Shabbat 25: Limitations on the Uses of Consecrated Items

We begin with descriptions of positive mitzvot regarding resting on a Festival burning items that become ritually impure, and burning teruma that becomes ritually impure.  The Torah says that we should derive benefits from these things.

We learn about piggul, a mnemonic (peh, nun, kuf, ayin, kaf, samech).  It teaches us that if during slaughter, receiving blood, bringing it to the altar, or sprinkling the blood the priest thinks of eating the sacrifice when it is not fit for eating, the entire sacrifice is invalidated.  We also learn about Notar, which is the meat of a sacrifice that remained beyond its allotted time, which must be burned and not eaten.  A korban me'ila is one who accidentally derives benefit from consecrated items.  They must bring a guilt-offering.  Karet is the punishment for one who eats the consecrated item at the wrong time.  Asur le'onen is an acute mourner, one who lost someone that day and is not yet buried, cannot eat consecrated items.  These halachot may or may not be applied to terumah.  Chomesh is a non-priest who is prohibited from teruma but unwittingly ate teruma and must pay its value plus one-fifth of its sum to the priest.

Teruma is not subject to pidyon, redemption, because once consecrated it stays that way.  It is prohibited to zarim, non-priests.  There are more stringencies around consecrated items than around teruma.  The rabbis are more stringent regarding transgressions of teruma. 

The rabbis consider what is a mitzvah, a commandment, and what is an obligation.  Is it a mitzvah or an obligation to wash one's face, hands and feet before Shabbat?  In the context of the pleasure of preparing for Shabbat, we are reminded of Lamentations (3:17), "And my soul is removed far off from peace, I forgot prosperity".  Rabbi Abbahu says that our souls are moved far off from peace when we cannot light the Shabbat lights.  Forgetting prosperity is perhaps the lack of opportunity to bathe in the bathhouse, or perhaps washing one's hands and feet in hot water.  Or perhaps prosperity is a pleasant bed and the pleasant bedclothes that are on it.  Rabbi Abba suggests that prosperity is a made bed and a wife adorned (worthy and suitable for Torah scholars). 

The Gemara discusses the question, Who is wealthy?  Rabbi Meir says that this is anyone who gets pleasure from his wealth.  Rabbi Tarfon says it is one with one hundred vineyards and one hundred fields and one hundred slaves working in them.  Rabbi Akiva says anyone who has a wife whose actions are pleasant.  Rabbi Yosei says anyone who has a bathroom close to his table. 

We are told the story of a mother-in-law who hated her daughter-in-law and told her to cover herself in balsam oil.  After doing so, the mother-in-law told her to light the lamp.  Doing so, the daughter-in-law caught fire and died.   The rabbis continue to discuss what oils should be used for lighting, and what materials should be used for other tasks, particularly when those items are not readily available.

Shabbat 24: A Time For Blessings and a Time for Lighting

Today's daf considers which blessings must be recited during which occasions.  Are we obligated to mention the New Moon when we recite Grace after Meals?  What is permitted to say on Shabbat and what must not be said on a Festival if it falls on Shabbat?

We are introduced to a new Mishna which seems to be an extension of our last Mishna.  It teaches that we may not light burnt oil on a Festival.  Rabbi Yishmael says that we cannot light with tar because it smells bad which would affect the celebration of Shabbat.  The rabbis permit lighting with all oils that burn properly including sesame, nut, turnip, fish, gourd, tar and crude oil (which was first refined approximately five hundred years after the talmudic era).  At that point in our Mishna, Rabbi Tarfon doubles down and announces that one may only light with olive oil, the finest oil, in honour of Shabbat.  

The rabbis discuss the principle that lights may not be lit with burnt oil on a Festival.  The Gemara answers that this is because we may not burn consecrated items on a Festival.  By Torah law, we are not to let anything remain until the morning, but whatever remains in the morning shall be burned with fire (Exodus 12:10).  The burnt offering of each Shabbat made on Shabbat (Numbers 28:10).  Different mitzvahs are reserved for different days and times.  For example, circumcision is not performed on a festival unless that festival falls on the eighth day - postponed circumcisions will not happen on festival days.  

Shabbat 23: Lighting for Chanukah and Shabbat - a Comparison

The rabbis determine that placing and then lighting the chanukiah accomplishes the mitzva because one says the blessing* over lighting.  If a lamp burns throughout Shabbat it must be extinguished, lifted, and then placed down again after the sun goes down before it is relit as a Chanukah light.  Although a minor, a "deaf-mute" and an "imbecile" do not meet the obligation of lighting Chanukah lights.  However, a woman does.  Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi points out that women are obligated to light the Chanukah light because we were included in the miracle of being saved from persecution.  It is also note that guests must light the chanukiah.   

