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Week 7 - Sunday - 9 Jan. 2000

SHABBAT: CHAPTER 12: MISHNA 2

One who plows any amount, one who weeds and one who cuts and one who trims any amount he is liable. One who collects wood, if to improve any amount, if to heat in order to boil a light egg. One who collects herbs, if to improve any amount, if to the beast as the mouthful of the kid.

Kahati

One who plows - on Shabbat, any amount - is liable, one who weeds - pulls out weeds from the grain or from the vegetables, and one who cuts - withered branches from the tree, and one who trims - fresh branches from the tree, for at times they are too numerous and they weaken the tree; if a person does any of these activities, even any amount - he is liable - on account of plowing. According to another opinion, on account of sowing (Hameiri).

One who collects wood - from trees, if he intended to improve the soil or the tree, collecting any amount incurs liability, on account of plowing (if he intended to improve the soil), or on account of sowing (if he intended to improve the tree), and if he collected the wood in order to heat - with it his oven, the measure incurring liability is in order to boil a light egg a dried fig's amount of chicken egg, which boils quickly (see 8:5, above); He is liable for doing this on account of "binding sheaves." One who collects herbs - he plucks herbs attached to the ground, if he intended to improve the soil, then one who collects any amount is liable on account of plowing, if to the beast, if he intended to feed them to his beast, their measure is as the mouthful of the kid - and he is liable on account of binding sheaves.

We have interpreted "One collects wood" and "One collects herbs" to mean, plucking from what is attached to the ground, which is the interpretation given by Rashi, Bartenura, Hameiri, and Hagra. The author of Tiferet Yisrael, however, refers these expressions to one who collects cut wood or who collects cut herbs.

SHABBAT: CHAPTER 12: MISHNA 3

One who writes two letters, whether with his right or with his left, whether from the same name or from two names, or from two dyes [samemaniyo t in any language he is liable. Rabbi Yose said, They imposed liability for two letters only on account of making a mark, for thus they wrote on the boards of the Tabernacle, to know which was the companion of which. Rabbi said. We have found a small name from a longer name, Shem from Shimon and Shemuel, Noah from Nahor, Dan from Daniel, Gad from Gadiel.

Kehati

The remainder of this chapter, beginning with this mishnah, discusses "one who writes two letters," which was listed among the main categories of activity in 7:2, above.

One who writes two letters - on Shabbat, whether with his right or with his left - the Gemara refers this to an ambidextrous person. Any normal right-handed person, however, writing with his left hand, is not considered to be "writing," and he is not liable on account of it; whether from the same name - [Name here means letter.] I.e., if he wrote the same letter twice (e.g., AA, BB, CC) he is culpable. According to another interpretation, he is culpable only if these two letters form a complete word [e.g., an, if] (see Tosefot Rabbi Akiva Eiger). Rambarn rules in accordance with the latter interpretation (//;/. Shabbat 11:10);

or from two names - two different letters, e.g., AB, CD, (even if they do not form a word); or from two dyes [samemaniyot] - one letter in ink, and one letter in sikra (a type of red paint). Some read "or from two simaniyot"' i.e., two marks, such as two numerals (Tiferel Yisrael), in any language - in the script of any nation, he is liable - to a sin-offering, if written unintentionally, or the death penalty, if written intentionally.

Rabbi Yose said: They imposed liability for two letters only on account of making a mark -

he holds that even if one did not write letters, but merely made two plain marks, he is liable, for thus they wrote on the boards of the Tabernacle - since they dismantled the Tabernacle for travelling in the wilderness, they used to make a mark on a board, to know which was the companion of which - so that the order of the boards would not be changed when they reassembled the Tabernacle during their encampment (and the activities prohibited on Shabbat are learned from the activities of the Tabernacle). Rambarn explains according to Rabbi Yose that marking is the main class of an activity, and the prohibition of writing of two letters is a derivative of marking. The halakhah, however, is that marking is a derivative of writing (Rambarn, Hil. Shabbat 11:17).

Rabbi - According to another version, Rabbi Yehudah, said: We have found a small name from a longer name - A part of a long name can be a name by itself, e.g., Shem from Shimon and Shemuel, Noah from Nahor, Dan from Daniel, Gad from Gadiel - This Tanna teaches that if one intended to write a name such as "Daniel" or "Gadiel," and he only wrote part of the word, such as the first two consonants ("Gad" or "Dan"), even though he did not do as he had intended, nonetheless, since the two letters that he did write form a word by themselves, it is considered to be a complete activity, and he is liable on account of writing. According to one opinion, Rabbi Yehudah disagrees with the First Tanna: according to the First Tanna, if a person writes two different letters, even if they do not form a complete word, he is liable, whereas Rabbi Yehudah holds that he is liable only if he wrote two letters which form a complete word, and even if he intended to write a longer word, but wrote only two letters from it (which form a complete word by themselves), he is liable. If, however, he wrote two letters which do not form a complete word. Rabbi Yehudah holds that he is exempt (Hameiri). The halakhah however, is that writing two different letters, even if they do not form a word, incurs liability.

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