TALMUD-MOED-SHABAT-16

8/17/2019 TALMUD-MOED-SHABAT-16

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Babylonian Talmud:

Tractate ShabbathFolio 115a

the trimming of vegetables is permitted. Nuts may be

cracked and pomegranates scraped from the [time of]

minhah and onwards, on account of one’s vexation.1 The

household of Rab Judah trimmed cabbage. Rabbah’s

household scraped pumpkins. Seeing that they were doingthis [too] early,2 he said to them, A letter has come from

the west in R. Johanan’s name [to the elect] that this is

forbidden.3

CHAPTER XVI

MISHNAH . ALL SACRED WRITINGS4 MAY5 BE

SAVED FROM A FIRE,6 WHETHER WE READ THEMOR NOT;7 AND EVEN IF THEY ARE WRITTEN IN

ANY LANGUAGE, THEY MUST BE HIDDEN.8 AND

WHY DO WE NOT READ [CERTAIN OF THE SACRED

WRITINGS]? BECAUSE OF THE NEGLECT OF THE

BETH HAMIDRASH .9

GEMARA. It was stated: If they are written in Targum10 or

in any [other] language, — R. Huna said: They must not be

saved from a fire; while R. Hisda ruled: They may be saved

from a fire. On the view that it is permissible to read

them,11 all agree that they must be saved. They differ only

according to the view that they may not be read. R. Huna

says: We may not save [them], since they may not be read.

R. Hisda says: We must save [them], because of the

disgrace to Holy Writings.12 We learnt: ALL SACRED

WRITINGS MAY BE SAVED FROM THE FIRE,

WHETHER WE READ THEM OR NOT, and even if theyare written in any language. Surely WHETHER WE READ

THEM refers to the Prophets, whilst OR NOT refers to the

ylonian Talmud: Shabbath 115 http://halakhah.com/shabbath/shabbath_115.html#chapter_xvi

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Writings, AND EVEN IF THEY ARE WRITTEN IN ANY

LANGUAGE, though they may not be read [publicly], yet

he [the Tanna] teaches that they MAY BE SAVED, which

refutes R. Huna? — R. Huna can answer you: Is that

logical? Consider the second clause: THEY MUST BE

HIDDEN: seeing that they must be saved,13 need hiding be

mentioned?14 But R. Huna explains it in accordance with

his view, while R. Hisda explains it according to his. R.

Huna explains it in accordance with his view. WHETHER

WE READ THEM, [i.e.] the Prophets; OR NOT, [i.e.,] the

Writings. That is only if they are written in the Holy

Tongue [Hebrew], but if they are written in any [other]

language, we may not save them, yet even so they must be

hidden. R. Hisda explains it according to his view:

WHETHER WE READ THEM, [i.e.,] the Prophets, OR NOT, [i.e.,] the Writings; EVEN IF THEY ARE

WRITTEN IN ANY LANGUAGE, we must still save

them. And this is what he states: And [even] their

worm-eaten [material] MUST BE HIDDEN.

An objection is raised: If they are written in Targum or in

any [other] language, they may be saved from the fire: this

refutes R. Huna? — R. Huna answers you: This Tanna

holds, They may be read. Come and hear: If they are

written in Egyptian,15 Median, a trans[-Euphratean]16

Aramaic, Elamitic,17 or Greek, though they may not be

read, they may be saved from a fire: this refutes R. Huna?

— R. Huna can answer you: It is [a controversy of]

Tannaim. For it was taught: If they are written in Targum or

in any language, they may be saved from a fire. R. Jose

said: They may not be saved from a fire. Said R. Jose: It

once happened that my father Halafta visited R. GamalielBerabbi18 at Tiberias and found him sitting at the table of

Johanan b. Nizuf with the Targum of the Book of Job in his

hand19 which he was reading. Said he to him, ’I remember

that R. Gamaliel, your grandfather, was standing on a high

eminence on the Temple Mount, when the Book of Job in a

Targumic version was brought before him, whereupon he

said to the builder, "Bury it under the bricks."20 He [R.

Gamaliel II] too gave orders, and they hid it.’21 R. Jose sonof R. Judah said: They overturned a tub of mortar upon it.

Said Rabbi: There are two objections to this: Firstly, how

came mortar on the Temple Mount?22 Moreover, is it then


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permitted to destroy them with one’s own hands? For they

must be put in a neglected place to decay of their own

accord.23 Which Tannaim [differ on this question]?24

To Part b

Original footnotes renumbered.

Lit., ’grief of the soul’. It would be very vexing if the breaking of

the Fast had to be delayed whilst these are prepared (Baal

Ha-Ma’or V. Marginal Gloss.; Rashi explains it differently)

1.

Before the time of minhah.2.

Such letters afford examples of early Rabbinic Responsa.3.

E.g., the Torah, Prophets, and Writings.4.

In this connection ’may’ is the equivalent of ’must’, and similarly

in the Gemara.

5.

By being moved from one domain to another on the Sabbath. V.

next Mishnah.

6.

The reference is to public readings. There was (and is) public

reading from the Prophets but not from the Writings

(Hagiographa). Rashi quotes another explanation: even private

individuals did not read the Writings (on the Sabbath), because

public lectures were given on that day, which left no time for

private reading.

7.

If they become unfit for use. V. p. 429, n. 5.8.

