עירובין 97:2 — Soncino English Talmud

Said Abaye: How did you explain our Mishnah? That it refers to danger from idolaters? Read them the final clause, R. SIMEON RULED: HE SHALL PASS THEM TO HIS FELLOW AND HIS FELLOW SHALL PASS THEM TO HIS FELLOW, would not this cause much greater publicity? A clause is wanting in our Mishnah, the proper reading being as follows: This applies to danger from idolaters but in the case of danger from highwaymen he carries them in small stages each of less than four cubits. R. SIMEON RULED: HE SHALL PASS THEM TO HIS FELLOW etc. On what principle do they differ? — One Master holds that it is preferable to carry them in stages of less than four cubits, for if you should say that he should pass them to his fellow and his fellow to his fellow, the desecration of the sabbath would be given undue publicity; while the other Master holds that it is preferable to pass them to one's fellow, for should you say that he shall carry them in stages of less than four cubits it might sometimes happen that he would be absent-minded and would in consequence carry them four cubits in a public domain. THE SAME PROCEDURE IS TO BE FOLLOWED IN THE CASE OF A SON OF HIS. How does his child come to be there? — The school of Manasseh taught: This is a case where his mother bore him in the field. And what is intended by the expression. EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE AS MANY AS A HUNDRED? — That, though the movement from hand to hand is rather a hardship to him, this procedure is nevertheless to be preferred. R. Judah RULED: A MAN MAY PASS A JAR. But does not R. Judah agree with what we learned: Cattle and objects may move only as far as the feet of their owner? — Resh Lakish citing levi the elder replied: Here we are dealing with a case where he emptied the contents from one jar into another, R. Judah following his view, expressed elsewhere, that water is deemed to have no substance, for we learned: R. Judah exempts water because it has no substance. Then what could be the meaning of THIS MUST NOT MOVE? — That which is within THIS MUST NOT BE MOVED FURTHER THAN THE FEET OF ITS OWNER. Might it not be suggested that R. Judah was heard to hold his view only where it was absorbed in dough; was he, however, heard to hold the same view where it had an independent existence? Surely. if where water is mixed with the contents of a pot R. Judah rules that it does not lose its existence, would it lose it where it had an independent existence? For was it not taught: R. Judah ruled: Water and salt lose their identity in dough but not in a pot on account of its broth? — Rather, explained Raba, we are here dealing with the case of a jar that had acquired a place for the Sabbath and that of water that had not acquired a place. so that the identity of the jar is lost In the water; as we have learnt: If a man carries out a living person in a bed he is exempt even in respect of the bed, since the bed is of secondary importance; if a man carries out in a vessel food-stuffs less than the forbidden quantity he is exempt even in respect of the vessel, since the vessel is only of secondary importance. R. Joseph raised an objection: R. Judah ruled: ‘When in a caravan a man, may pass a jar to his fellow and his fellow to his fellow’, which implies, does it not, that only when