Yevamot 4 - March 11, 8 Adar 2

Today’s daf is sponsored by Ronit Eini on behalf of her son Yair Ezra on finishing Masechet Megillah. 

Today’s daf is sponsored anonymously for the refuah shelaima of Devorah bat Eta Elka Michla. 

From where do we derive that a positive commandment overrides a negative commandment? The first answer is to learn it from the juxtaposition of tzitztit and shaatnez which comes to teach that the positive commandment of tzitzit overrides the negative commandment of shaatnez. From where do we learn that we can derive laws from the juxtaposition (smuchin) of texts? Rabbi Yehuda only permits this in the book of Devarim. From where is this learned? Some explain that when Rabbi Yehuda derives juxtaposition, it is because it is obvious from the context that the verse is here for this purpose. Others say it is because the verse is unnecessary in its context. These two options are explained both regarding the prohibition for a man to engage in sexual relations with his father's rape victim and regarding the tzitzit and shaatnez case. The Gemara questions the argument by shaatnez that it was unnecessary to repeat a section that came up in Vayikra as it does seem like it was necessary in order to clarify the laws. In the end, they suggest that the words wool and linen were unnecessary as explained by the school of Rabbi Yishmael that clothing in the Torah always means wool and linen. But if it didn't say wool and linen, we would have anyway understood that tzitzit are wool and linen as it says, "make tzitzit on the corner of your garments" and it should be techelet, which is wool. From there it is obvious that wool strings are put on a linen garment! This is not a concern as that verse could be explained differently, as Rava explains it.