Shabbat 157: Timing of Nullifying a Woman's Vows, Enhancing Mitzvot on Shabbat

Our final Mishna in Massechet Shabbat teaches that a father or husband may nullify his daughter or wife's vows on Shabbat or request that a Sage dissolve vows regarding Shabbat.  We may seal a window on Shabbat to dissolve vows that allow for more joy on Shabbat.  We may measure a rag to figure out whether or not it is large enough to contract ritual impurity and we may measure a ritual bath to determine if it contains enough water for immersion.  

We learn that Rabbi Tzadok's father and Abba Shaul ben Botnit sealed a window using an earthenware vessel and tied and earthenware shard with a long reed-grass with a temporary knot to determine whether or not the roof had an opening the size of a handbreadth.  From their statements and actions we learn that we may seal windows, measure and tie knots on Shabbat.

The Gemarra tells us that Zutei, a student of Rav Pappa, tells us that we may nullify vows on Shabbat for the purpose of bettering Shabbat only.  Rav Ashi looks at the timing of a woman's vow and we are reminded that a father or husband has twenty four hours after learning of this woman's vow to annul it.  The rabbis walk us through examples of the other halachot regarding sealing windows and measuring roofing.  At the end of our daf, we are reminded about measuring only to enhance a mitzvah - Rabba bar Rav Huna was acting "unawares" when he was sitting in a tub without measuring it.  Thus his actions were not prohibited.  

Shabbat 156: Constellations, Astrology, Hours of the Day

The rabbis discuss how we can do things in unusual ways on Shabbat.  

Some interesting notes:

• one born on a Monday will be short tempered because this is the day that the upper and lower waters were divided during creation on that second day
• one born on the third day of the week will be rich and promiscuous because that was the day vegetation was created mixing boundaries between the grass and the plants
• one born on the fourth day will be wise and enlightened because this was the day the lights from heaven were hung in the sky and wisdom is a type of light
• one born on the fifth day of the week will be one who performs acts of kindness because this day fish and fowl were created and they are sustained only by G-d's kindness
• One born on the sixth day of the week will be a seeker and Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak said that this means one will seek out mitzvot like how Friday prepares for Shabbat
• one born on Shabbat will die on Shabbat because Shabbat was desecrated on his behalf; Rava bar Rav Sheila says that he will be called a person of great sanctity

• one born born under the influence of the Sun will be radiant, self sufficient, and his secrets will be exposed; stealing will be seen by everyone
• one born under the influence of Venus will be rich and promiscuous because fire was born at that our, like the evil inclination
• one born under the influence of mercury will be enlightened and an expert because Mercury scribes for the sun; this person will destroy and build, build and destroy; others will have to support him and his secrets will be hidden, if he steals he will succeed and he is like the mood who changes form
• one born under the influence of Saturn will waste his thoughts and all of his efforts will be for nothing
• one born under the influence of Jupiter (tzedek) will be a just person (tzadkan)
• one born under the influence of mars will be one who spills blood either medicinally or though thievery or slaughtering or a circumciser; Rabba argued this point based on his own behaviour and Abaye notes that he does kill and punish as a judge

The rabbis argue about whether or not the Jewish people are influenced by constellations.  As an outsider, it is difficult to understand how this could be understood as anything but a form of idolatry.

A new Mishna tells us that we may cut pumpkins before an animal on Shabbat as long as they were picked before Shabbat.  We may cut an animal carcass before the dogs on Shabbat.  Rabbi Yehuda says that if it was not already a carcass before Shabbat, we cannot cut off or even move it on Shabbat because it was not prepared for use on Shabbat.

Shabbat 152: Tears, Old Age, Dying and the Soul After Death

Rabbi Yochanan says in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Ketzarta that tears from smoke, sorrowful crying, and from the bathroom are bad for the eyes.  Tears from medicine, laughter and sharp vegetables are good for the eyes.  The rabbis go on to discuss some of the advantages of youth.  They also speak of the Eunich, who does not have the advantages of a beautiful beard, a loving wife, nor the gift of children from G-d.

 

The rabbis focus in on getting older and losing their vitality, whether that is their stomachs not working properly, generally not sleeping well, not enjoying the voices of men and women in song, not having a sex drive which can motivate one to make peace at home.  We learn that promiscuity results in the symptoms of old age taking hold before their time. 

 

We learn about sitting shiva in the house of the deceased.  After seven days, the deceased appeared to Rav Yehuda in his dream and said “Put your mind to rest, for you have put my mind to rest”.   Rabbi Abbahu says that a deceased person can hear what we say in front of him or her until the tomb is sealed with the top-stone.   Other rabbis disagree, but only about the timing, not about the deceased hearing what we say.  Proof texts are provided.  We are told that we return to G-d in purity, as we came.  There are ways to protect our souls, we learn, including keeping our bodies pure and rested. 

 

At the end of our daf the rabbis discuss the souls of the righteous being stored beneath the Throne of Glory.  However the oracle woman raised Shmuel up through necromancy.  Thus we learn that within twelve months of his death, a person’s deceased body remains while the soul ascends and descend.  After twelve months, the body does not exist and the soul ascends for good. 

 

This is an explanation of our putting headstones on graves after eleven months; all souls would ascend by that point in time.

Shabbat 151: Bathing After Shabbat, Preparing a Corpse, Compassion for the Poor and “karma”

The rabbis continue to discus Abba Shaul’s principle: Regarding anything that I may discuss on Shabbat, I am permitted to wait for nightfall for its sake.

 

A new Mishna adds to our last Mishna: We may wait for nightfall at the Shabbat boundary to attend to the needs of a bride and the needs of a corpse, like bringing a coffin or shrouds.  If a Gentile brings flutes on Shabbat to play during the eulogy and procession, a Jew may not eulogize with the m unless they are from from within the eiruv.  If Gentiles make a coffin and dig him a grave on Shabbat and then they decide to give them to someone else, a Jew may be buried there.  But if it was initially intended for a Jew, a Jew may never be buried there. 

 

Shmuel teaches that this suggests that uncertainty in whether or not the Gentile’s actions were for a Jew permits a burial.  Similarly, if it is uncertain where the flutes came from for a funeral, we are permitted to have them.  Our notes teach that we wait the amount of time that it would take to deliver the flutes from a certain area to determine whether or not the flutes actually came from that place. 

 

We also learn that Jews must wait the amount of time it would take for bathhouse water to heat up after Shabbat so that we are not benefitting from the water that was heated on Shabbat.  This is only when there is a majority of Jews in a city.  If there are a majority of Gentiles, Jews may bathe immediately after Shabbat. If there is a fifty/fifty split, one waits as long as it would take to heat the water.   If there is a small bath and a ruling power in the city who has others heat the water immediately after Shabbat, a Jew may use that bath right away as well.

 

A second new Mishna teaches that we may perform all of the needs of the dead on Shabbat including smearing the body with oil and rinsing it with water.  We may not move its limbs because of the prohibition against moving set-aside objects.  We may remove a pillow from beneath a corpse and put it cold sand to delay decomposition. We may tie an opening jaw without closing it completely but by stopping it from opening further.  We are permitted to support a broken roof beam with long poles from a bed or with a bench but only to stop it from falling further.

 

There are some bizarre mentions of what one might do to help a corpse from swelling, like sealing up orifices and putting cold and metal vessels on the stomach.  King Solomon is said to speak about a silver cord, a golden bowl, a pitcher broken and a wheel felled (Ecclesiastes 12:6).  This is interpreted by the Gemara as what happens to a corpse.  Another disgusting interpretation of Malachai 2:3 is shared as well. 

 

We look at our third new Mishna.  We are not to shut the eyes of the dead on Shabbat because the body is set aside.  We may not shut the eyes on a weekday because the soul is departing.  If we shut the eyes while the soul departs we are actually murdering someone as we are hastening a person’s death.

The Gemara is clear that people who are alive, even babies at one day old, have the potential to do mitzvot and thus we may desecrate Shabbat for them.  For the deceased, even King David, we do not desecrate Shabbat because once we die, we are “idle from mitzvot”.

 

The rabbis discuss the relationships between live and dead animals people.  After this conversation Rabbi Chanina says that it is prohibited to sleep alone in a house.  Anyone who does this will be seized by the evil spirit Lilith. 

 

The Gemara discusses Rabbi Chiyya and his wife.  He advised her to give a poor person bread immediately so that they will do the same for her (and his children).  Are. You cursing our children, she asks.   He quotes Deuteronomy 13:18 about the cyclical nature of compassion. 

