Commentaire sur Shabbat 5:5

במה בהמה יוצאה – since a person is commanded regarding the resting of his animal on the Sabbath and anything that guards through it the animal is not like a burden and anything that does not guard it is like a burden.

Introduction Exodus 23:12 reads, “Six days you shall do your work and on the seventh day you shall cease, in order that your ox and donkey will rest.” From here we see that on Shabbat a Jew may not have his animals do work on her behalf. Just as it is forbidden for a person to carry things in the public domain, so too it is forbidden for a Jew’s animal to carry things for the Jew. Our chapter deals with things that an animal may carry or wear. Anything needed to guard the animal is permitted, as is anything needed for the animal’s own protection from heat or cold. However, anything which is not really necessary for the animal itself (such as loading up a donkey with one’s personal belongings) may not be placed on an animal on Shabbat.

אפסר – a rope which ties the mouth of the animal.

With what may an animal go out [on Shabbat], and with what may it not go out?
A camel may go out with a bit, a female camel with its nose-ring, a Libyan donkey with an iron bridle, a horse with its chain, and all chain-wearing animals may go out with their chains and be led by their chains. All of the things in this section are normally worn by animals and they are used to lead the animals around. Therefore, the animal may wear them on Shabbat. In a sense they are to the animal like clothes are to human beings. By carrying them the animal is not performing a labor for someone else. Rather they are part of the animal’s normal gear.

והנאקה – In the Gemara (Tractate Shabbat 51b), it establishes it specifically as a white camel which requires greater guarding/watching.

And they may sprinkle upon them [with purifying waters], and they may be immersed in their place. This section is an aside about the chains mentioned in the previous section. If these chains become impure they can be made pure without removing them from the animal. If they become impure with corpse impurity, they can sprinkle purifying waters on the chains while they are in their place. If they contract a lesser impurity, the chains may be immersed while still on the animal.

בחטם – they take a kind of iron ring and pierce the nose of the camel and place it inside it.

ולובדקס – a donkey that comes from Libya and they are hard and strong and need greater watching/guarding than other donkeys found in the settlement.

בפרומביא – an iron bridle.

בשיר – a kind of clasp/brooch around its neck and a ring is fixed within it and they bring in a rope through the ring and pull the animal.

וכל בעלי השיר - such as hunting dogs and small animals.

יוצאים בשיר – tied on their necks with a rope set in the clasp.

ונמשכין בשיר – and if he wants he pulls the animal with the rope in the clasp/brooch.

ומזין עליהן – in their places as they are in the neck of the animal if it became ritually defiled through [contact with] a dead corpse.

וטובלין במקומן – they have the animal enter the water to ritually immerse the brooch/clasp and even though we hold that all utensils unique to the animal do not receive ritual defilement. The brooch/clasp and other things like it receive ritual defilement and require ritual immersion since they are made for humans to lead with it an animal as it is like a utensil made for usage by a human being.

מרדעת – a kind of small saddle and we place it on the donkey all day long in order that the donkey can be kept warm.

Introduction This mishnah is a continuation of yesterday’s mishnah.

בזמן שהיא קשורה לו – from the Eve of the Sabbath (i.e., Friday) that he reveals his opinion that the donkey needs it to warm it up as people say that a donkey, even in the season of Tammuz (i.e., the middle of the summer) is cold for it, and it is not a burden but to tie/attach a cushion/pack-saddle on the donkey is prohibited because it is impossible to tie it on him other than if he supports it on the side of the animal and it is found that a living creature is being used and if he transgressed and tied it on, it is prohibited to go out with it.

A donkey may go out with its saddle-cloth if it is tied to it. If the saddle is put on the donkey before Shabbat, the donkey may go out on Shabbat with it on its back and it is not considered carrying but rather “wearing” which is permitted on Shabbat.

לבובין – with leather that is we tie them up corresponding to their male genitalia so that they will not go up on the females.

