Talmud - Shabbat 141a שבת קמ״א א׳

which has spittle.

And that which was taught in the other baraita: One may take hay from before an animal whose mouth is foul, is referring to a donkey. Its mouth is foul because it does not discern between different foods and it eats everything. And the statement: One may place it before an animal whose mouth is fine, is referring to a cow, which discerns between different foods and only then it eats.

MISHNA: With regard to straw that is on top of a bed, if a person wishes to lie on it, he may not move it with his hand to smooth it, as the straw is set aside for kindling; rather, he may move it with his body. Since moving straw with one’s body is not the usual manner, it is permitted. And if the straw was designated as animal food, or a pillow or sheet was on it, which would clearly indicate that the straw was placed on the bed so one could sleep on it, the straw is not considered set-aside, and one may move it even with his hand.

A press which belongs to a homeowner, one may loosen it on Shabbat. This press is used to dry and press clothing after laundering. One loosens it to remove clothing from it. However, one may not press clothing with it on Shabbat. And in the case of a press that belongs to a launderer, which is made specifically for pressing and requires professional expertise for its operation, one may not touch it. Rabbi Yehuda says: If the launderer’s press was loosened somewhat on Shabbat eve, he may loosen it completely on Shabbat and remove the garment.

GEMARA: With regard to moving items that are set aside, the Gemara cites that which Rav Naḥman said: This radish, which was buried in the earth, if it was buried from top to bottom, with its wide end at the top and its narrow end at the bottom, it is permitted to remove it on Shabbat. When the radish is buried in that manner, one does not move the earth when he removes the radish. However, if the radish was buried in the earth from bottom to top, with the wide end at the bottom, it is prohibited.

Rav Adda bar Abba said: They say in the school of Rav: We already learned in the mishna that the halakha is not in accordance with the opinion of Rav Naḥman: With regard to straw on top of a bed, one may not move it with his hand, but he may move it with his body. And if it is animal food, or a pillow or sheet is on it, he may move it even with his hand. Conclude from here that moving an item in an atypical manner is not considered moving. The Gemara concludes: Indeed, conclude from here that this is indeed the case.

The Gemara cites a somewhat similar case. Rav Yehuda said: In the case of these peppers, crushing them one by one with the handle of a knife is permitted. However, crushing two at a time is prohibited, because it appears to be a prohibited labor. Rava said: Since he alters the manner in which he performs this activity, even crushing many at a time is also permitted.

Rav Yehuda also said: One who bathes in water should first dry himself immediately upon exiting, and then ascend to the coast, lest he come to carry the remaining drops of water on his body four cubits in a karmelit.

The Gemara asks: If so, if there is a concern about carrying water, there should be concern when one descends into the water as well. In that case, his force propels water four cubits into the river, and it should be prohibited. The Gemara answers: With regard to movement that results from his force in a karmelit, the Sages did not issue a decree. Since one does not directly propel the water, but the water moves only as an extension of his motion, and since the river is a karmelit, and the prohibition to carry there is only a rabbinic law, the Sages did not issue a decree for one who descends into the water.

In a similar decree, Abaye said, and some say that it was stated by Rav Yehuda: If one has mud on his foot, he may wipe it on the ground on Shabbat, but he may not wipe it on a wall.

Rava said: What is the reason that he may not wipe it off on a wall? Is it because it appears like building, as he is adding plaster to the wall? That is the building of a field laborer, which is not an actual building. There is no concern in that case because in adding plaster to that building, one does not perform the prohibited labor of building.

Rather, Rava said: On the contrary, He may wipe it on a wall, but he may not wipe it on the ground. This is due to the concern lest one come to level holes in the ground while wiping his foot.

It is stated that other amora’im disputed this issue. Mar, son of Ravina, said: Both this, wiping the mud on a wall, and that, wiping the mud on the ground, are prohibited. Rav Pappa said: Both this and that are permitted.

The Gemara asks: According to the opinion of Mar, son of Ravina, with what may he wipe his foot? The Gemara answers: Even according to his opinion, there is a permitted manner to clean his foot; he wipes it on a beam on the ground.

Rava said: A person should not sit on Shabbat right at the entrance to a closed alleyway where a side post is placed as a symbolic partition enabling one to carry inside the alleyway. The reason for this is that perhaps an object will roll into the public domain and one will come to get it, as there is no conspicuous demarcation between inside and outside the alleyway.

And Rava also said a similar decree: A person may not position a barrel on a dirt floor, lest he come to level holes in the ground while smoothing the surface upon which he is positioning the barrel.

And furthermore, Rava said: A person may not stuff a rag into the mouth of a jug [shisha] on Shabbat, lest he come to violate the prohibition of squeezing liquid from the cloth.

Rav Kahana said: With regard to mortar that is on one’s garment on Shabbat, one may rub it off from the inside, but one may not rub it off from the outside, because that is comparable to the prohibited labor of laundering.

The Gemara raises an objection from that which we learned: With regard to mortar that is on one’s shoe, he may scrape it off with the back of a knife as a departure from the typical manner of scraping. And mortar which is on one’s clothes, he may scrape off with his fingernail, as long as he does not rub it. The Gemara asks: What, is it not saying that he may not rub it at all? The Gemara rejects that premise: No, it is saying that he may not rub it from the outside, rather from the inside.

Rabbi Abbahu said that Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Yannai said: One may scrape mud off of a new shoe on Shabbat, but not off of an old shoe, because a layer of the shoe will be removed, which constitutes the prohibited labor of smoothing.

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

Shabbat 141a examines rules on handling straw bedding and pressing garments, plus a discussion on removing a buried radish without disturbing the soil.