 

We are also told that Rabbi Chanina did not cry when his daughter died.  His wife asked if he had just let a chicken out of the house that he showed no signs of sorrow.  He said that if he cries he will suffer twice, from bereavement and from blindness.

Shabbat 150: The Eiruv and Discussion of Boudaries/Permitted Acts on Shabbat

A new Mishan teaches us that a person may not hire workers on Shabbat to work after Shabbat.  We cannot tell agents to do this for us.  We cannot wait for sunset at the edge of the Shabbat boundary to do this or to bring produce in from the field.  Abba Shaul stated a general principle: regarding anything that I am permitted to discuss on Shabbat, I am permitted to wait for nightfall at the edge of the Shabbat boundary for its sake. 

 

The Gemara describes specific ways of asking things that might not transgress Shabbat prohibitions. The rabbis specify that we cannot say the Shema in front of a naked Gentile.  We know that we cannot do this in front of a naked Jew; why ask again?  In case we look to Ezikiel’s comparison of a Gentile’s skin to that of a donkey and on thinks that means that we can exempt Gentiles from this requirement.  The rabbis mention that Noah nakedness was not seen by his sons, and Noah was a Gentile. 

 

We are permitted to make calculations regarding a mitzva on Shabbat.  We may count out charity for the poor and attend to requirements – saving a life, communal needs, community affairs – on Shabbat.  We may go to theatres, circus performances and courthouses to attend to these affairs on Shabbat.  We can make a shittach, arranged marriage, on Shabbat; we may find teachers for our children.  In other words, we are told that we are permitted to speak about the “business of Heaven” on Shabbat.

 

The rabbis address waiting at the edge of the Shabbat boundary.  They note that if there are small guardhouses, we are permitted to walk to another city over Shabbat.  This is because an entire area can be included in one eiruv if these guardhouses mark the way from one town to another.  Even without the guardhouses, it is permitted to speak about such a journey simply because the journey would be permitted if the guardhouses were there.

 

In further discussion about distinguishing between the sacred and the profane at the end of Shabbat, Abba Shaul’s states a general principle: regarding anything that I am permitted to discuss on Shabbat, I am permitted to fair for nightfall at the edge of the eiruv for its sake.

 

Shabbat 149: Drawing Lots in the Family, Nebuchanezzer and Sin

We just learned a new Mishna.  In daf 149, the Gemara explains that we cannot read our guests or appetizers from a written list in case we made a change or in case we read from a business document accidentally.  The rabbis also want to ensure that we cannot erase writing from up high or low down.  They consider different types of writing.

 

The Gemara speaks of other tanna’im who argues about the same principle: one may not look in a mirror on Shabbat in case one sees a hair hanging and plucks it.  Rabbi Meir permits looking into a mirror on Shabbat if it is fixed on the wall because while going to get scissors to cut the hair, one will remember that it is Shabbat. 

 

We learned in the Mishna that one may draw lots with one’s children to decide on who gets which portion of food.  Why is this restricted to family members?   The rabbis say that other groups might be less familiar with each other and the action could become a business transaction.  And why do we allow drawing lots with our children and families?  Perhaps it is the same reason that we permit people to charge their families members interest on loans: to teach them how difficult it is to repay a loan taken with interest.  Further, there is no violation of halacha because the person lending actually owns the money of those family members, too.

 

The rabbis tell a story about the evil Nebuchadnezzar who would get other kings drunk and rape them.  He erased laughter and song.  People were afraid – not only of him, but of the places he had been, as if demonic spirits would dance there.  When he was with the righteous Zedekiah, something changed.  Nebuchadnezzar’s foreskin “was stretched three hundred cubits and it surrounded the entire feast”.    The people in Gehenna were afraid that he had come to rule over them there, but a Divine Voice said, “Whom do you pass in beauty? Go down and be laid with the uncircumcised” (Ezekiel 32:19). 

 

The connection between evil and homosexual behaviour is very obvious in today’s daf.  Clearly it is evil to rape, it is evil for a man to be with another man, it is evil for one to destroy laughter and happiness.  Further, having a foreskin is a vulnerability that can (and might!) be used to punish you for your evil deeds.

Shabbat 148: Managing Borrowing and Casting Lots on Shabbat

Our last Mishna shared information about smearing and rubbing oil on one's body during Shabbat in addition to other things that might be done on Shabbat but in unusual ways.  Today the rabbis their discussion of that Mishna by teaching about different types of healing that may or may not be done on Shabbat, including setting a broken bone.

A new Mishna teaches that people may borrow jugs of wine and jugs of oil from another on Shabbat as long as these aren't loans.  The same applies to loaves of bread.  A cloak may be left as colateral.  On erev Pesach one may leave a cloak with another while securing a Paschal lamb and then pay him after the Festival.  

The Gemara suggests that we should not be put in a situation where we might write down information about a loan.  The rabbis speak about other atypical situations that may or may not protect people from transgressions on Shabbat.  Rava bar Rav Chanan tells Abaye that we may not clap hands, clap a hand against our bodies, or dance on a Festival, but we do not stop other s from this.  The  principle is that Jews should not be warned, for they would complete their actions anyway and then be liable as intentional sinners.  One example is women who only fast from nightfall on Yom Kippur when we are told to begin the fast while it is still daytime.  

Much of the rabbis' conversations have to do with how to manage loans or other monetary details around repaying debts.  They even consider the Sabbatical Year.  

Our daf ends with a new Mishna: we may count our guests and our appetizers by memory but not with a written list.  We may draw lots with our children and family members at the table to determine who will eat which portion of food as long as all portions are similar sizes.  We may cast lots among the priests for sanctified foods on Festivals but not for specific portions of food.

Shabbat 146: Eve's Contamination of Humans, Barrels, Exceptions to Stringencies

A brief look at today's daf:

Did Eve contaminate all humans when she ate from the Tree of Knowledge? Was she infected with moral contamination?  Was this a sexual act?  At Mount Sinai, did Jews become uncontaminated?  Just some questions to begin today's daf.

A new Mishna speaks of whether or not it is permitted to break a barrel so that one can eat dried figs from it. The rabbis are careful about what is permitted and what is not to ensure that extra holes are not created in barrels that hold food or drink.  For example, if one applies wax to a newly broken plug in a barrel, one could come to smooth the wax.  Smoothing is muktza.  

The Gemara speaks about the packaging of figs for a good period of time.  The rabbis also speak of how to open a barrel.  And how can a hole be repaired?  What if a chicken enclosure has a hole in it and predators might get in?  

A second new Mishna speaks of a cooked dish placed into an empty pit on Shabbat to protect the heat.  Are we permitted to change water temperature inside a pot by surrounding it with a different water temperature outside of the pot?  Further, one whose garments fell into the water while walking is permitted to replace them and continue walking until there is a place leave them to dry.  There is no fear of wringing or washing.  However, a person is not to do this if there are lots of people around, because they might suspect this person of laundering on Shabbat.

Shabbat 145: Hot Water, Babylonia vs. HaAretz

Briefly:
The rabbis continue their discussion about liquid taking on the status of food, and then not forcing the food to impart ritual impurity, when it is added to a larger item of food on Shabbat.  We learn about squeezing vegetables including pickles and boiled vegetables.  The rabbis also consider the consequences - bringing sin offerings, etc. - that might be the result of such actions on Shabbat.

We move on to a side topic of witnesses.  Who must witness such discretions?  Is one witness's testimony valid?  Is a woman's testimony valid in these cases?  We learn that hearsay testimony is only valid when a woman is wanting to remarry and regarding the status of a firstborn animal. 

A new Mishna teaches us that any salted food already cooked in hot water before Shabbat may be soaked in water water on Shabbat.   Anything not placed in hot water before Shabbat may be rinsed in hot water on Shabbat but may not be soaked.  The exceptions are old salted fish, small salted fist and the kolyas ha'ispanim fish, where rinsing with hot water is a completing a prohibited labour of cooking.

We learn about foods that the rabbis find disgusting.  Rav Safra hated Rabbi Abba's chicken baked medicinally) so much that it fell apart.  Rabbi Yochanan would spit just from thinking about Babylonian kutach.  Rav Gaza shares how many people love the drink.  Following this conversation, some rabbis discussed other things in Babylonia that were less than those in HaAretz.  The rabbis spoke of Babylonians and their lesser degrees of rigour in learning.  Rabbi Yochanan awakens and tells them that they must be more careful before making such serious accusations.  In fact, there were other reasonable answers as to why Babylonian conditions were different from those in HaAretz.

