Shabbat 140a (קמ.) — the Talmud in English

It was taught: Yaakov Karcha said:

Why is there no prohibition against sorting the yolk from the white:

because one does not perform it

as sorting, since the yolk is better for eating. In that case, it would be sorting food from refuse,

but

the sorting is performed in order

to add variety [to give color] to the mustard

by means of the yolk, which is suitable for this purpose; therefore, the sorting is considered sorting one food from another food .

The Gemara now teaches how mustard is prepared on Shabbat in a permitted manner.

It was stated: With regard to mustard that one kneaded on Shabbat eve,

how should he complete its kneading

the next day?

Rav said: He should thin it with a utensil

[he should mix it by means of a utensil in the water that he placed in it, as this is the deviation from the weekday manner of doing it,

but not by hand,

since by hand he thins it thoroughly, and that is its usual manner.

Shmuel said to him:

What is this that you said, that on Shabbat one may not mix the mustard

by hand?

Is it so

[does]

every day

on weekdays

he thin it by hand,

so that you prohibited doing so on Shabbat? Is mustard

food for donkeys!

Rather, Shmuel said: He should thin it by hand,

since in this way he deviates from his weekday practice,

but he should not thin it with a utensil.

It was stated: Rabbi Elazar said: Both this

[with a utensil]

and that

[by hand]—

are prohibited.

And Rabbi Yohanan said: Both this and that—

are permitted.

The required deviation will be explained below .

Abaye and Rava both said: The halakha is not in accordance with Rabbi Yohanan.

Rabbi Yohanan arose

and retracted, returning and adopting

the position of Rabbi Elazar

that it is prohibited.

Rabbi Elazar adopted the position of Shmuel.

And after they heard of the retraction of Rabbi Yohanan and Rabbi Elazar,

Abaye and Rava both said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yohanan

who prohibited it both by hand and with a utensil.

Abaye’s mother prepared it for him

[Abaye’s mother prepared mustard for him on Shabbat]

and he did not eat .

The wife

[his wife]

of Ze'eiri prepared it for Rav Hiyya bar Ashi, and he did not eat.

She said to him: For your teacher

my husband

I prepare it and he eats, whereas you do not eat.

Rava bar Sheva said: I was standing before Ravina

[I was standing before Ravina and attending to him].

And I mixed it for him with the stalk of a garlic,

[and I mixed it for him by means of the stalk at the center of a garlic clove],

and he ate,

because in his view this deviation was sufficient.

Mar Zutra said: The halakha is not in accordance with all these statements

of the amoraim who prohibit it .

Rather, it is as it was stated: Mustard that one kneaded on Shabbat eve—on the next day—

he may thin it either by hand or with a utensil, and he may place honey into it

. But he should not beat it vigorously

[he should not mix it by beating forcefully]

but should mix it

gently .

Garden cress

[leeks]

that one ground on Shabbat eve,

on the next day—

he places oil and vinegar into it and adds

[and places]

mint into them. And he should not beat it vigorously, but should mix it.

Garlic that one crushed on Shabbat eve, on the next day—

he places beans and groats into it. And he should not grind it

but should mix it. And he adds

[and places]

mint into them.

What is mint?—

Ninaya

[mint].

Abaye said: Learn from this—

this ninaya is excellent for

mixing with

garden cress

[shahalayim].

We learned in the Mishna:

And one may prepare anomlin on Shabbat.

The Sages taught: One may prepare anomlin

for drinking

on Shabbat,

but one may not prepare aluntit

in order to drink it after bathing, to cool the body and not to relieve thirst, as this is comparable to a medicinal treatment, which is prohibited on Shabbat .

And which is anomlin, and which is aluntit?

Anomlin—

wine, honey, and peppers.

Aluntit—

old wine, clear water, and balsam, which they prepare in the bathhouse to cool themselves.

[They prepare it for drinking after bathing in the bathhouse, in order to cool the body].

Rav Yosef said: Once I entered the bathhouse behind Mar Ukva

[once I went after Mar Ukva to the bathhouse].

When I emerged, he gave me one cup of aluntit wine to drink

[when I emerged, he gave me one cup of aluntit wine to drink],

and I felt its coolness from the hair of my head to the nails of my feet

[and I felt its coolness from the hair of my head to the toenails].

And had he given me another cup to drink

[and had he given me an additional cup to drink],

I would have feared that perhaps they would deduct it from my merit in the World-to-Come

[I would have feared that, if I were saved from death, perhaps they would deduct this from my merits in the World-to-Come].

And we raise an objection:

But Mar Ukva drank aluntit every day,

so why was he not concerned?

And we answer:

Mar Ukva is different, as he was accustomed to it

[as he was accustomed to drinking it].

Mishna:

One may not soak ḥiltit

[a type of sharp fruit]

in lukewarm water

in order to drink the water for medicinal purposes,

but he may place

it

in vinegar

in order to dip food in it.

And one may not wash

[one may not soak]

vetches

[animal fodder ] in water so that the refuse will float and become separated ,

nor rub them

with his hand to remove the refuse, since this is sorting .

But he may place

them

into a sieve or into a basket,

and even though the refuse sometimes falls by itself through the holes of the sieve or basket, he does not intend for this to happen .

One may not sift straw

with a sieve

in order to separate the chaff from it .

And

likewise

he may not

place it

on a high place

where the wind can prevail

in order that the chaff will fall

which is the upper beard of the ear and is not fit even for an animal.

