Shabbos 73b

שבת ע״ג ע״ב

Shabbat 73b

Learn Shabbos 73b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shabbos 73b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The גמרא on the משנה of the 39 אבות מלאכות: why there is a count, which acts are grouped under each אב, cases of double liability, and why similar מלאכות are counted separately.

Overview

The גמרא explains why the משנה gives the number 39: someone who does all of them in one הֶעְלֵם brings a separate חטאת for each one. It explains that זורע comes before חורש because in ארץ ישראל farmers sowed first and then plowed. Then it goes through the list one מלאכה at a time, using ברייתות to group similar acts under one heading: planting-type acts under זורע, digging and furrowing under חורש, all kinds of harvesting under קוצר, and beating flax and stripping cotton under דש. Acts in the same group bring only one חטאת. Some single acts bring two, like pruning when he wants the wood, which is both קוצר and נוטע. Leveling ground counts as בונה in a house and חורש in a field. Digging only for the dirt is פטור, because it is מקלקל. רב פפא and רב אשי argue about knocking dates down with a clod, and רבא and אביי argue whether gathering salt counts as מעמר. Finally, the גמרא asks why זורה, בורר and מרקד are counted separately, and אביי and רבא begin an answer based on the משכן that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (26)

1. QuestionWhy does the משנה give a number?
2. ResponseThe count teaches a separate liability for each labor
3. ChallengeWhy is sowing listed before plowing?
4. ResolutionThe משנה follows farming in ארץ ישראל
5. Statementברייתא: Sowing, pruning, planting, bending and grafting are one labor
6. QuestionWhat is the ברייתא teaching?
7. ResponseMany acts of one labor bring only one sin-offering
8. Statementרבי אמי: Pruning is planting; planting, bending and grafting are sowing
9. ChallengeOnly for sowing and not for planting?
10. ResolutionCorrect the wording: also for sowing
11. Statementרב כהנא: Pruning when you want the wood
12. Statementרב יוסף: Cutting alfalfa
13. Statementאביי: Cutting beet leaves
14. StatementPlowing, digging and furrowing are one מלאכה
15. StatementRemoving a mound: building in a house, plowing in a field
16. StatementFilling a hole: building in a house, plowing in a field
17. StatementDigging a hole only for its dirt is exempt
18. ResolutionEven רבי יהודה agrees, because this digging is destructive
19. StatementAll kinds of harvesting are one מלאכה
20. StatementKnocking down dates with a clod: two liabilities
21. Rejectionרב אשי: this is not the normal way of harvesting
22. Statementרבא: gathering salt counts as מעמר
23. Rejectionאביי: gathering applies only to things that grow from the ground
24. StatementThreshing, beating flax, and stripping cotton are one labor
25. ChallengeAren't winnowing, selecting, and sifting the same thing?
26. Resolutionאביי and רבא begin their answer from the משכן