BEITZAH - 036b – ביצה – פרק חמישי – משילין, לו ע”ב

Rather, say: provided he does not make it a trap.^[1]

Is that not obvious?

You might have said: a creature whose kind is trapped is forbidden, but one whose kind is not trapped is permitted;

מהו דתימא דבר שבמינו נצוד - that is, a creature whose kind people commonly trap, such as a beast or a bird, is forbidden, but this one, whose kind is not trapped, is permitted. It teaches us otherwise.

so it teaches us otherwise.

Rav Ashi said: Does it teach “in the summer days and in the rainy days”?

רב אשי אמר - In truth it is as we answered at first, that there is honey there, which is food for people. And as for your difficulty — is there honey in the rainy season? — there is no difficulty, for does it teach “the summer days and the rainy days”?

It teaches “in the sun because of the sun, and in the rain because of the rain” — in the days of Nissan and the days of Tishrei, when there is sun, and there is rain, and there is honey.

“And one may place a vessel under a leak on Shabbos.”

It was taught: if the vessel fills up, he pours it out and puts it back again, and he need not hold back.

שופך - outside.

ושונה - he returns it to its place under the leak.

ואינו נמנע - from doing it again all day long, if he needs to.

Abaye's mill-house was leaking.

בי רחיא דאביי דלוף - The leak was falling on his millstones, which were set in clay and were being washed away by the rain, and he did not have enough vessels to put under the leak.

He came before Rabbah.^[2]

He said to him: Go, bring your bed in there, so that it becomes like a chamber pot of excrement, and carry it out.

זיל עייליה לפוריך להתם - into the room where it is, so that it becomes like a chamber pot of excrement: the millstones become repulsive to you by being in front of your bed, and you are then permitted to move them and carry them out, as it says below that a chamber pot of excrement may be carried out to the rubbish heap.

Abaye sat and found it difficult: may one make a chamber pot of excrement to begin with?

וכי עושין גרף של רעי לכתחלה - May one cause something to become repulsive to him so that he may carry it out?

Meanwhile, Abaye's mill-house collapsed.

He said: This has come upon me because I went against the word of my master.

תיתי לי דעברי אדמר - Let this come upon me as my due for having gone against the words of my teacher. A gerof and an avit are both earthenware vessels; the one for excrement is called a gerof and the one for urine is called an avit.

Shmuel said: a chamber pot of excrement and a vessel of urine may be carried out to the rubbish heap, and when he brings it back, he puts water in it and brings it back.

נותן בו מים ומחזירו - For they are muktzeh because they are repulsive, and were it not for the water he could not move them; carrying it out was permitted to him for the sake of his dignity.

They understood from this: excrement by means of its vessel — yes; by itself — no.

סבור מינה - From Shmuel's words the students understood that he said “chamber pot” specifically: by means of the vessel one may move the excrement, but by itself — to take the excrement, or something truly repulsive, in his hand and carry it out — he was not permitted.

Come and hear: a mouse was found in Rav Ashi's spice store,

באספרמקי - spices.

and Rav Ashi said to them: Take it by its tail and carry it out.

בצוציתה - by its tail.

Mishnah

Whatever one is liable for on Shabbos because of shevus (a Rabbinic prohibition of rest), or because of reshus (an optional act),

כל שחייב עליו - by the words of the Sofrim, not to do it on Shabbos because of shevus, or because of reshus — something with a little mitzvah in it, but not a great mitzvah, so that it is close to being an optional act — and there is a prohibition on it from the words of the Sofrim.

or because of mitzvah, on Shabbos,

או משום מצוה - or something that has a real mitzvah in it, and the Sages forbade doing it on Shabbos.

one is liable for on Yom Tov.

חייבין עליו - not to do it on Yom Tov.

And these are the ones because of shevus:

ואלו הן - the things forbidden because of shevus, from which the Sages required one to rest, and in doing which there is no mitzvah at all.

One may not climb a tree,

לא עולין באילן כו' - The Gemara explains all of them — why the Sages decreed against them.

nor ride on an animal,^[3] nor swim on the surface of the water,

nor clap, nor slap, nor dance.

