Shabbat 108b — the Talmud in English

But he may make the salt water

that is, a small amount of salt water,

and dip his bread in it, and place it

them

into the cooked dish.

Rabbi Yosei said: Is this not hilmei, whether abundant or little?!

For even a little is forbidden to make, since it too resembles processing.

Rather,

and these are the permitted salt waters: He places oil initially into the water

before placing the salt into it,

or into the salt

before placing the water; for the oil weakens the force of the salt, and it does not have the status of salt water. [But he may not mix water and salt first, even if he subsequently places in the oil, for at the moment that he makes the salt water, he immediately appears to be processing it].

Gemara:

And we raised an objection concerning it:

What is he saying

the tanna of the Mishna? What is hilmei, and what is salt water?

And we answer:

Rabbi Yehuda said that Shmuel said: This is what he is saying: One may not make abundant salt water, but he may make a small amount of salt water.

We learned in the Mishna:

Rabbi Yosei said: Is this not hilmei, whether abundant or little.

It was posed to them:

Whether

Rabbi Yosei came to forbid

even a little,

or to permit,

even an abundant quantity?

Rav Yehuda said: To permit!

And the proof of the matter is:

Since it did not teach, “Rabbi Yosei forbids,”

it follows that he came to permit.

Rabba said to him:

On the contrary,

from the fact that it teaches

Rabbi Yosei in the

latter clause: “And these are the permitted salt waters,” it follows that Rabbi Yosei came to forbid,

for he says that only these are permitted?

Rather, Rabba said: To forbid!

And Rabbi Yohanan likewise said: To forbid!

It was also taught so: One may not make abundant salt water to place into pickled vegetables,

vegetables that one pickles for preservation,

that are in a gistera,

which is a broken earthenware vessel that is unfit for any use, and which one sets aside for this purpose.

But he may make a small amount of salt water, and eat his bread in it, and place it into the cooked dish.

Rabbi Yosei said: Is it because these are abundant and these are little—

these are forbidden and these are permitted?!

If so,

they will say

people:

Abundant work is forbidden, and little work is permitted?!

Rather, both these and those—

they are forbidden!

And these are the permitted salt waters: He places oil and salt

initially,

or oil and water

initially,

provided that he does not place water and salt initially

even if he subsequently places in oil.

Rabbi Yehuda bar Habiba taught: One may not make strong salt water

even a small amount [Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim, section 321, subsection 2].

And we raised an objection concerning it:

What is strong salt water?

Rabba and Rav Yosef both said: Any salt water in which an egg floats,

for the force of the salt prevents the egg from sinking.

And we explain:

And how much

salt is in it?

Abaye said: Two-thirds salt and one-third water.

For what do they make it?

Rabbi Abbahu said: For moraisa,

to pickle fish with it.

Rabbi Yehuda bar Habiba taught: One may not salt radish and an egg on Shabbat

many pieces together, because the salt processes them and improves them, as they become hard.

Rav Hezekiah said in the name of Abaye: Radish is forbidden, but an egg is permitted,

because it is not customary to make pickles from it, and the salt does not benefit it so much [Mishna Berura there, subsection 18].

Rav Naḥman said: At first,

initially,

I would salt pugla,

radish, on Shabbat.

I said: I am merely ruining it,

and this is not an improvement.

For Shmuel said: Pugla is sharp—

it is better

the sharper it is, the more excellent it is. And the salt diminishes its sharpness.

Once I heard this, that when Ulla came and said: In the West they salt

the radish

layer upon layer,

a circle upon a circle until the height, it follows that the salt benefits the radish; therefore,

I do not salt

two together on Shabbat, but

dip

to dip the radish in salt at the time of eating—

I certainly do dip it.

Rabbi Yehuda bar Habiba taught: An etrog, a radish, and an egg—were it not for their outer peels, they would never leave the intestines,

for they cause constipation. [In the case of an egg, the reference is to the white and not literally to the peel; and because etrog and radish are mentioned, it also uses with it the expression “peel,” Rashi].

When Rav Dimi came, he said: Never has a person drowned in the Sea of Sodom

in the Salt Sea, for the force of the salt prevents him from drowning.

Rav Yosef said: Sodom is overturned, and the wording is overturned!

That is, just as Sodom was overturned, so the statements said about it are reversed. For it is difficult: Is it only

a person who does not drown,

but

a beam

a wooden beam

drowns?!

Abaye said to him: He is stating, “It is not necessary”: It is not necessary to say this about a beam, which would not drown even in all the waters in the world; rather, even a person, who drowns in all the waters in the world—

in the Sea of Sodom, does not drown.

And we explain:

What practical difference is there

in this matter, that the Sea of Sodom is extremely salty?

As

in this incident involving Rabin, he was taking and going

walking

behind Rabbi Yirmeya at the bank

on the shore of

the Sea of Sodom.

