Komentarz do Moed katan 2:9

מי שהפך – It is the manner of people that they turn their olives in the vat or pit where olives are packed until they form a viscid mass where they are piled up and when one wants to bring them into the building containing the tank [and all the implements] for pressing olives, and if he does not bring them into the press to grind them after he has turned them over, they become lost.

Introduction The beginning of chapter one introduces yet another criterion used in determining whether work is permitted on the festival. We have already learned that one should not save work to be done on the festival. Things that can be done before the festival cannot be done during the festival. Our mishnah deals with a person who intended to do something before the festival but then was not able to. If he doesn’t do the work during the festival, he will incur a financial loss.

וארעו אבל – who is prohibited to do work.

If one had turned his olives, and mourning or some unforeseen circumstance befell him, or workmen misled him, he may [during the festival] put on the beam for the first time and leave it until after the festival, the words of Rabbi Judah. The mishnah refers to the preparation of olives. They would put the olives in a large sack so that they would heat up and start to release the oil. After time they would flip the bag with a special stick so that they would get very soft. This was done prior to pressing them with a large beam. In our mishnah someone turned his olives over and was planning to put them under the beam before the festival. However, he was not able to do so due to some unforeseen circumstance. The mishnah gives a couple of examples of such a circumstance. First of all, someone in his family might have died and a mourner is not allowed to work. Alternatively, he might have had workers who reneged on an agreement to help press his olives. In any case, Rabbi Judah allows him to begin pressing the olives so that they will not rot, but he does not allow him to complete this process.

או שהטעתו פועלים – that did not come to work and the Festival arrived.

Rabbi Yose says: he may pour off [the oil] and complete the process and seal [the jars] in his usual way. Rabbi Yose is more lenient. He allows him to take the oil that comes out of the first pressing and even do the second and third pressing. He may put the oil in jars and close them up as well. Rabbi Yose reasons that once he has been allowed to do some of the work, he should be allowed to complete it.

טוען – upon the olives a beam of the olive press for the first time and sweep them out, ion order that a bit of the oil flows a bit so that they will not loose it, but not during the second time because they will not lose any more, and from here we learn that things that are permitted during the Festival (i.e., on the Intermediate Days of the Festival/Hol HaMoed), it is forbidden for a mourner to do them with his hand during his days of mourning, for since it (i.e., the Mishnah) teaches “an occasion for mourning befell him,” and on account of the mourning he delays until the Festival, he applies the pressing beam [for the first time] for the olives during the Festival, but during the days of his mourning, he would be prohibited to press with his hand even the first beat, but others press for him.

זולף – he pours the olives on the back of the olive press, and every matter that he pours is called זילוף/sprinkling.

וגומר – pressing them (olives) and wine/grape pressing in the olive press.

וגף – close the lip of the barrels. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yosi.

בתוך הבור – digging underneath the wine press which is covered with plaster to receive the wine.

Introduction This mishnah is similar to yesterday’s mishnah but deals with the production of wine instead of olive oil.

למודים – wooden boards, that is to say, he covers it there with boards so that it does not ferment, and it does not draw wine out of the put. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yosi.

Similarly, if one had his wine [already] in a cistern and mourning or some unforeseen circumstance befell him, or workmen misled him, he may draw off [the wine], complete the process and seal [the jars] in his usual way, the words of Rabbi Yose. In this case, someone has already pressed his grapes and the juices have run off into the cistern, and for some reason he was not able to jar the wine before the festival. According to Rabbi Yose, since the process was started and it was not his fault that he could not complete it, he may complete the process during the festival. He may remove the wine from the cistern, finish squeezing all of the juice out of the grapes and put the wine into jars.

Rabbi Judah says: he [may only] cover [the cistern] with boards to prevent it from turning into vinegar. Consistent with his opinion in yesterday’s mishnah, Rabbi Judah does not allow him to complete the process. Rather, all he may do is cover the wine in the cistern so that it does not spoil.

ושולה פשתנו – all that comes up fro the water is called “soak.”

Introduction There are certain labors that are permitted on the festival because if they are not done immediately, the product will be ruined. However, this is only permitted if he did not purposely set his schedule so that the work would end up needing to be done during the festival.

אם כוונו מלאכתן במועד יאבדו – The Jewish court causes him to lose money and make it ownerless.

A man may bring his produce indoors for fear of thieves and withdraw his flax from a soaking pool to prevent it spoiling, as long as he doesn’t intend to do this work during the festival. If one has left produce outside but fears that it might be stolen by thieves, he may bring it indoors on the festival. He may also take his flax out of a soaking pool (used to soften the flax so that it can be made into linen) lest it become too soft and spoil. However, he may not start a certain labor before the festival knowing that he will have to continue to do the work during the festival. The only time these labors may be performed is if some unforeseen circumstance prevented him from being able to perform them before the festival.

