Shabbat 104b — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

One who writes two letters

unwittingly

in one lapse of awareness,

without remembering between one letter and the other that today was Shabbat, or without knowing of the prohibition of writing

is liable

a sin-offering.

If he wrote with ink, with sam,

a type of earth,

with sikra,

a type of stone that colors red,

with komos

tree resin,

with kankantum

copper water,

or with anything that makes a mark

and the mark endures.

If he wrote

on two walls of the corners

of the house that are adjacent to one another—for example, one in the east and the other in the north—and at the place where the corners join, he wrote one letter on each wall.

Or on two leaves of a writing tablet,

two separate boards,

and they are read together,

the two letters are read together, because they are written on the edges of the boards adjacent to one another

he is liable.

One who writes on his flesh

two letters with ink

is liable.

If one inscribes

with iron

on his flesh

the form of two letters

Rabbi Eliezer holds him liable for a sin-offering, but the Sages exempt him

because this is not the manner of writing.

If he wrote with liquids,

such as the juice of berries that blacken, or

with the juice of fruits,

all other fruits, or

with road dust,

with mud [another explanation: he marked with his finger on the dust], or

with scribes’ dust,

with the dust of the scribe’s inkwell [and according to both explanations above]

and with anything that does not endure, he is exempt.

If he wrote

with the back of his hand,

on the back of his hand, for he held the quill reversed, with the place of the point upward, and turned his hand so that the back of the hand was downward, and wrote.

Or if he wrote

with his foot, with his mouth, or with his elbow

for he bent his arm and held the quill in the bend between the elbow and the hand.

In all these cases he is exempt, because this is not the manner of writing.

If he wrote one letter next to writing,

where one letter had been written and he wrote another letter beside it.

And if he wrote over writing,

where he passed the quill over letters already written and renewed them.

If he intended to write a het and wrote two zayins

for the quill skipped over the roof of the het, and two zayins remained.

If he wrote one letter

on the ground and one on a beam,

or

wrote on two walls of the house

not at a corner [and the same applies if he wrote on one wall, but the letters are distant from one another], or

on two leaves of a writing tablet

made of columns, and he wrote each letter on a different column,

and they are not read together,

for they are not read together unless he cuts away what separates them

he is exempt.

If he wrote one letter as an abbreviation,

where he made a dot-mark above the letter to hint that the intention is a complete word

Rabbi Joshua ben Bateira holds him liable, but the Sages exempt him.

Gemara:

And we explain:

ink

that is

ink.

“Sam”

is sama.

“Sikra”

Rabba bar bar Hana said: Its name is sikarta. “Komos”

is koma.

“Kankantum”

Rabba bar bar Hana said in the name of Shmuel: It is the black substance of shoemakers.

A dye with which they dye shoes black.

We learned in the Mishna:

“And with anything that makes a mark.”

And we raise an objection to it:

What does this come to include?

And we answer:

It comes to include that which Rabbi Hananya taught: If he wrote

the bill of divorce

with mei tarya

a type of fruit [another explanation: rainwater]

and

water of

the afatsa

berries called gallnuts

it is valid,

because it endures, and with regard to Shabbat also.

Rabbi Hiyya taught: If he wrote

a bill of divorce

with lead,

which is tin.

With black,

which is charcoal,

and with shihor,

which is kankantum

it is valid.

We learned in the Mishna:

“One who inscribes on his flesh,”

Rabbi Eliezer holds him liable and the Sages exempt him.

It was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Eliezer said to the Sages: Did not ben Stada bring out

writings of

sorcery from Egypt

when they were written

by means of an inscription on his flesh [to conceal them from the eyes of the Egyptian scribes, who examined all those leaving Egypt so that they would not take out writings of sorcery with them to teach them to the people of another country]? Thus, this is a manner of writing; and why do you exempt one for it on Shabbat?

They said to him,

the Sages said to him: Ben Stada

was a madman!

By this act, in which he endangered himself to do something that people do not ordinarily do,

and one does not bring proof from madmen!

We learned in the Mishna:

“If he wrote one letter next to writing”

he is exempt.

And we raise an objection to it:

Who is the tanna

of the Mishna?

Rava bar Rav Huna said: It is not in accordance with Rabbi Eliezer.

For if it were Rabbi Eliezer, he said

with regard to the labor of weaving [below, 105a] that although at the beginning of weaving a garment one is not liable until he weaves three threads, nevertheless, if he wove a row

of one

thread

onto the fabric,

onto that which had already been woven somewhat,

he is liable.

And here too, if he added one letter next to writing, Rabbi Eliezer would hold him liable.

We learned in the Mishna:

“If he wrote over writing”

he is exempt.

And we raise an objection to it:

Who is the tanna?

Rav Hisda said: It is not in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda.

For it was taught in a beraita: If one needed to write the Name

in a Torah scroll,

and he intended

mistakenly

to write “Yehuda,” but erred and did not insert the dalet into it,

in “Yehuda,” but wrote the Name of God, and the Name was thus written without intention, so that it is not valid

he passes a quill over it

a second time, with the intention of writing for the sanctity of the Name,

and sanctifies it.

And the Sages say: The Name is not of the choicest quality!

It follows that according to Rabbi Yehuda, writing over writing is considered as though he is now writing; and if so, with regard to Shabbat too, he should be liable.

A tanna taught: If he wrote one letter

on Shabbat

and completed

by means of it

a scroll,

where this letter was the final letter in one of the twenty-four books of Scripture, or if

he wove one thread and completed the garment

he is liable.

Who is the tanna

of the beraita?

Rava bar Rav Huna said: It is Rabbi Eliezer, who says:

one who adds a row

of one onto the fabric is liable.

Rav Ashi said: You may even say that it is the Rabbis.

It is so. For

completing

a scroll or a garment

is different,

for the Rabbis agree concerning it that he is liable, since it is a significant labor, and they disagreed only when he adds to some weaving, where the garment is still not completed by this.

Rabbi Ami said: If he wrote one letter in Tiberias, and

a letter

in Tzippori

he is liable.

What is the reason? Because

writing

of two letters

it is, except that bringing them close

to one another is lacking.

And we object:

But we learned

in the Mishna:

“If he wrote on two walls of the house, and on two leaves of a writing tablet, and they are not read

together”

he is exempt.

And here too, they are not read together?

And we answer:

There

the act of bringing close is lacking,

for they cannot be brought close except through an act: cutting away what separates them. But

here, the act of bringing close is not lacking,

for Rabbi Ami is dealing with a case in which he wrote each letter on the edge of the board, and they can be brought close even without an act of cutting.

A tanna taught: If he corrected [a letter]

[corrected]

one letter, he is liable.

And we object:

Now, if one who wrote one letter is exempt, can one who corrected one letter be liable?!

And we answer:

Rav Sheshet said: With what are we dealing here? For example, he removed the roof of a het and made it into two zayins,

and thereby corrected the scroll.

Rava said: For example, he removed the tag of a dalet,

the protrusion on its right side,

and made it into a resh.

And although he corrected only one letter, this is a significant act, since he thereby corrected the scroll, for it is forbidden to leave an uncorrected scroll, and it is like writing one letter and completing the scroll, concerning which we said above that he is liable even according to the Rabbis.