Dozwolone jest unieważnienie ślubów w Szabat [mąż, śluby jego żony; ojca, jego córki], i wolno konsultować się [mędrcem (o rozgrzeszenie ślubów)] w sprawach potrzebnych na szabat, [jak wtedy, gdy ślubował, że tego dnia nie będzie jadł. To („rzeczy potrzebne do szabatu”) odnosi się konkretnie do konsultacji z mędrcem; bo mąż lub ojciec mogą unieważnić zarówno śluby, które są związane z potrzebą sabatu, jak i te, które nie są, gdyż może je unieważnić dopiero w dniu, w którym je wysłucha. A przy ślubach, które są związane z potrzebą sabatu, nawet gdyby miał czas, aby skonsultować się z mędrcem w ich sprawie przed szabatem, wolno mu skonsultować się z nim w szabat.] I wolno zatrzymać maor [okno, przez które wchodzi z deską lub czymkolwiek innym używanym do tego celu] i wolno zmierzyć szmatkę [Jeśli zetknęła się z czymś nieczystym, a następnie z rzeczami czystymi, mierzy się, czy jest to trzy na trzy palce. Gdyż płótno mniejsze niż trzy na trzy nie zdziała ani nie przenosi nieczystości.] I (można zmierzyć) mykwę [do ustalenia, czy jest jeden na jeden łokieć i trzy łokcie wysokości. Są to bowiem miary micwy, z tego powodu są dozwolone w szabat.] I stało się za dni ojca R. Caddoka i za dni ojca Abba Szaula b. Batnith, że zatrzymali maor [okno, zwane „maor”, ponieważ przez nie wpada światło (ora)] tafiach [glinianym dzbanem] i związali mekeidah [naczynie gliniane] z gemi (trzciną) [ „gemi”, w szczególności, ponieważ nadaje się do karmienia zwierząt, nie jest opróżniany (do naczynia) jako trwały węzeł] (zawiązali go itp.) w celu ustalenia, czy nastąpiła szczelina na szerokość dłoni w gigith (dorzecze). [Między dwoma domami była mała ścieżka, która nie była zadaszona, ale nad którą odwrócono basen. Były okna, które otwierały się z domów na ścieżkę i obawiali się, że ktoś umrze w jednym z domów, a tumah (nieczystość zwłok) przejdzie od okna na ścieżkę i ze ścieżki do drugiego domu drogą otwarte okno. W związku z tym zatkali okno wychodzące na dom tumy z tafiach odwróconym tyłem do ścieżki (naczynie gliniane nie przejmujące tumah od tyłu i służące jako przegroda przed tumah). Ponieważ obawiali się, że szczelina w gigicie może być mniejsza niż szerokość dłoni, w takim przypadku gigit może „namiotować” ścieżkę, a nieczystość przejdzie ścieżką z jednego domu do drugiego. Potem musieli otworzyć okno i wyjąć korek, i chcieli ustalić, czy szczelina w gigicie to szerokość dłoni (czy więcej)— w takim przypadku na tej ścieżce nie byłoby namiotu do prowadzenia tumah, ponieważ tumah opuściłby ścieżkę w górę przez szczelinę w gigith —czy też była mniejsza niż szerokość dłoni, w którym to przypadku ścieżka pełniłaby rolę „namiotu” i prowadziła tumę od domu do domu. Dlatego zmierzyli mekeidę, związali ją gemi i wyciągnęli ją do szczytu (gigitu), aby zobaczyć, czy szczelina była szerokością dłoni.] I z tego, co przepisali, dowiedzieliśmy się, że zatrzymujemy się i mierzymy i zawiązać szabat [o ile nie jest to trwały węzeł, a pomiar dotyczy micwy lub końca halachicznego orzeczenia].
Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
מפירין – a husband to his wife and/or a a father to his daughter.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shabbat
Introduction
The final mishnah of Shabbat begins by discussing annulling and releasing vows and continues with a story about measuring things on Shabbat to see if they are pure or impure, fit or not fit.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
ונשאלין – to a Sage.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shabbat
They may annul vows on Shabbat, and they may be asked [to release vows] when these are necessary for Shabbat. It is permitted for a husband to annul his wife’s vows and for a father to annul his daughter’s vow on Shabbat, since these vows may only be annulled on the day upon which they are heard (Numbers 30: 6, 9). If they had to wait until after Shabbat was over to annul them, the vows could no longer be annulled. Similarly, sages may be asked to release a vow on Shabbat, but only if there is some reason to release the vow on Shabbat itself and not wait until Shabbat is over. Such would be the case if for instance the vow was not to eat on Shabbat. If the vow was not going to impact Shabbat, then they must wait until Shabbat is over. For more on how Sages release vows and how husbands and fathers annul vows see Nedarim 9-11.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
שהן לצורך השבת – such as that he vowed that he would not eat today and if made enquiry it specifically speaks of, for if it were a husband or a father annulling [a vow], whether they are for vows for the needs of the Sabbath, or whether they are for vows that are not for the needs of the Sabbath, for since he cannot to annual other than during the day of it being heard alone, and vows which are for the needs of the Sabbath, even if he had the free time to enquire about them before the [onset of] Shabbat, he enquires about them on Shabbat.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shabbat
One may close up a skylight, and measure a rag and a ritual bath. The issue of closing up a skylight/window was discussed above in 17:7. There we saw that the sages allowed one to put a board back into a window frame to close out the light. One is allowed to measure a rag on Shabbat to see if it is three handbreadths by three handbreadths, the minimum measurement required for it to be susceptible to impurity. It is also permissible to measure a ritual bath to see if it contains the required 40 seah of water. These two measurements are allowed because they are connected to mitzvot. Other measurements would be forbidden.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
ופוקקי את המאור – [he plugs/stops up] the window that from which the light enters he closes it up with a board or with the rest of anything that it is customary to stop it up with.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shabbat
And it once happened in the days of Rabbi Zadok’s father and the days of Abba Shaul ben Botnit that they closed up the window with a small clay vessel and tied a [clay] pot to a string to ascertain whether there was the opening of a handbreadth or not in the barrel. And from their words we learn that we may close [a skylight] and measure and tie on Shabbat. The Talmud explains what exactly happened in this story. There were two houses which shared a wall and there was a window in the wall. In the window was a cracked barrel with a large hole in it. On a certain Shabbat a person died in one of the houses and they wanted to know if there was a handbreadth’s gap in the pitcher, such that the impurity from one house would be transmitted to the other house. First they closed up the skylight with a small clay vessel so that the priests could go up to the roof without becoming impure. They then wanted to measure the crack in the barrel but couldn’t reach it from the roof. So they tied an earthenware pot the size of one handbreadth by one handbreadth to a string and lowered it to the hole of the barrel. From these actions (which were certainly creative) we learn that it is permitted to close up a gap, to measure things to know whether they are impure and to make certain types of knots on Shabbat. Congratulations! We have finished Shabbat. It is a tradition at this point to thank God for helping us to finish learning the tractate and to commit ourselves to going back and relearning it, so that we may not forget it and so that its lessons will stay with us for all of our lives. Shabbat was the longest tractate we have covered so far, so an extra “yasher koah” to all who stuck it through. Admittedly, many of the details were quite difficult and the halakhot truly dictated exactly what is and is not permitted on Shabbat. I hope that learning this tractate will enrich your own Shabbat experience, and that you will find in the details of halakhah a system which forces a person to examine each and everyone one of her actions and to withdraw somewhat from the hustle bustle of the world for one day a week. Shabbat is a day dedicated to holy activities, worship of God, study, reflection, eating and drinking and non-creativity. The halakhot of Shabbat are meant to ensure that these lofty ideals can be achieved. May you have the strength and time to keep on learning more Mishnah! Tomorrow we begin Eruvin, a tractate which is actually quite connected to Shabbat.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
ומודדין את המטלית – it if was ritually impure and came into contact with something ritually pure, we measure it [to see] if it has three fingers by three fingers to know if it the ritually pure things were defiled or not for a strip/patch that is less than three by three does not defile nor becomes defiled.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
ואת המקוה – to know if it has a cubit by a cubit at a depth of thee cubits, for it they are measurements of a Mitzvah, therefore, it is permissible to measure them on Shabbat.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
שפקקו את המאור – the window and it is called – "מאור" – for through it the light enters.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
בטפיח – an earthenware pitcher.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
מקדה – an earthenware utensil.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
בגמי – for this reason, it (i.e., the Mishnah) took גמי/bulrush or reed-grass which is appropriate for the food of cattle and is not eliminated from being a permanent knot.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
לידע אם יש בגיגית פותח טפח – a sort of small passageway that was between two houses so was not natural but rather that the barrel was placed on top of it, and their windows were open from the houses to the passageway, and they were worried lest someone die in one house and that the ritual impurity would come from the window to the passageway and from the passageway to the other house via the open window, therefore, they stopped up the open window to the house where the ritual defilement was inside with an earthenware pitcher and its back was to the side of the passageway for the earthenware utensil does not become defiled from its back and leaves a space between the two partitions, but they were concerned lest there wasn’t in the slit of the barrel an opening of a handbreadth, and it would be found that the barrel overshadows on the passageway and the ritual defilement comes through the passageway from one house to the other house. After that, it is was necessary to open the window and ot take that stopped up pitcher in the window and they came to know if there was in that slit of the barrel an opening of a handbreadth, and if there wasn’t a tent in that passageway to bring in the ritual defilement. For the ritual defilement goes out from the passageway via the slit in the barrel towards above, or if the slit in the barrel is not open one handbreadth, and it was found that the passageway itself was like a tent and brought the ritual defilement from one house to the other. And they measured the earthenware fire pot/potsherd for carrying fire and tied it with bulrushes and stretched it towards above to see if there was in the slit of the barrel opened a handbreadth or not.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shabbat
ומדבריהם למדנו שפוקקין וקושרין ומודדין בשבת – as long as it was not a permanent knot, for the measurement would be for a Mitzvah or to practice on what is a decision/instruction.
