Beitzah 35b — the Talmud in English

Courtyard

which Rabbi Yohanan said does not establish [the obligation to tithe] for produce whose work has not been completed,

to exclude

Rabbi Yohanan came

from Rabbi Yaakov

who holds that a courtyard establishes [the obligation] even for produce whose work has not been completed.

As we learned: One who transfers figs into his courtyard in order to set them aside for drying—

his sons and the members of his household may eat from them casually, and they are exempt from the tithe.

For the courtyard does not establish [the obligation] for produce whose work has not been completed.

And it was taught concerning it: Rabbi Yaakov obligates

because the courtyard establishes [the obligation] in every case,

and Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Yehuda exempts.

And in order to exclude the view of Rabbi Yaakov, Rabbi Yohanan ruled not in accordance with him.

Teruma

which Rabbi Yohanan said does not establish [the obligation] for produce whose work has not been completed,

to exclude Rabbi Eliezer:

As we learned: Produce whose teruma was separated before its work was completed:

Rabbi Eliezer prohibits eating from it casually,

since it was rendered established [for tithing] by the teruma, even though its work was not completed.

But the Sages permit,

since its work was not completed, and Rabbi Yohanan ruled in accordance with the Sages.

And concerning a purchase, about which Rabbi Yohanan said: It establishes [the obligation] only for produce whose work has not been completed, the Gemara explains two matters:

The first:

A purchase

about which Rabbi Yohanan said that it does not establish [the obligation] for produce whose work has not been completed—his words here are

as it was taught:

a tannaitic source that was not included in the Mishna:

One who purchases figs from an am ha-aretz—

who are suspect concerning tithes, and the Sages decreed that one must separate a tithe from them—

in a place where most people

dry them and

press

them into a circular cake, to make “fig cakes,” and it is found that their work has still not been completed, he may

eat from them casually,

and although a purchase was made with them, a purchase establishes [the obligation] only for produce whose work has been completed.

And

when he

tithes them,

he tithes them only as

demai,

that is, under the status of uncertainty, like other produce purchased from an am ha-aretz; and we do not say: Since their work was not completed, the am ha-aretz certainly did not tithe them, and he should therefore be obligated to tithe them under the status of certainty.

And because this tanna holds that there are those who tithe before the completion of the work, and that this is the customary practice, as a matter of basic law we should assume that he tithed them; and their obligation of tithing is only rabbinic and under the status of uncertainty.

And the Gemara explains:

Infer from this

from this beraita

three things:

a.

Infer from this: A purchase establishes [the obligation] only for produce whose work has been completed,

and therefore he may eat from them casually even though he “purchased them” from an am ha-aretz, and in accordance with what Rabbi Yohanan said.

b.

And infer from this: Most amei ha-aretz do tithe,

since we proceed leniently, as it says that he tithes them as demai; and it is merely an additional stringency that they were stringent to separate, due to uncertainty, the other tithes concerning which they were suspected [the language of Rashi].

c.

And infer from this: One tithes demai

[and not under the status of certainty]

from an am ha-aretz, even in the case of produce whose work has not been completed.

The second:

And to exclude

Rabbi Yohanan came, when he said that a purchase establishes [the obligation] only for produce whose work has been completed,

from that which we learned: One who exchanges

[an exchange between two people is a purchase that establishes [the obligation] to tithe]

produce—

such as figs, which some people eat as they are, in which case their work has been completed, while others set them aside for drying, in which case their work has not yet been completed—

with his fellow:

Whether the purpose of their exchange was for

this one

in order

to eat

them as they are,

and

even

this one

in order

to eat

or even

this one

in order

to set aside for drying, and this one

in order

to set aside for drying, or that

he exchanged—

this one

in order

to eat, and this one

in order

to set aside for drying—

In all these cases, each one is

obligated

to tithe, because the purchase established the obligation, and even the one who took the produce in order to set it aside for drying, whose work had not been completed, since the purchase establishes [the obligation] even for produce whose work has not been completed.

Rabbi Yehuda says:

The one who exchanged it in order

to eat,

and its work had been completed, he is

obligated

to tithe, because the purchase established the obligation; but the one who exchanged it in order

to set aside for drying,

he is

exempt

from the tithe, because a purchase does not establish [the obligation] for produce whose work has not been completed.

And in order to exclude the opinion of the first tanna and to make known the words of Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yohanan made known that a purchase establishes [the obligation] only for produce whose work has been completed.

We will return to you, chapter “One who brings”

Mishna:

Mashilin [

throw down, Rav Ovadia of Bartenura and Tosafot Yom Tov]

fruits—

which a person spread on his roof in order to dry them, provided that they are fit for handling and are not muktzeh [Meiri]; and see “the rains are approaching”—

through the skylight

in the roof

on the Festival

so that they fall to the ground and will not be spoiled by the rain; since throwing them through the skylight is not excessive exertion, the Sages permitted him to exert himself and throw them down.

But not on Shabbat.

And they cover fruits with vessels because of the dripping [

rain dripping from the roof] so that it will not fall upon them. And we do not say that this is exertion not needed for the Festival, because the Sages permitted him this exertion because of monetary loss [Rashi].

