## Yevamot Daf 86b

###### Yevamot 86b:1
[Yevamot 86b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/86b:1)

לְכֹהֵן. לְכֹהֵן וְלֹא לְלֵוִי? אֵימָא אַף לְכֹהֵן. מַאי טַעְמָא דְּרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא — דִּכְתִיב: ״וְאֶל הַלְוִיִּם תְּדַבֵּר וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵיהֶם״, בִּלְוִיִּם קָא מִשְׁתַּעֵי קְרָא. וְאִידַּךְ כִּדְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי, דְּאָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי: בְּעֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה מְקוֹמוֹת נִקְרְאוּ כֹּהֲנִים לְוִיִּם, וְזֶה אֶחָד מֵהֶם: ״וְהַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם בְּנֵי צָדוֹק״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The first tithe is given **to a priest.** The Gemara is puzzled: **To a priest and not to a Levite?** But the Torah expressly states that the first tithe is for Levites. The Gemara answers: **Say** he means it can be given **also to a priest.** The Gemara clarifies: **What is the reason** for **Rabbi Akiva’s** opinion? **As it is written: “You shall speak to the Levites, and you shall say to them”** (Numbers 18:26). Clearly, **the verse speaks of Levites,** not priests. **And the other** *tanna*, Rabbi Eliezer, maintains **in accordance with** the opinion **of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: In twenty-four places** in the Bible the **priests are called Levites. And this is one of those** verses: **“And the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok”** (Ezekiel 44:15).


###### Yevamot 86b:2
[Yevamot 86b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/86b:2)

וְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, הָכָא לָא מָצֵית אָמְרַתְּ, דִּכְתִיב: ״וַאֲכַלְתֶּם אוֹתוֹ בְּכׇל מָקוֹם״, מִי שֶׁיָּכוֹל לְאוֹכְלוֹ בְּכׇל מָקוֹם. יָצָא כֹּהֵן, שֶׁאֵין יָכוֹל לְאוֹכְלוֹ בְּבֵית הַקְּבָרוֹת. וְאִידַּךְ? כֹּל הֵיכָא דְּבָעֵי — דְּלָא בָּעֵי חוֹמָה, וְאִי אָכֵיל לֵיהּ בְּטוּמְאַת הַגּוּף — לָא לָקֵי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And Rabbi Akiva** replies: **Here you cannot say** the verse is referring to priests, **as it is written: “And you may eat it in any place”** (Numbers 18:31), from which we learn that the tithe is given to **one who can eat it in any place.** This **excludes a priest, who cannot eat it in a cemetery,** as he is prohibited from entering such a place. Consequently, the verse cannot be referring to priests. **And the other** Sage, Rabbi Eliezer, how does he respond to this claim? He explains the verse as follows: He may eat it **anywhere that he wishes,** that is, in any city, **as it does not require** the **wall** of Jerusalem, like the second tithe. **And** we further learn from here that **if he eats it in** a state of **bodily impurity he is not flogged.** Consequently, we can say that tithe may be eaten by priests in any place.


###### Yevamot 86b:3
[Yevamot 86b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/86b:3)

הָהִיא גִּינְּתָא דַּהֲוָה שָׁקֵיל רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה מַעֲשֵׂר רִאשׁוֹן מִינַּהּ. אֲזַל רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אַהְדְּרֵיהּ לְפִתְחָא לְבֵי קִבְרֵי. אֲמַר: עֲקִיבָא בְּתַרְמִילוֹ, וַאֲנָא חָיֵי?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara relates: There was **a certain garden from which Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya,** a priest, **would take** the **first tithe,** in accordance with his opinion that priests are also entitled to this tithe. **Rabbi Akiva went,** closed up the garden, and **changed its entrance** so that it would be facing **toward the cemetery,** to prevent Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya from entering the garden. Rabbi Elazar **said** in the form of a lighthearted exaggeration: **Akiva,** a former shepherd, comes **with his satchel, but I have to live;** from where will I receive my livelihood if I cannot claim the first tithe? Rabbi Elazar was actually a very wealthy man and did not need the produce from this garden. However, his point was that Rabbi Akiva acted in order to stop him from receiving something that he felt was rightfully his.