The rabbis discuss which type of oil should be used for candle lighting.  Olive oil is the highest quality and creates the clearest light, but sesame oil lasts longer.  We learn that all oils make ink well, but that olive oil is best for mixing into ink and best creating smoke from soot to create ink.  

We learn that three blessings are recited on the first night: To light the Chanukah light, Who performed miracles, and Who has given us life, sustained us, and brought us to this moment. and either one or the first two blessings are said on the second night.  For the remainder of the nights only one blessing is recited.  The rabbis attempt to find a source behind the mitzvah of lighting Chanuka lights.  The statement found is from Deuteronomy (17:11), "You shall not turn aside from the sentence which they shall declare to you, to the right, nor to the left".  The "they" is taken to mean our Sages.  This text is used to prove that we should always follow our Sages interpretations, even if they are not at all based in Torah.

The rabbis speak to the second day (in the diaspora) of a Festival.  The blessings are required on the second day are just as the first.  Is this because we are not sure of the exact date of the festival in the diaspora?  Or do we say the blessings to remind us about the sanctity of that second day?  The rabbis suggest that we do not want people to hold the second day in contempt.  Interesting.  I think that many of us hold the second day in contempt, especially when it involves twice the cooking, even though we are commanded to say blessings.  

We are told that Rav Yosef's wife kindled the Shabbat lights earlier than most because of the idea of G-d in a pillar of fire and in a pillar of cloud.  

What should be done when a courtyard has more than one entrance?  Both entrances should have a chanukiah placed ideally one handbreadth from the doorway.  This is to be sure that people passing by see the chanukiah no matter in which direction they are walking.  It is best, the rabbis say, to avoid suspicion of not doing a mitzvah.  

The rabbis connect this with a conversation about mitzvat pe'a, the commandment of setting aside the corners of our fields for the poor and the stranger, to explain the importance of suspicion.  The corners are chosen because of robbing the poor, causing the poor to be idle, suspicion, and the verse, "You shall not wholly reap the corner of your field" (Leviticus 23:22).  People would be suspicious of one who left pe'a in the middle of a field because the pe'a would not be visible from the edges of the field.  People might assume that one did not leave pe'a at all. 

If there are two lights in one lamp, this counts as meeting the requirements of the mitzvah.  Even many wicks in one lamp count for many people lighting, for from afar many lights will look like a single flame.  But if one has only enough oil for one lamp, should the chanukiah be lit or should the oil be used for the Shabbat lights at home?  The rabbis determine that peace at home is more important than the publicity of the Chanukah light, and so the oil is used for Shabbat.  But if one can use oil for a chanukiah or wine for kiddush on Shabbat, the oil takes precedence because of the publicity of the miracle of Chanukah.  

Rav Huna says that one who regularly lights Shabbat and Chanukah lights will have children who are Torah scholars, or children who disseminate the light of Torah.  The rabbis go on to teach that those who perform different mitzvot go on to be rewarded appropriately.  Notably, this conversation ends with those who look up to Torah Sages becoming Torah Sages - or, if they do not have the talent to be Torah Sages, their words will be respected as if they were Torah Sages.  Another example of the rabbis promoting their own authority.  

Oil from terumah is also called burnt oil.  We cannot eat the oil nor can we burn it.  Not on a festival because we are not permitted to light on Shabbat.  Is the issue lighting a Shabbat lamp simply about potentially adjusting the wick?  We also are not permitted to burn consecrated items on a festival.


* Baruch Ata HaShem Elokenu Melech ha'olam, asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Chanukah, Blessed are You Lord of the World, Who has made us holy through his mitzvot and has commanded us to light the Chanukah light.  

Shabbat 22: Placing, Lighting, and Transferring the Light of the Chanukiah

The rabbis discuss whether or not the light of the chanukah candles is sacred.  If it sacred, then it cannot be used to light anything else.  No mitzvah should be contemptible to us; this is why we cover blood from slaughtered animals with our hands and not our feet.  In the same way, lighting candles is a mitzvah, which is undertaking a sacred act, and the light has become sacred.  With more deliberation, we learn l that we are only permitted to use the chanukah candle to light another light if there is no non-sacred lamp available for that task.  We do not want to weaken the mitzvah.

The rabbis discuss whether the chanukiah can be held in the air or whether it must be secured.  They decide that placing the chanukiah is required to fulfill the lighting mitzvah.  The rabbis determine that it should be placed where it can be seen by the public, which is still observed today.  

There is some debate about lighting and placing the chanukiah.  Can one light the chanukiah inside and then place it at the doorway of the home?  Must the chanukiah be placed when it is lit in an appropriate place.  The rabbis are worried that one might light inside and say to oneself that one is lighting the lamp for their own needs rather than in fulfillment of the mitzvah.

