פירוש על שבת 11:8

הזורק מרשות היחיד לרשות הרבים – the private/individual domain is a place that is surrounded by four partitions ten handbreadths high and between them are four handbreadths by four handbreadths or more, even if there are several miles, if they surrounded for living such as a district/province/large town which is surrounded by a wall and its doors are locked at night and their alleys have three walls and a stake fastened in the ground by the side of a wall, serving as a mark or as fictitious partition/enclosure for the purposes of enabling those who live there to move objects on the Sabbath in the fourth direction, and similarly a large hill that is ten [handbreadths] high and four [handbreadths] wide or an incision/trench that is ten [handbreadths] deep and four [handbreadths] wide and even utensils such as a boat or a tower of wood and things like them, if they have [a circumference of four by four at a height of ten , all of these are the public domain. And the airspace of the private domain is like the private domain up to the sky. And the thickness of the walls of the private domain are judged as the private domain. But the public domain is like the marketplaces and the desert streets and the roads open to them and it should be that the width of the path is sixteen cubits and there should not be a ceiling upon it. And there is one who holds that it also requires that six-hundred thousand people pass through it every day like the marches of the Israelites in the desert (see Tractate Shabbat 98a). But the airspace of the public domain is not like the public domain other than up to ten handbreadths for above from ten [handbreadths] is free/exempt. But a place that lacks four by four [handbreadths] and is or higher than three [handbreadths] is the exempt/free space and even thorns and thistles and excrement in the public domain that are at least three [handbreadths] or higher but lack four by four [handbreadths] are considered an exempt place. But a place that is surrounded by four partitions whose height is from three [handbreadths] to ten and it has four by four [handbreadths] or more, or a hill/mound that has four by four [handbreadths] or more which is higher than three [handbreadths] up to ten or a ditch which has four by four [handbreadths] and is deep from three until ten [handbreadths] or an alley that is closed from three directions and lacks a mark as a fictitious partition/enclosure or a beam on the fourth direction, and the sea and the valley – all of these are a Karmelit. The explanation of a Karmelit (a marked-off plot in a public thoroughfare – which cannot be considered either private or public domain) is like a “widow” – that is to say, like a widow who is not a virgin, nor married to a husband. Such is this domain which is neither a private domain nor a public domain and the airspace of a Karmelit is like a Karmelit up until ten [handbreadths] and above that, it is considered an exempt space. A person who removes something from the private domain to the public domain or brings something in from the public domain to the private domain is liable for a sin-offering (see Tractate Shabbat, Chapter 1, Mishnah 1). From a private domain to a Karmelite and/or from a public domain to a Karmelit, or from a Karmelite to either of them is exempt but it is forbidden. [A person who brings something] from a private domain or from a public domain to an exempt space or from the exempt space to both of them -it is ab initio permitted, and we don’t have to say, from a Karmelit to an exempt space and from an exempt space to a Karmelit it is permitted. But a person who transfers an object from the beginning of the four cubits to the end of the four cubits in the public domain is liable for a sin-offering. In a Karmelit, he is exempt, but it is forbidden. In the private domain and in the exempt place, it is permissible ab initio to carry and transfer throughout the entire domain and even if it several miles.

Introduction After having learned the laws of carrying from one domain to another, this chapter teaches laws concerning throwing something from one domain to another.

ר"ע מחייב – for he holds that since the object has passed in the airspace of the public domain, within ten [handbreadths], it is as if it has come to rest; but the Rabbis hold that something absorbed in the midst of the ten [handbreadths] of airspace of the public domain is not like someone who placed it there, but above from ten [handbreadths] it is an exempt space, and no disputes that he is exempt, and the Halakha is according to the Sages.

If one throws from the private domain into the public domain [or] from the public domain into the private domain, he is liable. Throwing is considered to be like carrying and hence one who throws from one domain to another is liable.

From one private domain to another private domain, and the public domain lies between: Rabbi Akiva makes him liable, But the sages exempt him. Rabbi Akiva treats the object which flies over the public domain as if it had actually landed in the public domain. Therefore, in his opinion this person has taken something from the private domain and brought it out to the public domain. The sages, however, rule that he is exempt because the object never actually landed in public domain.

כיצד – the Rabbis mention this.