Rams may go out with hides tied to them. Some explain that these hides were put on the rams’ chests to protect them. Others explain that they were put on their genitals, also for protection.

שחוזות – that grasps their tails tied upwards so that the males will come upon them.

Ewes may go out with their tails tied up, tied down, or covered. If the ewe’s tail was tied up, that is so males can mount them. If the tail was tied down it was so males could not mount them (there has to be some humor in this, but I won’t be the one to try). The tail was covered for general protection.

כבולות – they chain up their tails and tie them with their legs in order that the males will not come upon them.

Goats may go out [with their udders] tied up. The goats’ udders were sometimes covered up in order to dry them up and sometimes covered up in order to preserve their milk.

כבונות – they tie a cloth around the lambs during the day to protect their wool so that it not become soiled.

Rabbi Yose forbids in all these cases, save ewes that are covered. Rabbi Yose forbids all of the above cases except covering the ewes because all of the rest of them are for human benefit and not for the benefit of the animal. If the covering was for human benefit then the animal may not go out with that covering on Shabbat.

צרורות – their breast nipples are tied up sometimes to dry up the milk when they squeeze them with strength and sometimes they tie a pocket on their nipples so that the milk will not drip to the ground and be lost.

Rabbi Judah says: goats may go out [with their udders] tied in order to dry them up, but not to save their milk. Rabbi Judah is slightly more lenient than Rabbi Yose but less so than the first opinion. He adds that goats’ udders may be tied up in order to dry them up because that is for the sake of the animal. However, if the intent is to preserve their milk, that is for the sake of the goats’ owners and it is therefore considered carrying on Shabbat.

ר' יוסי אומר בכולן – that is a burden.

חוץ מן הכבונות - which is protection for their wool so that it will not be soiled and it is an ornament/decoration.

יוצאות צרורורת ליבש – Rabbi Yehudah holds like the first teacher [of the Mishnah] that it is not a burden; however, to [keep them] dry which is fastened better one cannot make this decree lest it miscarry which it comes to include, but for milk where it is not fastened well, it is forbidden and we suspect lest it miscarry which it comes to include. And the Halakha is according to the first teacher [of the Mishnah].

מטוטלת – a piece of strip/lining tied to its tail as a sign or for something else.

Introduction In the previous two mishnayoth we saw cases where t was permitted for an animal to carry certain things on Shabbat. In today’s mishnah and tomorrow’s we see examples where it is forbidden.

עקוד – they tie their hands and legs with chains so that they do not escape.

And with what may it not go out?
A camel may not go out with a pad The pad referred to her is put on top of its hump. Sometimes it was tied underneath its tail so that it wouldn’t scratch the camel’s skin. The reason that it is forbidden is that these often fall and we are concerned lest the pad falls off the camel and the owner carries the pad herself.

רגול – fold his hand over his arm and tie them.

Or with forelegs bound together or with hind legs bound together; And the same is true for other animals. One is not allowed to tie the animal’s legs together on Shabbat because this is considered overly cautious protection. While it is permitted to offer reasonable protection so that the animal doesn’t run away, tying its legs together is beyond normal and hence this is considered “carrying.” This prohibition applies not only to camels but to all animals.

לא יקשור גמלים זה בזה וימשוך – as one and they all go so that it would not appear as leading them to the market to sell them.

One should not tie camels together and pull [one of them]. But one may take the cords in his hand and pull [them] providing he does not twist them together. Tying camels together and pulling them together makes it look like they are going to market. To prevent this appearance it is forbidden to do so on Shabbat. However, if she just takes the cords of several camels together in her hand and leads them together it is permitted because it doesn’t look like they are going to the market.

אבל מכניס הוא חבלים בתוך ידו – so that the heads of the ropes would not be hanging and coming out from under his hands to the ground by a handbreadth or more in order that it would not appear like he is carrying the hanging ropes by his hand.