Shabbat 21: Wicks, Oils and Differences between Lighting on Shabbat and Chanukah

In Exodus (35:3 )we are told "You shall not kindle a fire throughout your settlements on the Shabbat day".   In yesterday's daf we began Perek II with a new Mishna that taught us what wicks are/not permitted to use when lighting the Shabbat lights (because they might lead to other prohibited labour on Shabbat) and what items are/not permitted to burn on Shabbat.  We might not light with cedar bast, uncombed flax, raw silk, willow bast, desert weed, nor green moss that is on the surface of the water.  We cannot light with oils including pitch, wax, castor oil, burnt oil, fat from a sheep's tail, nor tallow.  Nahum the Mede asserts that we may light with boiled tallow but the rabbis say that all types of tallow are not permitted to be used as a source of light on Shabbat.

In today's daf, the rabbis begin by arguing about what "kik" oil might be.  They move into a discussion about why certain wicks were prohibited.  Perhaps those prohibited wicks are ones where the wick does not hold the flame close; it spatters the flame which could fly and set off other fires.  One method of lighting is discussed at greater length than others: wrapping a permitted wick around a nut, which would not light, and then lighting the wick.

The rabbis discuss mixing a prohibited oil with a permitted oil.  The example used is molten fat or fish innards that dissolved and became like oil.  They also discuss how wicks might be made from the threads of old and tattered trousers of the priests and their belts.  These would be used at the Celebration of Drawing Water.  

Wicks for the chanukiah can be lit during the week but not on Shabbat, because a poor quality wick might need to be adjusted which is not permitted on Shabbat.  The rabbis continue their conversation about lights on Chanukah.  We learn that the mitzva of lighting those lights is between sunset and when thte traffic in the marketplace stops; however, if a light goes out we are not obliged to rekindle it.  The people of Tadmor stayed out latest, for they sold kindling to those who might realize that they were out of wood just before Shabbat.  Beit Shammai state that on the first night all eight lights are kindles and one less light is lit each subsequent night.  Beit Hillel state the opposite, explaining that we elevate and not diminish the sanctity of the mitzvah every day.  

The story of Chanukah is shared from Megillat Ta'anit.  The the Gemara teaches that when a spark comes from a hammer causing damage, the one who struck the hammer is liable.  When a camel is laden with flax passes through the public domain and the flax catches fire from a storekeeper's lamp, setting fire to the building, the storekeeper is liable because the lamp should have been inside the store and not in the public domain.  Rabbi Yehuda says that if the storekeeper's chanukiah caused the fire because it was placed outside of the store,  the storekeeper is not liable because it is a mitzvah to place the chanukiah ten handbreadths from the ground.  Forcing the storekeeper to keep it at exactly 10 handbreadths high and not higher is too big of a burden to place on the storekeeper.

Shabbat 19: More on What is Permitted and Restricted on Erev Shabbat

In their consideration of what must be restricted from Gentiles on erev Shabbat, the rabbis turn to kutach.  Kutach is made of milk, water, salt and bread crumbs.  It lasted for thirty days and was very pungent, often known as Babylonian kutach for it was not tolerated by many people in Eretz Yisrael.  The rabbis mention that the dog can be given food even if it brings that food from a private courtyard into the public domain.  This permits Gentiles to be given food for their dogs.

The rabbis speak to situations involving monetary matters and Gentiles before Shabbat begins.  Beit Shammai say that one can only give a letter to a Gentile whether or not a price has been set for that delivery if the Gentile can reach home before dark.  Beit Hillel say that it is enough for the Gentile to reach the wall beside the city where the Gentile is going.  Might this have to do with the location of a letter carrier?  

Turning to subjects of setting off to sea, the rabbis discuss when it is permitted to sail before Shabbat begins.  The rabbis agree that it should be alright to set sail several days before Shabbat.  Is it alright to set sail close to Shabbat to perform a mitzvah?  What about a short journey?  Wars should not be waged on other cities shortly before Shabbat, but they can continue fighting through Shabbat if the war has already begun, as proven by Deuteronomy (20:20), where a siege should be sustained "until it falls".  

Regarding laundering, we learn that people brought their clothes out to be laundered and that white garments were more difficult to wash than colours.  This is because it was permitted to bring white clothing to launder no longer than three days before erev Shabbat but coloured clothing could be brought in on that same day.  

We learn about cases where loading beams of the olive press and the circular wine press are decreed by Beit Shammai to be prohibited on erev Shabbat with the punishment of a sin-offering.  On Shabbat, there is no such decree and no liability for sin offerings.  

Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva argue about whether or not it is permitted to finish an action that has been started before Shabbat if it lasts into Shabbat.  Rabbi Elazar says that it is permitted to eat the honey of honeycombs that were crushed on erev Shabbat.

A new Mishna teaches that actions that are permitted to be completed on Shabbat must be mostly complete on erev Shabbat.  One may only roast meat, an onion, or an egg if there is enough time to roast them while it is still day.  One may only put dough to bake into bread in the oven on erev Shabbat or put a cake on the coals if there is enough time for the these items to form crusts while it is still day.  Rabbi Eliezer say that the bottom crust must harden.  Exceptional cases include lowering the Paschal lamb into the oven on erev Shabbat if it is also erev Passover.  Further, on Shabbat it was permitted to light the Beit HaMoked, Chamber of the Hearth, where a large fire and other sections were set aside at the northern wall to keep the priests warm and store the Temple keys. 

Outside of the Temple area, it is prohibited to light a fire on erev Shabbat unless there is enough time for the fire to be strong in most of the bonfire during the day.  Rabbi Yehuda says that it is  permitted to light a fire made of coals in any place even if it spreads on Shabbat.  This is because coals will no go out and no-one needs to tend to them on Shabbat.  

Shabbat 18: Actions Permitted on Erev Shabbat

We are introduced to the Gemara from our last new Mishna, which taught us which actions are permitted on erev Shabbat even though they might permit labour to continue into Shabbat.  The rabbis wonder about what those actions are - what is soaking; what is kneading, for example.  Some of the examples that the rabbis use to further explore the Mishna include putting an eye salve on an eye and a bandage on a wound, allowing wounds to heal all day on Shabbat. 

Beit Hillel state that utensils are at rest on Shabbat according to Torah law.  Sulfur and incense were sometimes placed on coals under silver vessels and clothes, however, because the utensils themselves do not perform an action.  On the other hand, animal traps perform the action of trapping, unless they are fish hooks or nets.  But is this argued by Beit Hillel or Beit Shammai?  Perhaps Beit Shammai also permits active utensils.  

The Gemara turns to questions about preparing cooked food, even simply boiling water.  Some of their discussion includes:

• the possibility that people might stoke the coals that heat water to a boil
• whether or not foods will be added to the pot
• whether or not the oven or pot it sealed
• one may roast meat, an onion and an egg on erev Shabbat if they are roasted directly on the coals

We learn that Beit Shammai say: One may only sell items to Gentiles on erev Shabbat (or any of the other actions mentioned in yesterday's Mishna).  This is elaborated upon and Beit Shammai is said to have argued that a person may not sell his object to a Gentile and lend it to him and loan him money and give him a gift unless there is sufficient time for the Gentile to reach his home during the day.  Beit Hillel say that these things are permitted if he can reach his house beside the wall of the place he is going.  Rabbi Akiva says that there must be enough time for him to exit the entrance of the Jewish person's home.  The rabbis argue about which opinion is that of Beit Hillel.

Shabbat 17: Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel: Disagreements and a Vote

We learn that an object can be ritually impure without transmitting ritual impurity to other people or things.  Any object over a grave becomes impure.  We are told that when a farmer passes and his ox goad was on his shoulder causing one side of the ox goad to cover the grave, the Sages deemed the ox goad to be impure due to the impurity of vessels that cover a corpse.

Another of the eighteen decrees that we have been discussing regards one who harvests grapes to take them to the press.  Shammai says that they become susceptible, and Hillel says that they have not, arguing that grapes would not be harvested using ritually pure vessels if they were susceptible to ritual impurity just by dripping juice.  And we can look to olives for similar rulings.  Shammai says "If you provoke me... I will decree impurity on the gathering of olives as well".  The argument became so heated that a sword was stuck in the ground and no-one was allowed to enter or exit without a vote.  This was said to be as difficult as day as the day that the golden calf was made.  Hillel was the Nasi but he was forced to sit before Shammai and Beit Shammai's vote carried.  The people did not accept the ruling from Hillel and Shammai but did accept it from their students.  

Tavi the bird hunter said that Shmuel said that the decree regarding the growths of teruma, produce grown from teruma that was planted in teh ground, the Sages also decreed that day.  Why? Rabbi Chanina said that a decree due to pure teruma i the hand of a non-priest Israelite.  Thus it would not benefit a person to bury their teruma in an effort to hide it from the priests.  More discussion ensues about the need to protect teruma for the priests.  

Teh Gemara askes about another decree.  Rabbi Chiyya bar Ami said in the name of Ulla that one who was carrying a purse with money in it on erev Shabbat - where it became dark while one was walking - Torah law permits one to continue carrying the purse in four cubit increments.  The Sages added that it is not permitted to carry in increments.  Instead one should give one's purse to a Gentile accompanying him.  This was issued that same day.