in a caravan is this permitted but not otherwise? — The fact rather is, explained R. Joseph, that what we learned in our Mishnah referred also to a caravan. Abaye explained: When in a caravan the device is permitted even when both the jar and the water had acquired a place for the Sabbath, but when one is not in a caravan the device is allowed only where the jar alone had acquired a place for the Sabbath but not the water. R. Ashi explained: Here we are dealing with a jar and water both of which were ownerless, And whose [view is expressed in what] THEY SAID TO HIM? — That of R. Johanan b. Nuri who holds that ownerless objects acquire their place for the Sabbath . And what could be the meaning of THIS MUST NOT BE MOVED FURTHER THAN THE FEET OF ITS OWNER?- they must not be moved further than vessels that have an owner. MISHNAH. IF A MAN WAS READING IN A SCROLL ON A THRESHOLD AND THE SCROLL ROLLED OUT OF HIS HAND, HE MAY ROLL IT BACK TO HIMSELF. IF HE WAS READING IT ON THE TOP OF A ROOF AND THE SCROLL ROLLED OUT OF HIS HAND, HE MAY, BEFORE IT REACHED TEN HANDBREADTHS FROM THE GROUND, ROLL IT BACK TO HIMSELF. BUT AFTER IT HAD REACHED THE TEN HANDBREADTHS HE MUST TURN IT OVER WITH ITS WRITING DOWNWARDS. R. JUDAH RULED: EVEN IF IT WAS REMOVED FROM THE GROUND BY NO MORE THAN A THREAD'S THICKNESS HE MAY ROLL IT BACK TO HIMSELF. R. SIMEON RULED: EVEN IF IT TOUCHED THE ACTUAL GROUND HE MAY ROLL IT BACK TO HIMSELF, SINCE NO PROHIBITION THAT IS DUE TO SHEBUTH RETAINS ITS FORCE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY WRITINGS. GEMARA. What kind of THRESHOLD is one to imagine? If it be suggested that the threshold was a private domain, and that in front of it was a public domain, and that no preventive measure was enacted against the possibility that the entire scroll might fall down and that one might then carry it in,^ᵃ^ᵇ^ᶜ^ᵈ^ᵉ^ᶠ^ᵍ^ʰ^ⁱ^ʲ^ᵏ^ˡ^ᵐ^ⁿ^ᵒ^ᵖ^ᵠ^ʳ^ˢ^ᵗ^ᵘ^ᵛ^ʷ^ˣ^ʸ^ᶻ^ᵃᵃ^ᵃᵇ^ᵃᶜ^ᵃᵈ^ᵃᵉ^ᵃᶠ^ᵃᵍ^ᵃʰ^ᵃⁱ^ᵃʲ^ᵃᵏ^ᵃˡ^ᵃᵐ^ᵃⁿ^ᵃᵒ^ᵃᵖ^ᵃᵠ^ᵃʳ^ᵃˢ^ᵃᵗ^ᵃᵘ^ᵃᵛ^ᵃʷ^ᵃˣ^ᵃʸ^ᵃᶻ^ᵇᵃ^ᵇᵇ^ᵇᶜ^ᵇᵈ^ᵇᵉ^ᵇᶠ^ᵇᵍ^ᵇʰ^ᵇⁱ^ᵇʲ^ᵇᵏ^ᵇˡ^ᵇᵐ

^ᵃnote:So MS.M. Cur. edd. add., ‘to him
^ᵇnote:Lit., ‘in what’.
^ᶜnote:And thus enhance the danger.
^ᵈnote:R Simeon and the first Tanna.
^ᵉnote:The first Tanna according to the emendation of the Mishnah just given.
^ᶠnote:R. Simeon
^ᵍnote:Lit., ‘what does he want’.
^ʰnote:Since the possible desecration of the Sabbath is thereby avoided.
^ⁱnote:Bezah 37b, sc. even a person who borrowed them may not lead or carry them beyond the limits within which their owner may move.
^ʲnote:Every one of the men to whom the jar is passed in turn.
^ᵏnote:Each person to whom the jar is passed in succession.
^ˡnote:Of his own and that could, therefore, be carried as far as he himself may go.
^ᵐnote:Lit., ‘that he said’.
^ⁿnote:Under certain conditions.
^ᵒnote:it is not restricted, therefore, to the limits of its owner's movements.
^ᵖnote:Bezah 37a.
^ᵠnote:From being restricted, like spices and salt,to the limits of the movements of its original owner.
^ʳnote:That was borrowed by one woman from another for her dough.
^ˢnote:Since R. Judah agrees that the jar itself must not be moved beyond the limits allowed to its owner.
^ᵗnote:In the objection of the Rabbis.
^ᵘnote:Presumably the JAR.
^ᵛnote:I.e., the water.
^ʷnote:That water is deemed to have no substance.
^ˣnote:Where its independent existence is completely lost.