And all those who deliberately intended to do their work on the festival, they must leave it to spoil. This is a summary of the basic rule governing all of the previous sections. If one has intentionally left over work for the festival, he must let it spoil. A different explanation is that this refers to a court which penalizes a person who left his work for the festival by taking it away from him. According to this interpretation we would need to translate the last clause as “they cause him to lose [his property]”, which is a viable translation.

אלא לצורך המועד – that the purchaser needs them on the Festival (I.e., the Intermediate Days of the Festival/Hol HaMoed) – houses to dwell in them, slaves to serve him and animals/cattle for slaughter.

Introduction This mishnah deals with two subjects: 1) buying large items on the festival; 2) using the festival as time to move one’s belongings.

או לצורך המועד – that he needs to money to spend for the needs of the Holy Day.

They may not purchase houses, slaves or cattle unless it is for the needs of the festival, or the need of the seller who does not have enough to eat. It is forbidden to make large purchases on the festival, because the festival should not be used as a time to engage in activities needed for after the festival. There are, however, two circumstances, that allow one to make a large purchase on the festival. First of all, if the sale is necessary to the buyer for the needs of the festival. For instance, if one’s house burned down right before the festival, he may buy a new one during the festival. The second circumstance is if the seller needs the cash immediately to buy food for the holiday. The general prohibition of buying and selling large items on the festival is waved if the seller needs money immediately in order to buy food in order to celebrate the festival itself.

אין מפנים – utensils or grain..

They may not move [belongings] from one house to another house, but he may move [his belongings] within his courtyard. Moving from one house to another is obviously a difficult and laborious endeavor. Since it involves so much work, one may not do so on the festival. However, he is allowed to move his stuff out to the adjacent courtyard because this is not nearly as strenuous. The Talmud explains that he can move from one house to another house within the same courtyard.

מבית – [from] this [house] to another house far from him because of the effort.

They may not bring back vessels from the house of the craftsman, but if one is anxious about them, he may remove them to another courtyard. If one has left his vessels (clothes, utensils, cloth etc.) at a craftsman for repair, he cannot bring them home on the festival. According to the Talmud, this refers to vessels which are not needed on the festival. However, if he fears that someone might steal them from the craftsman’s workshop, he may move them to a better-guarded workshop. While this may be just as much work as moving them to his own home, he is not allowed to bring them home lest someone plan ahead of time to use the festival as a opportunity to bring his things home from the craftsman.

אבל מפנה לחצרו – to another house in the same courtyard, for it is private, but not from one house to another house via the public domain.

ואין מביאין כלים מבית האומן – these words [are regarding] utensils that are not for the needs of the Festival, but utensils that are for the needs of the Festival such as pillows, cushions and cups and ladles are permitted.

ואם חושש להם – lest they be stolen from the house of the artisan, or if he needs the artisan to hire him and the owner of the utensil doesn’t believe him since he fears lest he will request from him the wages for his labor a second time.

מחפין את הקציעות – figs that are spread/stretched out in the field to dry them, we cover and hide them with straw because of the rains.

Introduction The final mishnah of this chapter deals with people whose work might be necessary during the festival. The general rule is that while they may engage in their work, they should do so in as private a manner as possible.

אף מעבין – place them this one on top of that one and make them like a pile, and that the upper owns protect the lower ones.

They may cover [drying] figs with straw. Rabbi Judah says: they may even be pile [the figs] up [in heaps]. Drying figs were covered with straw so that they wouldn’t get dirty. The mishnah permits one to cover them with straw on the festival, because if they are left uncovered, they might get ruined. Rabbi Judah says that one may even heap them up together in order to preserve them better.

הדשושות – that we thresh and crush wheat for cereal.

Sellers of produce, clothing and [other] vessels may sell privately for the requirements of the festival. The people referred to in this section are selling items that the public might need for the festival. The mishnah says that they may do so, but that they should try to sell in as private a manner as possible. The rabbis wanted to allow people to buy items necessary for the festival, but they also wanted to prevent the week from turning into “business as usual.”

בגרוסות – they make pounded beans.

Trappers [of fish and birds], groats-makers and grist-millers may engage in their work privately for the requirements of the festival. Rabbi Yose says: they were strict upon themselves. Similarly, people who engage in food production may work, but only in a private manner. “Groats-makers” pounded grain to make it into cereal whereas “grist-millers” grind it to break it up into small kernels. Since people need these foods during the festival, and they can’t be done much ahead of time (they had little means to preserve food), they may continue to work during the festival, as long as they try to be as private about it as possible. Rabbi Yose adds a fascinating note. He says that people in these professions were strict upon themselves and didn’t engage in this work at all. In other words, the previous clause’s intention was not to tell these workers that they had to do their work in private, but rather to emphasize to them that they were allowed to work.

הם – the artisans.

החמירו על עצמן – and we don’t do it even in private. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yosi.