Shabbat 144: Volition, Liquids, Squeezing, Creating Ritual Impurity in Food

Some notes from today's daf:

• blood from the wound of an animal is ritually pure and does not render food susceptible to ritual impurity
• Akiva: more stringent re: milk than blood because if one mils an animal for medicine, the milk will make food open to ritual impurity
• if one lets blood for medical reasons, the blood is not a "liquid" status and is ritually pure (does not render food susceptible to ritual impurity)
• Akiva told the case of baskets of olives/grapes proves that volition counts
• a liquid that seeps from olives/grapes volitionally renders food open to ritual impurity
• liquid that seeps from them unvolitionally is ritually pure - no ritual impurity is feared
• thus liquid renders food susceptible to ritual impurity only if it emerged of its own volition
• does 'volitionally' refer to situations where one is happy about liquids?
• mulberries and pomegranates are not typically designated for squeezing
• volitionally refers to a situation where one's preference is not determined
• unvolitionally refers to a situation where one explicitly says and means that they are not pleased if liquid leaks
• liquid from olives and grapes stands to be lost and it is renounced from the outset
• Rabbi Yehuda gave in and agreed that olives and grapes' seepage on Shabbat is prohibited whether it is volitional or not volitional
• we may squeeze plums, quinces and crab apples but not pomegranates because that is typical use of pomegranates
• What about squeezing?
• If they are not designated for squeezing, fruit may be squeezed on Shabbat
• how do we determine what is typical? Do we base this on one important family's practice?
• If even one person ascribes significance to a liquid, it assumes the status of liquid for that person and thus it is forbidden on Shabbat
• any liquid added to a ritual bath that changes the appearance of that mikva creates ritual impurity 
• We may squeeze grapes into a cooking pot or squeeze milk from a goat into a pot of food on Shabbat because these are atypical actions
• Rav Chisda says that Shmuel says that we cannot squeeze these things into an empty bowl because liquid that comes into food is considered to be food as well rather than liquid
• If a zav milks a goat, is the milk ritually impure?
• The halacha is that food cannot become ritually impure unless it is rendered susceptible to ritual impurity through contact with a liquid
• perhaps it is the first drop, which is rubbed on the tip of the animal's teat, which is considered a liquid 

Shabbat 143: Table Scraps, Sponges, Loaves, Pits, Chamber Pots, Squeezing and Liquids

A new Mishna teaches that Beit Shammai say one may clear bones and shells left from the shabbat meal from the table with one's hand, and Beit Hillel say that one may remove the entire board and shake the bones and shells from it but not with one's hand because they are set-aside and cannot be moved.  We may clear crumbs even if they are less than an olive bulk or pea/lentil pod.  These are fit for animal consumption and so they can be moved.  If a sponge has a leather handle, we may wipe the table with it but we must be careful not to come to squeeze liquid from it.  A dry sponge with a handle may be moved on Shabbat without becoming ritually impure - a sponge cannot become ritually impure by Torah nor by rabbinic law.

The rabbis discuss many ways that things might be moved or not moved on Shabbat.  It is said that some rabbis would use a loaf of bread to move almost anything, "A man may perform all his needs with bread" as long as the bread is not ruined.  This is where the rabbis turn to the scatological.  Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, would put bread into a chamber pot with excrement.  The Sages allowed moving repulsive vessels.  Date pits could be put there as well.  Whatever was in the chamber pot could be moved, as it became repulsive.  Rabbis also discuss the unusual ways that they would dispose of date pits, including with their tongues and behind the divan.

Amud (b) begins with a new Mishna, as well.  We learn that if a barrel of wine or oil breaks on Shabbat, we may take food enough for three meals from it.  We are also permitted to tell others to come and take food for themselves.  This cannot be done by soaking up the liquid because that might lead to squeezing.  We are not allowed to squeeze fruits on Shabbat but we my eat the liquid that seeps from fruit intended for eating on Shabbat.  If the fruits were designated for liquids, what seeps from them on Shabbat are prohibited.  Honeycombs crushed on erev Shabbat and honey/wax that has seeped from them on their on are not permitted but Rabbi Eliezer permits using them.

The rabbis consider different fruits, like olives and grapes or mulberries and pomegranates, and their aptness for juicing.  They also tell us about a Mishna teaching that a woman's milk is considered a liquid rendering food susceptible to ritual impurity whether or not the milk was expressed purposefully.  Milk of an animal only renders food susceptible to ritual impurity if it was milked volitionally but not if it dripped on its own.  Human blood from one with a ritual impurity is considered to be a liquid and thus if it touches food that food will become ritually impure.  Animal blood is different, but it also renders food susceptible to ritual impurity.

Shabbat 142: Carrying a Stone, Moving a Stone, Cushion, Loaves and Babies

A child may be carried by their father on Shabbat, but might this cause problems other than inadvertent carrying?  The rabbis consider a child carrying (and dropping) a dinar, carrying versus wearing sandals and rings, clothing, carrying a basket with a hole in it, fruit held in a basket, and other items.  The Gemara considers the possible consequences regarding changing the status of teruma and breaking the laws of Shabbat in other ways.  One conversation concerns dropping one se'a of teruma into one hundred se'a of non-sacred produce, the entire batch is prohibited unless a second piece falls as well and both are retrieved immediately.  The rabbis consider whether one might eat from a different side of the container of produce.

A new Mishna teaches us about a set-aside stone.  It is not to be moved.  If it is placed on the mouth of a barrel and the barrel is tilted to one side, the stone will fall.  If the barrel is with other barrels and they might break if the stone falls on them, one lifts the barrel to distance it from the other barrels; it tilts on one side and the stone will fall.  Further, when coins are on a cushion and one shakes it, the coins will fall.  If there was bird dung on the cushion, one wipes it with a rag but does not wash it with water because we are not permitted to launder on Shabbat.  If the cushion was made of leather and laundering is not an issue, one puts water on it until the bird dung is gone.

The Gemara discusses how one might move the stone if one wanted wine and then return the stone to the top of the barrel.  The rabbis note the difference between intending to move the cushion for its place and moving the cushion for comfort (because the coins were on top of the cushion).  We are advised that moving the cushion just for comfort is not permitted. 

We are told that Rabbi Oshaya says if we forget a purse of money in the courtyard on erev Shabbat, we can bring it into our home on Shabbat by placing a loaf or a baby on it.  Rav Yitzchak says that if we forget a brick in the courtyard, we place a loaf or a baby on it and move it.  Rabbi Yehuda bar Sheila says that Rabbi Asi says that once one forgot a diskaya, saddlebag, full of coins in a main street, Rabbi Yochanan answered that it may be moved if they put a loaf or a baby on top of it.  Mar Zutra says that the halacha is in accordance with all of these statements.  But this is only when one forgets.  If one pretends to forget but actually is "employing artifice", further consequences are in line. 

At the very end of our daf, the rabbis consider whether or not we can move animals that were intended for human consumption but are actually used as food for animals.

Shabbat 141: Beds, Straw, Shoes, Babies Holding Stones

Today's daf includes two Mishnayot.  The first teaches us that straw placed on a bed must be moved aside only with our own bodies rather than with our hands, which would be too much like moving set aside kindling on Shabbat. If the straw was designated for animal use, or if it was placed on the bed unobtrusively, we are permitted to move it with our hands.  We also learn that a homeowner's laundry press must take it apart so that one will not press with it on Shabbat.  A press belonging to a launderer may be taken apart completely on Shabbat if it was only partially dismantled for Shabbat.

The Gemara focuses on atypical actions, including wiping mud from one's foot on a wall, on the ground, and/or on the ground in different scenarios.  The rabbis also focus on inadvertent actions, including dropping things like shoes. We cannot pick them up and carry them once they are lost in the public domain.  In fact, we cannot pick them up in a karmelit.  

The second MIshna notes that one may take his son in his hands on Shabbat even thought there may be a stone in the child's hand at the time on Shabbat.  We may bring a basket with a stone in it, and may may lift a measure of teruma as long as it is pure.  

The Gemara turns to the question of carrying a living baby into the public domain on Shabbat.  If that baby had a purse hanging over its neck.  The parent of the child is liable in this case.  But if we carry a child who has died, carrying them with the purse around their neck is liable for carrying out both the purse and the baby.  Rabbi Natan says that any living being carries itself.  But is the object secondary to the person?  When a bed is relative to a human being, the person negates it.  We can also see the purse in this way.  