Another decree: The Sage Bali said that Avimi of Sanvata said that all decrees prohibiting their bread, oil, wine and daughters of Gentiles are combined to form one of the eighteen decrees.  The rabbis disagree regarding how many decrees would be left to enumerate if this were the case.  We learn that the rabbis forbid these things out of a fear of intermarriage between Jews and Gentile women, who might bring idol-worship into the Jewish community.  Further, we are told that Jewish children should be separated from non-Gentile children to avoid becoming accustomed to homosexual relationships.  There is no further commentary about this decree, other than noting that Gentile children are considered to be ritually impure from birth.  

A new Mishna discusses whether or not we can begin an action on erev Shabbat if we know that it will last into Shabbat.  Beit Shammai say that one may only soak dry ink in water and dry plants to produce dyes in water, and soak animal food to soften them in water if there is enough time for them to soak while it's still day and their soaking on Shabbat will have no effect.  Beit Hillel permit doing so.  

Beit Shammai say that one may place bundles of combed flax inside ovens on erev Shabbat if there is enough time to heat them before sundown.  One may only place wool into the dyer's kettle if there is enough time fro the wool to absorb the dye before sundown.  And Beit Hillel permit these actions.  

Beit Shammai say that one may put out animal traps if there is enough time to trap them before sundown.  Hillel permits this.  

Beit Shammai say that one may only sell to a Gentile on erev Shabbat , load a burden on his donkey, lift a burdenn on him if there is enough time for the Gentile to arrive at his destination before sundown.  Beit Hillel permit this.  

Beit Shammai say that one may not give skins to a Gentile tanner nor clothes to a Gentile launderer unless there is enough time for them to be completed before Shabbat.  Beit Hillel permit doing so.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says that the dynasty of Nesi'im from the house of Hillel, his ancestors, would give white clothes to a Gentile launderer at least three days before Shabbat.  Futher, both Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel agree that one may load the beam of the olive press onto the olives on erev Shabbat so that the squeezing of oil is done on Shabbat.  As well, both agreed that it was permitted to load the circular wine press to allow wine to be in production on Shabbat.

Shabbat 16: The Ritual Purity of Vessels of Different Materials, Water, and Samaritan Girls

The rabbis continue their discussion about metal, glass, wooden and leather vessels.  Different laws of ritual impurity apply to each type of vessel.  This is also dependance on on whether they have receptacles or are flat, whether they were ritually pure before broken, and how they might be reformed after having been broken.  Flat glass objects do not become impure at all.  Glass was decided to be distinct from other types of vessels, as the Sages used the principle: rabbinic ordinances after comparable Torah laws.

Rav Ashi says that glass vessels and earthenware vessels are similar because both should not become ritually impure from contact on their outer sides - their inner and outer sides look the same.  

Shimon ben Shatach, who brought us the ketuba, marriage contract, for women, also decreed impurity upon metal vessels.  The Gemara notes the Torah directive in Numbers (31:22-23): metal vessels are impure - gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin and lead, ie. anything that can be passed through fire or sprinkled with water to ritually purify.  

We are told of Shimon ben Shatach's sister, Shel Tziyyon or Shlomtziyyon the queen (married to King Alexander Yannai, following the Pharisees, ruling for nine years after her husband died which were considered the happiest years during the Second Temple period), whose vessels became impure for the wedding feast of her son.  The smith melded the broken vessels together to make new vessels, but the Sages judged that this was ineffective because the vessels will take on their previous impurity.

The rabbis explain that they are concerned that people will take short cuts rather than continue to properly purify their metal vessels.  Rava suggests that there was a decree to help the people remember that immersion on the same day is sufficient for a vessel to be purified.  It was not simply immersion but immersion and waiting until sunset that day.

We are told that several of the eighteen decrees were enumerated.  In another Mishna, we learn that one who places vessels under the drain pipe to collect rainwater are considered to hold drawn water.  This applies to stone, earth and dung vessels, small or large.  Only if the water leaks and flows into less than full mikvah does it disqualify that mikvah.  Beit Shammai says that this is true whether the vessels are left there intentionally or forgotten there.  Rabbi Meir says that they were counted in Chananya ben Chizkiya and Beit Shammai outnumbered Beit Hillel.  He says that Beit Shammai agree with Beit Hillel that the water is pure if the vessels are left in the courtyard and fill with rainwater.  Rabbi Yosei says that the dispute was not settled.

Rav Mesharshiya says that the Sages of the school of Rav say that Everyone agrees that if one places vessels in the courtyard before the rain begins, then the water is impure.  If one places the vessels in the courtyard while it is raining, the water is pure. 

Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak says that the decree that the daughters of the Kutim, Samaritans, are considered to have the status of menstruating women from their cradle.  This is because Samaritans did not accept that law that seeing menstrual blood in one's youth puts that girl into a state of ritual impurity.  The Samaritans did not accept that halacha.  Due to this the Sages assumed that some girls would see the blood of menstruation before their twelfth birthdays but would ignore those impurities, and so all Kutim girls were seen as ritually impure.

Our daf ends with another decree. We learned that all movable objects the width of an ox goad, a olng stick for directing plowing animals, transmit impurity.  This is because vessels could become impure if one side of the goad had been placed over a corpse and the other was over the vessels.  The impurity would be transferred due to the impurity of a tent over a corpse.

Shabbat 15: Hillel and Shammai Actually Not Far Apart; Sages on Ritual Impurity Before the Temple was Destroyed

The rabbis say that Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai actually came to a consensus.  They had spoken of eighteen matters and Beit Shammai disagreed, but after there was a vote where it was decided that they only actually disagreed in three matters. 

The first regards the kav of dough, the portion of bread that is put aside for a priest.  The rabbis decide that separating challah is not measured at two kav, as Hillel says, nor one kav, as Shammai says.  Instead it is one and a half kav that is separated.  

The second dispute is where Hillel says that a full hin, twelve log, of drawn water is required for a a mikvah, ritual bath, even if the water already there  had the status of drawn water.  He says that this is because one must follow the language of his teacher.  Shammai says that nine kav of water is enough to disqualify the mikvah.  The Rabbis decide that the halacha does not follow either of them.  Instead their decision wait until two weavers came from the Dung Gate in Jerusalem in the name of Shemaya and Avtalyon that three log of drawn water disqualify the mikvah.  

The third dispute between Hillel and Shammai regards women and menstruation.  Shammai says that a woman can claim a state of ritual impurity from the moment that she sees menstrual blood; she need not assume that her time of ritual impurity began earlier than she felt a flow.  Hillel says that a woman who sees blood is considered to be impure retroactively until the last time that she examined herself even if that happened days earlier - which would mean that anything she touched in between those times was ritually impure.  The rabbis decided that the principal is that examinations take place every twenty-four hours so that women are not forced to be retroactively ritually impure for very long.

Several other different opinions of Hillel and Shammai are discussed.  One of them notes the generations of Sages of influence before the destruction of the Temple:

• Yosei ben Yo'ezer and Yosei ben Yochanan 
• Yehosua ben Perachya, Nitai of Arbel - the Evil Kingdom ruled HaAretz 180 years
• Shemaya, Avtalyon - 100 years
• Hillel, Shammai - The decree on glass vessels was issued 80 years
• Shimon -
• Rabban Gamliel the Elder - Sanhedrin went into exile 40 years
• Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel who was killed - when the Temple was destroyed

The rabbis continue to speak about cases where there was dispute between our Hillel and Shammai.  Further, they are guessing at the the time ranges mentioned and the rabbis imagine why the status of ritual impurity would change at different times.  

Shabbat 13: The Guidelines of Ritual Purity

We learn about the separation of those who are deemed ritually impure from those who are deemed ritually pure.  These discussions include the zav and the am haaretz, ordinary person, and the menstruating woman and her husband.  Who can eat with whom?  Who can lie next to whom?  Do we trust people to be aware of the risks of sharing untithed food, or of touching when that is prohibited?

One disturbing is example is that of Ulla, who is said to have kissed his sisters' chests (or perhaps their hands) upon returning from Yeshiva study.  The rabbis debate about whether or not it is permitted to have any contact at all with forbidden relatives.

We are told the story of a woman whose husband was righteous in every way and yet died at "half his days".  She took his phylacteries to synagogues and study halls and asked the Sages how he could be taken in such a way. Only Eliyahu responded, explaining that because he ate, drank and slept with her with bodily contact but no relations, he was killed for that sin.  

This passage will be used as proof that women should not have any physical contacts with their husbands long after their periods have ended.  Even if the woman is in in dire need of physical comfort, her husband is not permitted to hold her or touch her for two weeks of the month.

A second Mishna teaches that Beit Shammai had more students than Beit Hillel.  They issued decrees  regarding eighteen matters in accordance with Beit Shammai's opinion.  

