VOLUME III.--TRACT ERUBIN 1

Babylonian Talmud, Book 2: Tracts Erubin, Shekalim, Rosh Hashana, tr. by Michael L. Rodkinson, [1918], at sacred-texts.com

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OF

CHAPTER I.

MISHNA I. treats: If an entry be higher than twenty ells. The size of the height is based upon the door and the porch of the pillars of the temple, or palaces of kings. If the cross-beam was partly above twenty ells, and partly below. The ell used at a booth and an entry measures five spans, but the ell used at Kilaim is six spans. The several prescribed quantities, the intervention of articles, and the ordinances concerning the walls of entries and booths were given by Moses at the Mount Sinai, and also Gud, Lavud, and crooked walls. About Kal Vochomer (à fortiori), which comes very often in the Talmud. The people there were ignorant, and had to be given a liberal interpretation of the ordinance. How must entries facing public around be combined by an Erub? May the rigorous ordinances of two Tanaim be applied to one case? What was decided about a village of a shepherd, where was an entry which opened into a vacant yard. May the space underneath the cross-beam be used? The law about an entry which was provided with a number of side-beams (with the illustration). The law about a missing portion of the wall, perceptible from the inside or from the outside (with their illustrations). Whether an entry measuring twenty ells could be reduced to thirteen and a third if built as illustrated? What R. Jehudah taught to R. Hyya, the son of Rabh, and how Rabh corrected. How an apparent door is to be made, 1-22

MISHNA II. What is required to legalize the carrying within an entry. Flow the sages were very lenient with all things pertaining to water. Whether water may be taken from an arm of the sea which enters a court yard. There is a tradition about an entry that can be legalized by a side or cross beam. Why was Rabbi, or Rabh, more sagacious than his colleagues? Wily were the school of Hillel favored? Because modest. Two years the schools of Shammai and Hillel disputed whether it were better that man had not been created as he was, 22-28

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MISHNA III. The cross-beam must be wide enough to hold a half of a brick. About a cross-beam put up over an entry but not reaching the opposite wall. Anything measuring three spans in circumference is one hand in width, 28-31

MISHNAS IV., V., VI., and VII. The height and thickness of the side beam. How much is meant by thickness "whatever it may"? About a side-beam standing of itself. There was a pillar about which Abayi and Rabha differed all their lives. Side-beams may be made out of anything. Every open space ten spans wide may be used as an entry. The open space must not exceed in extent the fence proper. How can it be that there should be a contradiction and still the Halakha should prevail according to it? A fence may also be constructed with three ropes, or with cane-laths. Any partition not constructed on the principle of warp and shoot, whether it is a partition? I swear by the law of Moses, and by the prophets, and by the Hagiographa, that Rabh said this. It makes absolutely no difference, be it a caravan or an individual, in an inhabited place or in the desert. The four privileges granted to warriors in the camp, 31-39

CHAPTER II.

MISHNA I. How enclosures are to be made around wells (and illustrations.) To make an enclosure around a well of rain-water is permitted only to the pilgrims to Jerusalem. Adam, the first man, had a dual face. The Lord was sponsor to him. The fires of hell cannot gain access to the bodies of the sinners of Israel; Abraham the patriarch, seeing that they are circumcised, rescues them. How much in size must the larger part of a cow be reckoned? May things be carried from a courtyard opening into the enclosure around a well, and vice versa? I have heard that ye go to the Synagogue of Daniel on the Sabbath; upon what grounds do ye do this? In the time that Solomon the king ordained the law of Erubin, a heavenly voice was heard. Solomon said three thousand proverbs for every one of the biblical commandments. The commandments are to be fulfilled to-day, and the rewards will be in the world to come. If a public thoroughfare passes through an enclosure. The paths by which the mountains of Palestine are ascended do not come under the head of public ground, 40-55