אין מטפחין - with the hand.

ואין מספקין - on the thigh.

ואין מרקדין - with the foot. All of these are done for rejoicing and song, and the Gemara explains: a decree lest he repair a musical instrument to accompany them, for he would be making a vessel.

And these are the ones because of reshus:

ואלו הן משום רשות - That is, we would have permitted them, since they are close to a mitzvah, and the Sages forbade them. They are called reshus here because of those taught in the last clause, which are a full mitzvah; compared with those, the middle ones are called reshus. The first ones are called shevus because they carry a complete prohibition of shevus: they have no side that could lift the Sages' decree from them, having not even a trace of mitzvah in them.

One may not judge,

לא דנין - a case.

nor betroth, nor perform chalitzah, nor perform yibum.

ולא מקדשין - a woman. The Gemara explains why it is called reshus (and why they decreed against them).

And these are the ones because of mitzvah: one may not consecrate,

ולא מקדישין - consecrated things.

nor pledge a valuation (erech),

מעריכין - “My valuation is upon me,” and he gives according to his years, as written in the section of valuations (Vayikra 27:2).

nor declare cherem, nor separate terumah and maaser.

ולא מחרימין - “This animal is cherem”; and unspecified charamim go to the upkeep of the Beis Hamikdash.

All these they said of Yom Tov — all the more so on Shabbos.

There is no difference between Yom Tov and Shabbos except the preparation of food alone.

Gemara

“One may not climb a tree” — a decree lest he pluck.

שמא יעלה ויתלוש - which would be a Torah prohibition, namely reaping, for one who plucks from something attached to the ground is reaping.

“Nor ride on an animal” — a decree lest he go out beyond the techum (the Shabbos boundary).

שמא יצא חוץ לתחום - Since he is not walking on his own feet, he does not see the markers of the techum.

Conclude from this that techumin are Biblical?!^[4]

שמע מינה תחומין מדאורייתא - Since they decreed against riding on account of techumin — for if techumin were Rabbinic, they would not forbid another thing on its account.

Rather, it is a decree lest he cut a switch.

שמא יחתוך זמורה - to strike the animal with, and that would be reaping from something attached.

“Nor swim on the surface of the water” — a decree lest he make a swimmer's barrel.

חבית של שייטין - a vessel of reeds that they weave, making it like a long barrel, with which they learn to swim.

“Nor clap, nor slap, nor dance” — a decree lest he repair a musical instrument.

“And these are the ones because of reshus: one may not judge.”

But he is doing a mitzvah!

הא מצוה קא עביד - So why is it called reshus?

It is needed only where there is someone better than him.^[5]

“Nor betroth” — but he is doing a mitzvah!

ולא מקדשין הא מצוה קא עביד - for he marries a wife to be fruitful and multiply; so why is it called reshus?

It is needed only —

Notes

1. 1. This closes the discussion from the previous amud about covering a beehive on Shabbos with a mat, to shelter it from sun or rain. The beraisa's condition had read “provided he does not intend to trap”; the Gemara amends it to “provided he does not make it a trap” — that is, he must leave the openings in the sides of the hive uncovered, so that the bees are not actually caught.
2. 2. Rabbah (bar Nachmani) raised his orphaned nephew Abaye and was his principal teacher. That is why, a few lines on, Abaye calls him “my master” and blames the collapse of his mill-house on having questioned him.
3. 3. This clause is cited by Rashi on 19a to explain why one may not lean one's weight on a korban (semichah) on Yom Tov: leaning with all one's strength counts as making use of a living animal, which falls under the prohibition of riding. [ביצה יט, א]
4. 4. Whether the law of techum is Biblical or Rabbinic is a well-known dispute. The Gemara will not let this Mishnah decide it by inference — a decree made to protect another Rabbinic law would be a decree upon a decree — and so it finds a different reason: the rider may cut a switch from a tree to drive the animal.
5. 5. Judging is a mitzvah, so the Mishnah's calling it reshus is puzzling. The answer: the Mishnah speaks where a greater judge is available, so that this man's judging is no longer a mitzvah that falls on him. The Gemara then raises the same question about betrothal, and its answer runs on to the next amud.