The Gemara first wishes to clarify whether or not we include the word "and" in one statement.  "And" suggests that we look at what is to come in addition to what was said before.  Steinsaltz helps us to understand the transmission of impurity with a chart:


 Source                                      Example                                   How it Transits Impurity

Ultimate source of ritual impurity	Corpse	Anything capable of becoming ritual impure is now a primary source of ritual impurity
Primary source of ritual impurity	Any person or vessel that came in contact with a corpse, leper, zav, dead creeping animal, carcass	Confers first degree ritual impurity status on any person, vessel or food
First degree ritual impurity/ Secondary source of ritual impurity	A person, vessel, or food that comes in contact with a dead creeping animal, zav, carcass, etc.	Confers second degree ritual impurity status on any foods/liquids and disqualifies non-sacred foods/liquids
Second degree ritual impurity	Foods/liquids that come in contact with first degree ritual impurity/ one who immersed self during the day, hands, the rest of the eighteen items with regard to which the decree was issued	Confers third degree ritual impurity status on consecrated food/liquids and disqualifies teruma
Third degree ritual impurity/only applies to teruma and consecrated items	Foods and liquids that come in contact with second degree ritual impurity	Teruma with this status is disqualified and it disqualifies consecrated foods/liquids
Fourth degree ritual impurity/ only applies to consecrated items	Foods and liquids that come in contact with third degree ritual impurity	Consecrated foods/liquids with this status are disqualified

The rabbis consider some examples based on the above chart.   

Shabbat 12: Carrying, Lice, Visiting, Candlelight on Shabbat

We are permitted to wear phylacteries if we began wearing them before erev Shabbat.  The rabbis suggest that one should be touching the phylacteries at all times to remind oneself that they are present.  This is like the High Priest who wears the tzitz, frontplate, and should be aware of it at all times.  Similarly, Chananya teaches that people must feel their clothes and empty all pockets at the nightfall of erev Shabbat to avoid inadvertent carrying.

We can't shake lice from our clothes nor read a book by candlelight which we could adjust.  Does this mean that we cannot shake our clothes during Shabbat during the day in case we kill the louse that we find?  Rabbi Eliezer suggests that killing the louse is the same as killing a camel, for killing is not permitted on Shabbat.  And perhaps the prohibition regarding reading because of adjusting the wick of a candle is actually about avoiding finding and then killing a louse at night.  Or perhaps we need to be able to tell the difference between men and women's clothing, which could be a problem in Mechoze where clothing was similar.  Farmers and villagers could easily differentiate their clothing by gender. 

Perhaps we cannot shake clothing to rid them of lice in the public domain to save their dignity.  Rabbi Nechemya said that one may not make an appiktoizin, a drug that induces vomiting, due to preserving human dignity.  The Tosefta say that one may squeeze a louse and throw it on Shabbat as long is one does not kill it.  Abba Shaul says that one may throw the louse as long as one does
not squeeze it.  There are more arguments shared about how to manage lice and whether that management is to be different from other days of the week. 

Beit Shammai say that we should not m'shaddechin, betroth, children on Shabbat nor agree to teach a child to read a sacred book or teach him a trade.  Nor may we comfort mourners nor visit the Shick on Shabbat.  Beit Hills permit all these activities because they are all connected to mitzvot.  On Shabbat we say different things when we visit.  Instead we should say that on Shabbat it is prohibited to cry out and ask for compassion because healing is soon coming.  Rabbi Meir adds that "The merit of Shabbat is capable of engendering compassion".

Different rabbis share many different things to say on Shabbat when visiting a person who is sick.  Rabbi Elazar was said to pray in Aramaic if the person did not know Hebrew: "May the all-Merciful remember you for peace".  We should wrap ourselves in a talit, prayer shawl, and sit below the sick person, as we learn that "G-d will support him on the bed of illness". 

The rabbis turn again to their conversation about reading by candlelight.  They consider whether or not a servant can examine the cups of oil lamps by candlelight.  A servant might be new and not be familiar with the cups/bowls.

Shabbat 11: Being Under the Rule of Others, Unintentional Breaches of Shabbat Halachot

We learn more about the words of Rava bar Mechasseya in the name of Rav Chama bar Gurya in the name of Rav:

• It is better to be under the yoke of Ishmael . than under the yoke of a stranger (the Romans)
• It is better to be ruled by a stranger and not by a Chabar (a Persian Zoroastrian fire priest)
• It is better to be under the rule of a Chabar and not under the rule of a Torah scholar, 
• It is better to be ruled by a Torah Scholar than under an orphan or a widow, for they are easily insulted and G-d promised to hear their cries and punish those who offend them
• It is preferable to suffer from any illness and not from an intestinal illness
• It is better not to suffer any pain even if terrible other than heart pain
• It is better to suffer a slight ache and not a headache
• It is better to suffer any evil and not an evil wife
• Even if all the seas were ink and the reeds near swamps were quills and the heavens would be parchment and the people were scribes, this would be insufficient to write all of the space of governmental authority (taken to mean 'what a government deals with')
• A fast is effective to help a bad dream like how fire burns chaff, especially on the day of the dream, and even on Shabbat

