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Week 12 - Tuesday - 15 Feb. 2000

ERUVIN: CHAPTER 1: MISHNA 7

One may make two lehis from anything, even from a living thing, but Rabbi Yose prohibits. And it imparts uncleanness on account of golel, but Rabbi Meir declares clean. And one may write on it a woman's bill of divorce, but Rabbi Yose HaGelili declares it invalid.

Kehati

This mishnah teaches what elements may be used for the lehi to make a mavoy fit, and incidental to this, it teaches other laws which do not pertain to the subject under discussion.

One may make two lehis from anything - anything that is at least ten tefahs high may be used as a lehi to make a mavoy fit, even from a living thing - such as an animal, i.e., it is tied with ropes to pegs in the wall or the roof of the mavoy, in such a manner that there is no fear that the animal will escape, or that it will lie down and no longer be ten tefahs high (Suk. 23a; Rabbi Yonatan of Lunel),

but Rabbi Yose prohibits - using a living thing as a lehi, for the animal may die and shrink and no longer be ten tefahs high, but the inhabitants of the mavoy will not pay attention to this, and will continue to carry within it since there is a lehi. The First Tanna, however, does not fear that it will die, because this is not a common occurrence (Suk. ibid). And - similarly - it - a living thing, imparts uncleanness on account of golel - as it is written, "And whoever in the open field touches one that is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days" (Num. 19:16), from which it is learned that "And whoever in the open field touches" includes golel and dofek ("golel" is the cover over the grave or over the corpse, and "dofek" supports the golel). This mishnah teaches that if an animal were used as a golel (e. g., it was bound and placed over the grave Rambam), whoever touches it is unclean for seven days. It was similarly taught: "The person who touches an animal which was used as a golel for the grave, is unclean seven days" (Oh. 15:9),

but Rabbi Meir declares it clean - for he says, "a living creature does not impart uncleanness on account of golel" (Oh., ibid.). The Gemara explains Rabbi Meir's reason: any partition that is sustained by wind [i.e., respiration Rashi] is not considered to be a partition (for it stands due mainly to something which is not tangible Rashi), or because a partition which is not man-made is not considered as such (Suk. 24a). According to one version, the first section of the mishnah, regarding the lehi, also reads: "And Rabbi Meir prohibits"; this is also the version of the mishnah in the Gemara.

And one may write on it - on a living creature (e. g., on the horn of a cow), a woman's bill of divorce - provided that the entire cow is given to the woman, for if he were to cut off the horn after the writing of the bill of divorce, it would be invalid, as it is written, "let him write her a bill of divorce, and give it in her hand" (Deut. 24:1) something that requires only the acts of writing and giving; but this thing, which requires cutting between the writing and the giving, is invalid,

and Rabbi Yose HaGelili invalidates - the bill of divorce which was written on a living creature, because it is written, "let him write her a bill [sefer, lit., book] of divorce," from which Rabbi Yose HaGelili learns that it must be as a book: just as a book is inanimate, so, too, the get must be something

inanimate. The First Tanna, however, learns from "a sefer of divorcement" the requirement of telling (sipur) the details of the divorce, i.e., that the husband releases his wife, freeing her to marry another.

The following will clarify the subject of "golel." (1) The terms golel and dofek have various interpretations. According to Rashi, golel is the covering of the coffin, and the dofek is each of the walls of the coffin upon which the golel rests. Rabbeina Tam, who questions Rashi's interpretation (see Ket. 4b), holds that the golel is the large tombstone, which is placed on the grave after the burial as a marker. Since a stone can be moved only by rolling (gilgul), it is called golel, from the same root as vegalalu "and they roll the stone" (Gen. 29:8). The dofek is each of the two lower stones (one at the head and one at its foot of the grave) upon which the tombstone rests. According to another interpretation, the golel is the covering of the grave. When it was the practice to bury the dead in chambers in caves, they would roll a round stone over the opening of the chamber or the entrance to the cave. This round stone would be rolled towards the wall of the cave to close up the entrance,

and away from it to open it. In order to prevent the stone from rolling back out after closing up the entrance, another stone, the dofek, was placed under it. When the practice was to bury the dead in graves dug in fields, they used to build vertical supports on either side of the prepared grave upon which rested the large stone which covered the corpse. The stone above the supports was called the golel, because the dead person is rolled up in them, and the supports on the two sides are called dofek,

because they are sides, which are called in Aramaic "dofki." These supports were made of rows of stones on either side. Not the stone that is put on the grave as a monument is the golel, but the stone that stops up the grave (Entziklopediah Talmudit, quoting various commentators). (2) The mishnah's teaching regarding an animal used on a provisional basis, when they did not have a stone at hand at the time, is understandable according to Rabbeina Tarn, and the last interpretation cited above, i.e., that the golel is the covering of the grave or the stopper of the chamber in the cave. According to Rashi's interpretation, however, we must say that the law of an animal being used as the golel is not realistic, and was taught only for the reward of engaging in the study of the Torah (Tosafot, Ket. 4b; Shab. 152b). (3) The law taught in this mishnah, that "it imparts uncleanness on account of golel," is

interpreted by Rashi and Bartenura to mean that it always imparts uncleanness, even after being removed from there. Rambam, however, writes: "The person who comes into contact with an animal that was bound and used as a. golel contracts uncleanness of seven days, as long as it is a golel. After it is released, it is clean as are other animals. And similarly, any object not susceptible to uncleanness which was turned into a golel is clean after it ceases to be a golel" (Rambam, Hil. Tumat Met 6:4).

ERUVIN: CHAPTER 1: MISHNA 8

If a caravan encamped in a valley and was surrounded by animal trappings, they may carry within it, provided that there is a fence ten tefahs high, and that the gaps do not exceed the structure. Any gap that is about ten amot is permitted because it is as a doorway; more than this it is prohibited.

Kehati

This mishnah teaches the law regarding a site that is surrounded by a fence in which there are gaps.

If a caravan - a party of travelers, encamped in a valley - which is a karmelit, in which it is prohibited to carry, by Rabbinic law (see the Introduction to Tractate Shabbat), and the valley was surrounded - on Shabbat eve, by animal trappings - such as the saddles, even though there is a space between them they may carry - on the Shabbat, within it - the camp, as in a private domain,

provided that there is - that the partitions made by the animal trappings constitute - a fence - at least - ten tefahs high, and that the gaps do not exceed the structure - that the sum total of the gaps shall not exceed that of the structure they made with the trappings. (Gemara). If, however, the gaps total more than the structure, it is not considered to be a "partition," and it is prohibited to carry

within it, even facing the parts of the fence. If the structure exceeds, or even only equals, the gaps, and

every gap that is about ten amot - i.e., no individual gap exceeds ten amot, these gaps do not invalidate the fence, and even facing the gaps - it is permitted - to carry, because it - a gap that is ten amot wide, is as - has the status of a doorway; but if the gap is - more than this - if it is wider than ten amot, then even if there is only one such wide gap, it is prohibited - to carry within it, even if the structure exceeds the gaps, because a gap that is wider than ten amot is not called a "doorway," and there is therefore no partition there. If, however, the gap is given the form of a doorway, one may carry within it even if it is wider than ten amot (see mishnah I, above).

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