The public lectures would be neglected. For a general

discussion on the manner, etc. of these lectures v. Zunz, G. V.Ch. 20.

9.

The Aramaic translation of the Pentateuch and other portions of

the Bible are called Targum — the translation par excellence.

But v. Kaplan, op. cit . pp. 283 seq.

10.

publicly; v. Meg. 8b.11.

It disgraces them if they are allowed to be burnt like something

worthless.

12.

On your hypothesis.13.

Obviously if they have sufficient sanctity to be saved on the

Sabbath they must not be simply thrown away when no longer fit for use.

14.

Or, Coptic.15.

[H] so Jast.: perhaps the reference is to Hebrew in

transliteration.

16.

Of Elam, south of Assyria.17.

A title of scholars most frequently applied to disciples of R.

Judah ha-Nasi and his contemporaries, but also to some of his

predecessors (as here), and sometimes to the first Amoraim

(Jast.). V. Naz., Sonc. ed., p. 64, n. 1.

18.

This shows that a Targum of Job existed already in the middle of

the first century C.E. This is not identical with the extant

Targum, which on internal evidence must have been composed

later; v. J.E. art. Targum, Vol. XII, p. 62; Zunz, G. V. 64 seq.

19.


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Lit., ’the course (of stones)’.20.

The spread of words inimical to Judaism, both through the rise

of Christianity and false claimants to the Messiahship, caused

the Rabbis to frown upon books other than those admitted to the

Holy Scriptures, even such as were not actually inimical thereto.

— Weiss, Dor, I, 212, 236.

21.

A mixture of lime and sand was used, but not mortar, which is

made of earth and water.

22.

The objection to writing down the Targum was probably due to

the fear that it might in time be regarded as sacred. V. also

Kaplan, op. cit ., p. 285.

23.

Sc. whether they may be rescued from a fire.24.

Tractate List

Shabbath 115b

Shall we say the first Tanna and R. Jose, — but perhaps

they differ in this: one Master holds, It is permitted to read

them; while the other holds, It is not permitted to read

them?1 Rather [they are] R. Jose and the Tanna [who

taught the law] about the Egyptian [script].

Our Rabbis taught: Benedictions and amulets, though they

contain letters of the [Divine] Name and many passages of the Torah, must not be rescued from a fire but must be

burnt where they lie,2 they together with their Names.

Hence it was said, They who write down Benedictions are

as though they burnt a Torah.3 It happened that one was

once writing in Sidon. R. Ishmael was informed thereof,

and he went to question him [about it]. As he was

ascending the ladder, he [the writer] became aware of him,

[so] he took a sheaf of benedictions and plunged them intoa bowl of water. In these words4 did R. Ishmael speak to

him: The punishment for the latter [deed] is greater than for

the former.

The Resh Galutha5 asked Rabbah son of R. Huna: If they

are written with paint [dye], sikra,6 gum ink, or

calcanthum,7 in Hebrew, may they be rescued from a fire

or not? This is asked whether on the view that we may

save8 or that we may not save. It is asked on the view that

we may not save: that may be only if they are written in

Targum or any [other] language; but here that they are


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forward that Moses said, [etc.]’: for this section the Holy

One, blessed be He, provided signs above and below,23 to

teach

- To Next Folio -

Original footnotes renumbered.

And the question whether they may be saved depends on

whether they may be read.

1.

Lit., ’in their place’.2.

Since should fire break out they may not be saved (Rashi).3.

Lit., ’this language’.4.

V. p. 217, n. 7.5.

A red paint.6.

Vitriol used as an ingredient of shoe-black and of ink (Jast.).7.

Holy writings written in other languages.8.

Then I am wrong.9.

Comprising the Bible — i.e., the Torah, Prophets and

Hagiographa.

10.

The Book of Esther.11.

The modern square Hebrew characters, which superseded the

older Hebrew, viz., Syriac or Samaritan form. V. Meg., Sonc.

ed., p. 47 n. 4 and Sanh., Sonc., ed. p. 120, n. 4.

12.

Ri: this is only in respect of saving them from a fire. Other

books even if not written on a scroll and in ink must be saved,

whereas for a Megillah these conditions are necessary.

13.

I.e., the whole Scroll is effaced and eighty-five clear letters

cannot be found in it. This is the minimum for a Scroll to retain

its sanctity.

14.

Num. X, 35-36. That contains eighty-five letters, and as stated

infra it is designated a separate ’Book’.

15.

If it is written separately upon a piece of parchment, and one or

more of its letters are effaced.

16.

I.e., if the Biblical passages which are in Aramaic in the original

are written in Hebrew, as practically the whole of the Pentateuch

(mikra — lit., ’reading’) is.

17.

Samaritan script. V. p. 66, n. 9.18.

Gen. XXXI, 47 q.v.19.

I.e., if the Scroll contains eighty-five uneffaced letters including

yegar sahadutha, it must be saved.

20.

Because ’can be gathered’ implies that they are scattered.21.

It contains complete words scattered about which total to

eighty-five letters. They differ where all the eighty-five letters

are scattered, the Scroll containing no complete words at all.

22.

I.e., at the beginning and at the end. — In the Scrolls the section

is preceded and followed by a reversed nun, which distinguishes

and divorces it from the adjoining passages.

23.


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