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Week 11 - Thursday - 10 Feb. 2000

SHABBAT: CHAPTER 24: MISHNA 2

One may loosen bunches of sheaves before cattle, and one may separate kifin but not zirin. One may not chop up young corn or carob-pods before cattle, whether small or large; Rabbi Yehudah permits carob-pods before the small.

Kehati

This mishnah teaches how food for animals may be prepared on Shabbat.

One may loosen bunches of sheaves - of corn (or of fenugreek - see 7:4, above) before cattle on Shabbat, for as long as the sheave is tied, it is not considered to be food, for it cannot be eaten; one is therefore permitted to unloosen them in order to prepare food for the animal, and one may separate - untie and scatter, kifin - moist cedar shoots; it is permitted to separate them on Shabbat before cattle, because only in this way are they made Fit for consumption by the animal, but - one may not - separate on Shabbat before cattle - zirin -bundles of straw that were tied with three knots. For as they are pressed tightly together by all the knots, it is sufficient to loosen the knots to make them food for animals. It is certainly forbidden to spread out on Shabbat bunches of sheaves which are bundled together by only two knots, and are not pressed together so tightly, for loosening them alone is sufficient to make them fit for consumption by the animal, and it is prohibited to excessively trouble oneself on Shabbat.

One may not chop up - on Shabbat, young corn - grain that is not fully grown from which animal fodder is made, or carob-pods - e.g., the moist and soft carob-pods, before cattle - so that they will be good for consumption by it, whether - before a - small - beast or - before a large - beast, because this is unnecessary bother;

Rabbi Vehudah permits - the chopping up of carobpods before the small - beast on Shabbat, because its teeth are small and it cannot eat the carob-pods unless they are chopped up. The halakhah does not follow Rabbi Yehudah.

We have interpreted the mishnah according to Rabbi Yehudah as quoted in the Gemara, a view followed by most commentators. Rav Huna, however, interprets it differently: "One may loosen bunches of sheaves before the beast, and one may separate" - i.e., it is also permitted to separate them on Shabbat, so that they will be better fitted and more convenient for consumption by the animal, because a great deal of effort is permitted on Shabbat for the preparation of food. Similarly, "kifin"- i.e., bundles tied with three knots, may be loosened and separated on Shabbat; "but not zirin" - moist cedar shoots may not be separated, and may not even be loosened, because they are generally used as lumber, and whatever is not initially food may not be prepared as food on Shabbat (Shab. 155b; the Gemara queries Rav Huna's interpretation in the light of the last section of the mishnah.)

SHABBAT: CHAPTER 24: MISHNA 3

One may not stuff a camel, and not cram, but one may put food in its mouth. And one may not stuff calves, but one may put food in their mouth. And one may strew feed for fowls, and one may put water in coarse bran, but not knead. And one may not put water before bees or before doves that are in a dovecote, but one may put before geese and fowls, and before yonei hardesiyot.

Kehati

This mishnah continues to teach that one may not engage in excessive work in the feeding of cattle and fowl on Shabbat.

One may not stuff a camel - It was the practice to stuff a camel, i.e., to feed it a large amount of food at one time (to make a "feeding receptacle" [ebus] in its stomach), before setting out into the desert, so that it would have sufficient food for several days. The mishnah teaches that it is prohibited to stuff a camel on Shabbat, because this is excessive labor; and not - forcibly - cram -the food down its throat, so that it cannot reject it but - if the camel does not want to eat, one may put food in its mouth - and the camel swallows it by himself.

And one may not stuff the calves - I.e., making them lie down and stuffing food mixed with water down their throats, so that they cannot reject it; this is prohibited on Shabbat because it is excessive labor;

but one may put food in their - the calves', mouth - in a normal manner, just as far down as the calves can bring up the food.

And one may strew feed for fowls - stuff the food into their mouths (Gemara and Rashi). According to another interpretation, they give the food by hand and the chickens collect it (Rambarn), and one may put water in coarse bran - the waste matter of flour, as animal feed, but not knead - the coarse bran in water.

And one may not put water - on Shabbat, before bees or before doves that are in a dovecote - because they fly about and water is available for them in lakes (Gemara), so it would be unnecessary trouble,

but one may put - food and water on Shabbat, before geese and fowls - which are domesticated, and before yonei hardesiyot - a type of domesticated dove. They are called "hardesiyot" after King Herod, because he grew them in his palace. Since the latter birds do not normally fly from the house, their owner must provide them with food and drink; therefore, one may put before them food and drink on Shabbat.

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