Shabbat 126a (קכו.) — the Talmud in English

Rabbi Abba said that Rabbi Kahana said:

whether

the stopper

is tied

to the window,

or whether it is not tied, provided that it has been prepared

and designated for this purpose since the previous day.

Rav Yirmeya said to him: Let the Master say

that the Rabbis say:

whether

the stopper

is suspended or is not suspended,

but merely dragged along the ground, it is permitted to stop up the window with it,

provided that it is tied.

But if the stopper is not tied, even the Rabbis agree that it is prohibited to stop up the window with it.

As Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Just as there is a dispute here

in our Mishna,

so is there a dispute concerning a dragged bolt [in Tractate Eruvin],

and there, according to everyone, we require that it be tied.

As we learned in a mishna: A bolt—

a peg used as a bar, which is inserted into a hole in the threshold—

that is dragged,

which is tied to the door but is not suspended in the air; rather, it is dragged along the ground,

one may lock

it is permitted to lock

with it in the Temple,

because since it was tied before Shabbat, locking with it does not involve building; rather, its only prohibition is a rabbinic prohibition, and there is no rabbinic prohibition in the Temple.

But one may not

lock with it

elsewhere,

outside the Temple, because of the rabbinic prohibition, as it resembles building.

And one that is lying

on the ground,

here—

elsewhere—

and here—

in the Temple—

is prohibited.

For when it is driven into the ground on Shabbat, this constitutes building, and it involves a Torah prohibition even in the Temple. [Tosafot wrote that the prohibition is rabbinic, due to carrying.]

Rabbi Yehuda says: One that is lying

on the ground and is not tied is permitted

in the Temple,

because since it was prepared for this purpose before Shabbat, it does not involve building.

And one that is dragged

along the ground and is tied is permitted even

elsewhere.

And it was taught in a beraita: Which is the dragged bolt with which one may lock in the Temple but not elsewhere? Any bolt that is tied and suspended, with its end reaching the ground.

Rabbi Yehuda says: This one,

that is tied,

is permitted even elsewhere. But which is the bolt

that

is prohibited elsewhere? Any one that is neither tied nor suspended, and one removes it

and when he removes it from the hole

he places it in a corner

on the ground.

And Rabbi Yehoshua bar Abba said in the name of Ulla: Who

is the

tanna

of

the dragged bolt? It is Rabbi Eliezer,

who says, with regard to a stopper for a window, that we require it to be tied and suspended. If so, it follows that Rabbi Yehuda, who says with regard to a bolt that we require it to be tied, agrees with the Rabbis concerning the stopper for a window. And it follows that the Rabbis require tying, contrary to Rabbi Abba’s statement that, according to the Rabbis, it need not be tied.

He said to him,

Rabbi Abba:

I, who say

that tying is not required, hold

in accordance with this tanna. As it was taught in a beraita: With regard to a reed that the homeowner prepared for opening and locking with it,

when it is tied and suspended at the entrance, one may open and lock with it. If it is not tied and suspended, one may not open and lock with it.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: If it has been prepared,

by mere designation,

even though it is not tied,

it is likewise permitted to open and lock with it. And I, Rabbi Abba, hold that the Rabbis of the Mishna agree with Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, and do not require even that it be tied.

Rav Yehuda bar Sheilat said that Rav Asi said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel,

for mere designation suffices.

We raised an objection:

But did Rabbi Yoḥanan say this?