If one went outside the tchum, even one cubit, he may not enter (the tchum). [He has only four cubits on either side. And even though these four cubits are "swallowed up" within the tchum of the city, we do not say "once he has entered, he has entered," for he holds that the "swallowing up" of t'chumin is of no account.] R. Eliezer says: (If he went outside) two (cubits), he may enter; three, he may not enter. [R. Eliezer is consistent with his view (4:5): "And he, in the middle"; i.e., at the end of two thousand cubits, he has four cubits: two on one side, within the tchum, and two on the other side, outside the tchum. Therefore, if he is standing in the second cubit (outside the tchum), he may enter. For the "swallowing up" of t'chumin is of account. The halachah is not in accordance with R. Eliezer.] If darkness descended upon one outside the tchum [i.e., If he were on the road, and darkness descended upon him outside the tchum], even one cubit, he may not enter. [For he did not acquire habitation in his place, having shown that he did not wish to do so; and he did not acquire habitation in the city, there being more than two thousand cubits between himself and the city. Therefore, he has only four cubits, as one who has left the tchum.] R. Shimon says: Until fifteen cubits [Not precisely, but also a little more or less. (Some interpret it as precisely fifteen. I have not been able to construe this well)]; for the surveyors [those who measure the t'chumin of cities and make a sign for the end of the tchum] do not measure exactly, because of those who err. [They do not mark the tchum exactly at the end of two thousand cubits, but within that distance, because of those who err, not recognizing the marking and sometimes unknowingly going beyond it and returning. Because of this, they (the surveyors) always marked within the two thousand, so that these fifteen cubits are found to be within the tchum. And because he (one who went beyond that limit) did so in error, he was permitted to return; and they were not stringent with him as they were with one who went outside the tchum, who should have taken heed not to do so. The halachah is not in accordance with R. Shimon.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Eruvin
אפילו אמה אחת לא יכנס – and he doesn’t have anything other than four cubits from here and four cubits from there, and even though his four cubits is enclosed within the [Sabbath] limits of the city, we do not say that since he arrived, he arrived, for he holds that the enclosure of Sabbath limits isn’t anything.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Eruvin
Introduction
The first section of this mishnah deals with someone who goes beyond the Shabbat limit without having permission to do so. The second mishnah deals with someone who is just outside the city’s Shabbat limits on Friday when dusk comes. In both cases the issue at hand is may he enter the Shabbat limit after Shabbat has begun.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Eruvin
שתים יכנס – Rabbi Eliezer, according to his reasoning who said, that he is in their middle, for at the end of the two-thousand [cubits], he has four cubits – two from this side within the [Sabbath] limit and two from that side at the end of the [Sabbath] limit; therefore, if he would stand in the second cubit, he could enter for the enclosure/absorption of [Sabbath] limits matters, but the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Eliezer.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Eruvin
One who went out beyond his Shabbat limit, even one cubit may not re-enter. Rabbi Eliezer says: [if he went] two cubits [beyond his Shabbat limit] he may re-enter, three cubits he may not re-enter. According to the first opinion in the mishnah, once someone goes beyond his Shabbat limit, he may not come back inside the border. He may now move only four cubits in each direction. Rabbi Eliezer holds that if he is two cubits or less outside the border, he may come back in. According to Rabbi Eliezer a person can always walk two cubits in each direction (above mishnah five) and therefore he can come back into the border. However, if he is more than two cubits outside the border he may not come back.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Eruvin
מי שהחשיך – that he was coming from the path and it became dark for him outside the [Sabbath] limits.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Eruvin
One who was overtaken by dusk when only one cubit [outside the Shabbat limit] may not enter [the Shabbat border]. Rabbi Shimon says: even if he was fifteen cubits away he may enter since the surveyors do not measure exactly on account of those who err. If the person is not within the Shabbat border at dusk, he may not enter after Shabbat begins, even if he is only one cubit outside the border. If he intended for that place to be his “Shabbat place” then he may walk 2000 cubits in all directions, but he may not enter the city. The Talmud Yerushalmi explains that Rabbi Eliezer also disagrees with this clause and holds that if he is within two cubits of the border, he may enter. Rabbi Shimon holds that even if he is fifteen cubits outside of the border, he still may enter because when the surveyors set up their marks of Shabbat limits, they do not measure precisely. This is explained in two different ways. One explanation is that the surveyors leave fifteen cubits extra so that if people take a few steps beyond the Shabbat limit, they can come back. The other explanation is that the surveyors themselves make mistakes and these mistakes are typically up to fifteen cubits.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Eruvin
לא יכנס – because he did not acquire a Sabbath resting place in his place because he did not reveal his intention that he wanted to acquire a Sabbath resting place in his place. But in the city, he did not acquire a Sabbath resting place because between him and the city there is more than two-thousand cubits, therefore, he has nothing other than four cubits according to the law of “he who went outside the Sabbath limits.”
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Bartenura on Mishnah Eruvin
עד ט"ו אמה – not exactly, for the same law applies a little bit less or a little bit more. But there are those who interpret fifteen [cubits] exactly, and I don’t know how to reconcile this well.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Eruvin
המשוחות – those who measure the [Sabbath] limits (i.e., the surveyors) for the cities and make a sign at the end of the [Sabbath] limit, they do not measure to make the sign of two-thousand exactly but mark within the limits in order to allow for mistakes (see Talmud Eruvin 52b) who do not recognize the sign and sometimes they go out further than it, and they are not paying attention to it; because of this, it is was customary always to contract within the two-thousand, so that it would be that these fifteen cubits are within the [Sabbath] limits and since this individual was the victim of an accident, we permit him to enter and we are not stringent with him, for just as we are stringent with someone who left outside of the [Sabbath] limits and there, he had to be careful to pay attention that he should not leave, but the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Shimon.
