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Shabbos 6b

שבת ו׳ ע״ב

Shabbat 6b

Learn Shabbos 6b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Explaining the ברייתא's definitions of the שבת domains: its wording, the desert, the punishments for carrying, and the valley as a כרמלית

Overview

This amud explains, line by line, a ברייתא that defines the domains of שבת. It opens with the end of רבי יהודה's view that a לחי or קורה at each end of a public road permits carrying there; the חכמים reject this. The גמרא explains that calling the רשות היחיד 'גמורה' teaches that the חכמים do not treat that area as private even for throwing. The emphatic 'זו היא רשות הרבים' excludes רבי יהודה's other view about a public path through the posts around wells, while 'גמורה' for the רשות הרבים is only stylistic. אביי explains that the desert counted as רשות הרבים only when the Jewish people camped there. Next, the גמרא asks why the ברייתא spells out the punishments for carrying. It answers through איסי בן יהודה's statement in רב's hidden scroll, which is reread to mean that one unknown מלאכה lacks the full punishment, so the ברייתא tells us הוצאה is not that one. Finally, a משנה calls a valley רשות היחיד, which seems to contradict the ברייתא's ruling that it is a כרמלית. עולא answers that 'private' there just means 'not public,' and רב אשי begins a second answer that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

לֶחִי מִכָּאן, וְלֶחִי מִכָּאן,

a post from here, and a post from here,

אוֹ קוֹרָה מִכָּאן וְקוֹרָה מִכָּאן,

or a beam from here and a beam from here,

וְנוֹשֵׂא וְנוֹתֵן בָּאֶמְצַע.

and he carries and places [objects] in the middle.

אָמְרוּ לוֹ:

They said to him:

The steps (22)

  1. Statementרבי יהודה's method for carrying on a public road
  2. StatementThe חכמים reject רבי יהודה's method
  3. QuestionWhy is the private domain called 'full-fledged'?
  4. Response'Full-fledged' teaches that the חכמים disagree even about throwing
  5. QuestionWhat does 'This is the public domain' exclude?
  6. ResponseIt excludes רבי יהודה's other ruling
  7. ProofThe source: the public path through the wells
  8. QuestionWhy is the public domain also called 'full-fledged'?
  9. ResponseThe word is just stylistic consistency
  10. ChallengeWhy Not List the Desert as a Public Domain Too?
  11. Resolutionאביי: It Depends on the Time Period
  12. ChallengeWhy Teach That an Accidental Carrier Brings a חטאת?
  13. ResolutionThe Real Point Is the On-Purpose Case
  14. ChallengeBut the On-Purpose Case Is Also Obvious
  15. Resolutionרב's Hidden Scroll and the Opinion of איסי בן יהודה
  16. ChallengeChallenge: רבי יוחנן Says Each מלאכה Gets Its Own חטאת
  17. ResolutionRereading איסי בן יהודה's words
  18. ConclusionWhat the ברייתא was teaching about carrying
  19. StatementThe ברייתא's list of places that are neither domain
  20. ChallengeChallenge: a משנה calls a valley a private domain
  21. Resolutionעולא: the valley really is a כרמלית
  22. Resolutionרב אשי begins a different answer