MISHNAS II. and III. An enclosure of boards must be made only for a public well. The difference in the opinions of R. Jehudah b. Babah, R. Aqiba, R. Eliezer, and R. Jose, about a garden or woodshed over seventy ells square. How can one hundred ells in length by fifty by fifty in breadth (Ex. xxvii. 18) be understood? If a woodshed of more than two saahs' capacity was fenced in for a dwelling. In a bleaching-ground (behind a house) things must not be carried except for a distance of four ells. What was done by R. Huna bar Hinana, R. Papa, and R. Huna, the son of R. Joshua in reference to a garden on the estate of the Exilarch containing a pavilion, 55-61

CHAPTER III.

MISHNA I. With what kind of victuals may the Erub be effected? "The man who will explain to me the dictum of Ben Bagbag concerning the oxen,

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[paragraph continues] I will carry his clothes after him to the bath-house." The prescribed quantities of victuals for an Erub. R. Jeremiah went out into the villages and was asked whether an Erub may be made with bean-pods. "May the lord forgive R. Menashiah bar Shegublick. I said this to him in reference to a Mishna, and he said this in reference to a Boraitha." Abayi said: My mother told me that roasted cars are good for the heart, and drive away care, etc. An Erub must not be made with consecrated things. There are sages who hold that the prescribed quantities which are dependent upon the size of man should be measured accordingly, 62-70

MISHNAS II., III., IV., and V. Whether an Erub may be made of things consecrated, or from which heave-offering, etc., has not been separated. When a man sends his Erub by the hand of a deaf and dumb person, an idiot, or a minor. The difference of opinion between R. Na'hman and R. Shesheth, whether the established rule that a messenger will perform his errand holds good in rabbinical things only, or also in biblical. If he had put it into a pit, where is the pit supposed to be situated? If the man should put the Erub on top of a cane or pole, into a cupboard which he locked and then lost the key, the Erub is nevertheless valid, providing it was a festival. On Sabbath, however, it is not valid. If the Erub rolls (or is moved) out of the limit of the Sabbath distance? If the time when it took place is doubtful? If a clean and unclean loaf were before a man, and he was told to make an Erub with the clean one, but did not know which was which? Said R. Na'hman to Rabha: If thou wilt measure a whole kur of salt and present me with it, I shall tell thee the answer. A man may make his Erub conditional. If one of the two sages had been the man's teacher, he must go to meet his teacher. It frequently happens that a man has a greater fondness for his colleague than for his teacher. Why can he not make it conditional upon the arrival of sages from opposite directions? R. Jehudah does not admit of the theory of premeditated choice. Who is the Tana who holds that the sages also discountenance the theory of premeditated choice? 71-82

MISHNAS VI., VII., VIII. If a festival precedes or succeeds a Sabbath, how must it be done? Have two days of the festival each a separate degree of sanctification? The opinion of the four old sages is in accordance with or contrary to Eliezer's decision. Is an Erub of the first day valid for the east, and of the second for the west? My Erub shall be valid for the first day and on the second I am like my townsmen. What was said to the men who prepared baldachins for marriages. How is it with the benediction of the time on the days of New Year and the Day of Atonement? How the rabbis sent a man to R. Hisda to see his custom about the benediction of time. Must a fast be completed on a Friday? 82-92

CHAPTER IV.

MISHNA I. What Rabbon Gamaliel, R. Eliezer b. Azariah, R. Joshua, an R. Aqiba discussed when they were on board the ship from Parendisim. Three persons will never come to Gehenna. Three classes of human beings die in the possession of their power of speech. If foes or an evil spirit have carried a man into another town? The Halakha about which R. Gamaliel

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and R. Aqiba disputed the whole day, on board the ship. The supposition that the seven Halakhas related on the same Sabbath in the morning in Sura, and in the evening in Pumbaditha, were through Elijah the prophet. How a partition with men can be made. It once happened that flasks of wine were thrown out of Rabba's house on the road in the city of Mehuzza, and what was done with them 93-100

