Gemara Clarity

Shabbos 59b

שבת נ״ט ע״ב

Shabbat 59b

Learn Shabbos 59b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shabbos 59b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Which ornaments and garments a woman may wear outside on שבת: the עיר של זהב, the כלילא, belts, a cloak, and rings with and without a seal

Overview

The amud finishes defining the עיר של זהב, a gold ירושלים crown like the one רבי עקיבא made for his wife. A ברייתא gives three views on wearing it on שבת: רבי מאיר says it is a משוי, the רבנן say it is a תכשיט but forbid it in case she takes it off to show it, and רבי אליעזר permits it because only an אשה חשובה wears it. Next, רב and שמואל argue about a כלילא (tiara), and the גמרא gives two versions of exactly what they argue about. A tradition in רב's name permits the כלילא, and a story shows רב identifying לוי, who taught in נהרדעא that it is permitted. Women in נהרדעא and מחוזא relied on that ruling. The גמרא then rules on a fancy belt (קמרא), two belts worn together, and a short cloak with or without straps. It returns to the משנה to define קטלא and נזמים. Finally, it infers that a ring with a seal is not a woman's ornament. That clashes with a משנה in כלים, and רבי זירא resolves the clash: our משנה follows רבי נחמיה, who judges a ring by its seal, while the משנה in כלים follows the רבנן.

Opening lines

כְּדַעֲבַד לֵיהּ רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא לִדְבֵיתְהוּ.

Like the one that Rabbi Akiva made for his wife.

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן:

The Rabbis taught:

לֹא תֵּצֵא אִשָּׁה בְּעִיר שֶׁל זָהָב,

A woman may not go out with a city of gold,

וְאִם יָצְתָה חַיֶּיבֶת חַטָּאת,

and if she went out, she is liable to a sin-offering,

The steps (30)

  1. ResponseThe golden ירושלים is like the one רבי עקיבא made for his wife
  2. StatementA ברייתא with three opinions on wearing a golden ירושלים on שבת
  3. QuestionWhat is the basis of their disagreement?
  4. Responseרבי מאיר: the crown counts as a burden
  5. ResponseThe רבנן: it is an ornament, but she might take it off to show it
  6. Responseרבי אליעזר: only an important woman wears it, and she does not show it off
  7. StatementA new ornament: רב forbids a כלילא (tiara) and שמואל permits it
  8. StatementDefining the argument: metal is forbidden, woven-with-metal is disputed
  9. Statementרב אשי's lenient version of the argument
  10. ProofA report that רב himself permitted a כלילא
  11. Statementרב hears that a great, tall, limping man taught that a כלילא is permitted
  12. Conclusionרב identifies לוי and works out what happened in ארץ ישראל
  13. ChallengeMaybe רבי חנינא died instead
  14. Resolutionלוי would have accepted רבי אפס
  15. Resolutionרבי חנינא had to become head
  16. StatementTwenty-four women in נהרדעא
  17. StatementEighteen women from one alley in מחוזא
  18. StatementA fancy belt is permitted
  19. StatementFirst version: a woven belt, like a gilded cloak
  20. StatementSecond version: a metal belt, like a king's belt
  21. Questionרבינא asks about a fancy belt worn over a regular belt
  22. ResponseTwo belts means the extra one is a burden
  23. StatementA short cloak is permitted only if it has tying straps
  24. QuestionWhat is the קטלא the משנה forbids?
  25. ResponseA קטלא is a small bib worn at the neck
  26. StatementThe משנה's נזמים are nose rings
  27. ProofA ring with a seal is not a woman's ornament
  28. ChallengeA contradiction from the משנה in כלים about sealed rings
  29. Resolutionרבי זירא: the two משניות follow different תנאים
  30. ProofThe ברייתא: does a ring follow its band or its seal?