And likewise

they cover on the Festival because of dripping even

the wine containers and the oil containers,

and the Gemara will explain what the Mishna comes to teach with this.

And they place a vessel beneath the dripping

to receive the dripping in the vessel so that it will not soil the house, and even

on Shabbat.

Gemara:

It was stated:

They disagreed concerning the wording of our Mishna,

Rav Yehuda and Rav Natan:

One teaches

that he taught our Mishna in the wording

“Mashilin”

fruits through a skylight.

And one teaches

that he taught our Mishna in the wording

“Mashhilin”

fruits through a skylight.

Mar Zutra said:

Both

the one who teaches “Mashilin” is not mistaken

this wording is not corrupted, for it is indeed an expression of causing to fall and lowering.

And

both

the one who teaches “Mashhilin” is not mistaken,

for this too is an expression of lowering.

And Mar Zutra proves that these expressions are expressions of causing to fall and lowering:

The one who teaches “Mashilin” is not mistaken, for

behold

it is written

in the rebuke in the section of Ki Tavo: “You shall have olive trees throughout all your boundaries, but you shall not anoint yourself with oil,

for ‘your olive tree shall cast down’ [

it shall cast down its fruits before they ripen], behold, it is an expression of causing to fall.

And the one who teaches “Mashhilin” is not mistaken, for

behold

we learned

in tractate Bekhorot among the blemishes of a firstborn:

“the shahul and the kasul,”

and the Mishna explains:

“Shahul”

that is

whose thigh has been dislocated,

his legs were initially equal, and one of them was dislocated from its joint and lowered until it became longer than the other [Meiri]; behold, it is an expression of lowering;

“kasul”

that is

one of whose thighs is higher than the other.

Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak said:

Even

the one who teaches “Mashirin” is not mistaken, and

even

the one who teaches “Mashhirin” is not mistaken, and

even

the one who teaches “Manshirin” is not mistaken,

for these too are expressions of causing to fall and lowering.

And Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak proves that these too are expressions of lowering and causing to fall:

The one who teaches “Mashirin” is not mistaken, for

behold

we learned: Rabbi Ishmael says: A nazirite

who is prohibited from shaving his hair,

“shall not rub his head with earth, because it ‘causes to fall’” [

causes to fall

the hair ,

behold, it is an expression of causing to fall.

And the one who teaches “Mashhirin” is not mistaken, for

behold

we learned: “The shahor” [

a razor, and it is made of two parts, a handle and a blade, Rashi and Meiri]

“and the barber’s scissors” [

scissors like ours, which have two blades and come apart from one another, and therefore they are called “a pair”],

“although they have separated”

from one another, they are

impure

since they are still vessels, for each of them is fit for use independently.

We have therefore learned that the razor, which “causes the hair to fall,” is called “shahor” because it blackens the hair.

And

even

the one who teaches “Manshirin” is not mistaken, for

behold

we learned: “One whose garments fell into water” [

his garments fell into water] on Shabbat

“walks in them and need not be concerned”

lest people say that he laundered them on Shabbat.

Alternatively,

it can be proved that neshira is an expression of falling ,

from what we learned: “What is leket

that must be left for the poor:

“that which falls” [

falls

“at the time of reaping.

Here the Gemara returns to explain the law taught in our Mishna:

We learned

in our Mishna:

“One may throw down fruits through a skylight on the Festival”:

And we explain:

“How much”

fruit is it that is not considered excessive exertion, and it is permitted to throw it down on the Festival?

Rabbi Zeira said in the name of Rabbi Asi—and some say, Rabbi Asi said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: Like that

measure

“which we learned”

in tractate Shabbat concerning another matter.

For we learned:

“They clear”

on Shabbat

“four or five baskets” [

of three se'a each, Tosafot, Shabbat 126b]

“of straw and of produce because of guests”

whom he invited for a meal and they have no place to recline,

“and”

they likewise clear them

“because of the interruption of the study hall,”

for the students have no place to sit, and he clears the straw and produce to prepare a place for them.

And it is this measure that they permitted here as well.

And we ask:

Perhaps there it is different

that the Sages permitted such a large measure, since

there is interruption of the study hall

or for the honor of the guests,

but here, where there is no interruption of the study hall

and there is not even the honor of guests, but merely monetary loss, perhaps

not

did the Sages permit exertion to such a large measure?!

Alternatively,

you have to distinguish the case of our Mishna from the Mishna in Shabbat, and say that they did not permit exertion in our Mishna to such a large measure, because

there—

where we are discussing Shabbat—

the reason that four and five baskets are permitted is because Shabbat is stringent

the stringent Shabbat, for there is stoning for performing labor on it,

“and it will not lead to treating it lightly,”

there is no concern that as a result they will come to treat the stringent Shabbat lightly.

But the Festival is lenient [

it is lenient], for performing labor there is flogging but not death,

and

there is concern lest

“it lead to treating it lightly,”

and therefore perhaps

“we do not permit so much,” [

the Meiri’s version].

Alternatively,

you have to distinguish

in the opposite direction

and say that, on the contrary, here there is room to be more lenient than there, because

there the reason is that there is no monetary loss, but here there is monetary loss,

perhaps

even much [

more than four or five baskets]

also

the Sages permitted?!