He said to him

Rabin to Rabbi Yirmeya:

What is the law regarding washing

to wash the eye

with these waters on Shabbat?

Is it forbidden, since they heal the eye, and the Sages forbade all healing on Shabbat, as a preventive decree lest one grind medicinal substances and violate the labor of grinding?

He said to him

Rabbi Yirmeya:

It is fine!

For it is not evident that he is washing for healing; rather, he is simply washing the eye.

Rabin again asked Rabbi Yirmeya:

What is the law regarding closing and opening

the eye, in order that the water should penetrate into the eye?

He said to him

Rabbi Yirmeya:

This I have not heard,

but

I have heard something similar!

For Rabbi Zeira said: Sometimes he would state it in the name of Rav Mattana

the following statements,

and sometimes he would state it in the name of Mar Ukva

[for in truth he heard the same statements from both of them].

And both of them,

Rav Mattana and Mar Ukva,

said in the name of Shmuel’s father and Levi

two things: one thing in the name of Shmuel’s father, and one thing in the name of Levi.

One

Shmuel’s father or Levi

said: Wine

that is,

inside the eye,

that is, when he closes and opens the eye—

is forbidden

to place it, for it is evident that he is doing so for healing. But

on the surface of the eye

without closing and opening

is permitted,

for it does not appear that he is placing it for healing, but merely for washing.

It follows that it is forbidden to close and open the eye.

And this is the answer to the question above: What practical difference is there in the strength of the salinity of the Sea of Sodom? Since they are so salty, they heal; therefore, it is forbidden to close and open the eye.

And one

of the two

said: Tasteless saliva

of one who has eaten nothing that day [for it heals]—

even on the surface of the eye it is forbidden

to place it, for it is evident that he is doing so for healing, since it is repulsive for washing.

And we say:

It can be established,

it can be proven,

that it was Shmuel’s father who said: Wine inside the eye—

is forbidden; on the surface of the eye—

is permitted.

For Shmuel said: A person soaks his bread in wine and places it on the surface of the eye on Shabbat.

From whom did he hear it

Shmuel?

From whom?

Was it not that he heard it from his father!

Thus, Shmuel’s father said that it is permitted to place wine on the surface of the eye.

And we reject this:

And according to your reasoning, regarding that which Shmuel said: Tasteless saliva—

even on the surface of the eye it is forbidden.

From whom did he hear it?

If we say that he heard it from his father,

then

but Levi did not state even one of them?!

Yet certainly one of the two teachings was stated by Levi?

Rather,

against his will,

one he heard

Shmuel

from his father, and one he heard from Levi, and we do not know which one he heard

which teaching he heard

from his father and which from Levi.

And we still do not know which one Shmuel’s father said and which one Levi said.

Mar Ukva said in the name of Shmuel: A person soaks kilorin,

a bandage soaked with medicine,

from the eve of Shabbat, and places it on the surface of his eyes on Shabbat, and he need not be concerned,

for regarding himself there is no concern lest he come to grind medicinal substances, since he has a distinguishing sign: they permitted him only to soak it from the eve of Shabbat; while other people do not know that it is a medicine, but think that it is wine, and wash their eyes with it.

Bar Livai was standing before Mar Ukva. He saw him closing and opening

his eyes when he placed the kilorin in them.

He said to him: Surely my master Shmuel did not permit all this!

For through the opening and closing, it is evident to everyone that he is doing it for healing.

Rabbi Yannai sent to Mar Ukva: Let my master send us some of those kilorin of my master Shmuel

[for Shmuel was a physician, and Mar Ukva would go in and out before him].

He sent to him

Mar Ukva:

I am sending to you, so that you should not say that I am tightfisted. Rather,

you do not need this. For

Shmuel said thus: A drop of cold water

cold water to place inside the eye

in the morning, and washing the hands and feet in hot water in the evening

which brightens the eyes—

is better than all the kilorin in the world!

It was also taught so: Rabbi Mona said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda: A drop of cold water in the morning and washing the hands and feet in the evening are better than all the kilorin in the world.

He would say:

A hand

that touches

the eye

before washing the hands in the morning—

should be cut off!

That is, it is preferable for a person that the hand should be cut off and not touch the eye, because an evil spirit rests upon the hand and blinds the eye.

A hand to the nose should be cut off!

For it harms the nose, and likewise all of them.

A hand to the mouth should be cut off! A hand to the ear should be cut off! A hand to the bloodletting site,

the place of bloodletting,

should be cut off! A hand to the membrum should be cut off! A hand to the anus should be cut off!

[In these two cases it is forbidden even after washing the hands: in the case of the membrum, because it leads to a seminal emission, and at the anus, because frequent touching leads to hemorrhoids. They were mentioned here only along with “should be cut off” in relation to the other cases, Rashi].