Commento su 'Eduyyot 3:12
שְׁלֹשָׁה דְבָרִים רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה מַתִּיר, וַחֲכָמִים אוֹסְרִין. פָּרָתוֹ יוֹצְאָה בִרְצוּעָה שֶׁבֵּין קַרְנֶיהָ, וּמְקָרְדִין אֶת הַבְּהֵמָה בְּיוֹם טוֹב, וְשׁוֹחֲקִין אֶת הַפִּלְפְּלִין בָּרֵחַיִם שֶׁלָּהֶן. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אֵין מְקָרְדִין אֶת הַבְּהֵמָה בְּיוֹם טוֹב, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא עוֹשֶׂה חַבּוּרָה, אֲבָל מְקַרְצְפִין. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, אֵין מְקָרְדִין אַף לֹא מְקַרְצְפִין:
Tre cose furono permesse da R. Elazar b. Azaryah e proibita dai saggi: la sua mucca uscì (di dominio pubblico su Shabbath) con la cinghia tra le sue corna [per ornamento. E i saggi hanno detto che è un "peso" e non un "ornamento" per lei. (Non era la mucca di R. Elazar b. Azaryah, ma quella del suo vicino di casa, ma poiché non protestava, veniva chiamato con il suo nome.)], E una bestia poteva essere gridata a Yom Tov [con una specie di pettine di ferro con denti piccoli. Si può pettinare e graffiare una bestia con essa anche se in tal modo fa una ferita], e può schiacciare i peperoni con i loro [piccoli] mulini [fatti per questo scopo]. R. Yehudah dice: Una bestia non si fa impazzire su Yom Tov perché fa così male; ma può raschiarlo [con un pettine di legno, i cui denti sono grandi e non fanno male.] E i saggi dicono: Non sono al curry e anche non raschiati, raschiando essendo decretati a causa del curry. L'halachah non è conforme a R. Elazar b. Azaryah, tranne nel caso del curry di una bestia da sola; poiché in questo segue il punto di vista di R. Shimon, il quale afferma che è permesso qualcosa di non intenzionale (come fare una piaga, in questo caso), e noi governiamo secondo lui. E i saggi che differiscono con lui sostengono con R. Yehudah, il quale afferma che è vietato qualcosa di non intenzionale, e questa non è l'halachah.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Eduyot
English Explanation of Mishnah Eduyot
His cow used to go out with the strap which she had between her horns;
One may curry cattle on a festival;
And one may grind pepper in its own mill.
Rabbi Judah says: one may not curry cattle on a festival, because it may cause a wound, but one may comb them.
But the Sages say: one may not curry them, and one may not even comb them.
Mishnah twelve contains three cases where Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah was more lenient than the other Sages.
Section one: It is forbidden to carry things in the public domain on the Sabbath. This is true even for a person’s animal, since it is forbidden to make one’s animal perform work on the Sabbath. Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah allowed his cow to go out with a strap between its horns, since this strap was only an adornment and therefore he did not consider it “work”. In the same way a person can wear clothing in the public domain and that is not considered carrying. However, the Sages forbid cows from carrying anything, since most cows do not do so. Furthermore, if others were to see this they would think that it is permitted for an animal to work on the Sabbath.
Section two: Rabbi Eleazar permits a person to curry an animal on the festival, even though that might cause a wound. Currying is a type of combing done with a sharp metal comb. Rabbi Eleazar permits this activity since even if he causes a wound he did not intend to do so and unintentionally performed work is permitted on the Sabbath. In section four, Rabbi Judah states that currying is forbidden since it will cause a wound, but combing with a wooden comb is permitted since it will not cause a wound. In section five the Sages state that even combing is forbidden, lest by permitting combing one might assume that currying is also permitted.
Section three: Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah permits the grinding of peppercorns on the Sabbath, even in grinders made for grinding large quantities of peppercorns. Although this is a large amount of work, and it is clear that most of the pepper will not be used on that day, Rabbi Eleazar nevertheless permits. The Sages forbid this. According to them, one may grind peppercorns only in small quantities with a mortar and pestle, since grinding more than this would be allowing one to prepare food on the festival for a week day, which is forbidden.