We are taught by the Sages of the school of Rabbi Yannai about why a father can pick up a child with a stone in the child's hand.  He says that the wrenching the stone could cause illness in the baby, who was pining for his father, would be like causing illness to this child.  The child would be left crying, injured by this brutality.

Shabbat 140: Mustard, Rav Chisda's Advice for Poor Students & His Daughters, Moving Hay

The rabbis continue their discussions regarding food preparation.  They turn to the making of mustard, where mustard seed must be kneaded and the mixed with water or wine using a vessel or one's hand, in the case of feeding donkeys.  Some rabbis are more strict than others when it comes to consumption of this food if it is made on Shabbat.  We also learn about rabbis' preferences in mustard preparation: it could be mixed with garlic or honey.

The rabbis move on to a drink called anumlin, which combines wine, honey and pepper.  Some find it too strong to bear and others have become accustomed to it.

A new Mishna teaches that we may not soak asafoetida, chiltit, or giant fennel in lukewarm water to create medicine but we may place it into vinegar like other spices on Shabbat.  We cannot soak vetches unless we allow their chaff to be washed off in a sieve.  We are not to sift straw in a sieve and we cannot put it on a high place so that the chaff blows away in the wind. At the same time, we may take the straw in a sieve and put it into the trough of an animal even if the chaff is removed in the process.

The rabbis consider intentionality, soaking asafoetida in cold water or hot water, its significant healing properties, and its dangers.  The rabbis turn to stories that feature Rav Acha and laundering.  They logically determine whether Rav Acha wishes to whiten a shirt or to soften a shirt.  The latter is permitted. 

Moving on again, the rabbis discuss moving different vessels or hooks on Shabbat.  Rav Chisda notes that poor scholars who cannot earn a sustainable livelihood:

• should buy long vegetables.  Each bundle has a standard thickness and price, but "the length comes on its own for free".  
• He speaks to the difficulty with eating vegetables when bread is not available, for it whets the appetite.  
• He also says that poor Torah students should not break it for guests, for he will not do so generously.  
• Rav Chisda says that we should drink wine and not beer; eat barley and not wheat because we should treat our bodies to the best food possible.  
• He advises students who cannot oil themselves to wash themselves with ditch water because the scum there is as useful as oil.  
• Poor students should buy necks because there are three types of meat in that one part of an animal
• Don't sit on a new mat for the dampness will ruin his clothing
• Don not give clothing to one's host to wash because they might see evidence of a seminal emission which will cause them to look down on him

To his daughters, Rav Chisda says:

• be modest before your husbands
• don not eat bread before your husbands who might look down on you for this action
• do not eat vegetables at night for they cause bad breath
• do not eat dates at night or drink beer at night for they loosen the bowels
• do not relieve yourselves where your husbands do because they might become revolted by you
• when answering the door, use the feminine form of "Who is it?" to demonstrate that you do not deal with other men
• he showed them a pearl in one hand and left the other closed until they were upset by curiosity to teach them that a mystery object is more attractive than one on display

This advice from Rav Chisda seems to indicate what he might find unattractive or even repulsive in women: eating without modesty, having bad breath, having to defecate at night, having to relieve oneself at all, and conversing with men other than himself.  Pretty high standards, and ones that might indicate difficulties in his own marriage.  But I digress.

A second new Mishna is introduced.  It teaches that we may sweep hay from an an animal that is being fattened and we may move hay to the sides for an animal that grazes on its own in the field.  The rabbis challenge this statement, saying that one may take the had from an animal and put it in front of that animal on Shabbat. 

The Gemara asks about the two parts to this Mishna.  Rav Chisda suggests that the dispute regards a trought formed in the ground but that if the trough is a vessel, all would agree that it is permitted.  The rabbis challenge this and Rav Chisda changes his position to accommodate their critique.  Abaye wonders whether we might be considering taking hay from a donkey and give it to an ox but not the other way around, because a donkey's mouth is "fine" (without spittle) and an ox's mouth is "foul" (with spittle).

Shabbat 137: Circumcision on Days 8-12, Invalid Circumcision and Correction

There are several Mishnayot on today's page.  The first teaches us that if there are two babies to circumcise, one on Shabbat and one the next day, and the babies are circumcised on the wrong days, what is done?  We are liable to bring a sin offering after Shabbat for creating a wound while performing a mitzva when there is no need to wound the infant.  If the same thing happens but on Erev Shabbat and Shabbat, Rabbi Eliezer says that a sin offering is required and Rabbi Yehoshua says that he is exempt.

The next Mishna teaches us that though a child is usually circumcised at eight days, it might be circumcised at nine, ten, eleven or twelve days but no earlier or later.  Why?

• born at twilight, circumcised at nine days
• born at twilight on Shabbat, circumcised on the Sunday for uncertainty = ten days
• born when Festival follows Shabbat, circumcised at eleven days
• Born when Shabbat follows two days of Rosh HaShana, circumcised at twelve days
• sick child not circumcised until he is healthy, seven healthy days after a fever; day of healing is more important than the day he was born

Our next Mishna teaches that there are shreds of flesh that will invalidate the circumcision if they are not removed.  The essential part of the brit is removing the the flesh that covers most of the corona.  If a child is not circumcised in this way, he is restricted from eating teruma.  If he was fleshy after a proper circumcision and so he looks uncircumcised, the mohel should correct this by cutting more than is required so that he will appear circumcised.  If he is circumcised by did not uncover the flesh at the area of the circumcision by folding back the thin membrane beneath the foreskin, he is not truly circumcised.   The Gemara teaches that any corrections take place after the site is healed completely.  The Gemara also shares specific prayers to be recited by converts who may be ordinary citizens or Canaanite slaves.

We begin Perek XX in the middle of today's daf with our next Mishna.  Rabbi Eliezer says that we may stretch a strainer to filter wine's sediment on a Festival but we may not hold up the strainer on Shabbat.  The rabbis say that this cannot be done on a Festival, either, but we may pour wine through a suspended strainer on a Festival.

The Gemara considers rules regarding food preparation on Shabbat and on Festivals.  It also speaks to intentionality.

Shabbat 136: The Line Between Life and Death Regarding Circumcision and Chalitza

One may circumcise a son whether or not that infant will live.  Cutting flesh of a corpse or one with the legal status of a corpse is not a prohibited labour.  He can be circumcised whether he was born after seven months or eight months in utero, even though eight months might suggest that he is more vulnerable.  

Abaye notes that the question of a child's status when younger than thirty days is similar to the question of an animal's status.  In Leviticus (11:39) we about that touching the carcass of an animal that will die.  The conversation is interpreted as referring to animals up to eight months when domesticated animals usually give birth after nine months.  Slaughter of such animals may or may not purify them so that they can be eaten.  Is the animal considered to be alive or dead?  The rabbis consider borderline cases like where an animal may take one breath and then die.

The rabbis discuss the implication of a baby born still to a woman who may be a yevama.  This is compared with a child falling off of a roof or being eaten by a lion - those children were certainly alive.  If a baby dies within thirty days, is a woman obligated in levirate marriage?  If she is married to an Israelite, she performs chalitza due to uncertainty of the child's status.  If she is the wife of a priest, she does not perform chalitza because that would prohibit her to her husband, another priest.  We are told that some rabbis consider the baby to be alive from the moment of its birth - according to that opinion, she is exempt from performing chalitza after the fact.  

Rav Sherevya says in the name of Rava that both women would perform chalitza because the bonds of levirate marriage are stringent.   Ravina replies that in the evening Rava does say this, but in the morning it was taken back.  We then are reminded that Rabbi Yehuda permits circumcision of an androgynos on Shabbat.  Rav Sheizvi says that Rav Chisda says that Rabbi Yehuda does not see an androgynos as a male; in fact it was only regarding circumcision that he referred to an adrogynos as male.  We are also reminded that tumtumim and androgynos are not valuated as are all other groups of people (Leviticus 27:3-4).

Shabbat 135: Circumcision and Timing of Birth, Stillborn Babies

At the start of our daf, we are reassured that we do not circumcise an infant when Shabbat is the eighth day if that infant is androgynos or if it was born circumcised.  A person already circumcised before converting to Judaism is made to drip at least a drop of blood from the process.  The rabbis consider a baby born at seven months to be healthy, and thus they are circumcised at eight days even if that desecrates Shabbat.  If the baby is born at eight months, it is considered to be at a higher risk of danger, and it should not be moved.  However, the mother ma lean over her baby no nurse it, and circumcision can wait.

