Beitzah 32b — the Talmud in English

But

what is different with a knife, that he may not

cut it, since

he is fashioning a utensil — he is fashioning a utensil —

if so,

with fire also

he is

fashioning a utensil;

so why does Rabbi Judah permit it?!

Rabbi Hiyya taught

a beraita explaining Rabbi Judah’s view:

He cuts it with fire at the mouths of two lamps,

he places its two ends inside two lamps [if he needs to light them simultaneously] and lights the wick at its middle, and it separates. Therefore Rabbi Judah permits it, because it is not evident from his actions that he intends to mend the wick, but merely for lighting.

Rabbi Natan bar Abba said in the name of Rav: One may remove the darkened part

he explains it below

from the wick on a Festival.

And the Gemara explains:

What is meant by “one may remove the darkened part”?

Rav Hanina bar Shelemya said in the name of Rav: To remove the darkness,

to remove the blackness at the head of the wick, which darkens its light [and he does so while the lamp is burning, Shulhan Arukh].

Bar Kappara taught: Six matters were stated concerning a wick

on a Festival:

Three

of them

are to be stringent, and three

of them

are to be lenient.

And these are the three that were stated

to be stringent:

1.

One may not twist it initially on a Festival.

Their practice was to make a long thread and fold it; therefore he used the expression “twisting.”

In any event, every form of wick that one makes initially is forbidden to make, even without twisting, because making a wick is the making of a utensil. Meiri.

2.

And one may not singe it with fire

[with fire], in order to remove the loose fibers in it.

3.

And one may not cut it in two.

And these are the three that were stated

to be lenient:

1. If it is not sufficiently hard,

one may press it by hand

in order to harden it, since it is an irregular form of mending.

2.

And one may soak

it

in oil,

so that afterward it will burn well on that same day.

3.

And one may cut it with fire

so that it will be

at the mouths of two lamps.

Since the Gemara brought the statement of Rabbi Natan bar Abba in the name of Rav, it brings additional statements of this kind.

And

he further

said, Rabbi Natan bar Abba said in the name of Rav: The wealthy of Babylonia

[the wealthy people of Babylonia] —

they are destined for Gehinnom,

because they do not show compassion by giving charity.

For it is like that incident involving Shabtai bar Marinus, who arrived in Babylonia

and needed money for his livelihood.

He asked them for a business investment

[he asked the wealthy people of the place to give him money with which to trade, so that he and they would have profit],

but they did not give it to him

[they did not give it to him].

Shabtai asked them for

food

as charity, and also

they did not even feed him

[they did not give him food].

He said

about them, Shabtai:

These

are not of the descendants of Abraham our forefather, but

of the mixed multitude

that came up from Egypt

they come

[they are from their descendants].

For

it

is written: “And He will give you compassion, and have compassion upon you

as He swore to your forefathers.”

You have thus learned that the Lord swore to the forefathers that He would give their descendants the quality of compassion, to have compassion upon created beings; and therefore:

Anyone who has compassion upon created beings —

it is known that he is of the descendants of Abraham our forefather,

for the oath that the Lord swore to his forefathers was fulfilled in him.

And anyone who does not have compassion upon created beings —

it is known that he is not of the descendants of Abraham our forefather,

and the Lord did not swear to his forefathers to give him compassion.

And

he further

said, Rabbi Natan bar Abba said in the name of Rav: Anyone who waits at the table of others

— one who does not have food of his own and needs others to give him sustenance — the

world

is as though it

has become dark for him

[opposite him], meaning: darkness is spread before him, for everything is to him like darkness.

As it is stated

in the Book of Job [15:23]: “As a man

wanders about for bread,

to find

where

it is, then

he knows that a day of darkness is ready in his hand,”

prepared before him,

a day of d

a

rkness.”

Rav Hisda said: Even his life is not life.

The Sages taught:

There are three whose lives are not lives, and these are they:

1.

One who waits at his fellow’s table.

2.

And one whose wife rules over him.

3.

And one whose suffering rules over his body.

And some say: Even one who has only a single garment,

and consequently cannot wash it, and the lice in it cause him distress.

And the Gemara explains:

And the first tanna,

who did not mention “one who has only a single garment” among those whose lives are not lives, holds that in any event

perhaps he can inspect his garments,

he can examine his garments and clean his garment himself of the lice.

Mishna:

1.

One may not break a potsherd, and one may not cut

the

paper

in order

to roast on it

a

salted fish.

When they roast fish on the askala [a perforated metal utensil] and fear that the hot metal may burn the fish, they place between the fish and the askala a piece of potsherd or paper soaked in water. It is forbidden to break a potsherd or cut paper on a Festival for this purpose, as the reason is explained in the Gemara.

2.

And one may not rake the oven and the stove

of the plaster that fell into it, because that is the mending of a utensil.

But one may level them,

it is permitted to even out and smooth the earth and ash in the oven, so that they will not be raised and touch the bread attached to the walls of the oven.

3.

And one may not bring close

[bring one close to the other]

two barrels,

with the fire between them, in order

to set

[every placing of a pot upon a fire is called setting]

the pot upon them.

