Shabbat 54: More on Animals on Shabbat: Calling Out Bad Behaviour

In our last Mishna we learned that ewes may go out kevulot.  This is when a female animal's tail is tied down so that a male animal cannot mount her.  The rabbis suggest that the word kavul means "does not produce fruit".  This is the name of a place, as well.  Land that cannot produce fruit might be called mechabela, bound shut.  

A new Mishna teaches that a camel may not go out with a saddlecloth tied only to its tail on Shabbat, nor may it go out with its legs bound.  Other animals cannot be bound in this way, either.  We cannot tie camels to each other and pul the lead camel thus pulling the others.  We are permitted to place the ropes tied to each camel on our hands and pull them al as long as the ropes are not intertwined with each other.

The Gemara notes Tosefta's comments: camels may not go out with saddlecloths tied to their tails.  They must be tied to tails and humps so that they will not fall off.  Rabba bar Rav Huna says that a camel may go out with a saddlecloth tied to its afterbirth.  It will not be detached by the animal for that would be painful.  

Rav Yehuda says that akud is binding an animal's foreleg and hind leg to each other, like Isaac.  Ragul is tying the lower foreleg to the upper foreleg of an animal so that it could not run away. The rabbis argue about the exact meanings of these terms. The Gemara teaches a reason for not tying camels to each other: it looks like one is going to the market to sell merchandise or to deliver a caravan of camels.  Shabbat cannot be seen as a day where these things are permitted.  The intertwining of ropes refers to a concern about mixing diverse kinds and a prohibition against holding a rope with more than one handbreadth hanging below one's hand.

We are introduced to a second Mishna at the start of amud (b).  It teaches that a donkey cannot go out with the saddlecloth when it is not tied to its back, nor with a bell even if it is plugged to prevent it from ringing, nor with a ladder that is around its neck, nor with a strap that is around its leg.  Roosters cannot go out with strings and not with straps on their feet (demonstrating ownership).  Rams may not go out with a small wagon under their tails to keep them from being damaged.  Ewes may not go out chanunot, calves cannot go out with a gimon, muzzel or sack for feed, cows may not go out with a kupar, skin of a hedgehog.  Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya's cow would go out on Shabbat with a strap between its horns against the will of the Sages.

Steinsaltz's notes suggest that the rabbis might have been referring to Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya's wife going out with something prohibited on Shabbat when they speak about his cow.  This would help people from talking about her transgression.  

Other prohibitions are done to prevent the animals' strides, to prevent injury, to prevent vessels from breaking, and to keep animals warm once we taken from them what we need.  Rav Chisda suggest that keeping a ewe warm is treatment  for an Exilarch rather than for a shorn sheep.   We learn a story about the boys, Rav Pappa bar Shmuel and Rav Chisda discussing this with Rav Nachman.  Rav Nachman says that a ewe in labour provided with oiled woollen cloths placed on their heads and wombs  is like turning the animal in to his wife Yalta who descended from the house of the Exilarch.  

After continuing to consider why our last Mishna suggested that we should treat animals in these different ways.  We are reminded that Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya would tithe 12,000 calves each year as he had 120,000 calves born in his herds annually.  So the one cow mentioned was actually his neighbour's.  His name was associated with the cow because he did not stand up and decry his neighbour's behaviour.  

At the very end of our daf, we learn that Rav, Rabbi Chanina, Rabbi Yochanan (or Rabbi Yonatan) and Rav Chaviva taught that must protest the sinful conduct of people in one's town.  If not, one is apprehended for their sins.  Similarly, if one does not protest the sinful conduct of the world and one has the power to do so, one is apprehended for the sins of the world.  Rav Papp added to this that the Exilarch had extra responsibility.  If he did not decry the sins of the whole world, all of his family members would be apprehended.  This is because his authority covers the entire Jewish world.