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Shabbos 49b

שבת מ״ט ע״ב

Shabbat 49b

Learn Shabbos 49b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shabbos 49b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Craftsman's hides as מוקצה, the source of the 39 מלאכות, and moving insulating fleece on שבת

Overview

The amud opens with a tanner who had his hides brought out on שבת to sit on, which suggests a craftsman's hides are not מוקצה. A ברייתא about a craftsman's boards challenges this. The גמרא answers that boards are different, because a craftsman protects them from damage. A second ברייתא permitting all hides is limited to a homeowner, and the גמרא then shows that the craftsman question is a dispute between the תנא קמא and רבי יוסי. Next, the חכמים ask what the 39 אבות מלאכות correspond to. רבי חנינא בר חמא says they match the work of the משכן, and another view says they match the 39 times the word מלאכה appears in the תורה. רב יוסף asks whether the יוסף verse is part of that count, and the question ends in תיקו. A ברייתא then supports the משכן view, including how carrying is learned from moving the משכן's boards. Finally, the גמרא returns to the משנה about wool fleece. רבא says fleece used for insulating may be moved, and a new student challenges him from the משנה; the challenge continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

אַבָּא — שַׁלָּחָא הֲוָה,

My father was a tanner,

וְאָמַר הָבִיאוּ שְׁלָחִין

and he said: Bring hides

וְנֵשֵׁב עֲלֵיהֶן.

and we will sit on them.

מֵיתִיבִי:

They challenged:

The steps (23)

  1. ProofThe tanner who had hides brought to sit on
  2. ChallengeChallenge from a craftsman's boards
  3. ResolutionBoards are different because the craftsman cares about them
  4. ProofProof from a ברייתא permitting all hides
  5. RejectionThe ברייתא speaks only of a homeowner
  6. ChallengeWhy didn't the ברייתא state the craftsman exception?
  7. ResolutionThe whole ברייתא is about a homeowner
  8. ConclusionThe hides question is an old dispute among the תנאים
  9. QuestionWhere does the number 39 come from?
  10. ResponseThe 39 labors match the work of the משכן
  11. ResponseThe 39 labors match the times 'labor' is written in the תורה
  12. QuestionDoes the verse about יוסף count?
  13. Challengeאביי: just bring a ספר תורה and count
  14. ProofA precedent: they once counted from a ספר תורה
  15. Resolutionרב יוסף explains why counting won't settle it: the first possibility
  16. QuestionThe second possibility: the יוסף verse counts instead
  17. ConclusionThe question stays unresolved
  18. ProofA ברייתא supports the view that the labors come from the משכן
  19. ProofCarrying is learned from moving the משכן's boards
  20. QuestionWhat work is done between two private domains?
  21. ResponseThe object passes over a public domain
  22. Statementרבא limits the ban on moving fleece
  23. ChallengeA new student challenges רבא from the משנה