Shabbat 141a — the Talmud in English

“And they place before an animal whose mouth is bad” —

in a cow,

and it is called so because

it has saliva.

And that which it teaches: “they remove from before an animal whose mouth is bad,” in a donkey,

which is called thus in this beraita, because

it is not particular,

for it does not distinguish the quality of the food,

and it eats

even thorns and briers.

“And they place before an animal whose mouth is good” —

in a cow, which is particular, and eats

only straw and barley; the reason for the law is not connected to the fact that the donkey eats thorns, but rather that its mouth is called a bad mouth for this reason.

Mishna:

Ordinarily, straw is muktzeh, because it is designated for fuel. If its owner thought of it for animal food or for lying down, it is not muktzeh. And likewise, if he lay upon it from before Shabbat, even though he did not explicitly think that the straw would serve for lying down, the status of muktzeh is removed from it .

The straw that

was placed

upon the bed

not for lying upon it —

he may not move it with his hand

so that it will not be compressed but will be soft and comfortable for lying down,

but

he moves it with his body,

for example, with his shoulders, since this is not the usual manner of moving and is permitted.

And if it was

the straw prepared for

animal food, or if there was a cushion or sheet upon it

and he lay upon it while it was still day — it has the status of a utensil, and

he moves it with his hand.

The press of householders

which is used to iron clothes, and which has two boards between which the clothes are pressed —

they may loosen

the connection of the boards, which was made by means of a peg inserted into the posts located on the four sides of the press,

but they may not press

because since the clothes will not be ready on Shabbat, it turns out that he is preparing from Shabbat for the weekday .

And

a press

of launderers —

he may not touch it

even to loosen it, because it is very tightly fastened, and loosening it appears as demolition .

Rabbi Yehuda says:

Since a launderers’ press was prohibited only because of demolition, therefore

if it had been loosened

slightly

from before Shabbat —

he loosens all of it and removes it,

and there is no prohibition of muktzeh involved .

Gemara:

Rav Naḥman said: This radish

[radish] which they conceal in the ground, with part of it exposed, and which has not taken root, and the one who concealed it did not intend to plant it but rather to preserve the radish , and he came to remove it on Shabbat — the law depends on the manner in which it is lying: if the radish was lying in the ground with its broad head

above

and its narrow stem

below,

so that the cavity is broad above and narrows downward —

it is permitted

to remove it, since he does not move earth when removing it.

But if it was lying with its head

below

and its stem

above —

it is forbidden

to remove it, because then, when its broad head rises toward the upper part of the cavity, which is narrow, it moves the earth, which is muktzeh.

Rav Adda bar Abba said in the name of the school of Rav: We have learned [a Mishna] not in accordance with Rav Naḥman.

For we learned in our Mishna:

The straw that is upon the bed —

he may not move it with his hand, but he moves it with his body. And if it was animal food, or if there was a cushion or sheet upon it —

he moves it with his hand.

Infer from it

from the fact that they permitted moving muktzeh with his body, that

moving from the side

is not called moving,

and the Sages prohibited moving muktzeh only in the ordinary manner of moving; and if so, one who takes a radish and thereby moves earth is not moving the earth in the ordinary manner, and it is permitted. And this is not in accordance with Rav Naḥman.

And we conclude:

infer from it .

The Gemara incidentally brings additional places in which we find the words of amoraim, where the Sages sometimes permitted even initially the performance of a Torah labor in an altered manner .

Rav Yehuda said: These peppers —

grinding one at a time with the handle of a knife —

is permitted [

it is permitted to pound peppers with the handle of a knife one at a time], because it is considered grinding in an altered manner, since the usual practice is to pound many together .

But to pound

two —

it is forbidden.

Rava said: Since he alters

by grinding with the handle, and not with the object with which it is customary to grind, he need not make an additional alteration, and

even many as well

is permitted .

The Gemara gathers here various laws of Shabbat, although they are not very connected to the law of our Mishna .

Rav Yehuda said: One who bathes in water

[one who swims in the river water],

should first dry himself, and afterward ascend [

he should dry himself at first and afterward come up from the river], because if he comes out before drying himself, there is concern

lest he come to carry [

lest he move it along with his body]

four cubits

in

the bank of the river, which is

a karmelit.

And we raise an objection:

If so,

that we have come to be concerned about this, we should also prohibit bathing in a river, for

when he descends, he likewise propels by his force four cubits [

behold, even when he descends, he propels the water four cubits by his force]

and it is forbidden!

And we answer: Concerning moving by

his force in a karmelit —

they did not decree .

Abaye said, and some say Rav Yehuda: Mud that is on his foot —

he wipes it on the ground,

but he does not wipe it on a wall.

Rava said: What is the reason that on a wall he does not

wipe it, according to the one who prohibits it?

Because it appears like building

and thereby strengthens the wall,

but this

certainly is not how one builds in any ordinary construction; and behold, it is like a

farmers’ building [

the weak building of the farmers]

it is

for that is the way to strengthen it through this!

Rather, Rava said:

the opposite:

he wipes it on a wall,

for there is no concern,

but he does not wipe it on the ground,

for there is concern

perhaps

when he is occupied with wiping his foot, he will forget that it is Shabbat

and come to level depressions.

It was stated: Mar, the son of Ravina, said: Both this and that—

are prohibited: this because of building, and that because of leveling depressions.

this one because of building, and that one because of leveling depressions.

Rav Pappa said: Both this and that—

are permitted,

for there is no concern that it appears like building, as Rava holds, and there is also no concern that through this he will forget and level depressions; and even if he levels depressions unintentionally, there is nothing to it, because the halakha is according to Rabbi Shimon .

And we clarify:

For Mar, the son of Ravina—

with what do they wipe it?

And we say:

They wipe it on a beam

that is found on the ground.

Rava said: A person should not sit

at the mouth of the side-post [

a person should not sit beside the side-post of the alleyway] that is open to a public domain , because

perhaps it will roll

for him [

an object

into a public domain.

And he will come to carry it in,

because the distinction between an alleyway and a public domain is not sufficiently recognizable .

And Rava said: A person should not set a jug upright on the ground

because, since it is heavy, there is concern

perhaps he will come to level depressions .

And Rava said: A person should not press wool-stuff into the mouth of a jar [

a person should not press wool-stuff into the mouth of a flask],

perhaps

he will come to squeezing

since the wool-stuff is wet .

Rav Kahana said: Mud that is on his garment—

he rubs it from the inside [

he rubs it from its inner side]

but he does not rub it from the outside

in the manner of whitening; and even though by Torah law the labor of whitening applies only with water , the Sages were stringent not to rub a garment, even without water, because it appears like whitening. However, when he rubs it from the inside, they permitted it because it does not appear like whitening.

He raised an objection to him: Mud that is on his shoe—

he scrapes it with the back of a knife

and not with its sharp edge, because it peels the leather and this is memachek,

and

mud

that is on his garment—

he scrapes it with his fingernail

and all the more so with the back of a knife ,

provided that he does not rub it.

And we object:

What, does it not mean [

does it not imply]

that he should not rub it at all?

And we answer:

No. That he should not rub it from the outside, but from the inside,

and scraping with a fingernail is permitted even from the outside.

Rabbi Abbahu said in the name of Rabbi Elazar, who said in the name of Rabbi Yannai: They may scrape a new shoe, but not an old one

because he smooths it.