Eruvin 58b

עירובין נ״ח ע״ב

Learn Eruvin 58b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Measuring the תחום שבת across valleys and hills: spanning, piercing, and the lenient rules for surveyors

Overview

This amud continues the rules for measuring the תחום שבת when the path crosses a valley or a hill. If a valley's wall is sheer, so that a plumb line drops straight down, the measurer measures the width properly. רב יוסף allows spanning a valley up to two thousand אמות deep. אביי objects from a ברייתא that says one hundred, and the גמרא answers that רב יוסף follows אחרים. In a second version, רב יוסף allows spanning even beyond two thousand. The גמרא explains that he is speaking of a vertical wall, and אבימי defines 'vertical' as a slope of less than four אמות. רבא, in two versions, explains which hills are spanned and which are measured or estimated. רב כהנא explains why the measurer may not step outside the תחום. A ברייתא describes the 'piercing' method (קידור), which is not used for עגלה ערופה or ערי מקלט. A new משנה then rules that only an expert measures, that the larger measurement is followed, and that even an עבד or שפחה is believed, because the תחום rules are meant to be lenient.

Opening lines

The steps (23)

1. StatementWhen the valley wall is steep, measure it properly
2. QuestionHow deep can the valley be?
3. Responseרב יוסף: up to two thousand
4. Challengeאביי objects from a ברייתא that says one hundred
5. Resolutionרב יוסף follows אחרים
6. StatementSecond version: even more than two thousand
7. ChallengeWhose view is that? Neither תנא
8. ResolutionSheer walls versus sloped walls
9. QuestionHow much slope still counts as vertical
10. Responseאבימי sets the limit at four
11. ProofA ברייתא supports the figure of four
12. StatementThe משנה's rule about reaching a hill
13. Statementרבא limits the rule to steep hills
14. StatementA more lenient version of רבא
15. QuestionWhy may the measurer not go past the תחום?
16. ResponsePeople might think the תחום reaches there
17. StatementHow the 'piercing' method works
18. StatementThe piercing rope must be four אמות
19. StatementNo piercing for עגלה ערופה or ערי מקלט
20. StatementOnly an expert may measure
21. StatementWhen measurements conflict, follow the larger one
22. StatementEven an עבד or שפחה is believed about the תחום שבת
23. StatementThe reason: the חכמים made boundary rules to be lenient