The rabbis consider instances where concealed foreskins and other medical cases or cases of doubt lead to further discussion about how and when to circumcise.  It is noted that mothers are made to be impure following the seven days after birth.  That one day is the day of circumcision.  Is this the same day that a slave might be purchased in a monetary transaction.  A maidservant might become pregnant; her baby is circumcised at 8 days.  If a home-born child was circumcised at one day, she can immerse for the purpose of becoming a maidservant as well.  A fetus is bought along with its mother if the mother is pregnant when bought as a slave. Arrangements can be made for another person to buy her fetus - in that case, the fetus is circumcised at one day. 

According to halacha, a baby who dies within its first 30 days is considered to be born still.  We know that The Gemara then asks the unspoken question: how can we circumcise a stillborn and still keep Shabbat?  We cannot know whether or not the child will die weeks later. Clearly it was dangerous to assume that pregnancies would result in children.  I wonder if people tried to to attach themselves to their babies until they had lived through their first weeks.

Shabbat 134: Cures for Newborns Problems, Treatment of Circumcision Wound, Androgynos Circumcision?

Going back to our last Mishna, we learn more about what can be done to sooth a baby following circumcision when it falls on a Shabbat or a Festival.  Chewing cumin and placing it on the place of circumcision is permitted as it is used to spice a pot in cooking.  The rabbis consider other preparation of food that might be permitted on Shabbat.

The rabbis mention Abaye's mother, was was said to describe a pouch used as a bandage over the the site of circumcision.  It was critical to keep threads away so that they did not stick and sever the urethra.  If there was no pouch, Abaye said that worn-out garments with a hem should be used by wrapping the hem under and folding the garment over.  In this was the would would not be affected by threads.

Abaye shares further advice given by his nurse and mother:

• baby without anus: oil the area, hold to sunlight, use barley seed to cut length and widthwise
• baby not nursing: place cup of coals near its cold mouth
• baby not urinating: place in a sieve and shake it
• baby not breathing: place placenta on baby
• baby too small: rub the placental on the baby from the narrow end to the wide end
• baby is strong (too large), rub the placenta from the narrow end to the wide end
• baby is red: wait for blood to be absorbed before circumcision
• baby is pale: wait until blood enters the system before circumcision

Rabbi Natan spoke of a woman whose first two sons were circumcised and both died.  The third child was red.  He told her to wait until his blood was fully absorbed and then circumcised him and he lived. Another time, he went to Cappadocia where the same thing had happened but the third chid was  pale.  He said to wait until the blood entered him, and he lived.

Amud (b) begins with a new Mishna.  It teaches that we may wash the baby on shabbat before and after circumcision.  We may sprinkle hot water on him by hand but not with a vessel - an atypical manner of using water.  Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said we may wash the baby on the third day after Shabbat even if that day is Shabbat.  We know that would be a painful day based on Genesis (34:25) where the men of Shchem were circumcised and immobilized with pain on the third day.

If the baby is androgynos, with both male and female genitals, we do not break Shabbat to circumcise because circumcision might not be required at all.  Rabbi permits circumcision of an androgynos baby.  

First the Gemara considers whether babies might heal more quickly than adults who are circumcised.  Rav Dimi came to Babylonia from Yerushalayim and discussed whether it is just the site of circumcision or the whole baby that can be washed.  Because being stringent and avoiding washing a baby could pose a danger to the infant, the halacha permits leniency including washing and placing hot water and oil on a wound on Shabbat.  The rabbis are concerned that one might squeeze the soft garment used to heal the circumcision wound.  They consider which cloths might be used.  

Finally, the rabbis turn to our Mishna's words regarding whether or not we should circumcise an androgynos on Shabbat, as it is uncertain whether or not circumcision is necessary.  Though Leviticus (12:3) says that "And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised", the rabbis suggest that only halachically certain foreskin should override Shabbat.  

Shabbat 132: How Circumcision Overrides Shabbat

The Gemara says that thirteen covenants were established over the mitzvah of circumcision.The rabbis agree that circumcision is a halacha transmitted to Moses from Mount Sinai.  Circumcision saves our limbs, which is not as important as saving a life - which we know overrides Shabbat.  

The word "sign" is used as a gezera shava, a verbal analogy.  In Genesis (17:11) we learn that circumcision is a sign of the covenant between G-d and the Israelites.  Keeping the Shabbat is also a sign between G-d and Jews throughout our generations (Exodus 31:13).  What about proper times?

The Gemara asks about ritual fringes, which also may override Shabbat over generations.  Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak notes that it is not the word "sign" that pulls these concepts together; rather, it is the three words: sign, covenant, and generations.  With each of these ideas one of the words is written but not all three words are written together.  

We know for certain that circumcision is performed on Shabbat because it is done eight days after birth rather than seven days later.  Further, "One the eight day..." supports this as well.  The rabbis get into the details of circumcision through a comparison with verses about leprosy.  In Leviticus (12:3) we learn that "... on the eighth day his foreskin shall be circumcised".  In its context, this teaches that we circumcise even if there is a leprous spot there.  

We are reminded that a positive mitzvah overrides a negative mitzvah when there is a negative mitzvah alone.  The mitzvah of circumcision overrides the prohibitions laws regarding leprosy.  At the end of today's daf, the rabbis discuss what should happen if the negative mitzvah has been "uprooted" but the positive mitzvah is not yet completed.  Until it is done, the positive mitzvah does not actually override the negative mitzvah.

Shabbat 131: Denouncing Ownership, Mitzvot that Override Shabbat, Fixed Time

The rabbis consider unusual ways of denouncing ownership of homes and courtyards to permit carrying from the private to the public space on Shabbat.  Rabbi Chiyya bar Abba says that Rabbi Yochanan says that actions that help us to perform mitzvot override the laws pertaining to Shabbat.  Perhaps Rabbi Eliezer used the examples of dwelling in a Sukkah, eating matza on Pesach, and blowing the Shofar on Rosh HaShana.  Rav Adda bar Ahava said that attaching ritual fringes and setting a mezuzah on a doorpost do not override Shabbat.  The rabbis consider the factor of "fixed time": if a mitzvah can be done on a day other than Shabbat, it should be done at that time.

We learn that the Master said in a baraita that the mitzva of lulav overrides Shabbat (R. Eliezer).  The rabbis argue about whether we are supposed to perform this mitzvah any time, during the day, and/or during the night.

They continue to debate what is unique about the mitzvot of lulav, matzah, and shofar.  Perhaps it is that these laws apply to women and men equally.  Perhaps these actions are skills and not labours, just like removing the two loaves of bread are skilled actions rather than labour.  

We end our daf with a discussion of the mitzvah of circumcision.  It also overrides Shabbat, as decreed by Rabbi Eliezer.  He puts it together with these other mitzvot, and nots that each of them embodies something significant.  Circumcision need not be completed on the eighth day; it can occur later than that for several reasons.  Tomorrow's daf will continue this conversation.

Shabbat 130: Preparing for Circumcision on Erev Shabbat and on Shabbat

Rabbi Eliezer says that if one does not bring a tool to circumcise the child on erev Shabbat, he brings it on Shabbat uncovered so that everyone understands that it is a brit scalpel.  In times of danger when we are not permitted to circumcise, it is covered in the presence of witnesses who will testify that he brought the scalpel for no reason other than to perform this mitzvah.  Further, we may cut down trees to prepare charcoal to help fashion iron tools for circumcision.  Rabbi Akiva argued that any prohibited labour that can be performed on erev Shabbat cannot override Shabbat, including transporting the circumcision scalpel.  But any prohibited labour regarding circumcision that cannot be performed on erev Shabbat overrides Shabbat.  

