Shabbat 99: Throwing re: a Pit, a Bank, a Boulder and a Column

Beginning with recognition of the skilled and wise work that women did in their spinning of goat's dyed hair for the Tabernacle, the Gemara moves into a discussion of the wagons which carried the beams of the Tabernacle.  The careful and accurate measurements (in cubits) of the width of the wagon and beams.  One of their considerations is the size of the road in the public domain, which is sixteen cubits.   The rabbis make note of the space required for two wagons side by side plus space for a Levite to stand (to right any beams that fell out of place).

A new Mishna teaches us about the bank surrounding a pit.  If the bank and the boulder that are ten handbreadths high and four handbreadths wide, one who take an object from them to the public domain and/or one who places an object on top of them is liable for carrying from one domain to another.  If the height or width of the pit or boulder is smaller, one is exempt because those protrusions are not legally distinct from the surrounding public domain.

First the Gemara asks why we need to learn about the bank of a pit and a boulder; why not just the pit and boulder?  Rabbi Yochanan said that a pit and its bank join together to create ten handbreadths.  From the bottom to the top of the pit might be ten handbreadths - in this case, it is considered a private domain.  If the pit in a public domain is ten handbreadths deep and four wide, we cannot fill water from it on Shabbat because the pit itself is a private domain, and carrying water from the private to the public domain on Shabbat is not allowed.

If they create a partition around it that is ten handbreadths high, everything inside of the partition is considered to be private, and one standing within the partition may take water from the pit.  One may only drink water from the pit on Shabbat if one inserts one's head and most of one's body into the well.

Rabbi Mordechai brings a new dilemma to Rava which is discussed for some time.  What if there is a column in the public domain that is ten handbreadths high and four handbreadths wide and one threw an object that lands on top of the column?  Is lifting from the public domain and placing in the private domain done in prohibited ways and thus one is liable?  Or because the object comes from an exempt domain, is the thrower not liable?  The airspace of the public domain is an exempt domain when it is ten handbreadths from the ground.  The rabbis do not see that this is a problem, noting that the Mishna named it as prohibited.  Rabbi Mordechai wonders if a needle placed on such a pole might be different, or if we are discussing the karmelit.  

The rabbis further debate issues of different measurements and domains regarding the forbidden actions of throwing, carrying, etc. on Shabbat.  Examples are introduced that include digging out a pit.