^ʸnote:As in the case of the water in the jar under discussion.
^ᶻnote:Lit., ‘now’.
^ᵃᵃnote:1.e., where it is mixed with other food.
^ᵃᵇnote:Bezah 39a.
^ᵃᶜnote:Which, like the water, is a liquid. Much less then in a jar in which the water alone is contained.
^ᵃᵈnote:When the Sabbath began.
^ᵃᵉnote:If, for instance, it was drawn on the Sabbath from a river. Such water (cf. supra 46a) may be carried by anyone as far as his own Sabbath limits.
^ᵃᶠnote:Which is only of secondary importance serving as it does as a mere container for the water.
^ᵃᵍnote:Which is here of primary importance, and which may be carried by anyone (cf. supra n. 12) within his own limits.
^ᵃʰnote:On the Sabbath.
^ᵃⁱnote:From the penalties for desecration of the Sabbath by carrying.
^ᵃʲnote:i.e., not only in respect of the living person who is deemed to be carrying himself.
^ᵃᵏnote:Being used for the sake of the person in it only.
^ᵃˡnote:To the person in it who is of primary importance. As no penalty is incurred for carrying out the man so is none incurred for carrying out the bed.
^ᵃᵐnote:Not only in respect of the foodstuffs which were less than the forbidden quantity.
^ᵃⁿnote:Whose entire use is due to the foodstuffs in it.
^ᵃᵒnote:To the food (cf. supra n. 19 mut. mut.). Similarly in the case of the jar and the water, since the latter is of primary, and the former is only of secondary importance, the former's identity is completely lost in that of the latter and may, therefore, be carried to the same limits.
^ᵃᵖnote:Sc. in abnormal conditions where water has to be carried long distances and where one has no other alternative.
^ᵃᵠnote:How then is this to be reconciled with R. Judah's ruling in our Mishnah?
^ᵃʳnote:Lit., , ‘ when’.
^ᵃˢnote:The difficulty raised by R. Joseph.
^ᵃᵗnote:Of passing the jar from hand to hand.
^ᵃᵘnote:Hefker so that whosoever picks them up acquires them and may, therefore, carry them to the ends of his own Sabbath limits.
^ᵃᵛnote:Supra 45b.
^ᵃʷnote:Since the jar and the water were ownerless.
^ᵃˣnote:Two thousand cubits in all directions.
^ᵃʸnote:Of Scripture.
^ᵃᶻnote:Into a public domain.
^ᵇᵃnote:If one of its ends remained in his hand (v. Gemara infra).
^ᵇᵇnote:Since it was still outside the public domain which extends only to a level of ten handbreadths above the ground.
^ᵇᶜnote:And one of its ends is thus within the public domain from which it is forbidden to transfer an object into any other domain.
^ᵇᵈnote:Lit., ‘on the writing’, to protect it as much as is possible from the sun, dust or rain.
^ᵇᵉnote:So T.J., Alfasi, MS.M. and cur. edd. infra 98a. Cur. edd. here ‘needles’.
^ᵇᶠnote:A Rabbinical prohibition in connection with the Sabbath (v. Glos.), such as the rolling back of a scroll where one of its ends was still in the reader's hands. Pentateuchally this is permitted but as a preventive measure against the possibility of carrying back the scroll where it was wholly in the public domain, a Rabbinical prohibition was imposed.
^ᵇᵍnote:Lit., ‘stands’.
^ᵇʰnote:I.e., where their preservation or honour is at stake.
^ᵇⁱnote:One, for instance, that was no less than ten handbreadths high and four handbreadths wide.
^ᵇʲnote:Into which one end of the scroll had rolled.
^ᵇᵏnote:Forbidding to roll it back to the reader in the private domain who was still holding its other end.
^ᵇˡnote:On the ground of the public domain.
^ᵇᵐnote:Back into the private domain, and thus incur the obligation of a sin-offering.