פירוש על שבת 1:4

ואלו מן ההלכות – the don’t remove vermin nor read by the light of a candle as it is taught in our Mishnah (Tractate Shabbat, Chapter One, Mishnah Three).

Introduction This mishnah does not actually teach any halakhah. Rather it places the halakhot which we learned above in an historical context.

בעליית חנניה בן חזקיה – that the Sages requested to hide the [biblical] Book of Ezekiel since his words seem to contradict the words of the Torah, such as {Ezekiel 44:31): “Priests shall not eat anything, whether bird or animal, that died or was torn by beasts,” priests are those who should not eat it, but Israelites [can] eat it (which obviously, are also forbidden to all Israelites), and similarly (Ezekiel 45:20): “You shall do the same on the seventh day of the month [to purge the Temple from uncleanness caused by unwitting or ignorant persons],” for where is this sacrifice hinted at in the Torah? Hananiah ben Chizkiah hid himself in the attic and sat there and explained the Book of Ezekiel.

And these are of halakhot which they stated in the upper chamber of Hananiah ben Hezekiah ben Gurion, when they went up to visit him. They took a count, and Bet Shammai outnumbered Beth Hillel and on that day they enacted eighteen measures. This mishnah begins by teaching that the halakhot which were taught in the previous several mishnayot were stated on a famous, somewhat legendary and obscure, day in the history of the rabbis when the Sages visited the upper chamber of Hananiah ben Hezekiah ben Gurion. According to the Rambam, the “eighteen measures” mentioned in section two refer to eighteen halakhot stated from the beginning of the tractate until this point. According to this interpretation, these were eighteen prohibitions about which Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel agreed. Mishnah 1 lists eight things, and there are five in both mishnayot 2 and 3 (these could be counted in different ways). The Rambam holds that on that day they made eighteen enactments, which are not listed in our mishnah. They also disagreed over eighteen issues, and thirteen of these will be listed in the upcoming mishnayot. The remainder of the disagreements are listed elsewhere. There are several other ways to understand this mishnah, but the Rambam’s seems to be straightforward. Some explain that the mishnah does not refer to those things halakhoth that are found in the above mishnayot but that it refers to a list preserved in the Talmud. However, we understand the mishnah, we should note how unusual it is. Rarely do mishnayoth provide us with information about where or when they were taught. Although we cannot be sure of what happened on that day in the upper chamber, it certainly was a day that became legendary in the mind of the rabbis.