MISHNA II. All those who go forth on an errand of safety are permitted to return to their homes on Sabbath. Besieged cities and those near a boundary. The difference of opinions between R. Meir and R. Jehudah about the entering a town at dusk before Sabbath. According to whom the Halakha prevails when R. Aqiba, R. Jose, and R. Meir, R. Jehudah, Rabbi, etc., differ. Notes about our omissions in the Talmud, about the abbreviation of undecided questions, and about the rule laid down by R. Mesharshia. It once happened that rams were brought into the city of Mabrakhta on a festival. Whence do we derive the four ells? If we were to learn the Talmud in this manner, we would never be able to learn anything. An Erub divided by a man in two parts or deposited in two separate vessels, 100-111

MISHNAS III., IV. Should a man overtaken by dusk on the road single out a tree or hedge? What is meant by "legally he has said nothing"? If a man made an error and deposited his Erub in two directions. What Rabba said in the name of R. Jose, that it should he accepted, though he had not said so. What is the principal way to make an Erub, bread or the feet? One who can prepare an Erub and does not do so, is like one driving an ass and leading a camel. R. Jehudah. bar Isht'tha brought a basket of fruit to R. Nathan bar Oshiya on the eve of Sabbath. If one went beyond the legal limit even a single ell. Opinions of R. Simeon and the sages about one overtaken by dusk, 111-118.

CHAPTER V.

MISHNA I. How can the boundaries of a town be extended? The difference between the hearts of the previous sages and those of the later. Why the Judeans retained what they had learned, and the Galileans, not. Whence is it known that the Lord forgave Saul for his sin? When Joshua b. Hananiah was disconcerted by a woman, a girl, and a boy. What Brurih, the wife of R. Meir, told to R. Jose, the Galilean, and also to a young scholar. The explanation of Netzach, Selah, and Voëd mentioned in the Bible. If the tables had not been broken the first time the law would not have been forgotten by Israel. How to retain one's knowledge. How the method of teaching the law was in the times of Moses. R. Preida would teach a disciple a thing four hundred times, and once twice four hundred times: his reward for this from heaven. If a town is in the form of an arch. If one comes to make a town square. The equinoxes. Note about the seven planets of ancient astronomy, 119-131

MISHNAS II., III., IV., V. An allowance of seventy and two-thirds ells of space must be made to the town. The difference of opinions whether to each town, or between. What must the distance between the outer villages

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be? One must not measure the legal distance except with a line exactly fifty ells long. The three kinds of cord. What is meant by cutting straight through the mountain. The measurement must be undertaken only by an expert. If a town belonging to an individual becomes public property. If a town that is public property becomes the property of an individual. The inhabitants of Kakunai came before R. Joseph and asked him to give them a man to effect an Erub for them in their city, 131-140

MISHNA VI., VII. A man who is at the east of his domicile, telling his son to place his Erub towards the west, or vice versa. What is meant by "toward the east"? (and illustrations). If a town stands on the steep banks of a lake. The discussions about the right of the inhabitants of Hamtan and Gadar to carry or go. The inhabitants of a large town may traverse the whole of a small town (but not vice versa). Mar Jehudah observed that the inhabitants of Mabrakhta placed their Erub in the synagogue of the city of Agubar, 140-144

CHAPTER VI.

