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1) LEARNING FROM THE ADJACENCY OF LAWS

(a) Answer: "Do not wear Shatnez; make for yourselves fringes".
(b) (R. Elazar): "They are forever adjacent, they are made in truth" - this teaches that we derive laws from the adjacency of verses.

1. (R. Elazar): "Do not muzzle a threshing ox"; this is followed by the Parsha of Yibum, to teach that we do not silence a woman that fell to Yibum to a leper (she can demand that he do Chalitzah).

(c) (Rav Yosef): Even the opinion that normally doesn't derive laws from the adjacency of verses, admits that we do in Sefer Devarim.

1. R. Yehudah normally doesn't derive laws from the adjacency of verses, but he does in Sefer Devarim.
2. Question: How do we know that he normally doesn't?
3. Answer (Beraisa - Ben Azai): "Do not allow a witch to live"; "One who sleeps with an animal will surely die". These are written together to teach that just as bestiality is punished by stoning, so too witchcraft;
4. R. Yehudah: Because they are written together, we say that a witch is stoned?! Rather, Ov and Yidoni (conjuring up the dead) were in the category of witchcraft. They were singled out to say that they are punishable by stoning, and from them we learn to all witchcraft.
5. Question: How do we know that R. Yehudah does learn from the adjacency of laws in Sefer Devarim?
6. Answer (Mishnah): A man may marry a woman enticed or raped by his father or son; R. Yehudah says he may not marry a woman enticed or raped by his father.

i. (Rav Gidal): R. Yehudah learns from "A man may not reveal the wing of his father".
ii. He knows that this refers to a girl that was raped, since the previous verse speaks of a rapist.
iii. Chachamim argue, because the prohibition of marrying one's father's wife is in between. They say that "the wing of his father" refers to a woman awaiting Yibum from his father; this is a second prohibition on her (she is already forbidden, since she was his uncle's wife).

(d) Question: Why does R. Yehudah interpret (this) adjacency in Sefer Devarim?
(e) Answer #1: It is clear that they were written adjacently to teach something.

1. Otherwise, "do not reveal" should have been written with the other prohibitions of incest.

(f) Answer #2: "He may not reveal the wing of his father" is extra; therefore, we interpret the adjacency.

2) THE PROHIBITION OF SHATNEZ

(a) These same answers apply to Tzitzis.

1. If not to interpret the adjacency, "Make fringes" should have been taught by the Parsha of Tzitzis.
2. It already says, "A garment of Shatnez will not come upon you" - "Do not wear Shatnez" is extra, so we interpret the adjacency.
3. Objection: It is not extra, both verses are needed!

i. If it only said, "It will not come upon you" - one would think, one may not put the garment on, even a clothing vender!
ii. The Torah said, "Do not wear" to teach that it is only prohibited to wear as clothing, i.e. when he benefits from it.
iii. If it only said, "Do not wear" - one would think, only wearing is prohibited, since there is great benefit!
iv. The Torah said, "It will not come upon you" to teach that it is prohibited even if a small benefit is derived.

4. Question: Why did the verse have to specify, "wool and linen"?
5. Answer: (Tana d'Vei R. Yishmael): The Torah speaks about unspecified garments. In one case (leprous garments), it specified wool and linen. We learn that all garments mentioned are of wool or linen.
6. Question: If so, it was not needed to mention wool and linen by Shatnez!
7. Answer: Correct! They are mentioned superfluously to show that we derive a law from the adjacency to Tzitzis.
8. Question: They are not superfluous! One might have thought that having Shatnez on oneself, which is a small pleasure, only applies to wool and linen; but wearing, which is a big pleasure, applies to any 2 materials!

i. Therefore, it was needed to write wool and linen!

9. Answer: The Torah could have omitted the words; since the word Shatnez is used in both cases, we would have known that it is the same in both places.

(a) Observation: Tana d'Vei R. Yishmael only knows that Shatnez may be worn to fulfill the Mitzvah of Tzitzis because of the extra words "wool and linen"; otherwise, it would be prohibited.
(b) Question: But it says, "They will make Tzitzis on the corners of their garments" - and Tana d'Vei R. Yishmael taught that all unspecified garments are wool or linen!

1. And the Torah said to put Techeles, which is wool, on them!

i. Question: How do we know that Techeles is wool?
ii. Answer: Since Shesh is linen, Techeles must be wool. (We know that the Kohanim's garments contained both).

(c) Answer: "Wool and linen" had to be said so we would not learn as Rava.

1. Contradiction (Rava): "The corner" - make fringes of the same material as the garment; "Wool and linen ... make fringes"!
2. Answer (Rava): Wool and linen are acceptable as Tzitzis for any garment; Tzitzis of any other material are only valid for a garment of that material.

(d) Question: But Tana d'Vei R. Yishmael does not hold as Rava (he says that we only make Tzitzis for garments of wool or linen)!
(e) Answer: We would have thought to learn as Rava regarding a garment of wool or linen.

1. We would make wool Tzitzis for a wool garment, and linen for linen.
2. When the garment is wool, we would die a thread Techeles.
3. We could not make wool Tzitzis for a linen garment, nor vice-versa.
4. "Wool and linen" teaches that either may be used for either garment.