It is not permitted to soak chiltith (asafetida) in lukewarm water. [Chiltith is hot and commonly eaten in cold places. It is not permitted to soak it on Shabbath because it gives the appearance of a mundane activity.]; but it is permitted to put it in vinegar. And it is not permitted to soak horse-beans [in a vessel to separate their psoleth (unwanted matter), which floats to the top], and it is not permitted to rub them [with one's hands so that the psoleth falls, this being borer.] But it is permitted to place them into a sieve or into a (perforated) basket, [even though the psoleth sometimes falls through the holes and is sieved of itself.] It is not permitted to sieve hay in a sieve [They would make hay from straw by cutting it with threshing sledges, the tails of the stalks becoming hay], and it may not be placed on a height so that the chaff descend. [The chaff is not suitable for animal food, and they would generally sieve the hay to extract it.] But he may place it (the hay) on a sieve or into the manger, [even if the chaff fall of itself; for "something which is not intended is permitted," as per R. Shimon.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
חלתית – [assa foetida]. This is its name in Arabic, and it is hot and it is the custom to eat it in cold places, and we do not dissolve it [the resin of assa foetida] on the Sabbath because it appears like an act of the weekdays.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shabbat
Introduction
The mishnah deals with food preparations that may not be done in a normal manner on Shabbat but may be performed by doing them slightly differently.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
את הכרשינין – pour water in a utensil to separate their refuse , for the refuse floats to the top.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shabbat
One may not soak hiltith in warm water, but he may put it into vinegar. Hiltith is an herb which was used both as a spice and as medicine. It is forbidden to soak it in warm water on Shabbat, but one may put it in vinegar and dip her food in it. The prohibition is explained in either of two ways: 1) it looks like something that is only done during the week; 2) it is medicinal and therefore prohibited.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
ולא שפין אותן – by hand to remove their refuse for this is "בורר"/sifting.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shabbat
And one may not soak leeks, nor rub them, but he may put them into a sieve or a basket. Above in 1:5 Bet Hillel allowed one to begin soaking leeks before Shabbat and leave them to soak over Shabbat. Here we see that all agree that they may not be soaked on Shabbat itself, and according to commentators, even putting water over them is prohibited. The prohibition is “separating” putting water over them causes the waste parts to float and separate from the leeks. Similarly, they may not be rubbed in order to remove the inedible parts. This is prohibited under the category of “threshing” separating the wheat from the chaff. However, one may put them into a sieve or basket, even though this also will sometimes cause the separation of the inedible parts. The difference is that in this case these parts separate on their own, and hence she has not performed a forbidden act.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
אבל נותן לתוך הכברה – and even though their refuse falls sometimes through the holes of the sieve and it becomes selected on its own.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shabbat
One may not sift straw through a sieve, nor put it on a high place, for the chaff to drop down, but one may take it up in a sieve and put it into the trough. One may not sift stubble through a sieve; sifting is one of the 39 prohibited labors listed in 7:2. Even though that mishnah is dealing with separating the wheat from the chaff, and here we are dealing with separating straw for an animal from dirt, it is still essentially the same activity. One also may not put the stubble in a high place so that the dirt blows away, because this is “separating”. However, one may pick up a bunch of straw with a sieve and put it in front of an animal’s trough, even though this may also cause the dirt to separate. The key difference is that this is not the direct intention of the activity.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
התבן – that they would make from the straw/stubble and they would cut it with a threshing sledge and each tail of the ears of corn would be made into straw.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
מוץ – this is old upper ears of corn/spike and it is not fit for an animal’s eating and we sift it in a sieve so that the chaff will fall.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
אבל נוטל בכברה ונותן לתוך האבוס – and even though the chaff falls on its own, since it is a thing that one doesn’t intend to happen, it is permissible according to Rabbi Shimon.
