פירוש על עירובין 6:2

מעשה בצדוקי – the Mishnah is deficient and it should be read as follows: A Sadducee is like an idolater. Rabban Gamaliel states that is he not like an idolater. “And it once happened with one Sadducee, etc. And Father said to us: Hurry up and fulfill all of your requirements before it (i.e., the eve of the Sabbath) departs and places restrictions upon you”; we learn from this that he is like a Jew/Israelite and is able to resign his possession and because he can resign his possession and go back and take it out, whether inadvertently or on purpose, he restricts us, as is mentioned further on. Because of this, Rabban Gamaliel states: “Hurry and perform your requirements before he removes his utensils to the courtyard and goes back and takes hold of his possessions that he cancelled and places restrictions upon you, but if he (i.e., the Sadducee) is like an idolater and an idolater is not able to resign his possessions until he rents it out, how is he able to prohibit you after he has rented it out and taken money?

Introduction According to the Talmud, in this mishnah Rabban Gamaliel disagrees with the opinion in yesterday’s mishnah. There we learned that a Jew who doesn’t believe in the efficacy of eruvin causes the other Jews in his courtyard or alley to be prohibited from carrying, by making their eruv ineffective. According to the Talmud, while the non-Jew can annul his partnership in the courtyard or alley, and thereby let the other Jews eruv be effective, a Jew who doesn’t believe in eruvin, such as a Sadducee or Samaritan cannot do so. Rabban Gamaliel says that even a Sadducee can annul his share in the alley or courtyard. Our mishnah deals with one who has already made such an annulment. The question is, can his annulment be overturned by his actions?

ור"י אומר – Rabban Gamaliel did not say this, for Rabban Gamaliel holds that a Sadducee is always like an idolater. And this incident is not a proof for this is how Rabban Gamaliel spoke to them: “Hurry up and fulfill all of your requirements on the Eve of Shabbat before it gets dark, and not until he doesn’t remove his utensils as you have stated, but until the day hasn’t yet departed and it places restrictions upon you. And the legal decision is that any Jew who violates the Sabbath in public is like an idolater, and we don’t prepare an Eruv with him and he doesn’t resign possession (i.e., a legal fiction by which the carrying of objects on the Sabbath from one’s own place to one common to several persons, may be permitted) but we rent from him in the same manner that we rent from the idolater, and the person who observes the Sabbath in public, even though he might violate it in private and does not recognize the designation/concept of Eruv such as the Sadducees at this time, who observe the Sabbath but do not recognize the designation/concept of Eruv, we do not make an Eruv with him but he can resign possession and one doesn’t need to rent from him and he isn’t necessarily an idolater.

Rabban Gamaliel said: A Sadducee once lived with us in the same alley in Jerusalem and father told us: “Hurry up and carry out all vessels into the alley before he carries out his and thereby restricts you”. According to the explanation provided above, this Sadducee who lived in the same alley (!) as Rabban Gamaliel’s father, Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel, nullified his partial ownership in the alley such that the eruv of the Jews would be effective. (A rather nice Sadducee if he was a Samaritan, we could call him the “Good Samaritan”!). However, Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel holds that if afterwards, on Shabbat, the Sadducee uses the alley to carry out his things then he has reneged on his renunciation and he again owns a share of the alley. Therefore, the Jews must use the alley to carry on Shabbat, so that they own the alley before he does. Once they have demonstrated such ownership, even if he uses the alley, this does not make it prohibited for them to carry there.

Rabbi Judah said [the instruction was given] in different language: “Hurry up and perform all of your needs in the alley before he carries out his and thereby restricts you”. According to the Talmud, section one is Rabbi Meir’s version, of what Rabban Gamaliel said his father said. Rabbi Judah agrees with Rabban Gamaliel, that a Sadducee can renounce his ownership. However, he disagrees with Rabbi Meir concerning the precise language of Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel’s statement. According to Rabbi Judah, even if the other Jews use the alley first, if the Sadducee then comes to use it, he will cause it to be prohibited for them to carry there. Therefore, the Jews must carry all of the things that they need to carry before the Sadducee uses the alley. Once he uses it, it is prohibited to them.