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Shabbos 107b

שבת ק״ז ע״ב

Shabbat 107b

Learn Shabbos 107b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shabbos 107b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Skins of the שרצים, the definition of חבורה, killing small creatures, and other שבת liabilities for harming living things

Overview

The עמוד opens by finishing a ברייתא about which of the eight שרצים have a real skin. After אביי and רבא each offer a reading, רב אדא בר מתנה concludes that רבי יוחנן בן נורי and חכמים argue only about טומאה. רב אשי shows that חכמים agree with רבי יוחנן בן נורי about wounding on שבת, and the ברייתא's wording is corrected to match. לוי learns from the פסוק about a כושי's skin that a חבורה is a wound that does not go back. The גמרא then asks which תנא makes one liable for killing small creatures. רב יוסף explains that both רבי אליעזר and the רבנן learn from the rams of the משכן but stress different features, and he defends this against challenges about lice eggs and fleas. רב teaches, in three versions, that רבי שמעון exempts a מלאכה שאינה צריכה לגופה. Finally, שמואל rules on taking a fish out of water and on detaching a fetus, which רבא explains as עוקר דבר מגידולו, and אביי begins a statement that continues on the next עמוד.

Opening lines

לְמַה שֶּׁמָּנוּ חֲכָמִים.

for those that the Sages enumerated.

אַדְּרַבָּה, לְמַה שֶּׁמָּנוּ חֲכָמִים

On the contrary, those that the Sages enumerated

אֵין לָהֶם עוֹר!

have no skin!

וְאָמַר אַבָּיֵי, הָכִי קָאָמַר:

And Abaye said: This is what it is saying:

The steps (43)

  1. StatementEnd of the ברייתא: Only Those the Sages Listed
  2. ChallengeThe Opposite Is True: Those Listed Have No Separate Skin
  3. Resolutionאביי: It Means Those the Sages Did NOT List
  4. Challengeרבא: But It Says 'Enumerated'
  5. Resolutionרבא: Only the Listed Ones' Skin Transmits טומאה Like Flesh
  6. ChallengeDoes רבי יוחנן בן נורי Make Unlisted Skins Impure?
  7. Resolutionרב אדא בר מתנה: Regarding טומאה, the Listed Ones Have No Skin
  8. ChallengeBut They Seem to Argue About שבת Too
  9. Resolutionרב אשי: The First Opinion Is רבי יהודה
  10. ChallengeThen the ברייתא Should Mention His Opponents Too
  11. ResolutionCorrect the Text: Add 'and His Opponents'
  12. Questionלוי Asks: What Is the Source for a Permanent Wound?
  13. ResponseThe Verse: Can a Cushite Change His Skin?
  14. QuestionWhat Does 'חברבורותיו' Mean?
  15. RejectionIt Cannot Mean Colored Spots
  16. ConclusionLike a Cushite's Skin, a Wound Does Not Go Back
  17. StatementQuoting the משנה and inferring that killing other creatures is liable
  18. QuestionWhich תנא holds this?
  19. Responseרבי ירמיה says it is רבי אליעזר
  20. Challengeרב יוסף: the רבנן agree for creatures that reproduce
  21. StatementBoth sides learn from the rams of the משכן
  22. Challengeאביי: don't lice reproduce from eggs?
  23. Resolution'Lice eggs' is the name of a different species
  24. ChallengeA ברייתא lists 'טפויין and lice eggs'
  25. ResolutionSame answer: it is a separate species
  26. ChallengeThe flea reproduces, yet רבי יהושע exempts
  27. Resolutionרב אשי: that argument is about trapping, not killing
  28. StatementQuoting the משנה: trapping for a need is liable
  29. QuestionWhich תנא holds this?
  30. ResponseIt is רבי שמעון: a מלאכה not needed for itself is exempt
  31. StatementAnother version: the abscess case
  32. QuestionWho holds the abscess ruling?
  33. Responseרב: it is רבי שמעון
  34. StatementA third version: the snake case
  35. QuestionWho holds the snake ruling?
  36. ResponseAgain: it is רבי שמעון
  37. StatementTaking a fish out of the sea
  38. StatementThe dry spot is between the fins
  39. StatementSticky mucus counts as dry
  40. StatementDetaching a fetus inside an animal
  41. QuestionWhy is he liable?
  42. ResponseUprooting from its place of growth
  43. Statementאביי begins a new statement