a tashmish kedusha.

Rava's considerations regarding the status of the table teach us two important rules regarding the definition of a tashmish kedusha. Firstly, it is clear that a tashmish kedusha may not be used for other purposes. This was the framework of Rava's discussion - is the table a tashmish kedusha and forbidden for other uses, or a tashmish d'tashmish and permitted for other uses. Additionally, we have learned that there is a difference between something that comes into direct contact with a holy object such as a Torah scroll and an item that does not. The table is only to be considered a tashmish kedusha if it comes into direct contact with the Torah scroll.

The second case is quite similar - the reference is to a type of curtain that would be hung on the aron kodesh (perhaps similar to the parochet we have today). When Rava realized that it would sometimes be used to wrap the Torah scroll itself, he ruled that it was a tashmish kedusha.

Let's go on a bit in the gemara - we are in the middle of the 3rd wide line on 26b.

 

And Rava said: this ark that came apart -   to make of it a small ark is permitted, (to make of it) a table (bima) is forbidden. And Rava said: this curtain that has worn out - to make of it a cover for books (=Torah scrolls) is permitted, for chumashim is forbidden.

ואמר רבא: האי תיבותא דאירפט, מיעבדה תיבה זוטרתי - שרי, כורסייא - אסיר. ואמר רבא: האי פריסא דבלה, למיעבדיה פריסא לספרי - שרי, לחומשין - אסיר.

The gemara here relates two additional statements of Rava regarding tashmishei kedusha. The principle underlying both statements is that while old tashmishei kedusha may be put to new uses, that is only if the new uses are as exalted as were the old ones. At first glance, Rava's applications of this principle seem surprising:

 

1) Why is an ark a tashmish kedusha to begin with? It does not really come into direct contact with the Torah scrolls, which are covered before being placed into the ark (only the actual parchment is considered a sacred object that can make something else a tashmish kedusha)!  2) Rava just told us that a table (for Torah reading) is also a tashmish kedusha; why may an ark be made into a different ark but not into a table, if both are tashmishei kedusha? Similarly, covers of chumashim are tashmishei kedusha just as covers of a Torah scroll are tashmishei kedusha; why is converting Torah covers into chumash covers a lowering of status?

The answers to these questions provide some important detail regarding the definition and laws of tashmishei kedusha. Firstly, we need to revise our previous definition of tashmishei kedusha as objects that come into direct contact with a Torah scroll or other sacred object. That is only one type of tashmish kedusha. Additionally, something that comes into indirect contact with a sacred object and whose purpose is to give honor that object also attains the status of a tashmish kedusha. A table does not give much honor to the Torah scroll placed upon it, and it is therefore only a tashmish kedusha if it has direct contact with the Torah. An aron kodesh, on the other hand, is an honorific housing for the Torah scrolls, and is therefore a tashmish kedusha despite the fact that it does not come into physical contact with the Torah scrolls.

Our second question leads us to the inescapable conclusion that not all tashmishei kedusha are created equal. There must be different levels of tashmishei kedusha, and it is forbidden to convert a higher level tashmish kedusha into a lower level one. What types of levels could there be? If we look carefully at the two cases in the gemara, two different criteria come to the fore:

1) The frequency with which a particular item services the holy object. An aron kodesh houses the Torah scrolls constantly and therefore has more kedusha than the bima upon which the Torah is placed only in order to be read.

2) The type of holy object that is being serviced. There are different levels of devarim shebik'dusha; Torah scrolls have more holiness than tefillin, for example. While the general rules of tashmishei kedusha apply equally to an aron kodesh and a tefillin bag, the aron kodesh does have more kedusha, and it therefore cannot be turned into something that services tefillin. The example in our gemara is a cover that can be used for Torah scrolls or chumashim (which in gemara terminology are scrolls (just like Torah scrolls) that only contain one of the five books of the Torah). The full Torah scroll has more kedusha than a chumash, and therefore its covering also has more kedusha than a chumash cover.

Let's just close with a few words of practical relevance regarding the issue of tashmishei kedusha. Firstly, not every object that has ever been used to support a Torah scroll, for example, becomes a tashmish kedusha (if your dining room table once served as a bima for a home minyan, you can still eat dinner on it!). An object only becomes as tashmish kedusha if it is used consistently in that fashion, or if it is set aside for such use, in which case it attains that status even if it is used only once.

Nevertheless, the laws of tashmishei kedusha really do apply to many items. In addition to the aron kodesh, tefillin bags and covers of sefarim also have this status, and should accordingly not be used for mundane purposes such as to hold papers or tissues. However, if it was explicitly (or even implicitly, based on common practice) stipulated from the beginning that this object will be used for mundane purposes as well, such use remains permitted. A common application of this is that the bima in many shuls is used not only to hold the Torah but for many other purposes as well.

To summarize quickly, we discussed several issues today:

1) There is a disagreement in the gemara as to whether or not one can give a shul as a present. We mentioned two possible ways to understand this issue.

2) Tashmishei mitzva may be discarded (respectfully) while tashmishei kedusha must be buried.

3) A tashmish kedusha is something that comes into direct contact with a davar shebik'dusha such as a Torah scroll, or something that comes into indirect contact with it but is used to beautify / honor the davar shebik'dusha.

4) Tashmishei kedusha may not be used for mundane purposes.

5) There are different levels of devarim shebik'dusha and, accordingly, of tashmishei kedusha. It is forbidden to convert a higher level tashmish kedusha into a lower level tashmish kedusha.

Have a wonderful rest of the week!