Siman - Pesachim Daf 110
- זוגות
On Daf 109b, the Gemara introduced the concept of זוגות - pairs, that one should not do certain activities, such as eating or drinking, in pairs. This means that one should not eat an even number of the same food or an even number of the same beverage. Rabbeinu Bachya writes that the avoidance of pairs is a concrete expression of our rejection of dualism, the heretical belief that there are two deities. Eating in pairs enables demons or sorceresses to harm a person. The Gemara there brings three answers to how the Rabbanon could have instituted drinking four cups of wine on seder night, being that four is an even number.
On our Daf, Rav Chisda and Rabbah bar Rav Huna were lenient, and both said, "שלום" לטובה מצרטרף לרעה לא מצטרף – Shalom, meaning, the seventh cup which corresponds to the seventh word in the last berachah of birkas Kohanim, combines with the other six cups he drank for good, but does not combine with drinking an eighth cup for bad. Therefore, there is no danger in drinking eight cups. The Rashbam explains that since Hakadosh Boruch Hu chose to convey His berachos to the Jewish people through the seventh word, shalom, no harm in the world can come of it. The Gemara brings Rabbah and Rav Yosef who applied the fifth word of the middle berachah, ויחנך, the same way, and that therefore there is no harm when drinking six cups, and then Abaye and Rava applied the third word, וישמרך, in the first berachah similarly, and that there is therefore no harm in drinking four cups. The Rashbam explains that as the harmful effects of zugos diminished from generation to generation, the Rabbanon ruled more leniently.
- The General Rule of Who the Demons Harm
Toward the end of its discussion of zugos, the Gemara teaches a general rule:כל דקפיד קפדי בהדיה ודלא קפיד לא קפדי בהדיה – Regarding any person who is particular about this issue, the demons are particular with him, but regarding someone who is not particular, they are not particular with him, ומיהו למיחש מיבעי – but one should nevertheless be mindful. Rashbam explains that demons will only be particular to harm someone who is overly concerned with the issue of זוגות, but even someone who is not particular about the issue should take basic precautions.
- כשפים
In addition to the danger from מזיקין – demons (lit., damagers) that זוגות poses, they also expose a person to danger from כשפים – sorcery. The Gemara teaches that while the even numbers of pairs, such as ten, eight, six and four, which are safe nowadays with respect to מזיקין, these numbers, and even higher numbers, are still dangerous with respect to כשפים. The Gemara illustrates this with a story of a woman who performed sorcery on her ex-husband, whenever he would drink wine in her second husband’s store. Her efforts were usually unsuccessful because he made sure not to drink זוגות, but one time, when he lost track after drinking sixteen cups, he drank an even number of cups and her sorcery caused him to burst.