ובלבד שלא יכרוך – this is not in speaking in regard to the matter of the Sabbath here, but to the matter of mixed seeds and this is how it should be understood: He who gathers ropes in his hand, some of them of flax and some of them of wool, he should not twist one with the other for when he twists them, it is mixed seeds and his hand is warmed while holding them and this is forbidden.

with a bell - A bell hung around the neck of the animal which emits a sound when it moves

Introduction The final mishnah of this chapter continues to provide examples of things that an animal may not carry on Shabbat.

אע"פ שהוא פקוק – [plugged] with a soft-spongy substance, for now its clapper of the bell does not ring to cause a sound to be made because it appears like he is leading it to be sold in the marketplace.

A donkey may not go out with a saddle-cloth, when it is not tied to it, If the saddle-cloth is not tied to the donkey, we are concerned lest it fall off and the owner picks it up on Shabbat. Above in mishnah two we learned that if it is tied to the donkey, it is permitted.

בסולם שבצוארו – when it has a wound, they place on its neck wood in the shape of warp and woof in order that it not turn its head to grasp at his wound.

or with a bell, even if it is plugged, Putting the bell on the donkey makes it look as if its owner is bringing it to the market to sell it. Hence, even if the bell is plugged up and doesn’t make a sound it is prohibited.

ולא ברצועה שברגלו – an animal that strikes its legs against each other while it is walking, they make a sort of ring of a thick strap and tie it at the place where its legs strike against each other.

or with a ladder[-shaped yoke] around its neck, This yoke was placed on the donkey when it had sores on its back. The yoke prevents the donkey from biting its sores.

בחוטין - they make it as a sign so that exchange it for other chickens.

or with a strap around its foot. If the donkey’s legs rub each other when it walks they would place a thong around its feet to keep the legs apart.

ולא ברצועות – that they tie/fasten its two legs together with a short cords so that they don’t jump and break the utensils.

Fowls may not go out with ribbons, The ribbons were placed on its legs so that people could tell their fowl apart from those of others.

בעגלה שתחת האליה – like a small wagon which they tie under the tail of the sheep for their tails are large in order that it does not become damaged by stones and rocks.

or with straps on their legs. Straps were placed on their legs to prevent them from hopping too far and damaging other people’s things.

חנונות – there is a kind of wood called חנון where they bring chips from it and place it on its nose in order that it should sneeze and the worms from its head would fall off but for the males, it is not necessary to do this for when they gore each other, the worms fall off on their own.

Rams may not go out with a wagon under their tails. These little wagons were placed under their tails to keep them from dragging on the ground.

בגימון – like a reed-grass yoke that is placed on the neck of the calf in order that it would be accustomed to bend its neck when it gets older.

Ewes may not go out with a hanun. According to the Talmud a “hanun” was a certain herb that they would place in the nose of female sheep so that the worms would come out (sounds like Vick’s vapor rub for sheep!). Since males butt each other and the worms will come out when they do so, they don’t need this herb. Hence it is forbidden to place this herb on a ram.

בעור הקופר – a reptile that its fibers are thin like a needle and we tie its skin at the nipples of the cow so that the vermin do not suck [its milk].

A calf may not go out with a small yoke. They would place a small yoke on the calf to accustom it to being yoked.

ולא ברצועה שבין קרניה – whether for beauty or to protect it, it is forbidden for all additional protection is a burden for it.

Or a cow with the skin of a hedgehog, They would attach the skin of a hedgehog to the udders of a cow to prevent other animals from suckling from the cow when she is asleep.

פרתו של רבי אלעזר בן עזריה – it did not belong to him, but to his neighbor and because he did not protest it [as it was forbidden] , it is called by his name.

or with the strap between its horns. Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah’s cow used to go out with a strap between its horns, not with the approval of the rabbis. The strap was purely decorative. Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah let his cow go out with this strap, meaning that this is permitted. All of these are prohibited because putting them on an animal is considered carrying or because we are concerned that the thing will fall and someone will pick it up on Shabbat.