Talmud - Eruvin 69b עירובין ס״ט ב׳

unless he is an apostate with regard to idolatry. As long as he has not worshipped idols, his transgression of a single prohibition does not put him under suspicion of transgressing the rest of the Torah.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: Rav Huna was not attempting to offer a broad definition of an apostate, but was rather referring to the specific issue of giving away rights or renouncing rights in a domain with regard to the halakhot of eiruvin. And as it was taught in the following Tosefta: An apostate Jew, if he observes his Shabbat in the marketplace, i.e., in public, he may renounce his rights in a domain like a regular Jew, but if he does not observe his Shabbat in the marketplace, he may not renounce his rights in a domain, as he is no longer considered a Jew in this regard.

This distinction is significant due to the fact that the Sages said: A Jew may receive rights and give away rights in a domain through a mere statement of renunciation, but with regard to a gentile it is not so, as he may not transfer his rights to others or renounce them in a domain unless he actually rents it out. How so? A Jew may say to his fellow: May my rights in this domain be acquired by you, or May my rights in this domain be renounced to you, and his fellow thereby acquires those rights, and it is not necessary that he take possession of it through a formal mode of acquisition.

Rav Ashi said: Rav Huna’s statement that a Jew who desecrates Shabbat in public is an apostate is indeed a general statement, as he is no longer considered a Jew in any sense. In accordance with the opinion of which tanna did he make that statement? It is in accordance with the opinion of this tanna, for whom Shabbat is as severe as idolatry, and therefore one who desecrates Shabbat is treated like an idol worshipper.

As it was taught in a baraita with regard to the verse: “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: When any man of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the cattle, of the herd, or of the flock” (Leviticus 1:2). The baraita expounds: “Of you,” i.e., some of you, but not all of you may bring an offering – to the exclusion of an apostate. “Of you” additionally serves to emphasize that among you, the children of Israel, I distinguish between those who observe the Torah and are fit to bring an offering, and those who are not fit, but not among the nations, i.e., in regard to the other nations, even those who do not fulfill the precepts binding upon them may offer their sacrifices.

“Of the cattle” is expounded as follows: To include people who are similar to animals in their disdain for the proper behavior of man, i.e., that the wicked too may offer sacrifices. From here the Sages stated: We accept voluntary sacrifices from Jewish transgressors, in order to enable them to repent, apart from the apostate, one who pours wine libations as part of idol worship, and one who desecrates Shabbat in public, from whom we do not accept sacrifices without their complete repentance.

The Gemara expresses surprise: This baraita itself is difficult, i.e., it contains an internal contradiction: You first said: “Of you,” but not all of you, to the exclusion of an apostate; and then you taught: We accept sacrifices from Jewish transgressors. The Gemara answers: This is not difficult, as it can be explained as follows: The first clause refers to an apostate with regard to the entire Torah, whose sacrifices are not accepted, whereas the middle clause speaks of an apostate with regard to one matter alone, whose sacrifices are indeed accepted.

The Gemara raises a difficulty: If so, say an explanation of the last clause of the mishna: Apart from the apostate and one who pours wine libations to idolatry, and one who desecrates Shabbat in public. This apostate, what are the circumstances indicating his status? If it refers to an apostate with regard to the entire Torah, this is the same as the first clause. And if it refers to an apostate with regard to only one thing, the middle clause of the baraita is difficult, for it states that we accept sacrifices from such an apostate.

Rather, is it not true that this is what it is saying: Apart from the apostate with regard to pouring wine libations to idolatry and desecrating Shabbat in public? Although they transgress only one matter, this transgression is so serious that they are considered apostates with regard to the entire Torah. It is apparent from here that idolatry and Shabbat are equivalent, which indicates that there is a tanna who considers public Shabbat desecration as severe a transgression as idolatry. The Gemara concludes: Indeed, learn from this that it is so.

MISHNA: If one of the residents of a courtyard forgot and did not participate in an eiruv with the other residents before Shabbat, and on Shabbat he renounced his rights in the courtyard to the other residents, his house is prohibited both to him, who forgot to establish an eiruv, and to them, the other residents, to bring in objects from the courtyard to his house or to take them out from his house into the courtyard. But their houses are permitted both to him and to them, for taking objects out into the courtyard and for bringing them in. If they gave away their rights in the courtyard to him, i.e., if they renounced their rights in his favor, he is permitted to carry from his house into the courtyard, but they are prohibited from doing so.

