Shabbat 20b (כ:) — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

With what

with which wicks

may one kindle

the Shabbat lamp?

And with what

with which wicks and oils

may one not kindle?

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

One may not kindle—

Neither with lukh,

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

Nor with khosen,

unprocessed flax.

Nor with kalkh,

silk waste.

Nor with the wick of iddan,

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

Nor with the wick of the desert,

types of grasses from which wicks are made and with which one kindles.

Nor with the green growth on the surface of the water,

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

The reason one may not kindle with these wicks is that the flame does not seize them well, and he might come to adjust the flame on Shabbat.

The tanna now proceeds to explain which types of oils one may not use, because they do not flow properly after the wick, and there is concern that he might tilt the lamp so that the oil will flow through them.

Not with tar—

melted.

Nor with wax—

molten.

Nor with castor oil

[and the Gemara [21a] disputes whether it is extracted from a plant or from an animal].

Nor with oil designated for burning,

teruma oil that became impure and is destined to be burned.

Nor with

the fat of the

tail

that is permitted for consumption.

Nor with forbidden fat

that is prohibited for consumption.

Nahum the Mede says: One may kindle with

fat that is

cooked—

melted. Since it has been cooked, it is soft and flows after the wick.

And the Sages say: Both

forbidden fat that is

cooked, and

forbidden fat that is

not cooked—

one may not kindle with it.

[And below the Gemara asks: The Sages—is this not identical to the first tanna? For the first tanna also said: “Nor with forbidden fat.” And it concludes that they disagree over whether it is permitted to kindle with forbidden fat mixed with a small amount of oil.]

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: One may not kindle with lukh.

And we inquire: What is

lukh?

And we explain:

The branch of a cedar,

a branch of a cedar tree.

And we challenge: The branch of a cedar—

it is merely

wood,

and is not at all fit to be made into a wick [but rather to be used for a fire].

And we explain:

With the fiber,

something resembling wool,

that is found

between the wood and the bark.

We learned in the Mishna:

Nor with khosen.

Rav Yosef said:

Khosen is

flax tow

[the waste shaken out of flax].

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

shall become tow.”

This indicates that “strong one” is not “tow.”

Rather, Abaye said:

Khosen is

flax

[flax]

that is beaten,

crushed,

but not combed,

not combed with a card [Rashi, Sukkah 12b]; therefore the oil does not flow after it.

And this is the meaning of the verse: “And the strong one”—the strong flax—“shall become tow,” the flax waste that is quickly consumed. It is a metaphor, that the mighty shall become weak.

We learned in the Mishna:

Nor with kalkh.

Shmuel said: I asked all the seafarers,

I asked those who go down to the sea what the word “kalkh” means.

And they told me: Its name is “kulkha.”

Rav Yitzhak bar Zeira said: “Kalkh” is

the material called

gushkera,

silk waste. It is forbidden to make a wick from it because the flame does not remain attached to it steadily.

Ravin and Abaye were sitting before Rav Naḥman, the brother of the Exilarch. They saw that he was wearing

matkhasa,

a garment made of the material called “kalkh.”

Ravin said to Abaye:

This garment,

is it not kalkh, as we learned

that one may not kindle with it?

He said to him,

Abaye:

In our place

[in our locale],

“shira paranda”

means fine silk;

that is what we call it.

A difficulty was raised: “The shiraim”—

a cloak made from the principal silk,

“and the kalkh”—

silk made from the silkworm’s cocoon,

“and the sirikin”—

a cloak made from soft silk—

are obligated in ritual fringes.

Since it lists “the shiraim” and “the kalkh,” it follows that kalkh is not shiraim, contradicting Abaye’s statement that kalkh is called “shira paranda.”

And we conclude: This is a

refutation

of his words.

Alternatively,

I can say to you: The type called

shira

is one type

by itself.

And

the type called

shira paranda

is another type

by itself.

[The reading of the Maharshal:

Alternatively, it is explaining the interpretation: the beraita listed only two types, and shiraim means kalkh.]

and the source listed only two types; “silk garments” means silk waste.]

We learned in the Mishna:

Nor with the wick of iddan.

What is it?

Aḥvina,

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

Ravin and Abaye were walking in the valley

a valley

of Tamarurita

[a place-name].

They saw those willows,

willow trees.

Ravin said to Abaye:

This willow

is it not “iddan,” as we learned

in the Mishna that one may not kindle with it?

He said to him,

Abaye:

That

is merely

wood, and is not fit at all to be used as a wick, but only for a fire.

He peeled

Ravin peeled the bark from the tree,

and showed him the fiber between them,

the fibers found between the wood and the bark, which are fit to be made into a wick.

We learned in the Mishna:

Nor with the wick of the desert.

What is it?

Shabra,

a long grass [nettle].

We learned in the Mishna:

Nor with the green growth on

the surface of the water.

And we inquire:

What is it?

If you say it is the dark growth of the ditches,

the greenish growth that develops on a ship remaining in the water,

that cannot be so, because these

crumble into pieces,

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 listed by the Sages in the Mishna as unfit for kindling, the wicks

of wool and of hair,

which are also forbidden for kindling.

And our tanna,

why did he not list them?

And we explain: Because

wool shrinks,

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

And hair

is also unfit for kindling because

it becomes singed and curls,

and once it is singed by the fire it is unfit to serve as a wick; therefore the tanna did not list it in the Mishna.

We learned in the Mishna:

Nor with tar.

And we explain:

Tar—

zifta

[in Aramaic].

Wax—

kiruta

[in Aramaic].

We now explain that the laws of the Mishna are divided into two categories: (1) disqualified wicks; (2) disqualified oils.

The tanna taught: Until here,

from where the Mishna says “nor with the green growth on the surface of the water,” it deals with

the disqualification of wicks.

From here,

from tar

and onward,

the tanna of the Mishna specifies

the disqualification of oils.

It is forbidden to kindle with melted tar or molten wax.

And we challenge:

It is obvious

that the first part deals with disqualified wicks and the latter part with disqualified oils.

And we answer:

Wax

was necessary for it

to teach us.

Lest you say

that wax

is also unfit for wicks,

so that it is forbidden to make a wick from wax,

it teaches us

by stating, “From here and onward, the disqualification of oils,” that wax is prohibited only as an oil, but it is permitted to make a wick from it.

Rami bar Avin said: “Atarna,”

tar—is

waste of tar.

After the tar emerges from the tree, a clear waste liquid, resembling oil, drips from it.

Wax—

is

waste of honey.

The residue left from honey [that is, wax, within which the honey is found].