Gemara Clarity

Moed Katan 10b

מועד קטן י׳ ע״ב

Learn Moed Katan 10b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Moed Katan 10b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Which work is allowed on חול המועד: מעשה הדיוט versus מעשה אומן, field work judged by intention, and business permitted only to prevent a loss

Overview

This amud gives a long list of rulings about which work is allowed on חול המועד. It starts with jobs connected to mills and animals. רב יהודה and רבא permit several of these, and אביי brings a ברייתא that supports רבא's ruling that an animal may be given medical care. Next comes a key rule: simple work anyone can do (מעשה הדיוט) is allowed, but skilled craftsman's work (מעשה אומן) is forbidden. רבא then gives four field rulings: leveling ground, clearing twigs, letting water into a field, and cutting palm branches. Each one is allowed for a present, non-farming purpose and forbidden if it is done to improve the land, and the גמרא gives a visible sign for telling the two apart. Finally, the גמרא rules that business is forbidden on חול המועד unless there would be a real loss (דבר האבד). It illustrates this with stories about רבינא, and it begins a ברייתא about עבודה זרה that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

אֲבָל חֲמָרָא דְרִיחְיָא — לָא.

But a donkey of the mill — no.

רַב יְהוּדָה שְׁרֵי

Rav Yehuda permits

לְמִישְׁקַל טוּפְרֵיהּ לַחֲמָרָא דְרִיחְיָא,

trimming the hooves of the mill donkey,

וּלְאוֹקוֹמֵי רִיחְיָא, וּלְמִיבְנֵי רִיחְיָא,

and setting up a mill, and building a mill,

The steps (23)

  1. StatementNo hoof-trimming for a mill donkey
  2. Statementרב יהודה allows mill-related work
  3. Statementרבא allows grooming a horse and building a trough and bench
  4. Statementרבא allows bloodletting for an animal
  5. Proofאביי brings a ברייתא that supports רבא
  6. Statementרבא allows scrubbing clothes because it is simple work
  7. Statementרב חסדא forbids tying pleats in sleeves because it is skilled work
  8. StatementLeveling the ground: threshing floor versus farmland
  9. QuestionHow to tell which purpose the leveler has
  10. StatementClearing twigs: firewood versus farmland
  11. QuestionHow to tell which purpose the twig-gatherer has
  12. StatementLetting water into a field: fish versus watering the land
  13. QuestionHow to Tell Fishing From Watering
  14. StatementCutting Palm Branches: For Animals or For the Tree
  15. QuestionHow to Tell Animal Food From Tree Care
  16. StatementUnripe Dates: Cutting Is Fine, Preserving Is Not
  17. Statementרב פפא Permits Preserving Because They Will Spoil
  18. StatementAny Business Is Forbidden on חול המועד
  19. StatementException: When There Will Be a Loss
  20. Proofרבינא Waits and Earns Double
  21. Questionרבינא asks about collecting a debt on the holiday
  22. Responseרב אשי permits it because the debt would otherwise be lost
  23. ProofA ברייתא about idol worship follows the same idea