Commento su Shabbat 18:4

מפנין – if one needs their space to sit guests to place divans around the table for a meal or students to hear the sermon, and specifically for a matter of a Mitzvah it is permitted and we don’t concern ourselves with the trouble of Shabbat.

Introduction This mishnah deals with clearing food away in order to make room for other things. Even though it is permitted to carry foods (both those for animals and those for people), the sages did not permit this if it was a lot of trouble to do so. Under certain circumstances, it was permitted even if moving the food required a lot of work.

ארבע וחמש – not specifically, for if he needs even more also.

One may clear away even four or five baskets of straw or produce to make room for guests or on account of the neglect of the study hall, but not the storehouse. Under normal circumstances, it would be forbidden to move large portions of straw and produce on Shabbat. Moving large baskets is a lot of work, and so to preserve the character of Shabbat as a day of rest, the sages said that this was forbidden. Therefore, moving baskets out of a storehouse is forbidden. However, if moving baskets is done in order to make room for guests or in order to clear out the study hall so that people can sit and learn, it is permitted. These are two important mitzvot (welcoming guests and studying Torah) and therefore the sages allowed one to do things for their sake that would normally be prohibited.

אבל לא את האוצר – that is to say, only that he should no complete the entire hoarded up treasure until he reaches its bottom, for perhaps he will come to make holes/indentations.

One may clear away pure terumah, doubtfully tithed produce, the first tithe whose terumah has been separated, redeemed second tithe and sanctified things, and dry lupinus, because it is food for goats. But [one may] not [clear away] untithed produce, first tithe whose terumah has not been taken, unredeemed second tithe and sanctified things, luf or mustard. Rabbi Shimon b. Gamaliel permits [it] in the case of luf, because it is food for ravens. The mishnah now deals with which foods one is allowed to move and which foods one is not allowed to move on Shabbat. The first list is mostly of foods that may be eaten on Shabbat, even if not everyone can eat them. Pure terumah may be eaten by priests, so it may be carried even by Israelites. In contrast, impure terumah cannot be eaten by anyone and therefore it cannot be carried. Doubtfully-tithed produce may be eaten by poor people. The first tithe is eaten by Levites, but only once terumah has been separated from it. Second tithe and sanctified things are redeemed with money and then one brings the money to Jerusalem and uses it there. The produce and sanctified things then become non-sacred and one may eat them, hence they can be carried. Lupinus is a type of bean and since it is eaten by goats, it may be carried on Shabbat. [Note that printed editions of the mishnah state that lupinus is eaten by poor people. Albeck says that this is a mistake.] The second list is of things which may not be eaten on Shabbat and hence cannot be carried. These include most of the opposites to the previous list. Note, terumah and tithes may not be separated on Shabbat such that un-tithed produce cannot be “fixed” by tithing it until after Shabbat. Mustard seed is not eaten until it is processed. Since it can’t be processed on Shabbat, the raw seeds cannot be carried either [you may carry your Grey Poupon as long as it has a heksher ☺. “Luf” is a type of onion. According to the first opinion, it is not eaten it can’t be carried on Shabbat. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel disagrees and holds that since luf is eaten by ravens, it is food and can be carried on Shabbat. The Talmud explains that rich people and kings would raise ravens and give them luf to eat. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says that all Jews are considered to be like kings and therefore all Jews can carry luf on Shabbat. The other sages hold that since people don’t normally raise ravens, food for ravens cannot be carried on Shabbat.

מפנין תרומה טהורה – even an Israelite (i.e., non-Kohen) for whom it is not fit can carry it and clear it away because it is fit for a Kohen.

דמאי – because it is fit for the poor as is taught in the Mishnah (Tractate Demai, Chapter 3, Mishnah 1): “We feed the poor and to quarter given to troops on march/transient poor men produce about which there is a suspicion as to whether or not the tithes were appropriately taken,” and if he requires it he would make ownerless his possessions and would be poor and be fit for it; now also the poor is fit for it.