How so?
If there are two balconies facing each other in the public domain, he who reaches over or throws [an article] from one to the other is exempt.
If both are on the same row, he who reaches over is liable, while he who throws is exempt, for thus was the service of the Levites.
Two wagons, this one behind this one in the public domain, [and] they reached over the boards from one to another, but they did not throw.
[As for] he borders of a cistern, and a rock, which are ten [handbreadths] high and four in breath, if one removes [something] from them or places [something] upon them, his is liable; If less than this, he is exempt.
This mishnah explicates yesterday’s mishnah in which we learned that one who throws something from one private domain to another private domain and there lies a public domain in the middle, is exempt.
Section one: In this case two balconies are on opposite sides of the public domain. One who throws from one balcony to the other, or one who reaches something over from one to the other is exempt (according to the sages, see yesterday’s mishnah). As we shall see below, the reason is that this type of labor was not performed in the construction of the Tabernacle.
Sections two and three: Here the two balconies are on the same side of the street, lying adjacent to one another. In this case the sages agree that one who reaches something over from one balcony to the other is liable, for this is how the Levites worked in the construction and deconstruction of the Tabernacle in the desert. As we learn in the next section, the Levites had wagons which were placed one behind the other and they would pass boards from one to the other. The wagons are considered to be private domains and that which lay in between them is the public domain. Therefore, you have a case of people passing things from one public domain to another and a private domain lying in between. However, the Levites did not throw the boards for that would not have been respectful of the inherent holiness of the parts of the Tabernacle. Again, the principle is that anything that Levites did in the building of the Tabernacle is considered forbidden on Shabbat. Since they didn’t throw, today people are not liable for throwing from one domain to another. And since they only passed from wagons which were placed one behind the other, today people are not liable if they pass things across the public domain, as we learned in the previous section.
Section four: If the border of a cistern is ten handbreadths high and four handbreadths wide, it is considered to be a private domain and one who takes something from the public domain and puts it on this border or vice versa is liable. If the borders are smaller than this measure, one who does so is exempt. The same would be true if there was a rock in the public domain. If it is four handbreadths wide and ten tall, then one who puts something on it or takes something off is liable. If not he is exempt.

שתי גזוזאראות – these are boards that go out from the wall of the upper story and outward on the public domain, but the balconies themselves are the private domain, and when they are opposite each other on the two sides of the public domain, the individual who stretches out [his hand] and throws from one to the other is exempt, for we do not find throwing and stretching out in the [forbidden] labors of the Tabernacle from the [one] private domain to the [other] private domain and the expanse of the public domain interrupts between them.

היו שתיהן בדיוטא אחת – that is to say, one floor along the length of the private domain and there is an interruption of the public domain between them.

הזורק פטור – for since he is higher than ten [handbreadths] and we dd not find throwing from one private domain to [another] private domain via the public domain in the Tabernacle but the person who stretches [his hand] is liable, and he though he stretches higher than ten [handbreadths], for we found that stretching forth and similar to it in the Tabernacle from one private domain to [another] private domain and the length of the public domain interrupts between them.

שכן היתה עבודת הלוים – stretching forth from this [wagon] to that [wagon] above ten [handbreadths] and the length of the pubic domain in the middle. How so? [Two] wagons one after another in the public domain and those who unload the Tabernacle would stretch forth to those that were on the wagons that were next to them, nearby and close and they would stretch forth to those who were in front of them and everyone from the wagons were in the private domain.

אבל לא זורקים – for the boards were not thrown because of their heaviness.

חוליית הבור – dirt that we remove from the digging of pit, it was customary to place around the opening of the pit like a wall and we derive that the pit and its segment of earth cut out in digging a pit and piled up on its borders combine to ten [handbreadths] and we teach that the pit to its depth and we teach a rock to its height.

הנוטל מהן – [a person who takes from them] and places in the public domain or wh takes from the public domain and places upon them - is liable [a sin-offering].

הזורק ד' אמות בכותל – from the beginning of the four cubits to the end of the four [cubits] and it came to rest on the wall that is close to the public domain, higher than ten handbreadths, such as a case where there was a thick cake of pressed figs that was attached to the wall higher than ten handbreadths in the public domain, it is an exempt space.

