Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 1, scan section 7

ity. The point where the street inhabited by Jews alone com- menced and the point where it ended were joined by a piece of twine, and thus definitely marked. Thus public grounds were turned into private grounds, from the fact that each household xxvi INTRODUCTION TO TRACT SABBATH. contributing a share of meal made them all in a manner copart- ners in one object. The walking of more than two thousand ells outside of the city limits was also prohibited. Within the city- limits, be the city ever so large, walking was permitted. The possibility of confinement in the house on the Sabbath becoming conducive to the performance of labor was offset by the establishment of a law prohibiting all the different modes of labor used in the construction of the tabernacle, besides all man- ner of agricultural labor. This again brought about the detailing of all the different modes of labor employed in the construction of the tabernacle and in agriculture, all of which is discussed in these treatises of Sabbath and Erubhin. Naturally the institution of laws carries with it provisions for the penalties attending their infraction, and these penalties were divided into three classes: First, the penalties for unintentional infractions. Secondly, for intentional infractions. Thirdly, for intentional violations where the violator had been previously forewarned of the penalty by two witnesses. The penalty for the first class of infractions was simply the sacrificing of a sin-offering, which, however, involved a great many hardships, as the culprit had to bring the sin-offering to the temple in Jerusalem in person, and was frequently compelled to travel quite a distance in order to do so, besides sustaining the loss of the value of the offering. For the second class, if two witnesses testified before the tri- bunal that the culprit had labored on the Sabbath, and the culprit admitted that he had done so intentionally, no penalty was in- flicted by the tribunal, but the person was told that he would be punished by the heavenly power with the curse of Karath (short- ening his allotted time of existence on earth). No penalty was inflicted, for the reason that, the culprit having made himself liable to severe punishment from superhuman sources, it served as an excuse to absolve him from human punishment.* * Because it is a rule of rabbinical law that, of two punishments incurred by one act, the severer one is meted out Qam leh bid'rabba mineh. INTRODUCTION TO TRACT SABBATH. xxvii For the third class, however, when the culprit openly defied the existing authority and in spite of forewarnings persisted in violating the law, he was considered a traitor to the government, to be sentenced to death by stoning, as was the wood-gatherer [Numbers, xv. 32]. It is upon these laws that the discussions in the treatises Sab- bath and Erubhin are based, and in addition the reader will find many ethical laws, legends, and the enumeration of such enjoy- ments as are permitted on the Sabbath day and the festivals. In addition to the above we would make the following cita- tions from the text of the Talmud, as a necessary feature of the introduction : I. We find in the Tract Sabbath, 6ib and g6b, the story of the mysterious scroll which Rabh claimed to have found in the house of his uncle, R. Hyya. This scroll referred to the principal acts of labor prohibited on the Sabbath, which were forty less one. Rabh discovered in this scroll the statement of R. Issi b. Jehudah to the effect that although thirty-nine principal acts of labor are enumerated, only one of them makes a man actually culpable. The Gemara then amends this statement and declares that it should read : " One of the thirty-nine does not involve culpability," but does not mention which one it is. Consequently it remains doubtful which act it is that does not involve culpa- bility, and where a doubt exists as to whether an act is prohibited or not no punishment can be inflicted for its commission. From this, two things may be inferred : First, that these acts of labor were prohibited for political reasons, because the mystery was extant, and we find the term mystery applied to political cases only ; and second, that the Gemara declares in the same passage that the carrying of an object from public ground into private ground is not one of the doubtful acts and a penalty is prescribed in the event of its being committed. Hence the object was to prevent the assimilation explained above. II. We find in Yebamoth, gob : " R. Eliezer b. Jacob said : * I have heard that a man was found riding a horse on Sabbath in the time of the Greeks, and being brought before the tribunal for xxviii INTRODUCTION TO TRACT SABBATH. the crime was stoned to death.' This man was punished, not be- cause his crime merited the penalty, but because the times made it necessary." The inference is therefore clearly established that the man was punished for political reasons, and that the violation of the Sabbath laws did not involve capital punishment. III. In Yoma, 85^, it is written : " R. Jonathan b. Joseph said, * The Sabbath is holy unto you,' " implying that the Sabbath is handed over to you and not you to the Sabbath.* IV. R. Johanan states elsewhere that in Palestine, where the Jews were together, no public ground existed. Michael L. Rodkinson. Cincinnati, March, 1896. * This is taken from Mechilta, an authority older than the Talmud, and stands in no connection with the Halakha. Furthermore, the mystic scrolls may in some in- stances have had reference to political necessities of the day, but by no means in all cases. — The Reviser, SECTION MOED (FESTIVALS). SYNOPSIS OF SUBJECTS OF VOLUME 1.— TRACT SABBATH. SYNOPSIS OF SUBJECTS. Several requests have been received by the translator that an index should be made to the volumes of the Talmud, as is customary virith all modern works. It would be an utter impossibility to give a complete index of everything contained in the Talmud. Were it like other scientific works, which treat each subject separately, this could easily be done ; but with the Talmud it is different. On one page many different subjects may be discussed, and again a single subject may occupy several pages. The Talmud, therefore, has never had an index, not even the portions which have been translated. After careful examination of the volumes, page by page, it has been de- cided to make a synopsis, i.e., to give briefly the heads of the discussions and conversations upon each Mishna, indicating the page where the Mishna is to be found, and the Gemara of each one, which serves as a commentary. By this the reader should be able to refer to what he desires to know. A synopsis is therefore given of every Mishna which discusses a single subject, with its accompanying Gemara ; but when several short Mishnas