The Gemara discusses:

• why the scalpel might be transported uncovered on erev Shabbat
• the validity of the two witnesses
• where Jews did not follow the laws regarding family relationships and circumcision without weeping (Numbers 11:10)
• Donning phylacteries requires a clean body like that of Elisha, which might mean not passing wind in them and might mean not sleeping in them
• Elisha was called the Man of Wings because he took off his phylacteries in the marketplace when approached by an official, who asked what was in his hand.  He said "a dove's wing", and they became a dove's wings
• The people of Israel are like a dove (Psalms 68:14), we are protected by mitzvot as a dove is protected by its wings.
• Scalpels were brought in atypical ways, including on roofs and courtyards
• Courtyards, enclosures and alleyways may or may not be considered to be parts of people's homes and thus included in their private domains

Shabbat 129: Healing After Childbirth and Bloodletting

We are lenient if a woman says that she does need for Shabbat to be desecrated after she has finished the process of childbirth in accordance with Mar Zutra.  But when does the womb open?  Abaye says when she sits on the travailing chair.  Rav Huna son of Rav Yehoshua says that it is when the blood flows and descends.  Others say that it is when her friends need to carry her by her arms because she cannot walk on her own.  How long does the womb stay open?  Abaye says three days.  Rava in the name of Rav Yehuda says seven days.  Others say thirty days.  The rabbis want to understand how long a woman is in danger, for that is the amount of time that Gentiles should be asked to do work on Shabbat on her behalf.  

The rabbis discuss how long a woman is recovering from labour with an "open womb".  They consider immersion as a possible measure; Rav Chisda, Rav's wife, immersed within thirty days of giving birth, without her husband present, and she caught cold and then died.  We are also told that a fire is build for a woman in childbirth on Shabbat during the rainy season.  The Gemara says that both women and people who are ill require fire to be built at any time of year that helps their health.  One might even break (destroy) chairs or benches to use as firewood for these purposes - on Shabbat!  

After bloodletting, one is particularly needy and should be given more assistance as well.  The rabbis share many of their thoughts about bloodletting, self-preservation, and the compassion of the community.  In particular, the rabbis considers how a person should heal from bloodletting, including waiting thirty days.  Eating, drinking, and waiting for a period of time are suggested following bloodletting.

We are told not to let blood on the third day of the week because the planet Mars is dominant and it is a "planet of blood".  On the fourth day of the week that is also the fourth day of the month or the twenty-fourth day of the month, it is dangerous to let blood.  Several other days are named as days to avoid letting blood because it causes weakness or leads to danger or evil spirits.  As an aside, we learn that bloodletting often was performed by barbers who also cut hair and moustaches.  It cost nothing to cut one's moustache.

The Mishna's mention of tying the umbilical cord of a child born on Shabbat is expanded upon.  We learn that warming the newborn is done through warming the placenta.  Princesses are said to insulate the placental in mugs of oil, Daughters of wealthy fathers use combed wool and poor women do this in soft rags.   A prooftext is taken from Ezekiel (16:4) where the rabbis learn that we may cut the umbilical cord, wash the newborn, salt the newborn, and swaddle the newborn on Shabbat. 

Shabbat 128: Salted/Unsalted Meat; Women & Animals in Childbirth on Shabbat

The rabbis make clear that we may only move items that are regularly consumed by common animals on Shabbat.  That includes glass shards, which are consumed by ostriches.  When it comes to bundles of fragrant plants used to feed people, if they are used as firewood we cannot use them on Shabbat for food.  If they were brought in to feed animals, we may also use them as food on Shabbat. Feeding oneself these items must be done in an atypical manner.  

The rabbis address several different names of spices.  Already these meanings had been forgotten.  

We are permitted to moved salted meat on Shabbat, but the rabbis argue about unsalted meat.  Is there a prohibition of set-aside for Shabbat?  There may be different rules for different types of meat; duck may be eaten uncooked which changes the rules around whether or not we may eat it salted and/or unsalted.  Unsalted fish should not be moved.  Salted and unsalted meat may be carried.  We are certainly permitted to move bones on Shabbat because they are food for dogs.  We are permitted to move putrefied meat because it may be eaten by a non-domesticated animal.  Similarly we may move exposed water which might have been drunk by a snake leaving its venom behind because a cat is immune to that poison.  But Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel notes that we should not keep exposed water lest someone else drink it.

A new Mishna teaches that we are permitted to turn over a basket in front of chicks so that they can climb on and off of it.  We may also push a hen with our hands to return it to the home from which it fled.  We are also permitted to help calves and foals to walk; women may help their sons to walk.  If he is dragging both feet, she cannot help him to walk because it is similar to carrying him in the public domain.  But if he can pick up each foot and put it down by himself, she can help him to walk.  

The Gemara discusses how we treat animals.  We are meant to help them by providing them with sustenance so that they might live.  But we are not necessarily meant to offer them the comfort of cushions and blankets as well.  

A second new Mishna teaches that we may not birth an animal on a Festival nor on Shabbat.  We may assist it to give birth. We may also birth a woman on Shabbat and call a midwife for her to travel even though the midwife desecrates Shabbat by doing so.  We may desecrate Shabbat for a woman giving birth.We may tie the child's umbilical cord  and we may even cut that umbilical cord on Shabbat.  All of the requirements of circumcision may be performed for a baby whose eighth day of life falls on Shabbat.

Assisting in a birth of an animal means that we hold the newborn so that it does not fall to the ground.  We may also press the flesh around the womb so that the new born emerges. We may also hold the newborn and blow into its nostrils to remove mucus and help it to breath.  We may then place the mother's teat into its mouth so that it will nurse.  

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel suggests that we have mercy on kosher animas on a fesitval by brining a lump of salt and putting it in the animal's womb so that it will suffer, ermember its suffering while giving birth and have mercy on the offspring.  We may pour fluids of the afterbirth on the offspring on the mother so that she can smell it and have mercy on her offspring.  These things should not be done for a kosher animal because these do not distance their offspring and if they do, they do not return.  

One may birth a woman includes all of the possible acts of desecrating Shabbat.  If she needs a lamp or oil these are brought to her.  If a friend cannot bring these things to her in atypical ways, it is permitted to do them in typical ways.  Even if a woman is blind, a lamp may be brought to her so that she knows that those helping her can see.  We are told that as long as a woman is in childbirth; as long as her womb is open, Shabbat may be desecrated for her.  Childbirth is a life-threatening situation.  Once her womb has closed, Rav Ashi says that the woman who has given birth cannot have Shabbat desecrated for her.  

Shabbat 127: Hospitality Demonstrated Through Moving Bundles on Shabbat

In daf 126, we learned a new Mishna saying that we are permitted to move five baskets baskets of straw or produce to make room for guests to sit on Shabbat. If they are bundles of straw, wood, twigs or prepared on erev Shabbat for animal food, they can be moved.  We cannot move teruma or demai  doubtfully tithed produce, nor other types of produce that might be of use for people or  animals.  Other types are not fit for consumption and are set aside; we cannot move them. We are not permitted to fill the storeroom  Today we learn the rabbis thoughts about this daf. 

Why five and not four or another number?  The rabbis include several possible answers, including the idea that five refers to "four or five", not being specific.  Should we be careful that we are not creatting more space in the storeroom for the first time?  We might accidentally come to level the floor of the storeroom by filling in the holes in the floor.  If one makes a pathway with one's feet in the storeroom, it is permitted to enter and exit it.  Baskets cannot be moved by hand. 

The rabbis consider whether it is better to minimize the walking trips but carry heavier loads, or whether it is better to take several walking trips with lighter loads to create this seating for guests.  We are told that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi saw that a place was too crowded for the students, and he went to the field and found many bundles of grain.  He cleared all of the bundles to create seating for everyone.  Should we conclude that we may move items according to the number of guests present?  We are told that Rabbi Chiyya did the same thing. 

Should only one person move the bundles? Or should each person move a bundle for him or herself?  Rabbi Yochanan says that hospitality is as important as rising early to go to the stud hall.  The rabbis then one-up each other, saying how important hospitality is.  Rav Yehuda says that Rav even stated that hospitality toward guests is greater than receiving the Divine Presence, and we know this because Abraham sayid "Lord, if now I have found favour in Your sight, please pass not from your servant" (Genesis 18:3).  Rabbi Yochanan said that there are six things where a person enjoys the profits here but the principal in the World-to come: hospitality toward guests, visiting the sick, consideration during prayer, rising early to the study hall, and one who raises his sons to engage in Torah study, and one who judges others well.