But he may take

the straw

with a sieve and place it into the manger

even though it is possible that it will become sorted in the process, since an act not intended is permitted, in accordance with Rabbi Shimon .

Gemara:

We learned in our Mishna: One may not soak ḥiltit in lukewarm water.

They raised a dilemma before them: If one soaked it, what is

its דין?

Rav Adda of Neresh explained before Rav Yosef: If one soaked it, he

is liable to bring a sin-offering

because of cooking.

Abaye said to him: If that is so, if one soaked a piece of raw meat

[raw meat]

in water, would he also be liable?

After all, lukewarm water does not cook, just as cold water does not cook!

Rather, Abaye said:

There is no prohibition here except

by rabbinic decree, so that one should not act as he does during the week .

Rabbi Yoḥanan asked Rabbi Yannai: What is

the law concerning soaking ḥiltit in cold water?

He said to him: It is prohibited.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him:

But we learned in the Mishna: One may not soak ḥiltit in lukewarm water.

And it implies that

in cold water it is

permitted !

He said to him: If so,

if I do not know how to explain the Mishna,

what difference is there between me and you,

who are my student?

The Mishna is an individual opinion

[the Mishna follows the view of an individual], and the halakha is not in accordance with it.

As it was taught in a beraita: One may not soak ḥiltit, neither in hot water nor in cold water.

Rabbi Yosei says: In hot water it is

prohibited; in cold water it is

permitted.

And the Gemara explains:

For what purpose is it prepared?

For heartburn

[for pain in the heart].

Rav Aḥa bar Yosef suffered from heartburn. He came before Mar Ukva, who said to him: Go and drink three tiklei of ḥiltit

[drink a weight of three gold coins of ḥiltit]

over the course of three days.

He went and drank it

on

the fifth day of the week and on the eve of Shabbat

[and on Friday].

In the morning

[on Shabbat morning]

he went and asked in the beit-midrash

how he should conduct himself on Shabbat.

They said to him: The tanna of the school of Rav Adda—and some say

the tanna of the school of Mar bar Rav Adda—said: A person may drink a kav or two kavs

of ḥiltit on Shabbat

and need not be concerned.

He said to them: Regarding drinking

ḥiltit on Shabbat,

I did not raise the dilemma,

because ḥiltit is a beverage that healthy people drink, and there is no prohibition against drinking it on account of healing .

For what I did raise the dilemma was

soaking

ḥiltit in lukewarm or cold water:

What is the law?

Rav Ḥiyya bar Avin said to them: I once had this incident, and I came and asked Rav Adda bar Ahava, but he had no answer.

[I had this case, and I asked Rav Adda bar Ahava, but he had no answer].

I came and asked Rav Huna, and he said: This is what Rav said: Soak

ḥiltit

in cold water, and leave

the water

in the sun

until it becomes lukewarm.

And we raised the question: Did Rav rule

in accordance with the one who permits

soaking ḥiltit in cold water, and, after soaking it in cold water, one may heat it in the sun, since there is no prohibition at all against heating a beverage in the sun? And we said:

Even according to the one who prohibits

soaking it in cold water, Rav permitted it, because

this applies

where one did not drink at all

and wishes to perform this treatment on Shabbat,

but here, since he drank on Thursday and on the eve of Shabbat, if he does not drink on Shabbat

he will be endangered,

and nevertheless, since it is possible to perform it in an altered manner, it must be performed in an altered manner .

The Gemara brings here another halakhic question that Rav Aḥa bar Yosef asked concerning the laws of Shabbat.

Rav Aḥa bar Yosef was leaning as he walked

[he was leaning and walking]

on the shoulders of Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak,

when he was elderly,

the shoulders

[on the shoulder]

of Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak, his sister’s son

[his sister’s son].

He said to him,

to Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak:

When we reach

[when we arrive]

the house of Rav Safra ,

bring me in

[bring me in to him].

When they arrived—

he brought him in.

He asked him

Rav Aḥa bar Yosef asked Rav Safra:

What is the law concerning rubbing a linen garment on Shabbat?

[Is it permitted to rub a linen shirt after it has been laundered on Shabbat]?

The Gemara explains the dilemma. Rubbing provides two benefits to the garment: It softens it, and it also shines it and completes its whitening. The question is whether

his intention in rubbing the linen garment is to soften the linen garment

and the benefit of whitening is secondary ,

and it is therefore permitted

Or perhaps: His intention is to produce whiteness

[to add whitening]

he intends

as does everyone who rubs it, primarily

and it is prohibited

by rabbinic decree , since this action is a continuation of laundering.

He said to him: His intention is to soften it, and it is therefore permitted .

When he left

Rav Aḥa

and came back, he said to him

Rav Naḥman, who had brought him to Rav Safra:

What did the Master ask him?

He said to him: I asked him: What is the law concerning rubbing a linen garment on Shabbat? And he said to me: It is permitted.

Rav Naḥman said to Rav Aḥa:

But the Master should also have asked him

what is the law concerning rubbing a

head covering?

Rav Aḥa said to him:

A head covering—

I did not raise the dilemma,

since

I had asked

what its law was

from Rav Huna, and he resolved it for me

by saying that it is prohibited.

Rav Naḥman said to him:

And the Master should have inferred it for himself from the head covering

that rubbing a shirt is also prohibited?

He said to him: There

in the case of a head covering, it

appears

more

as producing whiteness,

because people are more particular about it than about a shirt, since they wear it on their head and it is visible.

Here,

in the case of a shirt, it

does not appear as producing whiteness .