Moed Katan 10b (י:) — the Talmud in English

However

to

a millstone donkey

that is destined to grind at the mill,

it is not

permitted to trim its hooves, since the entire permission to grind applies only when it is for the needs of the festival, and a small amount can be ground by means of a donkey even if its hooves have not been trimmed.

Rav Yehuda permitted:

trimming the hooves—

its claws—

of a millstone donkey.

And setting up the millstones,

placing one stone upon another in the usual manner.

And building millstones,

that is, making them from the outset.

And building the millstone trough,

the wooden structure upon which the millstones are built.

And building a stable,

a cattle shed.

Rav permitted:

combing horses,

combing the horses with an iron comb [see Tosafot, s.v. Ve-ein] in order to beautify them. This is permitted because of the needs of the festival, since it is considered part of the requirements of riding.

And building an akarpita,

a manger in which to place grain before the horses.

And building an itztaba,

a bench on which to sit or recline.

Rava permitted bloodletting

to bleed

an animal on the intermediate days of the festival.

Abaye said to him: It was taught

a beraita

that supports you: Bloodletting may be performed on an animal, and medical treatment for an animal may not be withheld on the intermediate days of the festival.

This is so even when treating it requires performing a labor prohibited by Torah law.

Rava permitted pressing

to iron

fine garments

garments as thin as a membrane.

What is the reason?

Since

it is an unskilled action. [

Rambam and the Shulchan Arukh explain that it is permitted to knead linen garments after washing in order to soften them.]

Rav Yitzhak bar Ami said that Rav Hisda said: Permanent pleats in garments,

such as in a collar, made by ironing them into place,

are prohibited

on the intermediate days of the festival.

What is the reason?

Since

it is the work of a craftsman.

Rava said: One who removes a mound ,

one who removes a mound of earth to level the ground, if he does so

with the intention of preparing a threshing floor,

to prepare a threshing floor where he can thresh wheat for the needs of the festival,

it is permitted.

However, if he does this

with the intention of preparing the land,

by digging his field for planting,

it is prohibited.

And we explain:

What are the circumstances?

How do we know for what purpose he removed the mound from his field?

If he removed

a mound

from one place and placed it

on another mound,

or he lowered a mound by filling the area around it with the earth removed from it and leveling it,

and

likewise if he dug in

a depression,

in a low place resembling a pit, and placed it

in another depression,

or dragged the edges of the pit toward the center and smoothed it,

then his actions demonstrate that he removed the earth from one place to another

with the intention of preparing a threshing floor,

for he did not level the entire field, but only the place desired for the threshing floor, and it is permitted to do this for the needs of the festival.

However, if he

removed a mound and placed it in a depression,

filling the hollows with the earth removed from the mound, his actions demonstrate that he was acting

with the intention of preparing the land,

leveling it for planting, and this is prohibited.

And Rava said: One who gathers scattered branches,

gathering wood from his land [the Ran explained that he uproots them], if he does so

with the intention of collecting firewood,

because he needs wood with which to fuel a fire,

it is permitted.

But if he does so

with the intention of preparing the land,

because he wants to plant there and is clearing it for plowing,

it is prohibited.

And we explain:

What are the circumstances,

which gathering is done for fuel and which for plowing?

If he

takes

only

the large ones,

the large branches,

and leaves the small ones,

leaving the small branches in the field, then

with the intention of collecting firewood,

he is acting with the intention of taking the wood for fuel, since only the large branches are used for fuel, and it is permitted.

However, if he

takes

everything,

the large and the small,

it appears that he is gathering

with the intention of

clearing

the land,

and it is prohibited.

And Rava said: One who opens a water channel to his land,

making a ditch between the river and his field [the Ran explained that he opens an aperture in the field’s fence, without making a ditch], with two openings; if he wants to catch fish, he opens both, and they enter from the river and remain in the ditch, while the water flows out.

However, if he wants to irrigate the field, he opens only the side facing the river, and the water fills the ditch, rises over its banks, and irrigates the field.

Therefore, opening it on the intermediate days of the festival only

with the intention of catching fish,

fish,

is permitted,

that is, it is allowed.

But

with the intention of preparing the land,

to irrigate it,

it is prohibited.

And we explain:

What are the circumstances?

How do we know whether he opened the ditch to catch fish or to irrigate his field?

If he

opened two openings,

two openings in the pool,

one

opening

above,

to allow the water to enter from above,

and one below,

to allow the water to flow out again, his actions demonstrate that

his intention is to catch fish,

when he opens the openings, and it is permitted.

But if he

opened

only

one opening,

and the water fills the ditch and rises over its banks, it is evident that he opened it

with the intention of preparing the land, and this is prohibited on the intermediate days of the festival.

And Rava said: One who prunes a palm tree,

pruning the branches of the palm, if he does so

with the intention of providing animal feed,

to give food to animals and livestock,

it is permitted.

But with the intention of tending the palm tree,

to improve it by removing only the dry branches,

it is prohibited.

And we explain:

What are the circumstances?

If he

takes all of it,

the branches, both green and dry, and removes them only

from one side,

from one side of the palm tree, this is

with the intention of providing animal feed,

to feed the animals,

since everything is suitable for an animal, and it is permitted.

But if he takes only the dry branches

from this side and from that side,

from both sides of the palm tree, it is evident that he is acting

with the intention of tending the palm tree,

and

it is prohibited

on the intermediate days of the festival.

And Rava said: These unripe dates,

which have not fully ripened,

cutting them

cutting them in half on Yom Tov for the purpose of eating them on Yom Tov,

is permitted.

But pressing them,

to pickle them and extract their moisture, is prohibited.

For through pickling they are not fit to be eaten during the festival. Rather, he intends to make them into raisins so that they can be eaten later on an ordinary weekday, and this is

prohibited,

because he is preparing food on the intermediate days of the festival for an ordinary weekday.

Rav Pappa said: Since they become worm-infested,

they develop worms if they are not pickled,

they are comparable to merchandise subject to loss and are permitted,

as merchandise that is permitted to be dealt with on the intermediate days of the festival when failure to deal in it will cause a loss. Likewise, the dates are subject to deterioration if they become worm-infested.

And Rava said: Merchandise,

engaging in commerce on the intermediate days of the festival, even

in the smallest amount, is prohibited,

because it involves exertion.

Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said:

The entire prohibition applies to merchandise that does not involve a loss.

And

however,

in a matter

subject to loss,

where failure to deal in it will cause him a loss,

it is permitted

to engage in commerce on the intermediate days of the festival.