###### Yevamot 86b:4
[Yevamot 86b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/86b:4)

אִיתְּמַר, מִפְּנֵי מָה קָנְסוּ לְוִיִּם בְּמַעֲשֵׂר? פְּלִיגִי בַּהּ רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן וְסָבַיָּא. חַד אָמַר: שֶׁלֹּא עָלוּ בִּימֵי עֶזְרָא. וְחַד אָמַר: כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּסְמְכוּ כֹּהֲנִים עָלָיו בִּימֵי טוּמְאָתָן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **It was stated** that *amora’im* disagreed about the following question: **For what reason did** the Sages **penalize** the **Levites with regard to** their **tithe,** by declaring that it may be given to priests as well? **Rabbi Yonatan and the Elders** who were with him **disagree** with regard to **this** matter. **One said** it was because **they did not ascend,** i.e., immigrate to the land of Israel, **in the days of Ezra. And one said** that it was not a penalty at all, but they gave the first tithe to the priests **so that they** could **rely on it during their days of impurity.** Because it is prohibited for priests to consume *teruma* while in a state of impurity, they would have had nothing to eat if they were dependent exclusively on *teruma*. It is permitted, however, to eat the tithe while impure.


###### Yevamot 86b:5
[Yevamot 86b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/86b:5)

בִּשְׁלָמָא לְמַאן דְּאָמַר שֶׁלֹּא עָלוּ — מִשּׁוּם הָכִי קַנְסִינְהוּ. אֶלָּא לְמַאן דְּאָמַר כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּסְמְכוּ עָלָיו כֹּהֲנִים בִּימֵי טוּמְאָתָן — מִשּׁוּם כֹּהֲנִים קַנְסִינְהוּ לַלְוִיִּם?! אֶלָּא כּוּלֵּי עָלְמָא קְנָסָא שֶׁלֹּא עָלוּ בִּימֵי עֶזְרָא. וְהָכָא בְּהָא קָמִיפַּלְגִי: מָר סָבַר: קְנָסָא לַעֲנִיִּים, וּמָר סָבַר: כֹּהֲנִים בִּימֵי טוּמְאָתָן — עֲנִיִּים נִינְהוּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **Granted, according to the one who says** it was because **they did not ascend,** we can understand that **due to that** reason **they penalized** the Levites by forcing them to share their tithe with the priests. **But according to the one who says** it was done **so that the priests** could **rely on it during their days of impurity,** should we **penalize the Levites for** the benefit of **priests? Rather, everyone agrees** that it was **a penalty** for the fact **that they did not ascend in the days of Ezra, and here they disagree about this:** One **Sage holds** that the **penalty** is that the tithe must be given **to the poor, and** one **Sage holds** that **priests are** classified as **poor in the days of their impurity.**


###### Yevamot 86b:6
[Yevamot 86b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/86b:6)

בִּשְׁלָמָא לְמַאן דְּאָמַר קְנָסָא לַעֲנִיִּים — מִשּׁוּם הָכִי אַהְדְּרֵיהּ רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא לְפִתְחָא לְבֵי קִבְרֵי. אֶלָּא לְמַאן דְּאָמַר לְכֹהֲנִים, אַמַּאי אַהְדְּרֵיהּ לְפִתְחָא לְבֵי קִבְרֵי? הָכִי קָאָמַר לֵיהּ: אִי דְּקָא אָתֵית בְּתוֹרַת קְנָסָא — אִית לָךְ, וְאִי קָא אָתֵית בְּתוֹרַת חֲלוּקָּה — לֵית לָךְ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **Granted, according to the one who says** that the **penalty** imposed on the Levites is that the tithe must be given **to the poor, due to that** reason **Rabbi Akiva changed** the garden **entrance** so that it would be facing **toward the cemetery,** as Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya was a wealthy man. **But according to the one who says** the tithe was given **to the priests, why did he change** the **entrance** so that it would be **toward the cemetery?** The Gemara answers: **This is what he said to him,** i.e., this is what he meant: **If you come** to receive the tithe **by virtue of** the **penalty** imposed on the Levites, **you may have** it, **but if you come by the** standard *halakha* **of distribution,** demanding your share with the Levites, **you may not have** the tithe. If the owner of the garden chooses to give it to you, you may accept it, but you may not take it yourself.


