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Shabbos 146a

שבת קמ״ו ע״א

Shabbat 146a

Learn Shabbos 146a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shabbos 146a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

End of the aggadic passage on the זוהמא (spiritual contamination) from the נחש; then a new משנה on opening a barrel on שבת: breaking a חבית for גרוגרות, piercing a מגופה, and smearing wax. The גמרא opens with רבי אושעיא's limitation.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an aggadic passage about the זוהמא, a spiritual contamination the נחש put into חוה. Standing at הר סיני removed it from ישראל, and רב אשי explains that גרים were included through their מזל. רבי אבא בר כהנא disagrees and holds the זוהמא was already gone by the time of יעקב's sons. A new משנה then deals with opening containers on שבת. It covers breaking a barrel for dried figs, the dispute between רבי יהודה and חכמים over piercing the plug, the ban on smearing wax over a hole, and a story about רבן יוחנן בן זכאי. רבי אושעיא limits the barrel rule to pressed figs, which means our משנה follows רבי נחמיה, who forbids moving a utensil except for its designated use. The same split between רבנן and רבי נחמיה settles a contradiction between two ברייתות about fig baskets. רב ששת forbids piercing a barrel with a spear, because the person wants an opening, and רב הונא and רב חסדא argue over where the plug dispute applies. The amud ends with a ברייתא about new holes and רבה's rule that a one-way opening is only forbidden by a rabbinic גזירה; his explanation continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

שֶׁבָּא נָחָשׁ עַל חַוָּה

that the snake came upon Eve

הֵטִיל בָּהּ זוּהֲמָא,

it put contamination into her

יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁעָמְדוּ עַל הַר סִינַי —

Israel, who stood at Mount Sinai —

פָּסְקָה זוּהֲמָתָן,

their contamination stopped

The steps (28)

  1. StatementThe נחש's contamination and how סיני removed it
  2. QuestionWhat about גרים?
  3. ResponseThe מזל of the גרים was at סיני
  4. Statementרבי אבא בר כהנא: contamination ended with יעקב's sons
  5. StatementBreaking a barrel to get figs
  6. StatementPiercing the barrel's plug: a dispute
  7. StatementNo sealing a hole with wax
  8. ProofA story with רבן יוחנן בן זכאי in ערב
  9. Statementרבי אושעיא: only for pressed figs
  10. ChallengeChallenge: why not for loose figs?
  11. ChallengeA teaching that allows cutting off a barrel's top with a sword
  12. ResolutionThe ברייתא follows רבנן, but our משנה follows רבי נחמיה
  13. ChallengeWhy not explain the משנה as loose figs according to רבנן?
  14. Resolutionרבא: the משנה's word 'dried figs' shows it means pressed figs
  15. ChallengeTwo teachings disagree about opening baskets of figs and dates
  16. ResolutionOne ברייתא follows רבנן, the other follows רבי נחמיה
  17. Proofרבי נחמיה: utensils may be moved only for their own use
  18. QuestionIs it allowed to pierce a barrel with a spear on שבת?
  19. Responseרב ששת: he intends to make an opening, so it is forbidden
  20. ChallengeChallenge from רבן שמעון בן גמליאל's sword case
  21. ResolutionCutting off the top shows generosity, but piercing shows a real opening
  22. Statementרב הונא: the dispute is about piercing the top of the seal
  23. ProofSupport for רב הונא from the משנה's wording
  24. Statementרב חסדא: the dispute is about piercing the side
  25. Resolutionרב חסדא explains 'on its side' as the barrel's body
  26. Statementברייתא: no new hole, but adding to an old hole is debated
  27. ChallengeWhy should widening a hole differ from making a new one?
  28. Resolutionרבה: a one-way opening is only rabbinically forbidden