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Shabbos 29b

שבת כ״ט ע״ב

Shabbat 29b

Learn Shabbos 29b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shabbos 29b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Garment-scrap wicks and רבי עקיבא's retraction, indirectly adding oil to a lamp on שבת, dragging benches according to רבי שמעון, and the start of the משנה on extinguishing a lamp.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing the ברייתא about a three-by-three-finger cloth scrap. If it was put in a box, everyone agrees it can still become טמא. רבי אליעזר and רבי יהושע argue about a scrap hung on a peg or left behind a door. רבי עקיבא first split the two cases between them, and later switched fully to רבי יהושע's view, which רבא proves from the wording 'פתילת הבגד' in our משנה. A new משנה then forbids feeding a lamp extra oil on שבת from an eggshell, an earthenware tube, or a separate bowl, while רבי יהודה permits all three. The גמרא explains why each case had to be listed, and adds that a firm attachment like a potter's makes it one vessel, which is permitted. רבי יהודה tries to prove his view from the silence of רבי טרפון and the elders in בית נתזה, and the חכמים reject the proof because those people were especially careful. Two stories about dragging a bench lead to a debate between עולא and רבי ירמיה רבה about how far רבי שמעון's leniency goes, and רבה's proof from the clothing merchants refutes רבי ירמיה רבה. Finally, a new משנה begins about putting out a lamp on שבת: out of fear or for a sick person one is פטור, to save the lamp, oil, or wick one is חייב, and רבי יוסי makes him חייב only for the wick.

Opening lines

הִנִּיחוֹ בְּקוּפְסָא —

If he placed it in a box —

דִּבְרֵי הַכֹּל טָמֵא.

everyone agrees it is susceptible to impurity.

לֹא נֶחְלְקוּ אֶלָּא שֶׁתְּלָאוֹ בְּמַגּוֹד

They only disagreed where he hung it on a peg

אוֹ שֶׁהִנִּיחוֹ לַאֲחוֹרֵי הַדֶּלֶת.

or where he placed it behind the door.

The steps (27)

  1. StatementDefining exactly where the dispute applies
  2. Statementרבי אליעזר's reasoning
  3. Statementרבי יהושע's reasoning
  4. Statementרבי עקיבא splits the two cases
  5. Statementרבי עקיבא changed his mind
  6. QuestionHow do we know he retracted?
  7. Proofרבא's proof from the phrase 'wick of the garment'
  8. StatementNew משנה: an oil-filled eggshell over the lamp
  9. Statementמשנה continued: a bowl of oil beside the lamp
  10. StatementWhy both the eggshell and the earthenware are needed
  11. StatementWhy the bowl case is also needed
  12. ConclusionConclusion: every case is necessary
  13. StatementA homeowner's firm attachment also counts
  14. ChallengeBut the משנה said a potter
  15. ResolutionPotter means an attachment like a potter's
  16. Proofרבי יהודה's story in Lod
  17. RejectionThe people of בית נתזה were careful
  18. StatementSilence can cause damage
  19. StatementWhy a marble floor is also forbidden
  20. ChallengeEven רבי שמעון only permits large benches
  21. StatementThis disagrees with עולא
  22. ChallengeA ברייתא that seems hard for both עולא and רבי ירמיה רבה
  23. ResolutionEach side reads the ברייתא his own way
  24. ChallengeThe clothing merchants prove רבי שמעון allows even small items
  25. Conclusionרבי ירמיה רבה's view is refuted
  26. StatementNew משנה: putting out a lamp on שבת
  27. Statementרבי יוסי exempts in all cases except the wick