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.
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