If two residents of the courtyard forgot to establish an eiruv, and the others renounced their rights in the courtyard in their favor, they prohibit one another. In this scenario, the courtyard would belong to both of them, but each individual house remains the domain of its owner. It would therefore be prohibited for each of these residents to carry into the courtyard. For one resident may give away and receive rights in a domain, whereas two residents may only give away rights in a domain, but they may not receive rights in a domain. Since they did not establish an eiruv, it is unreasonable for the other residents of the courtyard to give away their rights in the domain, as the two who are prohibited because they did not participate in the eiruv render it prohibited for each other to carry.

The mishna poses a general question: When may one give away rights in a domain? Beit Shammai say: While it is still day, i.e., before the onset of Shabbat; and Beit Hillel say: Even after nightfall, when it is already Shabbat. The mishna cites another dispute: If one gave away his rights in his courtyard to the other residents of the courtyard, renouncing them after having forgotten to establish an eiruv with them the previous day, and then he carried something out from his house into the courtyard – whether unwittingly, forgetting that he had renounced his rights, or intentionally, he renders carrying prohibited for all the residents of the courtyard, for his action cancels his renunciation; this is the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehuda says: If he acted intentionally, he renders carrying prohibited; but if he acted unwittingly, he does not render carrying prohibited.

GEMARA: The Gemara first analyzes the language of the mishna. It states: It is prohibited to bring in objects from the courtyard to his house and to take them out from his house into the courtyard. It can be inferred from this that it is carrying to and from his house that is prohibited, but carrying to and from his share of the courtyard is permitted to the other residents of the courtyard.

The Gemara asks: What are the circumstances where this ruling applies? If the resident who forgot to establish an eiruv renounced his rights, why is his house rendered prohibited? And if he did not renounce his rights, why is his courtyard permitted? The Gemara explains: With what are we dealing here? We are dealing with a special case, where he renounced his rights in his courtyard to the others but did not renounce his rights in his house to them. And the Rabbis hold that one who renounces his rights in his courtyard has not renounced his rights in his house, as it is common for people to reside in a house without a courtyard.

The Gemara proceeds in its analysis of the mishna: It states that carrying in and out of their houses is permitted for him and for them. The Gemara poses a question: What is the reason that their houses are permitted to him? The Gemara answers: For he is regarded like a guest of theirs, i.e., he is subordinate to them and may carry wherever they may do so.

We learned in the mishna: If the other residents gave away their rights in the courtyard to him, he is permitted to carry from his house into the courtyard, but they are prohibited from doing so. The Gemara asks: But let them, the ones who renounced their rights in the courtyard, be regarded as guests of his, which would enable them to carry as well. The Gemara answers: One vis-à-vis five is considered a guest, whereas five or more vis-à-vis one are not ordinarily viewed as guests.

The Gemara attempts to draw another inference from the wording of the mishna: Shall we not learn from this, from the order of events in the mishna, that one may renounce his rights in favor of another when he needs it, and then the latter may renounce his rights in favor of the former when he needs it? For the mishna first describes a case in which the one who forgot to establish an eiruv renounces his rights in favor of the others, at which stage they may use the courtyard, and then afterward recounts that the other residents renounce their rights in favor of the one who forgot to establish an eiruv, leaving it permitted for him and prohibited for them.

The Gemara answers: No proof can be brought from here, for this is what the mishna is saying: If they gave away their rights in the courtyard to him at the outset, it is permitted for him and it is prohibited for them. In other words, this is not a continuation of the previous clause, but a separate case.

We learned in the mishna: If two residents of a courtyard forgot to establish an eiruv, and the others renounced their rights in the courtyard in their favor, they render one another prohibited from carrying. The Gemara raises a difficulty: Isn’t this obvious? What novel teaching is stated here? The Gemara answers: No, this ruling is necessary in a case where the others renounced their rights in the courtyard in favor of the pair, and one of them then renounced his rights in favor of the other. Lest you say let it now be permitted for him to carry, the mishna teaches us that since at the time of his renunciation it was not permitted for him to carry in that courtyard, he may not renounce his rights either. Therefore, his renunciation is ineffective, and they are both prohibited from carrying.

The mishna explains: For one resident may give away and receive rights in a domain. The Gemara poses a question: Why do I need this further explanation? This ruling can be deduced from the previous cases: If the mishna wishes to teach the halakha with regard to giving away rights, we already learned that one person may give away his rights in a domain, and if it wishes to teach the halakha with regard to receiving rights, we already learned it as well, so why the repetition?

The Gemara answers: He needed it due to the ruling in the latter clause, which includes the novel teaching that two residents may give away rights in a domain. The Gemara again wonders: But this halakha as well, that even multiple residents may give away their rights in a domain, is obvious. The Gemara answers: This was stated lest you say:

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Eruvin 69b examines whether public Shabbat desecration equates to idolatry, and how this status affects renouncing rights in a shared domain for eruvin.