Study Shevuot folio 6A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
The Talmud answers: What is this comparison? Granted, it would all be well were it not for the difficulty with regard to a mark the color of the lime plaster of the Sanctuary walls, as the difficulty raised with regard to an egg membrane–colored mark is not difficult. As even though the shade of an
§ The Talmud elaborates on R' Akiva’s opinion: And where have we learned that according to R' Akiva the different shades should be ordered this one above that one, i.e., according to their degrees of brightness, and only two adjacent shades can combine together?
If we say we learned it from that which is taught in the following baraita, it is difficult. The baraita teaches: R' Yosei said that Yehoshua, son of R' Akiva, asked of R' Akiva: For what reason did the rabbis say that the different shades of leprous marks are two types that are 4, and proceed to s
R' Akiva said to him: They specified the 4 different shades in order to say that they combine with each other in that order, i.e., each one with its adjacent shade. R' Yehoshua said to him: If so, let them simply say: Any mark of a degree of brightness from that of an egg membrane and above is ri
The Talmud explains the difficulty: R' Yehoshua suggested that according to R' Akiva’s opinion it should be sufficient to say that any mark of a degree of brightness from that of an egg membrane and upward is impure, but he did not say that it would also be necessary to add: And any mark of a degree