Talmud - Mo'ed Katan 10a מועד קטן י׳ א׳

§ It was taught in the mishna: A layman, who is not a skilled tailor, may sew in his usual manner on the intermediate days of a Festival. The Gemara asks: What are the circumstances in which an individual is considered a layman? The Sages of the school of Rabbi Yannai said: Anyone who cannot deftly pull a full needle of stiches through the fabric at the same time is considered a layman. Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: Anyone who cannot form a straight seam on the hem [ḥefet] of his shirt is considered a layman.

§ It was further taught in the mishna: A craftsman, however, may form only temporary stitches [makhliv]. The Gemara asks: What is meant by forming temporary stitches? Rabbi Yoḥanan said: He does not sew all the stitches that are necessary, but rather he skips certain stitches in the middle (Rabbeinu Hananel). Rabba bar Shmuel said: He sews stitches that are like the teeth of a dog. He does not sew all the stitches in a straight line, so that they resemble the teeth of a dog, which also are not straight.

§ It was also taught in the mishna: One may interweave the cords attached to the frame of a bed. Rabbi Yosei says: One may only tighten the cords. The Gemara asks: What is meant by interweaving, and what is meant by tightening? When Rav Dimi came from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, he said: Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba and Rabbi Asi disagree about the matter, and both of them reported their opinions in the name of Ḥizkiyya and Rabbi Yoḥanan. One Sage said: Interweaving involves placing and tying the cords of the bed both lengthwise and widthwise, whereas tightening means arranging the cords only lengthwise and not widthwise. And one Sage said: Interweaving involves arranging the cords only lengthwise and not widthwise, while tightening means that if a cord became loose, he may tighten it but he may not tie any new cords.

The Gemara asks: Is that so? Didn’t Rav Taḥlifa bar Shaul teach the following baraita: And both Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yosei agree that one may not braid cords anew on the intermediate days of a Festival? Granted, according to the one who said that interweaving means tying the cords lengthwise and widthwise, and tightening means tying them only lengthwise and not widthwise, this explanation is consistent with that which Rav Taḥlifa taught: And they both agree that one may not braid cords anew, as even though one is permitted to arrange the cords of the bed, he is not permitted to produce new cords.

However, according to the one who said that interweaving means tying the cords only lengthwise and not widthwise, while tightening means that if a cord became loose, he may tighten it, there is a difficulty. Now that you said that tying the cords lengthwise and widthwise, no, it is not permitted even though the cords are readily available, is it necessary to say that braiding cords anew is prohibited? The Gemara comments: Indeed it is difficult.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said to Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Avin: Is there one who says that interweaving means tying the cords lengthwise, but not widthwise? Didn’t we learn in a mishna (Kelim 16:1) that Rabbi Meir says: A bed is considered a utensil and becomes susceptible to ritual impurity from when one interweaves three rows of meshes in it, i.e., three rows lengthwise and widthwise? It is clear from here that interweaving a bed involves tying its cords lengthwise and widthwise.

Rather, when Ravin came from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia he stated a different version of the tradition: With regard to interweaving, everyone agrees that it is referring to tying the cords of a bed lengthwise and widthwise. When they disagree it is only about the meaning of tightening. One Sage holds that tightening means arranging the cords only lengthwise and not widthwise. And one Sage holds that it means that if a cord became loose, he may tighten it.

The Gemara raises an objection from the following baraita: One may interweave the cords attached to the frame of a bed on the intermediate days of a Festival, and needless to say one may tighten those cords; this is the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yosei says: One may only tighten the ropes but not interweave them. And some say: One may not tighten them at all.

Granted, according to the one who said that tightening means tying the cords only lengthwise and not widthwise, this is why the opinion presented as: Some say, comes to disagree and says that one may not tie the cords at all, even only lengthwise. However, if the cords became loose, all agree that they may be tightened. But according to the one who said that tightening means that if a cord became loose he may tighten it, then according to the opinion presented here as: Some say, may he not even tighten the cords of his bed? How, then, would he be able to sleep on it?

The Gemara answers: Yes, indeed, according to this opinion, it is prohibited even to tighten the cords of one’s bed. Since it is possible for him to fill the depression in his bed with clothing, so that he can sleep there, he may not exert himself during the week of the Festival and fix the bed in a more permanent manner.

MISHNA: One may set up an oven, a stove, and a mill on the intermediate days of a Festival. Rabbi Yehuda says: One may not chisel millstones for the first time on the intermediate days of a Festival.

GEMARA: The Gemara asks: What is meant by chiseling millstones? Rav Yehuda said: Cutting grooves into the millstones. As the millstones wear down over time and become smooth, one must occasionally cut grooves into the stones so that they can grind properly. Rav Yeḥiel said: Cutting out an eyehole in the upper millstone, through which the grain can pass, so that it can be ground between the two millstones.

The Gemara raises an objection from a baraita: One may set up an oven and a stove on the intermediate days of a Festival, provided that he does not fully complete the labor; this is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer. But the Rabbis say: He may even complete the labor. Rabbi Yehuda says in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: One may set up a new millstone and one may chisel an old millstone. And some say: One may not chisel a millstone at all.

Granted, according to the one who said that chiseling a millstone means cutting grooves into the millstones, this is how you can find this activity relevant to an old mill. But according to the one who said it means cutting out an eyehole, why does an old millstone need an eyehole to be cut out? It must have one already. The Gemara answers: This is referring to a case where he wants to widen the hole a little more.

The Gemara relates that Rav Huna once heard a certain man cutting grooves into his millstone on the intermediate days of a Festival. He said: Who is this? May his body be desecrated, for he desecrates the intermediate days of a Festival. The Gemara comments: Rav Huna holds in accordance with the statement cited as: Some say, that one is not permitted to roughen his millstones at all.

Rav Ḥama taught as follows: One may cut grooves into millstones on the intermediate days of a Festival. In the name of Rabbi Meir he said: Even with regard to the horse that one rides upon and the donkey that he rides upon, he is permitted to trim their hooves on the intermediate days of a Festival so that they do not suffer when they walk.

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

MoedKatan 10a examines how Jewish law distinguishes skilled from unskilled sewing and defines proper bed-frame cord repairs during a festival's intermediate days.