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Week 17 - Tuesday - 21 March 2000

ERUVIN: CHAPTER 8: MISHNA 11

So also, two deyuta'ot opposite each other, some of them made a pit and some of them did not make a pit - those who made a pit are permitted, and those who did not make a pit are prohibited.

Kahati

This mishnah contains further teaching regarding the pouring out of water on the Shabbat in a courtyard of an area less than four amot by four amot (see 8:9, above).

So also - (some versions omit the words "So also"), two deyuta'ot - two rows of two story buildings, opposite each other - the opposite sides of the courtyard, which is less than four amot. If - some of them - the inhabitants of one deyuta, made a pit and some of them - the inhabitants of the other deyuta, did not make a pit - those who made a pit are permitted - to pour their waste water in the courtyard, and those who did not make a pit are prohibited.

The Gemara explains that the mishnah refers to a case in which the inhabitants of the two deyuta'ot did not make an eruv with each other. Even those they pour their water inside their houses, and the water runs down from there into the pit in then courtyard, this is permitted, for the Sages did not forbid to pour in one's house water which then runs into a courtyard for which no eruv has been made. However, the Sages enacted this prohibition, for the people might, in order not to soil their houses, carry out the waste water from their house into the courtyard for which an eruv has not been made, in order to pour it into the pit. If however, the two deyuta'ot made an eruv with each other, all the inhabitants may pour out their water into this courtyard, even though there is only one pit there which holds only two se'ah of water, as it is taught in a baraita: "The same law applies to a pit and a damaged earthenware vessel, a pond, or a trough - even though they were filled with water from Shabbat eve, they may pour water into them on the Shabbat." I.e., after the Sages enacted the use of a pit, as a reminder of the Shabbat, to prevent the direct pouring out into the public domain, they did not enact any further prohibition (Rabbi Yonatan of Lunel), and they did not establish different rules for varying circumstances (Hameiri). Therefore, all the inhabitants of the courtyard may pour out their water in the courtyard, even if there is only one pit with a capacity of two se'ahs, which is the measure which suffices for one person's daily usage.

ERUVIN: CHAPTER 9: MISHNA 1

All the roofs of the town are one domain, provided no roof is ten higher or ten lower; so Rabbi Meir. But the Sages say, Each roof is a separate domain. Rabbi Shimon says: It is all one whether roofs, courtyards, or karpefot - one domain for vessels that were on the Shabbat, but not for vessels that were on the Shabbat within the house.

Kahati

As has already been mentioned, vessels that were at the beginning of the Shabbat within a courtyard may be carried within the entire courtyard, even if the inhabitants of the courtyard did not join in an eruv. The Sages enacted the law of eruvei hetzerot in order to permit the inhabitants to carry from their houses to the courtyard, and vice versa and from one person's house to another person's house (see the Introduction to this Tractate). This mishnah deals with vessels that were on the Shabbat on a roof or in the courtyard, and discusses whether a person may carry them from roof to roof, or from courtyard to courtyard. The Tannaim differ in this matter.

All the roofs of the town are one domain - Since they are not used frequently, and they are higher that ten tefahs, the law of division of domains does not apply to them. A person may carry vessels that were on the Shabbat on one roof to another, even though the inhabitants did not join in an eruv. This is because all the roofs have the status of one large courtyard, in which a person may carry vessels that were there on the Shabbat, even if an eruv was not made for it (see the introduction to this mishnah), provided no roof is ten higher - than the other roofs, or ten tefahs lower - for then it is prohibited to carry from it to the other roofs and vice versa so Rabbi Meir - The Gemara explains Rabbi Meir's reason due to his veiw that whenever there are two domains of the same type, e.g., a column with a suface area of four tefahs by four tefahs, which is ten tefahs high, and therefore has the legal status of a private domain, and it stands within a courtyard which is also a private domain - a person may not lift a load from the courtyard onto the column in order to subsequently place it on his shoulder. This prohibition was enacted as a preventative measure against a similar act in the case of a mound four tefahs wide and ten tefahs high in the public domain. A person might think that it is permitted to lift a load on such a column in the public domain just as it is permitted to lift a load on the column in the courtyard, for the courtyard also is a public domain. So also a roof that is ten tefahs higher than another roof is regarded as a column, and Rabbi Meir extends the prohibition to such a roof because of a mound on the public domain.

But the Sages say: Each roof is a separate domain - just as the inhabitants have separate houses under the roofs, so too do they have their separate roofs, and they may not carry from one roof to another without an eruv.
Rabbi Shimon says: It is all one whether roofs, courtyards, or karpefot - all the roofs of the town, even if one is high and another is low, and all the courtyards, and all the karpefot (enclosed area for storing lumber and similar items), which are mot more than the area of two se'ahs, are - one domain for vessels that were on the Shabbat - in one of them, since none of these have a specific and permanent use, they are all considered as one domain, and people may carry from one to another vessels that were in them on the Shabbat - but not for vessels that were on the Shabbat within the house - however, such vessels, which were in the house at the beginning of the Shabbat but were carried on the Shabbat into the courtyard because an eruv had been made, may not be carried into another courtyard, unless the two courtyards joined in an eruv. The same applies to a roof or to a karpef. The law follows Rabbi Shimon. A baraita in the Gemara states: "Rabbi said: "When we were studying Torah with Rabbi Shimon in Tekoa, we would bring up oil and a towel from one roof to another, and from one roof to a courtyard, and from one courtyard to another courtyard and from a courtyard to a karpef, and from one karpef to another karpef, until we reached the spring in which we bathed" (Eruv. 91a).

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