We are given a new Mishna, this time regarding halachot of Shabbat that might cause someone to transgress due to habit and routine.  The tailor cannot go out with his needle close to nightfall on erev Shabbat in caste he forgets he is carrying it and goes into the public domain after Shabbat begins.  The scribe cannot go out with his quill for the same reasons.  One may not shake his clothes on Shabbat to remove lice, and one may not read a book by candlelight to avoid adjusting the wick of the lamp.  However, the attendant sees where children are reading Torah by candlelight even on Shabbat while hi himself cannot read.  Similarly, the zav may not eat with his wife, the zava, even though they are both ritually impure because eating together may lead to more intimacy and they might become accustomed to sin.

The Gemara returns to the debate regarding being in one domain and drinking in another.  It is permitted to do this if one puts one's body into the secondary domain.  The question at hand: does this apply to the karmelit as well?  The rabbis argue whether this is simply a rabbinic decree, or whether it  might be prohibited only if one believes that this is done as a fence to discourage people from thinking that it is alright to behave leniently in public/private domains.

Returning to the Mishna, the rabbis wonder if it is "carrying" when a tailor's needle is simply stuck into his clothing on Shabbat.  The rabbis consider whether this is different from holding the needle in his hand.  Shouldn't a tailor have to hold the needle in a manner that is different than on his usual workday?  

And a zav may not go out on Shabbat with "his pouch that he ties to his organ in organ to absorb his emission".  If he goes out, he is exempt by Torah law but prohibited by rabbinic law.  If the zav goes out with his pouch accidentally on Shabbat, he is liable to bring a sin-offering.  We learn that a zav who sees two emissions is not yet liable to bring a sin-offering.  A zav needs the pouch so that his clothes will not get soiled, but also for purposes of knowing about his third emission so that he will know to count that as a ritually impure day.

Shabbat 10: Judgement and Bathing on Erev Shabbat

In yesterday's daf, we learned that if we have already begun a haircut, bath, meal or judgement on erev Shabbat, we need not stop that activity.  While discussing the meal, the rabbis turn to the question of timing - when does a meal begin.  The rabbis then suggest that the time for prayer is distinct just as the time for Torah is distinct.  We should not rush our Torah study to get to prayer.  And we should not rush our prayer for Torah study.

When considering judgement, the rabbis ask when it is appropriate to have a trial.  Court should adjourn at non, says Rav Sheshet  This is because we will avoid any drunkenness that might be caused by wine at lunch.  We then learn about a baraita that says: eating in the first hour of the morning, one hour after dawn, is when the Ludim eat - the are cannibals and ravenous.  Robbers eat at the second hour because they spend the night stealing and are hungry in the morning.  Heirs eat at the third hour because they are only concerned with their own appetites.  Workers and perhaps all others eat at the fourth hour.  Torah scholars eat at the sixth hour.

When considering the halachot regarding prayer in a bathhouse, the rabbis are at odds with each other.  Is it permitted to pray at all in a bathhouse if there are bathrooms there, and thus it is a disgusting place?  Is prayer limited to the entry room where people are clothed and it is permitted to say "shalom" to each other?  What if the bathhouse has not been used as a bathhouse yet - is prayer permitted?  The rabbis even wonder about saying certain words to describe G-d while they are in a bathhouse, for those words should not be associated with G-d's name in such a place.  

We learn about sharing a gift.  It is suggested that we should always inform others when we give them gifts.  The proof texts for this are G-d's sharing the gift of Shabbat with us and Moshe's glowing face after he received the gift of Torah.  This was said by Rava bar Mechasseya who said that Rav Chama bar Gurya said that Rav said it.  Other things that were recorded as said by the same people: 

• One should never distinguish one son from other sons, for Jacob gave two sela of fine wool to Joseph which led the brothers to be jealous which led to the Jewish people being enslaved in Egypt
• One should always seek and dwell in a city that has been settled in the recent past because it would have fewer sins, like when Lot told the angel that they were running to a city that was close, which means newly settled, and its sins were meagre

Our rabbis are so very careful to follow the logic of their own questions and arguments.  However, their questions are not comprehensive.  For example, the rabbis could have chosen to follow questions and debate about not just when a trial is appropriate regarding drunkenness, but about how different judges who are known to have longer trials should be encouraged to end those trials long before erev Shabbat.  

The questions that we ask are based on our own experiences, histories and assumptions.  If the group of rabbis in discussion were more diverse, different questions and possible answers would have been shared.  Our tradition is vast and strong but still limited by our human constraints.