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Week 8 - Shabbat - 22 Jan. 2000

SHABBAT: CHAPTER 16: MISHNA 8

If a non-Jew lit a lamp, a Jew may make use of its light; and if for a Jew it is prohibited. If he filled water to give his beast to drink, a Jew may give to drink after him; and if for a Jewit is prohibited. If a non-Jew made a ramp by which to descend, a Jew may descend after him; but if for a Jew it is prohibited. An incident occurred when Rabban Gamliel and the elders arrived in a ship, and a non-Jew made a gangway by which to descend, and Rabban Gamliel and the elders descended by it.

Kehati

This mishnah teaches that if a non-Jew does a forbidden labor on Shabbat for his own benefit, a Jew may derive benefit from it. If, however, he did it for the Jew, even though the non-Jew did it of his own accord, the Jew may not derive benefit from this work on Shabbat (Rambarn, Hil. Shabbat 6:2).

If a non-Jew lit a lamp - for his own need, on Shabbat, a Jew may make use of its light since it was not lit by the non-Jew for a Jew, but for his own exclusive use; and but, if the non-Jew lit the lamp for a Jew it is prohibited for the Jew to make use of that lamp on Shabbat. If he the non-Jew, filled water from a well into a trough in the public domain, since a well is a private domain it follows that he carried water from the private into the public domain, to give his beast to drink - The mishnah uses this example because non-Jews and Jews alike are to be found at cattle troughs, a Jew may give - his beast - to drink after him - from this water, and we do not take into account the possibility that the non-Jew will draw additional water on behalf of the Jew. This is the halakhah if the non-Jew does not know the Jew. If, however, the non-Jew knows him, this Jew is prohibited from watering his beast after him on Shabbat, lest the non-Jew draw additional water on behalf of the Jew. In the case of a lamp, however, where the possibility of more or less is not relevant, for a lamp serves a hundred people as well as one person, since the non-Jew lit for himself the Jew may now have the benefit of the lamp on Shabbat, even if they know one another; and - but, if the non-Jew Fills water in order to give to drink for - the beast of - a Jew - it is prohibited - for the Jew to make use of the water. If a non-Jew made a ramp - such as an inclined gangway by - which to descend - from a ship to the dry land, a Jew may descend after him - This is akin to the law of the lamp that even if the non-Jew knows him he is permitted to make use of the gangway; but if - the non-Jew made the gangway - for a Jew - it is prohibited - for the Jew to descend by it.

An incident occurred when Rabban Gamliel and the elders arrived in a ship - on Shabbat, and a non-Jew made a gangway by which to descend - from the ship to the land, and Rabban Gamliel and the elders descended by it - by this gangway, after the non-Jew had descended by it. The Tosefta explains that the ship reached port on Shabbat eve before nightfall, for if a boat comes from the sea, one may not disembark on Shabbat unless the ship was already within the Shabbat limits before nightfall, for whoever comes from outside the Shabbat limits on Shabbat may not move from his place [which is two thousand cubits in each direction from the ship].

SHABBAT: CHAPTER 17: MISHNA 1

All articles may be moved on Shabbat and their doors with them, even though they are detached on Shabbat; for they are not as house-doors because they are so designed.

Kehati

In the introduction to the Tractate, we explained that the Sages prohibited the moving on Shabbat of things which have not been prepared bfore Shabbat for use on Shabbat, even for permitted purposes. These are called "prohibitions of muktzeh." Rambarn writes on this topic: "The Sages prohibited the moving of certain things on Shabbat in the manner in which they are moved on a weekday. Why did they enact this prohibition? They said: Since the Prophets warned and commanded that your manner of walking on Shabbat be not as your manner of walking on a weekday, and that your speech on Shabbat be not as your speech on a weekday, as it is written, "nor speaking thereof" (Isa. 58:13), how much more should your moving of things on Shabbat be not like your moving of things on a weekday, so that Shabbat should not seem to him as a weekday, that he will come to lift up and arrange objects from corner to corner, or from house to house, or hide away stones, or do similar actions. For since a person is at ease and sits in his house, he will look about for something to do. The result would be that he does not rest at all, and the reason for the Shabbat (as it is written, "That they may rest..." [Deut. 5:14]) will be cancelled. Moreover, if he were to examine and move utensils whose purpose is prohibited on Shabbat, he may come to occupy himself with them a little, and eventually perform a prohibited work. Furthermore, since some people have no trade or craft, but are idle all the time, such as those at leisure and those who sit at street corners, who are permanently at rest from work, if it were permitted to walk, speak, and move things about as on other days, they would not be noticeably resting on Shabbat. Accordingly, altering one's conduct in these matters is a form of rest applicable to everyone. Therefore, they enacted the prohibition of "moving," prohibiting one from moving on Shabbat articles which he does not require, as will be explained below. There is a utensil which is used for permissible work, which is a utensil which a person may do with it on Shabbat actions he does with it on weekdays, e.g., a cup with which to drink, or a dish from which to eat, or a knife with which to cut meat and bread, or nutcrackers with which to crack nuts, and so on. And there is a utensil which is used for prohibited work, which is a utensil whose normal function is prohibited on Shabbat, such as a mortar, a handmill, and so on, for it is prohibited to pound or to grind on Shabbat. Any utensil used for permissible work, whether it is made of wood, earthenware, stone, or metal, may be moved on Shabbat, whether for the utensil's own sake (e. g., he moves it out of the sun or rain, so that it will not be spoiled), or whether because its space is needed (e.g., the person wants to sit in the place where the utensil stands), or whether to use it (to use the utensil itself, e.g., eating from a dish). Any utensil which is used for prohibited work, whether it is made of wood, earthenware, stone, or metal, may be moved on Shabbat, if it is needed for some permitted purpose (e.g., using a mortar to crack nuts in it), or if the space it occupies is needed, but the utensil may not be moved for its own sake. "And anything that is not a utensil, such as stones, money, reeds, masonry, and so on, may not be moved" (Hil. Shabbat 24:12-13; 25:1-3, 6). This chapter is the source of these laws regarding the moving of objects, as well as other laws of muktzeh. This mishnah deals with articles with doors, such as cabinets and chests, the usage of which is permitted. It teaches that there is a difference between these doors and the doors of a house, as will be explained in the mishnah.

All articles may be moved on Shabbat and their doors with them - I.e., all (household) articles with doors, such as a box or a chest, which are used for permitted purposes on Shabbat, may be moved on Shabbat, together with their doors, even though they are detached on Shabbat - The Gemara explains, "even though they" the doors of the articles "are detached" before Shabbat, and at the start of Shabbat they were not attached to the articles, the doors may be moved "on Shabbat" incidental to the vessels; for they - the doors of such articles are not as house-doors - which may not be moved on Shabbat if they are detached from the house, because they - house-doors are not so designed - for moving. I.e., they were not made to be moved, but rather to be used with the house which is attached to the ground. The law of muktzeh therefore applies to them, and even if they were detached from the house on Shabbat it is prohibited to move them, which is not the case with doors of articles, for together with such articles, their doors are also designed to be moved about.

The author of Tiferet Yisrael explains that the mishnah used the phrase "and their (household articles) doors with them" to teach the following additional law: It is also permitted to remove the doors at the same time as articles, and we do not anticipate that he will hang the doors on Shabbat, and it certainly is permitted to move the doors without the articles (see Tosafot Hadashim).

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