ותרומת מעשר שניטלה תרומתו – the tithe of the tithe which the Levite owes to the Kohen that was taken from it but he did not take the Great Tithe (i.e., the 2% that goes from an Israelite to a Kohen) such as the case where a Levite anticipated first and took the [First] Tithe in the ears of corn but had not yet occurred the obligation of Terumah/priest’s due, for the grain is not liable for Terumah until it becomes shaped into an even pile, and he (i.e., the Levite) advanced and took the [First] Tithe of the ears of corn does not separate anything other than the tithe of the tithe which the Levite owes to the Kohen alone, and he is permitted to consume it even though the Great Tithe was not yet separated out.

ומעשר שני והקדש שנפדו – the owners redeemed them and gave the principal but did not give the [added] one-fifth, and we derive from here that they are redeemed and the one-fifth is a loan to the owners.

אבל לא את הטבל – and even eatables forbidden pending the separation of priestly gifts according to the Rabbis such as that which is sown in a pot without a hole.

ולא את מעשר ראשון שלא נטלה תרומתו – if the Levite anticipated first and he took the [First] Tithe after the grain had been shaped into an even pile before the Great Terumah/priest’s due had been separated from it (i.e., the Israelite’s requirement to give a Kohen two percent), and he (i.e., the Levite) separate the tithe of the tithe (which the Levite owes to the Kohen) but he didn’t separate the Great Terumah – this is First Tithe where Terumah had not been taken which is spoken about here, for since [the grain] had been shaped into an even pile and had become liable for Terumah/priest’s due, when he (i.e., the Levite) takes the First Tithe, even though he separates from it the tithe of the tithe, all the while that he did not separate from it the Great Terumah, it is considered eatables forbidden pending the separation of priestly gifts and it is prohibited to carry it on the Sabbath.

ולא מעשר שני והקדש שלא נפדו – such as the case when they were redeemed, but not redeemed according to Halakha, such as when he redeemed the Second tithe out of fragments of vessels/broken ware, which is no longer a vessel or rubbish (see Tractate Shabbat 123a) and not Second Tithe which is redeemed with money that has upon them a shape/form, as it is written (Deuteronomy 14:25): “[You may convert them into money.] Wrap up the money [and take it with you to the place the LORD your God has chosen].” But sanctified things are not redeemed with land, as it is written (Leviticus 27:23): “and he shall pay the assessment as of that day”- a thing that is given from hand to hand.

לוף – a kind of a legume which is not appropriate raw even for animals. But Maimonides explained it is a from the species of onions.

לעורבין – like the rich people who raise ravens to adulthood, but the Halakha is not according to Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel.

חבילי – bundles/bunches.

Introduction The mishnah begins by discussing things which were prepared to be given as fodder to animals. The remainder of the mishnah deals with other laws concerning animals on Shabbat.

זרדים – branches of the tree that are moist and we trim them for the food of cattle.

Bundles of straw, bundles of twigs, or bundles of young shoots, if they were prepared as animal food, they may be carried; if not, they may not be carried. It is permissible to carry animal food on Shabbat, so if these bundles of various things were prepared for this purpose they may be carried. However, if they weren’t specifically prepared to be animal food then we can assume that they were prepared to be used in lighting a stove or oven, an act prohibited on Shabbat. Therefore, they may not be carried for they are muktzeh.

כופין את הסל לפני האפרוחים – We disturb the utensil (i.e., turn it over from its place so that it is not [functioning] for the young chickens are not standing upon it and the individual who states that the utensil is not being taken other than for the need of the things for which it is taken, our Mishnah establishes that is necessary for the place of the utensil.

One may overturn a basket before young birds, so that they will get up and then get down. The young birds themselves are muktzeh since there is nothing that one can do with them on Shabbat. However, the mishnah holds that one may nevertheless move a basket in front of them so that they will get up onto the basket and then get off of it.

שברחה – from the house.

A chicken which has run away, they may push her until she re-enters. Again, it is forbidden to hold the chicken itself because it is muktzeh. However, if it runs away one may push it back to its place. This is assumedly allowed to prevent the loss of the chicken, just as activities normally prohibited on Shabbat were allowed to prevent loss of property from fire.

One may make calves and foals walk in the public domain. And a woman may make her son walk. Rabbi Judah says: when is this so? If he lifts one [foot] and places [another] down; but if he drags them it is forbidden. One can help small animals or toddlers walk around on Shabbat and we need not be concerned that the mother or the one helping the animal will pick the animal up, which is forbidden. Rabbi Judah limits this permission to a child who can at least walk a little bit on his own. But if the child is only “dragging its feet”, then one can’t help it walk on Shabbat, lest one come to pick it up and thereby carry it.

