Writs of indebtedness are not written on Chol Hamoed, [since they can be written afterwards.] And if he does not believe him [and does not want to lend him money without such a writ, and the debtor needs the money] or if he [the scribe] does not have what to eat, he writes it [and he takes his wage, this being permitted to one who, otherwise, would not have what to eat.] And not one letter is corrected, even in the scroll of the azarah (the Temple court), [which the high-priest read on Yom Kippur, even though this is a communal need]. R. Yehudah says: One may write tefillin and mezuzoth for himself [to fulfill the mitzvah, but not to sell or to rent], and he may spin tcheleth (the purple-blue thread) on his thigh for his tzitzith [by placing it on his thigh and rubbing it with his hand so that it is spun of itself. But not with his hand between his fingers and not with a spindle as he does on a weekday. The halachah is that one may spin tcheleth for his garment both with a spindle or with a stone.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
אין כותבין שטרי חוב במועד – since one can write it after the Festival.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Moed Katan
Introduction
Most of this mishnah continues to deal with writing on the festival.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
ואם אינו מאמינו – and he doesn’t want to lend him without a document but if the borrower needs money, we write it [during the Intermediate Days of the Festival].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Moed Katan
They may not write loan documents during the festival; but if he [the creditor] does not trust him or he does not have food to eat, he may write. Loan documents may not be written during the festival, because one can lend money without a document, using witnesses to secure the loan. The mishnah immediately lists two major exceptions. If the creditor does not trust the borrower enough to lend him money without a document, then they may write a document. The rabbis considered it important enough for the borrower to be able to secure the loan that they allowed the document to be written during the festival. The second exception is interpreted in two different ways. The Jerusalem Talmud interprets it to refer to the borrower if the borrower needs a loan so that he can afford to eat, the document can be written. The problem with this interpretation is that if the lender trusts the borrower, then he doesn’t need a document, and if he doesn’t trust him, then the mishnah has already stated that he may write the document. Due to these difficulties, the Babylonian Talmud interprets the clause to refer to the scribe. If he needs his wages in order to eat during the festival, they may have him write the document.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
או שאין לו – for the scribes [lacks] for what to eat, he should write it and take his compensataion, for the fee for work for one who has no food to eat is permitted.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Moed Katan
They may not write [Torah] scrolls, tefillin and mezuzot during the festival, nor may they correct [even] a single letter, even in the [ancient] Temple-scroll. We might have thought that since Torah scrolls, tefillin and mezuzot are sacred objects, a scribe could write them during the festival. The mishnah rules otherwise even holy objects cannot be written on the festival. One cannot even fix one letter in a scroll, even in the “ancient Temple scroll,” the scroll which was kept in the Temple from which other scrolls were copied.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
ואפילו בספר העזרה – The Torah scroll that the High Priest reads from on Yom Kippur, and even though it is necessary for the community.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Moed Katan
Rabbi Judah says: a man may write tefillin and mezuzot for himself. Rabbi Judah allows one to write a personal set of tefillin or a mezuzah for personal use, but he agrees with the previous opinion that a scribe may not write these documents in order to sell them. The problem, according to Rabbi Judah, is not inherent in the writing itself. The problem with writing is when it becomes a “craft” done by a professional.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
לעצמו – to fulfill the commandment, but not to see or rent out.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Moed Katan
And one may spin on his thigh the blue-wool for his fringe. The mishnah allows one to spin tzitzit (fringes on the corner of one’s garment) but only for personal usage, while the garment is resting on one’s thigh. He may not put the threads onto a spinning wheel to spin the tzitzit, the way this is normally done. Again, in order to distinguish something from the way it is done normally, the rabbis demanded it be done differently on the festival.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
ועווה על ירכו תכלת – that he places the cord on his thigh and rubs with his hand and it is spun by itself, but not by his hand between his fingers, nor by a spindle in the manner that he might do on a weekday. And the Halakha is that one a person spins tekhelet/the thread of blue for his clothing whether with a spindle or a stone.