We are told that in a baraita is says that one who judges another favourably is oneself judged favourably.  We are told of a person who came from the Upper Galilee to work for a homeowner (and both may have been rabbis).  On erev Yom Kippur, the person asked for his wages to feed is wife and children.  The homeowner said that he had none - in fact, when asked for payments in different forms, the homeowner said that he had no money, produce, land, animal, nor cushions and blankets.  The worker went home with his tools in anguish.  At Sukkot the homeowner brought the worker his wages in hand along with food, drink, sweets on three donkeys.  After eating and drinking, the person was given his wages.   The homeowner asked the person what he had assumed.  He had thought well of the homeowner, assuming that he had bought tools with his money, tithed his produce, leased his land and animals, etc.  The homeowner said in fact he had vowed and consecrated all of his property due to his son Hyrcanus who did not engage in Torah study.  He wanted to leave an inheritance for his son.  The Sages dissolved his vows, and the homeowner was able to pay his workers immediately.  He then said "And you, just as you judged me favourably, may G-d judge you favourably".

Another story: a pious man redeemed a young Jewish woman from captivity and had her sleep beneath his feet where he stayed at the inn.  The next day he immersed in a ritual bath before Torah study and prayer.  This could be seen as ritual purification after intercourse.  The pious man asked his students what they thought of him when he immersed.  One said that perhaps he wanted to ensure that a student who is not conducting himself well would not accost the young woman; he was protecting them both.  And what did the students think when he immersed?  They said that perhaps because of the exertion of travel, a seminal emission "befell" the rabbi.  He said, I swear by the Temple service that it was so.  And just as you judged me favourably, so may G-d judge you favourably. 

A final similar example: a matron who kept the company of many of the prominent people of Rome was approached by students and their teacher, Rabbi Yehoshua, regarding tactical advice.  He removed his phylacteries four cubits before he entered her home, locked the door, immersed in a ritual bath after leaving her home, and then taught his students.  What did you think of me when I removed my tefillin?  The students answered that they assumed he would not bring sacred items into an impure place.  What about when I locked the door?  Perhaps there was a private royal matter to be discussed.  And when I immersed? The students said that perhaps a bit of spittle sprayed from her mouth onto the rabbi's clothes, and the body fluids of a Gentile are like those of a zav, transmitting virtual impurity.  Rabbi Yehoshua swore by the Temple service that these answers were true, and that a they judged him favourably may G-d judge them favourably.

Returning to the Mishna, we had learned that ritually pure teruma may be moved on Shabbat.  Isn't this obvious?  It is necessary to teach this for cases where the teruma is placed in Israelite hands.  An Israelite cannot eat it and thus cannot move it.  Regarding demai, a person cannot eat it unless he denounces his property and declares it ownerless.  In this case he becomes poor and is permitted to eat demai produce along with other people who are poor and with soldiers according to the halacha derived at by Beit Hillel.  The teruma gedola was taken and eventually became grain.  Those on the stalks were not yet grain.  The first of the grain was given to the priest.  Once it had become grain, the Levite was required to separate teruma gedola.  Our daf discusses redemption of one-fifth of the tithe, as well.

We end with a short comment about moving dry lupine, which is used as goat food. It is only permitted when dry. Why?  Because it is bitter when wet an animals will not eat it at all.

Shabbat 125: Intention to Move Something on Shabbat; What is Set Aside

The rabbis ask about things that are thrown aside before Shabbat.  Are we allowed to move those things later, on Shabbat?  Are they permitted to be moved only when they are or are not providing a purpose similar to their original function?  The rabbis use shards of an old oven as their example.

A new Mishna teaches that when a gourd that has a stone in it is used to draw water and the stone does not fall when it is poured, we may fill it on Shabbat.  If the stone falls, we may not use it to fill things.  When a vine ranch is tied to a pitcher, we may fill it with water on Shabbat because the branch has become part of the vessel.  Regarding a window shutter, Rabbi Eliezer teaches that when it is tied to the window and hanging down, we may shutter the window with it; it is not considered to be building.  If the shutter touches the ground, we may not use it to shutter the window.  The rabbis say that in both cases we are permitted to shutter the window.

The Gemara considers other cases regarding falling stones that may not be comparable to the first case described by our Mishna.  What kind of action is require to create vessels from stones?  Is an action required to be attached to something else to maintain its status as set aside?  Similarly, the Gemara discusses building with beams that may have been tied together on erev Shabbat so that they are not classified as set aside.  The rabbis speak of how much has to be planned in advance.

At the end of our daf the rabbis consider the case of a window shutter.  R. Yochanan had said that everyone agrees that we may not build a temporary tent on a Festival for the first time, and of course not on Shabbat.  Rabbi Eliezer said that we may not add to an existing structure on a Festival, and not on Shabbat.  The rabbis say that these things are alright - we may add to a temporary structure on Shabbat and on a Festival.  

Shabbat 124: Moving Objects That Have a Purpose & Exceptions, Like What is Set Aside

A new Mishna teaches that all vessels may be moved for a specific purpose and not for a specific purpose.  Rabbi Nechemya says that vessels may only be moved for a specific purpose.  Rashi teaches that this means that all vessels may be moved, but some may be moved  only for a specific purpose and others might just be moved.  The rabbis will argue about what a purpose and what is not a purpose.  

Does the purpose refer to a vessel's place or its purpose?  Is it about a vessel's primary purpose?  Does it matter how these things are carried when they are moved?  Like a chamber pot, which is disgusting?  Are we moving something from the sun to the shade?  

We have learned that "the only difference between a Festival and Shabbat is with regard to the preparation of food alone" this is by Torah or rabbinic law other than food preparation activities.  These include lighting a fire and carrying items from one domain to another, which have no specific purpose otherwise.  

Beit Shammai say that one may neither carry a child nor a lulav nor a Torah scroll out to the public domain on a  Festival and Beit Hillel permit doing so - they say that we may carry object from one domain to another on a Festival for a purpose other than carrying food.

The Gemara argues about this.  They speak about leaving felt cushions in the sun on Shabbat; it is permitted for others to move them but not for one who believes that it is prohibited.  If moving an object causes the transgression of another halacha, it is not permitted.  

Another new Mishna teaches that regarding all vessels that may be moved on Shabbat, their shards may be moved along with them as long as they are suited for some purpose.  Shards of a large bowl may be used to cover the mouth of a barrel.  Shards of a glass vessel may be used to cover the mouth of a cruse.  These shards are not sharp enough to cut.  Rabbi Yehuda says that as long as they are suited for a purpose similar to their original use, it is permitted to use shards of a large bowl to pour soup into them and shards of a glass vessel to pour oil into them.  

Is the dispute in this Mishna regarding where the vessel broke on erev Shabbat?  We are allowed to kindle a fire on a Festival with whole vessels but not with shards of vessels.  The rabbis also consider things like bricks left over from building, where it is permitted to move them on Shabbat because they are suited for sitting.  If they are arranged in a pile, they have been mentally set aside and it is prohibited to move them.  This rule is in place for other examples as well.

Shabbat 123: Which Utensils Can Be Moved on Shabbat

We are permitted to move utensils that still have food on them for the purposes of eating on a Festival or Shabbat.  For things like launderers' pins, presses and clothing rods, they must remain intact and so they have a special place. They are not removed for other purposes.  Same with a mortar and pestle.  Can we use a goldsmith's hammer to crack nuts?  Would it ruin the hammer? Would it ruin the spices?  What counts as moving on Shabbat - can we move a reed to insert into the bottom of a fig or radish?  

We learn from Rav Yosef that we can take an ordinary hand needle used for sewing clothes to extract a thorn.  This is challenged based on questions of ritual impurity if the eye or point were removed - its status as a vessel would then be voided and it would be ritually pure.  

We are not permitted to make afiktoizin, a drug to induce vomiting, on Shabbat.  Medicines must be atypically prescribed to be used on Shabbat.  

A new Mishna teaches that a reed used for turning olives in a bundle, if there is a cork-like knot at its top, can become ritual impure as a vessel.  If not, it cannot become ritually impure because it is not a vessel.  In both cases it may be moved on Shabbat for use in a permitted action.  The Gemara notes that flat wooden vessels do not become ritually impure because objects must be similar to a sack to become ritually impure.  The reed has a tiny cavity that might get filled with oil.  Is it enough to become ritually impure?

A second new Mishna teaches from Rabbi Yosei: All utensils may be moved on Shabbat except for a large saw and the blade of a plow.  They must be sharp, ready for use, and possibly damaged and thus they will not be thought of nor used for another purpose.  

The rabbis discuss different utensils and whether or not they should fall into this category.  At the end of our daf, questions arise regarding rods and poles.  The latter are used for carrying the Pesach offering by carrying two ends of the pole over two people's shoulders.  If the 14th of Nissan fell on Shabbat, people would put their hands on each others' shoulders and hold the Paschal lamb hanging between them.  