Introduction It is forbidden to carry something four cubits in the public domain. Our mishnah deals with someone who throws something four cubits in the public domain and some nuances concerning this halakhah.

למטה מעשרה כזורק בארץ – from the beginning of the four [cubits] to the end of four [cubits] in the public domain and he is liable, even though there is not from the place of the uprooting of the object to the wall other than four cubits exactly, we did not state the thickness of the cake of pressed figs is excluded from the four cubits and we don’t have here from the beginning of the four [cubits] to the end of the four [cubits] , for it does not exclude the pressed figs on the wall, its thickness does not exclude anything.

One who throws [something] four cubits on to a wall: if [the wall] is above ten handbreadths, it is as if he throws it into the air; if below, it is as if it he throws it on to the ground. ( And one who throws [something] four cubits on the ground is liable. According to the rabbis, above ten handbreadths is no longer the public domain, but neither is it a private domain. It is called a “makom patur”, a place that is exempt from the laws of carrying. Therefore, one who throws something onto a wall that is higher than ten handbreadths is exempt. However, if she throws it and it goes four cubits and lands on a wall lower than ten cubits, it is as if the object landed on the ground and she is liable. This is because someone who throws something four cubits on the ground is liable.

ונתגלגל חוץ לד"א פטור – for he did not intend for a throwing of liability.

If one threw [something] within four cubits and it rolled beyond four cubits, he is exempt; [If one threw something] beyond four cubits and it rolled within four cubits, he is liable. This section deals with throwing something that afterwards rolls. If she throws the object less than four cubits and it rolls further, she is exempt. This is because she did not intend to throw something four cubits. Alternatively, she is exempt because the object didn’t at first land the necessary four cubits away. However, if she threw something four cubits and then it rolled back she is still liable because it did land four cubits from where she threw it.

ונתגלגל לתוך ד"א חייב – and it came to rest a bit outside of the four cubits prior to rolling inwards.

הזורק בים – from the beginning of four [cubits] to the end of four [cubits], he is exempt, for it is a Karmelit.

Introduction This mishnah deals with throwing in bodies of water.

רקק מים – which are not higher from the land, and there is in them mud and clay/plaster and they are called a [shallow] pool/diluvium.

If one throws in the sea four cubits, he is exempt. The sea is considered a “karmelit”, a place which is neither a public nor a private domain. That means that one is not liable for carrying or throwing in the sea.

ור"ה מהלכת בו – for many [people] walk through it.

If there is a pool of water and a public road crosses it, and one throws [an object] four cubits in it, he is liable. And how deep is a pool of water? Less than ten handbreadths. [For] if there is a pool of water and a public road crosses it, and one throws [an object] four cubits in it, he is liable. This section deals with a pool of water that lies in the public domain. If, the pool of water is less than ten handbreadths deep then one who throws an object four cubits into it is liable. The reason is that if it is less than ten handbreadths, then it is considered to be part of the public domain and one who throws or carries in it is liable. However, if the pool of water is more than ten handbreadths deep then it is no longer considered to be the public domain and one who throws in it she is exempt. We should note that the Talmud questions why section two seems to repeat itself at the end. From this repetition the talmud derives additional laws.

וכמה הוא רקק – what is its depth that we can say that it is yet the public domain and it has not become a Karmelit?

ורקק מים ורה"ר מהלכת בו – this is double that was taught for the matter to teach us that even if the pool was four [cubits] wide, for since it was less than ten [cubits] high, it is judged like the public domain, and double also with a public domain going through it to teach us that even though many people don’t walk through it other than in an emergency/need, walking even in an emergency is called walking.

מן הים ליבשה – from a Karmelit to the public domain.

Introduction This mishnah deals with throwing from either the sea to dry land (or the opposite) or from ships to the sea or other ships.

מן הים לספינה – from a Karmelit to the private domain.

If one throws [somethign] from the sea to dry land, or from dry land to the sea, from the sea to a ship or from a ship to the sea or from one ship to another, he is exempt. As we mentioned earlier, the sea is considered a “karmelit” a place that is neither the public domain nor the private domain. Hence, one who throws from dry land (the public domain) to the sea or vice versa is exempt. One is liable only for moving something from the public domain to the private domain or vice versa. A ship is considered a private domain. Hence, if one throws from the sea to a ship or from a ship to the sea, she is also exempt, for this is throwing from a “karmelit” to a private domain. Finally, one who throws from one ship to another is exempt, just as one who throws from one private domain to another private domain with the public domain lying in-between is exempt (see mishnah 11:1). In this case, it would seem that even Rabbi Akiva would exempt the thrower because what lies in-between is not a public domain but the sea (a karmelit).