The Sages prohibited this by rabbinic decree because the barrels and the pot placed upon them appear like walls and a roof, and it resembles the construction of a building.

4.

And one may not support the pot with a log,

because, since the normal use of wood is for a forbidden purpose, such as making utensils from it, they permitted moving it only for kindling [Rashi 33b].

And likewise with a door,

he explains it in the Gemara.

5.

And one may not lead the animal

in the public domain

with a stick on a Festival.

And Rabbi Eleazar son of Rabbi Shimon permits,

and the reason for their dispute will be explained in the Gemara.

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: One may not break a potsherd, and one may not cut paper to roast salted fish on it:

And we explain:

What is the reason

that it is forbidden to do so?

Because he is fashioning a utensil,

for anything made for any use whatsoever is considered a utensil.

We learned in the Mishna:

And one may not rake the oven and the stove:

Rabbi Hiyya bar Yosef taught before Rav Nahman: And if it is impossible to bake unless he rakes it, it is permitted.

A tile fell into Rabbi Hiyya’s wife’s oven on a Festival

[a tile from the tiles of the oven fell into Rabbi Hiyya’s wife’s oven on a Festival].

Rabbi Hiyya said to her: See that I want good bread

[see, please, that I want bread properly baked]! Meaning: Rake the oven so that the bread will be properly baked.

Rava said to his attendant

[to his servant]:

Roast me a young duck

[roast me a small duck]

and beware of scorching

[and beware that the duck not be scorched].

That is, rake the oven of things liable to touch the roast and burn it, since they became heated in the oven.

Ravina said to Rav Ashi: Rav Aha of Hutzal told us

that

Rav Aha of Hutzal

about you,

that the master

[that my master] —

they smear the oven for him on a Festival

[they smear clay around the covering of the oven’s opening on a Festival], so that its heat should not escape while the roast is inside it.

This matter is astonishing to me, for kneading clay is a derivative of the labor of kneading, and it is forbidden to do it on a Festival, since it could have been done on the eve of the Festival, or it could have been sealed with something else.

He said to him,

Rav Ashi said to Ravina: We do not seal the oven with clay that they kneaded on the Festival, because

we

are close to the Euphrates River —

we rely on the bank of the Euphrates,

we rely on the sand on its bank, which is already kneaded clay, and we use it.

And this applies when he marked it,

the clay

from the day before,

when he made a sign in it and detached it the day before [because of preparation. Shulhan Arukh and Mishna Berura].

Ravina said: And ash

[ash]

is permitted

to knead it and smear with it, since it is not capable of being kneaded.

We learned in the Mishna:

And one may not bring close two barrels

in order to set the pot upon them:

Rav Nahman said: Stones of a privy

[large stones that are arranged in the ground to be like a hollow seat, and people sit upon them in the fields in a place designated as a privy]

are permitted to arrange on a Festival.

Rabba raised an objection to Rav Nahman

from our Mishna, where we learned:

One may not bring close two barrels in order to set the pot upon them,

because it resembles construction; here too, we should prohibit it for the same reason?!

He said

in reply

to him,

Rav Nahman said to Rabba:

There it is different

because he is making a tent

[the bringing close of the barrels is different because he is making a tent], for it has a roof, namely the pot; but in arranging the stones of a privy, it has no roof.

Rabba the younger said to Rav Ashi:

Is it so that construction without a roof is not prohibited?

If that is so,

according to your words, if

he built a platform

[a surface upon which to sit, which is solid and has no hollow beneath it, and is built as a structure of bricks and clay]

on a Festival, since he is not making a tent

[since he is not making a tent over a hollow place], would

this too be permitted

[would it likewise be permitted to build such a structure]?! But ultimately it is construction! If so, the stones of a privy should likewise be prohibited because they resemble construction, and there is no distinction between whether it has a roof or whether it has no roof.

He said to him,

Rav Ashi said to Rabba the younger: There is a distinction between them:

There,

with regard to the platform —

the Torah prohibited permanent construction,

and since by making the platform he is building a permanent structure, it is forbidden to make it.

But the construction of

a temporary structure the Torah did not prohibit.

Therefore, with regard to arranging the barrels, there is no Torah prohibition, for it is only temporary construction.

And the Sages decreed against temporary construction because of permanent construction,

and therefore it is forbidden to arrange the barrels when a pot is upon them.

And

if

here,

with regard to a privy, there would be no prohibition even rabbinically, because

for the sake of his honor,

that of a person who needs to relieve himself in a modest place,

the Sages did not decree concerning it,

to prohibit arranging the stones on a Festival.

Rav Judah said: This bonfire

[a large fire made before officials, constructed like a building: they arrange four walls of wood, and upon them arrange wood like a roof, and kindle it] — there is a distinction in the law concerning making it on a Festival:

If he builds the bonfire

from above downward,

arranging the roof first and afterward the walls, which is not the manner of construction —

it is permitted.

And if he builds it

from below upward,

first the walls and upon them the roof, in the manner of construction —

it is forbidden.