ושמונה עשר דברים גזרו בו ביום – that the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel disputed on and were decided by a vote and the [opinions of] School of Shammai grew and they (i.e., the Rabbis) decided [the Halakha] according to them, as it is written (Exodus 23:2): “[You shall neither side with the mighty to do wrong- you shall not give perverse testimony in a dispute so as] to pervert it in favor of the mighty/multitude.” And all eighteen things they brought to them in the Talmud (Tractate Shabbat 13b-17b), and these are as follows: 1-2) He who eats something which is first degree of ritual impurity or second degree of ritual impurity, they decreed that its essence becomes second degree of ritual impurity, and it defiles Terumah/priest’s due by contact, for something that is second degree of ritual impurity defiles Terumah, these are two decrees – the person who eats something which is first degree of ritual impurity or one who eats something that is second degree of ritual impurity. 3) a person who drinks impure liquids also becomes second degree of ritual defilement, and defiles Terumah, that is third. But the reason that it is decreed in these, is that sometimes, when one eats impure foods and sprinkles/pours impure liquids in his face while the impure foods are in his mouth and he defiles them. 4) And they made a decree on a person after immersing from his defilement on that same day who had drawn water come upon his head and most of his body and 5) on the completely pure person upon fell three LOGS (i.e., a LOG is equivalent to six eggs) of drawn water on his body, that is five decrees. And the reason that defilement was decreed on these to defile others, is because they would immerse in putrid (i.e., badly smelling) cave waters, and they would place upon them afterwards drawn waters to remove the putridness of the waters, they began and made a fixed ruling to state, that the cave waters did not purify but rather the drawn waters purify, and they (i.e., the Rabbis) stood and decreed defilement upon them, lest they come to nullify the teachings/laws of the Mikveh and they would immerse in drawn waters. 6) The sixth decree is that Books of Holy Writ defile Terumah through contact, for at first, they would hide the food of Terumah with Torah scrolls, people would say that this (i.e., the Torah scroll) and that (i.e., the Terumah) are holy, when they saw that the Books [of Holy Writ] were being damaged, since the mice that are found near the food-stuffs would cause damage to the Books [of Holy Writ], they decreed that these Books, that is, Torah, Prophets and Writings, through their contact would defile the Terumah. 7) The seventh decree that they made concerns mere (i.e., undefined] hands defile the Terumah, because the hands are busy (i.e., they touch things automatically) and touch the flesh in the place of filth/defilement, and it is a reproach for the Terumah if filthy/offensive-smelling hands touched it and it would be detestable for those who eat it. 8) The eighth decree [concerns] foods that were defiled by liquids, as those liquids were defiled on account of hands that came in contact with them prior to ritual washing, they decreed on the liquids that they would the food-stuffs [of Terumah], for all things that disqualify the Terumah defile liquids to become first-degree of ritual impurity, a decree made because of liquids that come on account of a moving creature/unclean reptile, as we find concerning hem that they are first-level of ritual defilement according to the Torah, and this that [the Rabbis] decreed on the defilement of liquids to become first-degree of ritual impurity and it was not decreed regarding food-stuffs as a decree, because [food-stuffs] that come from a moving creature/unclean reptile, and that is the reason that the Rabbis were stringent with liquids because they are liable to receive uncleanness, for they don’t require fitness to become unclean (arising from contact with certain liquids) to bring them to receive defilement such as foods which require putting water on them to make them susceptible to receive defilement. 9) And the ninth (see Mishnah Zavim, Chapter Five, Mishnah Thirteen which summarizes much of these opening decrees) concerns utensils that were defiled by liquids that had been defiled by a reptile/moving creature, even though they are of first degree defilement according to the Torah, they cannot defile a person nor utensils, for a person and utensils only receive defilement from a primary source of ritual impurity, and not from liquids that had been defiled by a reptile/moving creature, which are first-level of ritual defilement, and the Rabbis decreed concerning them that the utensils would become ritually defiled, as a decree because of the liquid of a man or woman with a flux, which are their spittle and the urine which are a primary source of ritual impurity and according to the Torah, defile utensils. 10) The tenth decree is that the daughters of the Cutheans (i.e., members of a sect of the Samaritans) are considered as menstruating from their cradle (i.e., earliest childhood), that is to say, from the day that they were born, as a baby one-day old defiles through her period of menstruation, but the Cutheans lack this Midrash and when it pointed out, it is not explained to them, therefore, the Rabbis decreed this about them. 11) And the eleventh decree is that all movables bring the defilement into the beam of the handle of a plough, and this is the ox-goad of the cattle, and there is what has the circumference of a handbreadth, but it lacks the thickness of a handbreadth, and even though, from the Torah, the tent is not less than a handbreadth, the Rabbis decreed on all movables that have the circumference of a handbreadth that if its heads – one forms a tent over the dead person and one forms a head over the utensils, it brings to them the defilement of the tent, a decree was made on account of that of that whose beam is one-handbreadth that brings the defilement from the Torah. 12) And the twelfth decree [concerns] one who cuts grapes to press them in the vat for wine pressing, the liquid that comes out from them at the time of the cutting of the grapes makes them susceptible to receive ritual defilement, and even though it goes to waste and one doesn’t care about it, the decree is made lest he should cut grapes in pitch-lined vessels/baskets, for then it is not appropriate for the liquid coming out from them they do not go to waste, and are susceptible [to receive defilement] from the Torah. 13) The thirteenth decree – that Terumah that has grown of their seeds is considered Terumah, and even with a thing whose seed is gone, such as grain and pulse/peas, the degree was made because impure Terumah in the hands of Kohen which is forbidden to be eaten and he comes to sow it, and it was decreed that it would be with its first name – and that it Is ritually impure grain, for we suspect lest he leaves it until the time of sowing and comes to eat of it in impurity. 14) The fourteenth decree is that he who was overtaken by the Sabbath night fall should give his money to a heathen, and not carry it for less than four cubits. 15-16) And the fifteenth and sixteenth decrees, that he should not remove vermin nor read by the light of a candle as it is taught in our Mishnah (see Mishnah three of this chapter). 17) And the seventeenth decree that was made on the bread of idolaters, and on the oil and wine of and on their daughters, they are all one decree, as we have said – they decreed on their bread on account of their oil, and on their oil on account of their wine, and on their wine on account of their daughters, and on their daughters because of another thing, that is to say, because of idolatry. 18) And the eighteenth decree they made on the baby of an idolater that would defile through flux/gonorrhea, in order that a Jewish baby not become accustomed to be near him [out of a concern] for pederasty.