מטלטלין מזו לזו – if they belong to two individuals, one carries via an Eruv, for it is likened to two separate courtyards.

If ships are tied together, one may carry from one to another. In this case the two ships are tied together and lying adjacent to one another. According to Albeck, who explains the mishnah according to the Yerushalmi (the Palestinian Talmud) since there is no karmelit lying between the ships, one can carry from one to the other. In the Babylonian Talmud, this section is explained as referring to boats owned by two different people. They may carry from one to the other if they set up an eruv, a concept about which we learn in the next tractate.

מוקפות – each is near the other like we don’t surround swellings/abcesses.

If they are not tied together, even though they lie close [to each other], one may not carry from one to another. If the ships are not tied together, one may not carry from one to the other, even if they lie adjacent to each other. Since the two boats may become separate, thereby forming a karmelit between them, the halakhah is more stringent in this case.

אין מטלטלין – for this is how they explain each other: the Karmelit interrupts between them and nullifies the Eruv.

הזורק – [he throws] on the Sabbath inadvertently and is reminded that it is Shabbat after the stone left from under his hand before it came to rest, even if another did not receive/intercept it, but rather it came to rest in a natural manner, he is exempt, for such is taught further on [in our Mishnah] : until its beginning and its end are inadvertent,” for this, its beginning is inadvertent and its end is on purpose/wanton, for since he was reminded that it was Shabbat prior to it coming to a rest, and our Mishnah, this is how it to be explained: A person who throws and then is reminded [that it is Shabbat] after it left from under his hand; alternatively, he was not reminded until the other [person] intercepted/received it, etc., for this is a case where two who performed this act, they are exempt; for if it came to rest, he Is liable to a sin offering in the four cubits when he returned and forgot, but if he didn’t return and forgot, he is exempt, for all those liable for a sin offering, etc.

Introduction This mishnah teaches and illustrates the rule that in order for a person to be liable to bring a sin-offering, the entire forbidden act must be performed unwittingly. If part of the act is performed intentionally, then no sin-offering is brought.

זה הכלל – which includes also transferring an object form place to place – for if he uprooted it inadvertently and was reminded that it was Shabbat prior his putting it down, he is exempt.

If one throws [something] and remembers [that it is Shabbat] after it leaves his hand, and another catches it, or a dog catches it or it is burnt, he is not liable. If someone throws something not remembering that it is the Sabbath and then, while the object is still in the air, she remembers that it is the Sabbath, it turns out that in the beginning of her forbidden activity she was an unintentional sinner and at the end she was already an intentional sinner. She is not liable, for as we learn later in the mishnah, in order for one to be liable to bring a sin-offering the entire action from beginning to end must be performed unwittingly. This section also includes several other cases where someone throws something and she is nevertheless exempt. If the object is caught by a dog or by another person or is burnt up before it lands, it turns out that she uprooted the object but she didn’t cause it to be put down. Therefore, she is exempt. Note, that this does not mean that one is allowed to throw things to one’s fellow in the public domain or from one domain to the other. Rather, one who does so is not liable.

If one throws [something] in order to inflict a wound whether to a person or a beast, and he remembers [that it is Shabbat] before the wound is inflicted he is not liable. Putting a wound into somebody is a derivative of one of the forbidden labors on Shabbat. In this case the person throws something at another person or at an animal while not knowing that it is Shabbat but remembers before the thrown object wounds the other person or animal. Similar to above, the beginning of the act was performed unwittingly and at the end the act was intentional. Hence the thrower is exempt.

This is the general principle: all who are liable to sin-offerings are liable only if the beginning and the end [of the forbidden action] are unwitting. If their beginning is unwitting while their end is intentional, if their beginning is intentional while their end is unwitting, they are not liable, unless their beginning and end are intentional. This section states explicitly the general rule that stood behind the previous two sections.