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Shabbos 80a

שבת פ׳ ע״א

Shabbat 80a

Learn Shabbos 80a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shabbos 80a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Combining half-amounts for הוצאה on שבת (ink, half-גרוגרות, separate domains), and the משנה's שיעורים for כחול, wax, glue, tar, חרסית and bran.

Overview

This amud continues the discussion of the minimum amounts (שיעורים) that make someone liable for הוצאה on שבת. A תוספתא sets the ink amount at two letters. רבא asks whether ink in different forms combines, and that question stays unresolved (תיקו). רבא then rules on writing while walking and on carrying ink one letter at a time. He also rules on two half-גרוגרות carried separately, which brings in the rules of 'within three טפחים' and the difference between throwing (זורק) and passing by hand (מעביר). A ברייתא teaches that two halves combine only within one העלם. רבי יוסי adds that both halves must also reach one רשות, and רבה, אביי and רבא disagree about what kind of divider makes two domains. The גמרא then explains several items from the משנה's list: eye paint (כחול), wax, glue, tar and sulfur, crushed earthenware, and bran. Each one is measured by a real, everyday use.

Opening lines

תָּנָא: שְׁתֵּי אוֹתִיּוֹת בִּדְיוֹ,

It was taught: two letters in dried ink,

שְׁתֵּי אוֹתִיּוֹת בְּקוּלְמוֹס,

two letters in the quill,

שְׁתֵּי אוֹתִיּוֹת בְּקַלְמָרִין.

two letters in the inkwell.

בָּעֵי רָבָא:

Rava asked:

The steps (36)

  1. StatementInk in three forms: two letters each
  2. QuestionDo different forms of ink combine?
  3. ConclusionThe question stays unresolved
  4. StatementWriting while walking counts as setting down
  5. StatementOne letter at a time is exempt
  6. QuestionWhy is he exempt?
  7. ResponseThe first ink dried before the second came out
  8. StatementTwo half-figs carried separately
  9. ChallengeBut both halves are resting there together
  10. ResolutionThe first half was picked up before the second landed
  11. StatementPassing the second half over the first makes him liable
  12. ChallengeBut the second half never came to rest
  13. ResolutionHe passed it within three טפחים
  14. Challengeרבא himself said within three still needs resting
  15. ResolutionThrowing versus passing by hand
  16. StatementTwo half-figs carried out in one lapse or in two lapses
  17. Statementרבי יוסי requires both halves to reach one domain
  18. Statementרבה: only a Torah-level divider makes two domains
  19. Statementאביי: even a כרמלית separates, but not a beam
  20. Statementרבא: even a beam separates
  21. Proofרבא is consistent with his rule about divorce documents
  22. StatementThe משנה's measure for eye paint
  23. ChallengeBut nobody paints only one eye
  24. ResolutionModest women paint only one eye
  25. ChallengeA ברייתא says decoration needs two eyes
  26. ResolutionThe ברייתא refers to village women
  27. StatementThe משנה's measure for wax
  28. StatementA small hole of a wine vessel
  29. StatementThe משנה's measure for glue
  30. StatementThe board is the one on a hunter's rod
  31. StatementThe משנה's measure for tar and sulfur
  32. StatementIt means making a small hole
  33. StatementThe משנה's measure for crushed earthenware
  34. ChallengeWhy would רבי יהודה's measure be larger here?
  35. Resolutionרבי יהודה means plastering a small stove's stand
  36. StatementThe משנה's measure for bran