###### Yevamot 86b:7
[Yevamot 86b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/86b:7)

וּמְנָא לַן דְּלָא סְלִיקוּ בִּימֵי עֶזְרָא? דִּכְתִיב: ״וָאֶקְבְּצֵם אֶל הַנָּהָר הַבָּא עַל אַהֲוָא וַנַּחֲנֶה שָׁם יָמִים שְׁלֹשָׁה וָאָבִינָה בָעָם וּבַכֹּהֲנִים וּמִבְּנֵי לֵוִי לֹא מָצָאתִי שָׁם״. אָמַר רַב חִסְדָּא: בַּתְּחִלָּה לֹא הָיוּ מֵעֲמִידִים שׁוֹטְרִים אֶלָּא מִן הַלְוִיִּם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְשׁוֹטְרִים הַלְוִיִּם לִפְנֵיכֶם״, עַכְשָׁיו אֵין מַעֲמִידִין שׁוֹטְרִים אֶלָּא מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְשׁוֹטְרִים הָרַבִּים בְּרָאשֵׁיכֶם״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks with regard to the penalty imposed on Levites: **And from where do we** derive **that** the Levites **did not ascend in the days of Ezra? As it is written: “And I gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava; and we encamped there** for **three days; and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi”** (Ezra 8:15). With regard to this, **Rav Ḥisda said: Initially they would establish officers** over the people **only from** among **the Levites, as it states: “And the officers, the Levites, before you”** (II Chronicles 19:11), but **now they establish officers only from** among the **Israelites, as it is stated: And the officers of the many at your heads.** This indicates that officers were appointed from: The many, meaning the largest group, ordinary Israelites.


###### Yevamot 86b:8
[Yevamot 86b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/86b:8)

**מַתְנִי׳** בַּת יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁנִּיסֵּת לְכֹהֵן — תֹּאכַל בִּתְרוּמָה. מֵת וְלָהּ הֵימֶנּוּ בֵּן — תֹּאכַל בִּתְרוּמָה. נִיסֵּת לְלֵוִי — תֹּאכַל בְּמַעֲשֵׂר. מֵת וְלָהּ הֵימֶנּוּ בֵּן — תֹּאכַל בְּמַעֲשֵׂר. נִיסֵּת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל — לֹא תֹּאכַל לֹא בִּתְרוּמָה וְלֹא בְּמַעֲשֵׂר. מֵת וְלָהּ הֵימֶנּוּ בֵּן — לֹא תֹּאכַל לֹא בִּתְרוּמָה וְלֹא בְּמַעֲשֵׂר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**MISHNA:** **An Israelite woman married to a priest may partake of *teruma*.** If the priest **died and she had a child from him, she may** continue to **partake of *teruma*.** If she subsequently **married a Levite,** she may no longer partake of *teruma* but **she may partake of** the first **tithe** on his account. If he, too, **died and she** had **a child from him, she may** continue to **partake of tithe** on account of the child. If she then **married an Israelite, she may partake of neither *teruma* nor tithe.** If her Israelite husband **died and she** had **a child from him, she** still **may partake of neither *teruma* nor tithe.**


###### Yevamot 86b:9
[Yevamot 86b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/86b:9)

מֵת בְּנָהּ מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל — תֹּאכַל בְּמַעֲשֵׂר. מֵת בְּנָהּ מִלֵּוִי — תֹּאכַל בִּתְרוּמָה. מֵת בְּנָהּ מִכֹּהֵן — לֹא תֹּאכַל לֹא בִּתְרוּמָה וְלֹא בְּמַעֲשֵׂר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
If **her child from the Israelite** also **died,** while her son from the Levite remained alive, **she may partake of tithe** on account of the Levite’s child. If **her child from the Levite died,** leaving her with a son from the priest, **she may** once again **partake of *teruma*.** If **her child from the priest died** as well, **she may no** longer **partake of either *teruma* or tithe.**