Eruvin 87a

עירובין פ״ז ע״א

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Topic

Drawing water on שבת: balconies over water (כוף וגוד and balcony sizes) and water channels passing through courtyards and between windows

Overview

This amud opens with the end of a ברייתא. In it, רבי חנניא בן עקביא allows cutting a 4x4 טפחים hole in a large balcony over the water and drawing water through it. אביי rejects the attempt to link this to רבי יהודה: רבי יהודה may accept only גוד אחית, not כוף וגוד, and רבי חנניא בן עקביא may mean only the ים של טבריה. אביי and רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע then work out smaller balcony sizes for a balcony near a wall, one with upright partitions, and one in a corner. The full 4x4 אמות size is needed only for a free-standing balcony shaped like a mortar. A new משנה follows. It rules that a water channel passing through a courtyard needs partitions at both ends, while רבי יהודה says the courtyard wall above it is enough, and the חכמים reject his proof from the channel of אבל. Another ברייתא about a channel between windows leads the גמרא to explain that the 3 or 4 טפחים measure the channel's banks, so the ruling does not clash with רבי יוחנן's rules about a כרמלית and a מקום פטור. The answer about Torah-level domains continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (22)

1. StatementEnd of the ברייתא: Cut a Four-by-Four Hole and Draw Water
2. Rejectionאביי: רבי יהודה Only Accepts Extending a Wall Downward
3. Rejectionאביי: רבי חנניא בן עקביא May Only Mean the ים של טבריה
4. Statementאביי: Balcony Size Needed When It Is Near a Wall
5. StatementA balcony with upright partitions needs only six טפחים and a bit
6. StatementA balcony in a corner needs only two טפחים and a bit
7. QuestionWhen is the full four-by-four אמות balcony ever needed?
8. ResponseA free-standing balcony shaped like a mortar
9. StatementA water channel in a courtyard needs partitions at both ends
10. Statementרבי יהודה says the courtyard wall counts as a partition
11. Proofרבי יהודה's proof from the channel of אבל
12. RejectionThe חכמים reject the proof: that channel was too small
13. StatementA ברייתא: a partition on only one side is not enough
14. Statementרבי יהודה's view repeated in the ברייתא
15. ProofThe ברייתא's story: the channel from אבל to צפורי
16. RejectionThe חכמים reject the proof from the channel of אבל
17. StatementAnother teaching about a water channel between windows
18. QuestionWhat do the three and four handbreadths measure?
19. ChallengeDoes this make רב דימי's rule a dispute among תנאים?
20. ResolutionThe numbers measure the channel's banks, and the case is about passing the bucket
21. ChallengeChallenge: רבי יוחנן forbids exchanging objects through a small exempt area
22. ResolutionBeginning of the answer: רב דימי was talking about Torah-level domains