And to his father he sent the following: ten donkeys laden with the best of Egypt, and ten she-donkeys laden with grain, bread, and provisions for his father for the journey.
English: Since grain and bread are already mentioned, why does the verse add “and provisions (mazon)”? This teaches that all things are called “mazon.” From here we learn that one who vows to abstain from mazon is forbidden in all things except water and salt.
On the daf / in context: The Yerushalmi derives a halakhic definition of the term “mazon” from the apparent redundancy in the verse.
Type of Learning
Derash on the verse (Yerushalmi — legal implication of a word) — not a formal named middah of the 13.
What Is Learned
The word “mazon” includes all foodstuffs; one who vows to abstain from mazon is forbidden everything except water and salt.