פירוש על שבת 1:3

לא יצא חייט במחטו – even if it is inserted in his clothing, lest he forget and go out, and for an artisan, it is the manner of his craft, he liable for it is way of artisans to insert them in their clothing when they go out to the market.

Introduction The mishnah continues to deal with laws that are concerned with the day before the Sabbath. However, through associative thought, this mishnah also includes one law that is not concerned with the Sabbath eve and one law that is concerned with another topic altogether.

שמא ישכח ויצא – when it gets dark.

A tailor must not go out with his needle near nightfall, lest he forget and go out. Nor a scribe with his quill. On the Sabbath itself, it will be prohibited for the tailor to carry his needle around (or anything else). Therefore, even as nightfall draws near, he should take his needle out of his coat where he typically stores it, lest he forget and accidentally carry it on the Sabbath. Similarly, a scribe should not go out on the Sabbath eve with his quill. Both of these things, the scribe’s quill and the tailor’s needle are small items that can easily be carried without a person knowing. Therefore, he should make sure he puts them away before the Sabbath. In essence, this is part of his Shabbat preparation.

הלבלר – the scribe.

And one may not search his garments [for lice or fleas], nor read by the light of a lamp. This halakhah is concerned not with the eve of Shabbat but with Shabbat itself. It is brought here because the nature of the halakhah is similar to the nature of the other halakhot. They are all “gezerot” that is prohibitions created to prevent a situation which might cause a person to transgress. A person should not check his clothes for lice or fleas or read by candlelight on Shabbat lest he tilt the candle to bring more oil to the wick an activity considered to be prohibited due to the prohibition of lighting a fire.

בקולמוסו – which is inserted at the back of their ears like the manner of scribes.

In truth it was said, the hazzan may see where the children are reading from, but he himself must not read. Although a person shouldn’t read by candlelight, children may do so because their teacher will stop them from tilting the candle. The Palestinian Talmud explains that children want the candle to go out so that they won’t have to read anymore, hence they won’t tilt it. Their teacher, the hazzan (today the word is used to refer to the cantor, but in the Mishnah it has a different meaning), may also help them read with the candlelight. However, he must not use the candle for his own reading. A note on the phrase “in truth” be’emet: According to Goldberg, this phrase is used to introduce an exception to the previous rule which was taught above. The Talmud claims that this phrase means that the law was given directly to Moses on Sinai.

ולא יפלה את כליו – to remove vermin from his clothing. The Aramaic translation/Targum of “I have cleared out the consecrated portion” (Deuteronomy 26:13) “I searched my garment for vermin.”

Similarly, a zav must not eat together with a zavah, because it may lead to sin. This section contains another “gezerah” a prohibition meant to keep a person from transgressing. A zav and a zavah are a man and woman who have abnormal genital flows. They are both impure. A pure person should not eat together with a zav or a zavah because the zav or zavah will cause the food they share to become impure. Seemingly, there should be no problem with a zav eating with a zavah, because they are both impure. However, in order to prevent people from becoming accustomed to eating with zavim, even this is prohibited.

ולא יקרא לאור הנר – in a book, lest he tilt the candle to bring the oil in front of the lick in order that it will kindle well and is found that he is starting a fire on Shabbat, and even if the candle was the height of two or three men, it is always forbidden to read by the light of a candle unless there is another person with him to watch him, or if he is an important individual who is never accustomed to fix the candle.

החזן – one who teaches young children.

מהיכן התינוקות קורין – from where should they begin to read, for with a bit of investigation such as this, we do not make a decree lest he tilt it, and the young children read before their teacher by the light of the candle since their fear of their teacher is upon them.

אבל הוא לא יקרא – the entire portion, because his fear of them is not upon him, and their guarding is not considered guarding, and for this reason also, there is an opinion that a woman who guards for her husband, her guarding is not [considered] guarding, for fear of her is not upon him.

כיוצא בו – to make a distance from transgression, they said that a person with a flux should not eat with his wife who has a flux, and even though both of them are ritually impure.

מפני הרגל עבירה – for since they engaged in sexual intercourse, he will go to engage in sex with a woman with a flux which is punishable by extirpation, and the man with a flux and a woman with a flux are taken as something remarkable, for sexual relations is hard for them, and it is possible to say that they definitely will not lead to transgression, and even so, they should not eat one with the other.