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Week 38 - Monday - 14 August 2000

BETZAH: CHAPTER 2: MISHNAH 8

Three things R. Eleazar ben Azaryah permits, and the Sages prohibit: One's cow may go out with a strap between its horns, and one may curry an animal on Yom Tov, and one may grind pepper in its mill. R. Yehudah says, One may not curry an animal on Yom Tov because it makes a wound, but one may comb. But the Sages say, One may neither curry nor comb them.

Kehati

This mishnah continues to teach "three things," on which this time R. Elezar ben Azaryah and the Sages differ.

Three things R. Eleazar ben Azaryah permits, and the Sages prohibit:

A. One's cow may go out with a strap between its horns - into a public domain on the Sabbath. Though a Jew is commanded by the Torah to have his animal rest on the Sabbath, and he is forbidden to let it go out into a public domain with a load on its body (see our introduction to Tractate Shabbat 5:1), R. Eleazar ben Azaryah allows one to have his animal go into the public thoroughfare with a decorative strap between its eyes. The Sages, however, forbid the animal's wearing even a decorative strap, because not all cows wear such straps, and it is therefore considered a load. The Gemara cites (23a) a baraita which states: "It was not his (the cow did not belong to R. Eleazar b. Azaryah), but to his neighbor, but as he did not protest against it, it is referred to as his" (see Shabbat 5:4).

B. And one may curry an animal on Yom Tov - it is permitted to comb an animal on Yom Tov with a fine-tooth metal comb, even though this can occasionally cause wounds, for the person does not intend to cause such wounds.

C. And one may grind pepper - on Yom Tov, in its mill - a special pepper mill - even though they are large and difficult to handle. The Sages, however, permit the grinding of pepper on Yom Tov only in a small mortar of stone, wood, etc.

R. Yehudah says, One may not curry an animal on Yom Tov - as explained above, because it makes a wound - R. Yehudah holds that it is forbidden to do something that may result in a forbidden act even if it was not intended, and therefore one is forbidden to curry the animal with a metal comb, because the metal teeth causes wounds in the flesh, but one may comb - the animal with a wooden comb with broad teeth, for there is not fear of causing a wound.

But the Sages say, One may neither curry, nor comb them - for the Sages extend the prohibition of currying to combing, for if permitted to comb their animals, people might curry them as well. According to Rambam, currying is the removal of the small flies that cling to the thighs of the animal, which causes wounds, whereas combing is the removal of the large flies, which does not cause wounds. The halakhah concerning currying an animal is in accordance with R. Eleazar ben Azaryah, for the halakhah follows R. Shimon, that one is permitted to do something that may result in a forbidden but unintended act. Concerning an animal's strap and the grinding of pepper, the halakhah follows the Sages.

BETZAH: CHAPTER 2: MISHNAH 9

Pepper-mills are susceptible to uncleanness on account of three kinds of utensils: because of being a utensil which has a receptacle, and being a metal utensil and being a utensil used for sifting.

Kehati

As the previous mishnah mentioned the law regarding grinding pepper in a pepper mill, the present mishnah gives us rules regarding the ritual impurity of the pepper mill.

Pepper-mills are susceptible to uncleanness on account of three kinds of utensils - for it is made of three parts, and each part is considered as a separate utensil in regard to uncleanness. Thus, if one of the parts breaks, the other two are still susceptible to uncleanness. Another interpretation is that if one of the parts becomes unclean, the others do not, even if this happens when all three are joined and functioning together, because each can function on its own (Tosafot);

Because of being a utensil which has a receptacle - the wooden bottom part of the mill which receives the ground pepper is susceptible to uncleanness because a wooden utensil which has a receptacle is susceptible to uncleanness - and being a metal utensil - the top part in which the pepper is crushed, being a metal utensil, can become unclean even though it has no receptacle; and being a utensil used for sifting - the middle wooden part has a sieve which allows the pepper powder to go through, while retaining the coarse parts, and it is therefore also regarded as a receptacle (Tosafot; Rambam; and see Rashi and Bartenura, who explain that the sieve is not susceptible to uncleanness because it is considered to be a receptacle, since it does not really retain things. Rather, the Sages decreed that a sieve is susceptible to uncleanness because of its similarity to a woven fabric).

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