Gemara Clarity

Shabbos 22a

שבת כ״ב ע״א

Shabbat 22a

Learn Shabbos 22a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shabbos 22a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Placement of the נר חנוכה, the ban on treating מצוה objects with contempt (חנוכה light, נויי סוכה, כיסוי הדם), and רב and שמואל on lighting from lamp to lamp

Overview

This amud finishes the rules for placing the נר חנוכה. Above twenty אמות it is invalid, like a סוכה and a מבוי. It should go within a טפח of the doorway, on the left side, opposite the מזוזה. The same teachers also give a short אגדה about יוסף's pit: it had no water, but it had snakes and scorpions. רב forbids counting money by the חנוכה light. רב יוסף explains that the reason is not holiness but avoiding contempt for מצוות, learned from כיסוי הדם, which must be done by hand and not by foot. רב יוסף then rejects using the חנוכה rule to prove the ban on using נויי סוכה, which a ברייתא already teaches, and calls blood the source of them all. Next, רב and שמואל disagree on three matters: lighting from one חנוכה lamp to another, moving ציצית between garments, and dragging furniture on שבת like רבי שמעון. אביי reports that רבה followed שמואל in all three. Two reasons are offered for רב's ban on lighting from lamp to lamp, ביזוי מצוה and אכחושי מצוה, and the גמרא shows how they differ in practice. רב אויא then begins an objection that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

נֵר שֶׁל חֲנוּכָּה שֶׁהִנִּיחָה

A Hanukkah lamp that one placed

לְמַעְלָה מֵעֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה — פְּסוּלָה,

above twenty cubits is invalid,

כְּסוּכָּה וּכְמָבוֹי.

like a sukka and like an alleyway.

וְאָמַר רַב כָּהֲנָא,

And Rav Kahana said,

The steps (26)

  1. StatementA נר חנוכה placed above twenty אמות is invalid
  2. QuestionWhy does the פסוק about יוסף's pit say 'no water'?
  3. ResponseNo water, but snakes and scorpions
  4. StatementThe lamp belongs within a handbreadth of the doorway
  5. QuestionOn which side of the doorway?
  6. ResponseRight side or left side: a dispute
  7. ConclusionThe halacha: lamp on the left, מזוזה on the right
  8. StatementDo not count money by the נר חנוכה
  9. Challengeשמואל asks: Is the lamp holy?
  10. Rejectionרב יוסף pushes back: Is blood holy?
  11. ProofCovering blood by hand, not by foot
  12. QuestionMay one use נויי סוכה during the festival?
  13. ResponseAnswered from the נר חנוכה
  14. Challengeרב יוסף: You are proving the known from the unknown
  15. ProofThe ברייתא on נויי סוכה
  16. ConclusionThe source for them all is blood
  17. Statementרב and שמואל disagree about lighting from one lamp to another
  18. Statementרב and שמואל disagree about moving ציצית from one garment to another
  19. Statementרב and שמואל disagree whether the halacha follows רבי שמעון on dragging
  20. Statementאביי reports that his teacher followed שמואל in these three cases
  21. ProofThe baraita of רבי שמעון on dragging furniture
  22. StatementA scholar explains that רב's reason is disrespect to the מצוה
  23. Rejectionרב אדא בר אהבה rejects that and says the reason is weakening the מצוה
  24. QuestionWhat is the practical difference between the two reasons?
  25. ResponseThe difference is lighting directly from lamp to lamp
  26. Challengeרב אויא begins an objection from a teaching about a סלע coin