Shabbat 20b — the Talmud in English

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Rav Kahana said: Bundled reeds require

that the fire grasp

most of the reeds while it is still day. And if

he did not bundle them,

they do not require most.

And this is in accordance with Rav Huna.

But with kernels, he said the opposite:

kernels require most.

For anything that is not piled, its nature is to be extinguished. And if

he placed them in baskets, they do not require most,

for because they are piled, they ignite well from one another. And this is in accordance with Rav Hisda.

Rav Yosef taught: Four fires

are permitted to be kindled on the eve of Shabbat close to nightfall, and

they do not require

that the fire grasp

most

of them while it is still day. And these are they: a fire of

pitch, and of sulfur, and of cheese [

In the glosses of the Gaon of Vilna, he notes that the Rif reads “kira” instead of cheese, that is, wax ],

and of fat [

fat, wax, and everything that melts ]. Since it is not their nature to be extinguished, we are not concerned about stoking them.

In a baraita it was taught: Also

fires

of straw [

the ends of the ears of grain ]

and of collected stalks [

that which is gathered from the field ] do not require the fire to grasp most of them while it is still day, since they are not extinguished.

Rabbi Yohanan said:

Also

the wood of Babylonia does not require most.

And this will be explained shortly.

Rav Yosef challenged him: What is it

that Rabbi Yohanan said, “the wood of Babylonia”?

If you say it is thin wood [

thin pieces of wood ], why does it not require most

Now, a wick

that

Ulla said

concerning it,

“One who lights”

the wick on the eve of Shabbat

must light

the fire

in most

of it while it is still day—

all the more so thin wood

must one say that it requires most? And there is greater reason to be concerned that it will be extinguished in the case of thin wood than in the case of a wick.

Rather, Rav Yosef said: “The wood of Babylonia”—

this means

a cedar branch [

a branch of a cedar tree ], which is dry and thin, and there is something like wool between the bark and the wood. And through this it continues burning, and it is not extinguished. Therefore, there is no concern about stoking it, and we do not require the fire to grasp most of it.

Rami bar Abba said: “The wood of Babylonia”—

this means

zaza [

hairs that grow around the tree ], for it does not require most, because it is not its nature to be extinguished.

We shall return to you, chapter “The Shabbat Ejections.”

Mishna:

With what,

with which wicks

do they kindle

the Shabbat lamp?

And with what,

with which wicks and oils

do they not kindle?

At first, the tanna explains the types of wicks with which one may not kindle:

They do not kindle —

Neither with lekhakh,

with a wick made from the fiber that grows between the cedar tree and its bark.

Nor with khosen,

unprocessed flax.

Nor with kelakh,

silk waste.

Nor with the wick of idan,

a type of wool found in the willow tree between the bark and the wood.

Nor with the wick of the desert,

types of grasses from which they make wicks and with which they kindle.

Nor with the green growth upon the water,

a green plant that grows on the sides of a ship when it remains for a long time in one place.

And the reason that one does not kindle with these wicks is because the fire does not seize them well, and perhaps he will come to repair the fire on Shabbat.

Now the tanna proceeds to explain which types of oils one does not kindle with, because they do not flow well after the wick, and there is concern lest he adjust the lamp so that the oil will flow into them.

Not with tar —

melted.

Nor with wax —

melted.

Nor with castor oil

(and they disagreed in the Gemara [21a] whether it is extracted from a plant or from an animal).

Nor with burning oil,

teruma oil that became impure, which is destined for burning.

Nor with

the fat of the

tail

that is permitted for eating.

Nor with forbidden fat

that is forbidden for eating.

Nahum the Mede says: One kindles with cooked fat

which is

melted —

liquefied. For once it has been cooked, it is soft and flows after the wick.

And the Sages say: Whether

forbidden fat

cooked, or whether

forbidden fat

not cooked —

one does not kindle with it. [A0065](And below, in the Gemara, we ask: the Sages — that is the first tanna? For the first tanna also said, “nor with forbidden fat.” And we conclude that they disagree whether it is permitted to kindle with forbidden fat mixed with a small amount of oil.]

[The Gemara later asks: Who are these Sages? Are they not the first tannaitic authority? After all, the first tannaitic authority also said: “Nor with forbidden fat.” And it concludes that they disagree about whether one may light with forbidden fat mixed with a small amount of oil.]

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: One does not kindle with lekhakh.

And we raise a question about it: What is

lekhakh?

And we explain:

a branch of cedar,

a branch of a cedar tree.

And we challenge: A branch of cedar —

it is

merely wood,

and it is not at all fit to make a wick from it [but rather to make a bonfire from it].

And we explain:

with its wool-like fibers,

something resembling wool,

which is in it

between the wood and the bark.

We learned in the Mishna:

Nor with khosen.

Rav Yosef said:

Khosen is

flax tow

[the waste that is shaken out of flax].

Abaye said to him: But it is written: “And the strong one

shall be for tow.”