Shabbat 122: What Gentiles Can Do For Jews on Shabbat

Chairs and wine transported by wagons belonging to Gentiles is permitted as well.  The rabbis disagree about whether one seal on the wine is enough to protect that wine from ritual impurity.

A new Mishna teaches that if a Gentile kindled a lamp on Shabbat for his own purposes, a Jew also uses its light, and if the Gentile kindled it for a Jew, the Sages did not allow us to use the light.  If a Gentile drew water from a well in the public domain for his animal to drink, a Jew gives his own animal to drink after him from that water, and the water was drawn for the benefit of the Jew, it is. prohibited for the Jew's animal to drink that water.  If a Gentile makes a ramp on Shabbat to get off of a ship and a Jew disembarks after him and he made a ramp for a Jew, it is prohibited.  Once Rabban Gamliel and the Elders were traveling on a ship and a Gentile made a ramp on Shabbat to disembark and these scholars used the ramp to get off of the ship as well.

The Gemara asks why we teach these similar examples.  The answer is that a light can be used for one hundred people but a Gentile will increase the amount of water that is drawn to share with a Jew.  Why does the Mishna mention the ramp as well?  It taught us to demonstrate that this was the ruling in practice.  Similar examples are shared regarding a Gentile collecting grass.  Heated water is similar, because it is heated for the majority of the city's residents.  

We begin Perek XVI with a new Mishna: All vessels may be moved on Shabbat and their doors, even if they were dismantled on Shabbat.  We cannot use the doors of a house on Shabbat because they are not prepared from before Shabbat.  Similarly we cannot move a mallet, used for prohibited labour, to crack nuts.  We are permitted to use an axe, usually used to chop wood, to cut a cake of figs and we may move a saw to cut cheese.  We may also move a spade to scoop dried figs.  We can move a winnowing shovel and a pitchfork to place food on it for a child.  We can take a reed or a shuttle from a spindle to use it like a fork.  We can move an ordinary hand needle to extract a thorn with it and a sack maker's needle to open the door with it.

The Gemara emphasizes that we are permitted to move vessels and their parts on Shabbat.  We may not be able to restore them to their original places, though.  A chicken coop is attached to the ground and we are prohibited from dismantling on the ground.  We cannot build or dismantle regarding vessels, and so perhaps we are not to fix them firmly in place, which is strictly prohibited.  

Shabbat 121: More on Putting Out Fires, Killing Dangerous Creatures on Shabbat

We are told at the very start of our daf that a zav and zava, a male and female leper, one who has relations with a woman who is menstruating, one who is impure through contact with a corpse all immerse during the day, or at the designated time on Yom Kippur (even when bathing is prohibited).  A menstruating woman and a woman after childbirth immerse at night.  A man who has had a seminal emission immerses at any point in the day.  Rabbi says that he should immerse any time before the afternoon prayer. 

A new Mishna teaches us that if a Gentile puts out a Jew's fire on Shabbat, we may not tell him to "extinguish" or "Don't extinguish" because we are not responsible for his rest.  However, if a Jewish child comes to extinguish a fire on Shabbat, we do not listen to him and allow him to do so, even though he is not yet obligated to observe mitzvot, because we are in fact responsible for his rest as Jews.  

A second new Mishna tells us that we may overturn a bowl on top of a lamp so that the ceiling beam will not catch fire on Shabbat.  We can do the same over a child's feces within the house so that he will not touch it and dirty himself.  Similarly, a bowl can be placed over a scorpion so that it will not bit.  Rabbi Yehuda said that there was an incident with Rabbban Yochanan ben Zakkai in Arav where a person covered a scorpion on Shabbat and Rabban Yochanan said that he was concerned that the cover-er might be liable to bring a sin-offering.  

The rabbis wonder about a child's feces, which can be fed to a dog, and thus as food could be moved on Shabbat.  We may also remove things on Shabbat if they are disgusting.  Thus a chamber pot of feces could be removed, but not feces on its own.  A mouse, for example, can be removed by its tail, even without a vessel.  What if the feces were in a garbage dump?  But then why would a child be in a garbage dump in the public domain?  Perhaps the feces were in the courtyard.  But any place that is designated for feces would be disgusting, and thus we are not permitted to move things in those places.

We learn from a baraita that five creatures that are dangerous may be killed on Shabbat: the poisonous fly from the land of Egypt, the hornet of Ninveh, the scorpion of Chadyab, the snake of HaAretz, and a mad dog in any place.  Rabbi Yehuda noted that one is liable for doing prohibited labour not required for its own sake.  Thus why is it permitted to kill these creatures?  Is the baraita itself corrupted?  Rav Yosef answers according to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, who permitted killing all harmful creatures on Shabbat when they are chasing him.

There is some textual evidence to suggest that the most pious were not happy when people killed even snakes, scorpions or hornets on Shabbat.  Instead there were miracles that saved people who did not kill these potentially life-taking creatures.  

Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said that once a snake fell into the study hall on Shabbat and a Nabatean, perhaps one from Naveh or a beautiful place, stood and killed it.  Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said "One of its type killed it".  We also learn that one is not to step on spittle on Shabbat, for this could be considered as a manner of smoothing out the ground.  In the home of the Exilarch, this was argued where Abba bar Marta or Abba bar Manyomi was brought on Shabbat to the home of the Exilarch to pay money that he owed.  Rav Yehuda explained to the Exilarch that it was not required to cover the spittle with a vessel; it could be trampled innocently.  

Apparently it was permitted to move Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi's candlesticks on Shabbat.  Rabbi Zeira asked whether this referred to the small candlesticks which can be moved with one hand or the candlesticks that reach from the floor to our heads which must be moved with two hands.  

Shabbat 120: Indirectly Extinguishing Fire on Shabbat, Writing G-d's Name on the Body

Some thoughts from today's daf, which continues to alert us to the importance of breaking the rules of Shabbat for some exceptional reasons and the importance of children learning Torah.  We begin with a new Mishna:

We may rescue a basket full of loaves and food from a fire on Shabbat even if there is food for one hundred meals in it rather than just three meals for Shabbat.  And we may rescue a round cake of dried figs and a barrel of wine, which are both huge, too.  We can even call others to rescue thee things, and those rescuers might sell those items back to their owner after Shabbat.  The items could be moved to a courtyard where there was an eiruv and one may carry.  Ben Beteira says an eiruv was not required.  Can one carry all of the utensils and wear all possible garments, and wrap all cloths possible around oneself to save ones property?  Rabbi Yosei says only eighteen garments at once.

The rabbis discuss how this could be possible after our last Mishna was so clear about collecting no more than three meals worth of food from a fire on Shabbat.  And what about asking for money for saving someone's property?  We are taught that these people are Heaven-fearing but not truly pious.

Another new Mishna: we may spread out a moist goat's hide over a box or a chest or a closet that caught fire, because the fire singes and does not burn it.  We can create a barrier against the fire with vessels so that the fire won't spread.  Rabbi Yosei says we cannot use new earthenware vessels full of water because they will burst from the heat and put out the fire, which is not permitted on Shabbat even indirectly.   The Gemara says that we can put water on one side of a goat's skin if the other side is on fire and if that puts out the fire, so be it.

The rabbis consider several situations that might cause a candle or another flame to be extinguished.  one must be careful to keep that light burning.  One of the major considerations is whether indirect extinguishing is permitted or not.  Regarding a similar situation, like when a person writes the name of G-d on one's body, Rabbi Yosei is more lenient than the rabbis as he permits a person to immerse for any reason without covering the spot with a reed as long as one does not rub the name off.  

We learn here about putting G-d's name on the body.  If we do this, we learn from Rava bar Rav Sheila explains that we may not stand in a filthy place and that we must wrap a reed tightly around the name when immersing in a ritual bath because we are not to stand naked before the name of G-d.  The Gemara says that covering G-d's name with our hand is enough.

THe Gemara asks if there is a disagreement between the statements of the Rabbis, like in the case of a fire when some hold that one can indirectly extinguish a fire on Shabbat and others deny that claim, the all the more so it should be permitted in indirectly erase G-d's name indirectly.  Why were the rabbis stringent here?  The Gemara teaches that regarding blood, ink, honey and milk, they are considered to interpose, as it is firmly attached to the skin, if they are dry and then immersed.  If they are moist, they do not interpose.