Gemara Clarity

Shabbos 120a

שבת ק״כ ע״א

Shabbat 120a

Learn Shabbos 120a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shabbos 120a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Honesty at the time of the חורבן; rescuing food and clothing from a fire on שבת; stopping a fire indirectly

Overview

This amud opens in the middle of a discussion from the previous page. רבא had said ירושלים was destroyed because it had no אנשי אמנה (trustworthy people), and רב קטינא challenged him with a פסוק in ישעיה showing that people still admitted the truth about their Torah learning. The גמרא resolves this: people were honest about Torah, but not in business. A new משנה then allows saving a whole basket of loaves, a fig cake, or a barrel of wine from a fire on שבת, and discusses where the items may go and how many garments one may wear out. The גמרא reconciles this with the earlier three-meal limit, decides that filling one vessel counts as 'rescuing', and explains the helpers' 'calculation' after שבת. A ברייתא records רבי מאיר and רבי יוסי on wearing garments out of the fire, including רבי יוסי's list of eighteen garments. A final משנה allows blocking a fire with a goat hide or a wall of vessels, while רבי יוסי forbids new clay pots full of water. The גמרא quotes רב permitting water on the unburnt side of a garment and challenges him with a ברייתא; the answer comes on the next amud.

Opening lines

דְּבָרִים שֶׁאֵין בְּנֵי אָדָם עוֹמְדִין עֲלֵיהֶם

Matters that people do not grasp

אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן נִכְשָׁלִים בָּהֶן

unless they first stumble in them

יֶשְׁנָן תַּחַת יָדֶיךָ,

are in your hands;

״קָצִין תִּהְיֶה לָנוּ״.

"be a chief over us."

The steps (28)

  1. ProofReading 'Be a chief over us' as a request for Torah leadership
  2. ProofHe swears that he has no Torah knowledge
  3. RejectionMaybe he only admitted it because he would be tested
  4. ResolutionHe could have said he learned and forgot
  5. ResolutionHonest about Torah, dishonest in business
  6. StatementSaving a full container of food from a fire
  7. StatementWhere the saved items may be brought
  8. StatementWearing out clothing and utensils
  9. ChallengeBut the earlier משנה allowed only three meals
  10. Resolutionרב הונא: Carrying a whole container vs. gathering loose items
  11. Resolutionרב: Same courtyard vs. a different courtyard
  12. QuestionSpreading out a cloak and gathering into it: which category?
  13. ProofProof that one large vessel counts as rescuing
  14. QuestionWhat exactly was the mistake?
  15. ResponseThe ברייתא bans only a second vessel, not a big one
  16. ChallengeWhy pay helpers for ownerless food?
  17. Resolutionרב חסדא: it is extra piety
  18. Rejectionרבא: pious people don't take שבת wages
  19. Resolutionרבא: a God-fearing person who is not a full חסיד
  20. QuestionWhy 'for yourselves' for food but 'with me' for clothing?
  21. ResponseFood is limited, clothing is not
  22. Statementרבי מאיר: wear, carry out, remove, all day
  23. Statementרבי יוסי: eighteen garments, listed
  24. StatementSpreading a goat hide over burning furniture
  25. StatementBuilding a barrier of vessels to stop the fire
  26. Statementרבי יוסי forbids new clay vessels full of water
  27. Statementרב: water may be placed on the unburnt side of a burning garment
  28. ChallengeA ברייתא allows only wearing the garment or reading the scroll