Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 2, scan section 30

Johanan: " Yea; if the minor does this with his father's knowl- edge. We must say, then, that the same case applies to the Gentile, who does the work with the knowledge of the Israelite whose house is burning. Is this permitted ? Yea, it is; for the Gentile does it of his own volition, and it makes no difference whether the Israelite knows it or not (because he, the Gentile, knows he will be rewarded)." MISHNA •. One may cover the top of a lamp with a vessel in order that the ceiling may not catch fire, and also cover the ordure (of poultry*) on account of the children (in the house). (One may also place a vessel) over a scorpion in order to prevent him from biting. R. Jehudah said: " A case of this kind hap- pened once in the presence of R. Johanan ben Zakai in Arab, and he said, *I am not certain whether (the man) is not culpable (and bound to bring a sin-offering).' " GEMARA: R. Jehudah, R. Jeremiah b. Aba, and R. Hanon b. Ram happened to be the guests of Abin of Nishikia. The two former were furnished with beds, and the last one was not. At the same time, he noticed him teaching his son that the ordure of a child is to be covered, in order that the child should not touch it; and he said, " Abin the fool is teaching foolishness to his children. Is not the ordure of a child useful for dogs ? What can you say ? It was not prepared from yesterday. But this makes no difference ; for we have learned in a Boraitha, that running rivers and springing wells are to be considered as the feet of every man." And Abin asked, " How, then, shall we teach ?" And Hanon answered, " Over the ordure of poultry, that the child shall not touch it." Over a scorpion in order to prevent hi^n from biting. ' ' R. Jehoshua ben Levi said: "All dangerous creatures may be killed on Sabbath." R. Joseph raised an objection: " We have * According to the explanation of the Gemara. See also translation of the Mishna by De Sola and Raphall. 262 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. learned in a Boraitha, that five creatures may be killed on Sab- bath, and they are: the fly of Egypt, the wasp of Nineveh, and the serpent of Hadaiev, and the snake of Palestine, and a mad dog from any region." According to whose opinion is this Bo- raitha ? It is not according to the opinion of R. Jehudah, who holds, that the performance of an act not in itself necessary makes one culpable ? We must say, then, that the Boraitha agrees with R. Simeon. If this is so, is it allowed to kill only these five, and not others ? Said R. Jeremiah: " Who can tell us that this Boraitha is a correct one ? It may be erroneous." Said R. Joseph: "I have studied the Boraitha. The same objection was made before me, and I defended it by stating, that the Boraitha refers to the case where the creatures pursued the man in order to harm him, and under these circumstances even R. Jehudah permits the killing of these creatures." A certain disciple related before Rabha, the son of R. Huna, quoting a Boraitha: " One who kills serpents and snakes on the Sabbath does not find favor in the eyes of the pious." An- swered Rabha: " And these pious men do not find favor in the eyes of our sages." Thus he differs with R. Huna, for it hap- pened that R. Huna, seeing a man kilHng a snake on Sabbath, said to him : Hast thou killed the last of them (if thou hast only killed one, of what use is it to violate the Sabbath ? From this we see that R. Huna differs from the opinion of his son.) The rabbis taught : If a man met snakes on the road and killed them, it was decreed above that he should kill them (thus removing danger for others, because a good deed is performed through a righteous man) ; if, however, he did not kill them, it was decreed above that he should be killed by them (that is, he IS a sinner and deserving of death), but through the mercy of the Lord a miracle was performed, and he was saved. Said Ula, according to others Rabba bar bar Hana, in the name of R. Johanan : " Only in case the snakes prepared to strike at the man, can it be said that it was decreed that the man should be killed." R. Aba bar Kahana said: " It happened that a snake was found in the school-house, and a man of the city of Neiety killed it." Said Rabbi: "He met his equal." The schoolman asked: " Did Rabbi mean, that the man was right in his deed, or on the contrary?" Come and hear: R. Aba, the son of Hyya b. Aba, and R. Zera were sitting in the hut of R. Janai, and they resolved to ask R. Janai if one might kill snakes and TRACT SABBATH. 263 serpents on the Sabbath. And he answered: " If a bee should annoy me, I would kill it; a fortiori, snakes and serpents." Aba the son of Marta, who is Aba the son of Minyumi, was indebted in a sum of money to the Exilarch's house. He was brought there and was worried. While standing in the room, Aba spat on the floor. This happened on the Sabbath, and the Exilarch ordered his servants to bring a dish and cover up the spittle. Said Aba to him : " This is not necessary, for R. Jehu- dah says, that one may put his foot on spittle and thus clear it off." Thereupon the Exilarch remarked: " This proves to me that the man is a young scholar; let him go in peace." Aba bar Kahana said in the name of R. Hanina : " The lamps of the house of Rabbi may be handled on the Sabbath." R. Zera asked him : " Which lamps do you refer to, the lamps that can be handled with one hand, or those that require both hands ' ' ? and he answered: " The same as can be found in your father's house (those were small lamps)." The same Aba said in the name of the same authority, that the carriages of the house of Rabbi might also be handled on the Sabbath. R. Zera asked him which he referred to, those that one man can pull, or those that require two men, and the answer was: " The same that your father possesses." Aba bar Kahana said again, that the same R. Hanina permitted the house of Rabbi to drink wine that was sealed with but one seal, in the markets of the heathens, and he states, that he does not know whether R. Hanina holds with R. Eliezer (who held that one seal only was necessary) or whether he permitted this out of respect to the house of the Nassi (for fear that if he prohibited this, they would become angry *). MISHNA: If a non-Israelite lit a lamp on the Sabbath, the Israelite might make use of the light. If he (the non-Israelite) did so (especially) for the Israelite, the latter must not use it. If the non-Israelite filled up (a trough) with water, to water his (own) cattle, the Israelite may water his cattle after him ; if he did so for the Israelite (especially), the latter must not water his cattle with it. If a non-Israelite made a stairway in order to descend upon it from a ship, the Israelite might descend after