MISHNA I. One who dwells in the same court with a Gentile, or with one who does not acknowledge the laws of Erub. The dwelling of a Gentile, as far as the laws of Erubin are concerned. May a disciple decide a Halakha in the place where his master resides? If a slaughtering knife is brought to a young scholar for examination. Who sends his gifts to one priest to the exclusion of all others brings famine into the world. If several Israelites rented apartments from a Gentile, and one of them forgot to make an Erub. One who is tipsy should not pray. Prayer of one intoxicated considered as blasphemy. A quarter of a lug of Italian wine inebriates. Three miles' walk required to destroy the effects of wine. The night made only for sleep, according to one. The moon made only to facilitate study at night, according to another. The cases in which R. Samuel's father, R. Samuel, and R. Papa would not pray. Wine made only for mourners and to reward for good deeds the wicked in this world. A house where wine flows not like water cannot be classed among those that are blessed. What R. Hanina bar Joseph, R. Hyya bar Abba, and R. Assi discussed in an inn, the proprietor of which was a Gentile. R. Hisda's lips would tremble when he met R. Shesheth, because the latter was versed in Mishnaioth and Boraithoth, while the whole body of R. Shesheth trembled when he met R. Hisda, because of his sagacity. The discussion about warm water for a new-born child. How is it possible that two such great men made no Erub. Whether a Sadducee is considered the same as a Gentile, R. Gamaliel and the sages differ. There are two kinds of Sadducees, 145-162

MISHNAS II., III., and IV. If one of the householders of a court forgets, and does not join in the Erub. From what time is the right to be conferred? If five men inhabited one court, one must resign his right, if he had forgotten to join in the Erub. May an heir resign his right or not? The reason of the difference between Beth Shammai and Beth Hillel about the meaning of resigning the right to a place. The difference of opinion between the sages and R. Simeon about partnership in wine or oil. In courts an Erub must be made with bread, but it is not allowed to do so with wine. Difference

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between Beth Shammai and Beth Hillel about five companies occupying during Sabbath one hall. Brothers or associates taking their meals at one table but sleeping in separate houses. One who has a vestibule, a gallery, or balcony in the court of another, without an Erub. It happened that an inhabitant of Naph'ha, who had five courts in Uqba, did not join in the Erub with the inmates of the courts. What about the disciples of the college, eating in the inns of the valley and passing the night at the college? 162-169

MISHNAS V., VI., and VII. If five courts open into each other and an alley, if they combined both the courts and the alley, or only one of these. How Samuel was asked a question and answered with silence. Does the silence signify acquiescence? If two courts were one within the other, and all the inmates or one forgot to make an Erub; if the courts were the property of an individual. If an Erub was placed in the outer court and one of the inmates either of the outer or inner forgot to join in an Erub, carrying is prohibited; and how if it was placed in one of the inner courts? If there was a third court between the two, also belonging to an individual, is it permitted to carry in any of the three? 170-178

CHAPTER VII.

MISHNAS I., II., III., and IV. If there be an aperture, four spans square, etc., between two courts. If in the attic of a house there was a hole for the purpose of fastening a ladder therein, should the house be considered solid? If there be a wall ten spans high and four spans wide between two courts. If a man comes to diminish the size of the wall referred to in the Mishna. An Egyptian ladder does not diminish a wall, but a ladder of Tyre does. If one erected two benches, one above the other, at the foot of a wall. What is the law if several pegs be placed on the pillar in question? I have a tradition that a ladder standing straight against a wall also diminishes its size. What is the law if a man used a tree, which grew right at the wall, for a ladder? If two courts are separated by a ditch, ten spans deep and four wide. "Thou wouldst prove a contradiction from a law pertaining to uncleanness to a Sabbath-law?" If there be between two courts a straw-rick, ten spans high. If a house which was filled with straw stand between two courts? 179-189

MISHNAS V., VI., VII., and VIII. How are alleys to be combined? If alleys or legal limits are combined. Whether a transfer of ownership is necessary in case of Erubin of cooked articles. R. Zera was asked whether it may be rented from the man's wife. Note about a misprint that has existed since the Talmud has been published and reprinted. If the quantity of food required for the combination becomes diminished. How much is this legal quantity. Eighteen dried figs are sufficient for two meals. The Erub of courts or combination of alleys may be effected with all kinds of nutriment except water and salt. Is it permitted to make an Erub with bread made of rice or millet? A man may give money to the wine-seller or baker in order to acquire the right to join in the Erub. About a Meshikha to a sale and its explanation. If additional inhabitants came into the alley, the right of possession must be transferred to them, 189-197

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CHAPTER VIII.

