The rabbis look our last Mishna's statement about not wearing a sandal on only one foot unless there is a wound. Which foot would wear the sandal? Wouldn't the sandal help one avoid pain? When a person is seen with one sandal and is in pain, no-one would worry that a person would be carrying the other shoe.
Rav Huna says that the sandal is worn on the foot with the wound and Chiyya bar Rav says that it worn the healthy foot. Chiyya is not worried about people thinking he is carrying the other shoe because they will assume that he left it at home.
The rabbis discuss how shoes might be put on, similarly to how tefillin are put on. Rabbi Yochanan say that this means that we apply them to the left arm. The Gemara says that the right shoe is put on first. Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak says that righteous people put on the right shoe, leave it untied, put on the left shoe, tie it, and then tie the right shoe.
The Gemara discusses feet for a while. The right foot takes precedence. We put that shoe on first and take it off last so that it remains on the one's foot longer than the left. We wash the right foot first. We spread oil on the right foot first. And, by the way, if we spread oil on our bodies, we begin with our heads because it is "the king of all one's limbs".
Our Mishna says that we cannot go out with tefillin on Shabbat. This is to ensure that we do not carry them in our hands in the public domain, even accidentally. The rabbis discuss what might be the punishment for this. They also consider whether tefillin might be worn as a garment or ornament.
Our last Mishna also teaches that we can only go out with an amulet when made by an expert. Rav Pappa says this means that the amulet does not need to be proven effective. The Mishna had not mentioned efficacy. The Sages discussed this in a Tosefta. An effective amulet is one that healed a person three times, whether the amulet is written or made of herbal roots and whether it healed a a sick person or one who was dangerously ill. These are all permitted out on Shabbat.
An amulet is permitted when one has epilepsy and when one has never fallen due to epilepsy but is afraid of contracting epilepsy. It can be tied and untied in the public domain as long as it was not tied to a ring or bracelet while in the public domain.
We are introduced to another set of opinions. A baraita said that an effective amulet was one that healed three people as one. The Gemara says that this means that it must have healed three different people with three different illnesses. Rav Pappa agrees that one who created such amulets would be considered an expert. However the amulet itself might not be proven effective. How do we figure out which amulets are considered to be truly effective and which amulet makers are true experts?
The Sages wonder whether amulets have an element of sanctity or not. Can they be rescued from fire on Shabbat? We cannot do so because the the blessings and the amulets might carry the letters of holy names and matters of the Torah, they are not close enough to Torah derived to warrant that action. If there are holy words on the amulet, then like a vessel, these parts can be removed from the object.
If one believes that an amulet is holy, one will need to remove the amulet when going to the bathroom. It's possible that one will carry the amulets more than four cubits in the public domain when they leave the bathroom. It is argued that because this was not mentioned in the Mishna, amulets are not holy. Or, the Gemara insists, we may be speaking about amulets made of herbal roots that have no sanctity.
A baraita taught that both a written amulet and an amulet of herbal roots are equal regarding halacha. Thus perhaps we are thinking of a person who is dangerously ill. This person is permitted to enter the bathroom with the amulet, even if it desecrates the name of G-d. In the same baraita the halacha applies to both a sick person an a person who is close to death. Do they all share the same status?
Another opinion is that the amulet heals and though one holds it in his hand, one may go out with it. When considering healing there is no difference between an amulet hanging from one's neck or in one's hand. Our next daf will counter this, as well.
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