עד שתכנס – and specifically drive it but not push and pull because the chicken lifts itself from the ground and it is found that he is carrying it but geese and other fowl one may lead them.

מדדין עגלים – grab hold of its neck and its sides and drag it and assist it to move its legs.

והאשה מדדה את בנה – she grabs hold of his arms from behind him and moves his feet and walks.

שנוטל אחת ומניח אחת – when the baby moves his legs, he places one leg down and lifts up the other.

אבל גורר אסור – when she carries him, and everywhere in the Mishnah where Rabbi Yehuda says, "אימתי"/”from when,” he does not come to dispute, but rather to explain the words of the Sages. Therefore, the Halakha is according to him.

אין מילדין – we do not draw forth the fetus from the womb on the Jewish holy day, for there is greater trouble.

Introduction Most of this mishnah discusses assisting an animal and a woman in giving birth on Shabbat and festivals. The final clause begins to discuss circumcision, a topic which will more fully be covered in chapter nineteen.

אבל מסעדין – holds the fetus so that it would not fall to the ground.

One may not deliver an animal [in giving birth] on a festival, but one may assist it. It is forbidden for a Jew to deliver an animal’s newborn on a festival, because this is considered to be too much work for a Jew to do on a festival. Although it may not violate any specific prohibited labor (no pun intended) it is too great of a labor (now, pun intended) to be permitted on a festival or on Shabbat. By “delivering”, the Mishnah means to put one’s hand into the womb and remove the newborn. However, one may assist the animal in giving birth by receiving it as it comes out so that it doesn’t just fall to the floor. Since this is a lesser amount of work, it is permitted. This may only be done on the festival; on Shabbat even assisting the animal is forbidden.

חכמה – an expert midwife.

One may deliver a woman [in giving birth] on Shabbat, summon a midwife for her from place to place, desecrate Shabbat on her account, and tie up the umbilical cord. Rabbi Yose says: one may cut it too. When it comes to aiding a woman in delivering her baby, any work is permitted on festivals and on Shabbat, even activities which are not directly connected to the birth. A midwife may be summoned from a far, even if this means she must travel to get there. Shabbat may be in all ways desecrated because the woman’s health is in danger and according to halakhah saving a life supersedes the laws of Shabbat. There is a debate about whether or not the umbilical cord may be cut. The first opinion holds that it may not be cut, since there is no real danger in leaving it connected until the end of Shabbat. Rabbi Yose holds that it may be cut, and the halakhah rules in accordance with his opinion.

ממקום למקום – and we don’t worry about the prohibition of [Sabbath] boundaries.

And all the requirements of circumcision may be done on Shabbat. Anything connected with circumcision may be done on Shabbat. Leviticus 12:3 states that the child shall be circumcised on the eighth day and the rabbis read this to mean that he must be circumcised even if the eighth day falls on Shabbat. We will learn more about circumcision on Shabbat in the proceeding chapter.

ומחללין עליה את השבת – from the time that she sits on the travailing chair and the blood begins to flow gently until all three days after she has given birth, whether she said that “I need” [assistance] or whether she did not say that “I need” [assistance], [we violate (the Sabbath)]; from the third to the seventh [day] if she said, “I need” we violate [the Sabbath], but if she did not say, “I need [assistance],” we don’t violate [the Sabbath]. From the seventh to the thirtieth [day], even if she said: “I need [assistance].” We do not violate [the Sabbath]. But we perform her needs through a non-Jew because she is like a lick person which is not in a dangerous situation, and any thing where there is no danger, we perform her needs through a non-Jew.

וקושרים הטבור – of the fetus which is long and if we don’t tie it and fold it, its stomach will come out, but we don’t sever it on Shabbat according to the words of the first Tanna/teacher [of the Mishnah].

ר' יוסי אומר אף חותכין – and the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yosi, that we cut it and clean it and place upon it a bandage (אבק הדם ) and similar kinds of things.

וכל צרכי מילה עושין בשבת – and further on in the next chapter (chapter 19) it will explain what are the needs of circumcision.