MISHNAS I., II., and III. How are the legal limits to be combined? A child that is only six years old may go out in the legal limits which have been combined by its mother. How much is the legal quantity of food required to effect the combination of limits? Note about coins and measures mentioned in the Tract. If the inhabitants of a court and balcony should have forgotten to combine an Erub. If there were three ruins between two houses, each house may use the adjoining ruin by throwing therein, except the middle one (with illustrations), 198-204

MISHNAS IV., V., VI., and VII. If a man deposit his Erub for the combination of courts in a vestibule, gallery, or balcony. If a company was seated at table on the eve of Sabbath, the bread on the table may be depended upon to serve as an Erub. If a man leaves his house and goes to take his Sabbath-rest in another town (without previously joining in the Erub). If there be a well between two courts it is not lawful to draw water. if a canal runs through a court it is not lawful to draw water, unless there be a partition. If a canal flows between two walls which contain apertures, 204-209

MISHNAS VIII. and IX. If there be a balcony above the water. The law concerning robbery is applicable also on Sabbath. If the court be less than four ells square it is not permitted to pour water therein on Sabbath, unless a sewer is made. All these regulations concerning the pouring of water apply only to summer, 209-213

CHAPTER IX.

MISHNAS I. and II. All the roofs of a town are considered one private ground, provided there be not one roof ten hands higher than the rest. If a man erected an attic on top of his house and provided it with a small door four spans wide, he may carry things in all the roofs. All roofs are considered as one private ground in their own right. "It happened in a time of danger that we brought up the sacred scrolls from a court to a roof." If a large roof adjoins a small one. If there are three woodsheds opening into each other, of which the two outer are enclosed while the middle one is not (with illustrations), 214-223

MISHNAS ITT., IV., and V. If a court (through an incavation of its walls) is laid open to public ground. In a court (the corner walls of which had fallen in on Sabbath so) that it has been laid open to public ground on two sides. If an attic be built over two houses, also if bridges are open at both ends, 223-226

CHAPTER X.

MISHNAS I., II., and III. If a man finds tephilin on the road he should watch them and bring them into the nearest town or village; likewise his child he should hand to his companion, etc. If one buys tephilin of a man who is not an expert, he must examine two tephilin. How came his child on the field or on the road? This refers to a child that was born there. If a man reads in a scroll (of sacred scriptures) on the threshold of the house and it

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slips out of his hand. On a ledge outside a window it is permitted to place vessels, 227-235

MISHNAS IV., V., VI., VII., VIII., and IX. A man may stand in private ground and move things that are in public ground. A man must not, standing in private ground, drink in public ground. A man may catch water dropping from a spout on the roof. If a well, standing in public ground, have an enclosure ten spans high. Beneath a tree, the branches of which droop and cover the ground. The shutters of a bleaching ground or thorn bushes, 235-240

MISHNAS X. to XVIII. A man must not, standing in private ground, unlock with a key something in public ground. A loose bolt, with a knob to it, is prohibited to use on Sabbath. A loose bolt that is fastened to a rope may be used in the Temple only. In the Temple the lower hinge of a cupboard door may be refitted into its place. Priests who minister may replace a plaster in the Temple. The Levites performing on musical instruments may tie a string. The priests who minister may remove a wart from an animal on Sabbath. A ministering priest who hurts his finger may bind it up with reeds in the Temple. Should the carcass of a dead reptile be found in the Temple on the Sabbath the priest shall move it out with his belt. From which parts of the Temple should it be removed? It is permitted for anyone to enter the Temple for the purpose of building, 240-251

Footnotes

ix:1 See introduction to synopsis in Tract Sabbath, Vol. I., p. xxix.