And it implies that “strong one” is not “tow.”

Rather, Abaye said:

Khosen is

flax

[flax]

that has been crushed,

which is pounded,

but not combed,

which has not been combed with a comb [Rashi, Sukka 12b], and therefore the oil does not flow after it.

And this is the interpretation of the verse: “And the strong one” — the strong flax — “shall be for tow” — for flax waste, which is quickly consumed. And it is a metaphor: that the mighty one will become the weak one.

We learned in the Mishna:

Nor with kelakh.

Shmuel said: I asked all the sailors,

I asked the seafarers what the meaning of the word “kelakh” is.

And they said to me: Its name is “kulka.”

Rav Yitzhak bar Zeira said: “Kelakh” is

the material called

silk waste,

silk waste. And it is forbidden to make a wick from it because the fire does not seize it steadily.

Ravin and Abaye were sitting before Rabbana Nehemiah, the brother of the Exilarch. He saw that he was wearing

a garment of matkhasa,

they saw that he was wearing a garment made of that species called “kelakh.”

Ravin said to Abaye:

This garment,

is it not kelakh, as we learned

that one does not kindle with it?

He said to him,

Abaye:

We

[in my place] call

“shira paranda”

fine silk,

it.

An objection was raised: The shiraim

a cloak made from the principal silk,

and the kelakh

silk made from the silkworm’s cocoon,

and the sirikin

a cloak made from soft silk —

are obligated in ritual fringes.

And since it teaches “the shiraim” and “the kelakh,” it implies that kelakh is not shiraim, and this is difficult for Abaye’s statement that kelakh is called “shira paranda.”

And we conclude: This is

a refutation

of his words.

If you wish, say

to you: The species called

shira

is a species

by itself.

And

the species called

shira paranda

is a species

by itself. [A0144][The version of the Maharshal:

[The Maharshal's version is:

And if you wish, say: He is explaining the interpretation,

and the beraita listed only two types, and “shiraim” means kelakh.]

We learned in the Mishna:

Nor with the wick of idan.

What is it?

Ahoina,

a type of wool found in the willow tree between the bark and the wood.

Ravin and Abaye were going in a valley

a valley

of Tarmorita

[a place-name].

They saw those willows,

willow trees.

Ravin said to Abaye:

This willow —

is it not “idan,” as we learned

in the Mishna that one does not kindle with it?

He said to him,

Abaye:

That —

is merely wood,

and it is not at all fit for a wick, but only for a bonfire.

He peeled

Ravin the bark of the tree,

and showed him the wool-like fibers between them,

the fibers found between the wood and the bark, which are fit to make a wick from them.

We learned in the Mishna:

Nor with the wick of the desert.

What is it?

Shivra,

a long grass [nettle].

We learned in the Mishna:

Nor with the green growth upon

the surface of the water.

And we raise a question about it:

What is it?

If you say, the dark growth of the trenches,

the greenish growth that grows on a ship remaining in the water.

That is not possible. For these —

are crumbled apart,

they disintegrate and it is impossible to make a wick from them.

Rather, Rav Pappa said: The dark growth of a ship,

a green plant that grows on the sides of a ship when it remains for a long time in one place.

A tanna taught: They added to them,

to the types of wicks that the Sages listed in the Mishna as unfit for kindling, the wicks

of wool and of hair,

for with these too it is forbidden to kindle.

And the tanna of our Mishna,

why does he not count them?

And we explain: Because

wool contracts,

it contracts because of the fire and does not burn at all, and the flame does not seize it.

And hair

also is not fit for kindling because

it becomes singed and curled,

and once it is singed by the fire it is not fit for a wick; therefore the tanna did not count them in the Mishna.

We learned in the Mishna:

Nor with tar.

And we explain:

Tar —

tar,

[in Aramaic].

Wax —

wax,

[in Aramaic].

And now we explain that the laws of the Mishna are divided into two: a. disqualified wicks; b. disqualified oils.

A tanna taught: Until here,

that we learned in the Mishna “nor with the green growth upon the surface of the water,” it deals with

the disqualification of wicks.

From here,

from tar

onward,

the tanna of the Mishna details

the disqualification of oils.

For it is forbidden to kindle with melted tar or with melted wax.

And we challenge:

It is obvious

that the first part deals with the disqualification of wicks and the latter part with the disqualification of oils.

And we answer:

Wax

was necessary for him

to inform us.

It might have entered your mind

that wax

is also not fit for wicks,

that it is forbidden also to make a wick from wax.

It teaches us this:

by the fact that we learned “from here onward, the disqualification of oils,” its use as wax is not forbidden except as an oil; but it is permitted to make a wick from it.

Rami bar Avin said: Atarna,

tar — it is

the waste of tar.

For after it comes out of the tree, a flow of clear waste resembling oil comes out of it.

Wax

is

the waste of honey.

The waste remaining from honey [namely, beeswax, within which the honey is found].