Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 7, scan section 76

loss involved ; the other, the trouble with which it is accom- panied. The rabbis taught : Grinding is permitted on the middle days for use on those days only, but not otherwise ; but if some of the flour remain till after the festival, it may be used. Such is also 2i 1:he Babylonian talmud. the case with wood-cutting and beer-brewing, but one must not go too far. R. Hananel said in the name of Rabh : " One may fell a tree, even if he needs only the splinters." Abayi, however, censured that. R. Ashi owned a forest in the neighborhood of Shalnayi, and he went there once during the middle days to chop wood. Said R. Shela of Shalnayi to R. Ashi : " You do this, relying on the statement of R. Hananel in the name of Rabh ? But has not Abayi censured it ? " And he replied : *' I do not care for that." When he commenced to chop, his axe slipped off the handle and almost injured his shoulder. He thereupon left the forest (for he took it as a punishment for his statement in reference to Abayi). R. Jehudah permitted to pluck flax, hops, and poppy. Said Abayi to R. Joseph : '' This would be correct as regards flax and hops, for the one may be used for covering (figs, etc.), and the other in beer-brewing ; but what use can be made of poppy ? Its seed can be used. R. Janai owned an orchard the fruit of which got ripe on the middle days, and he gathered in the fruit ; on the following year every one postponed the gathering in of his fruit until the middle days. R. Janai (as a punishment to himself for having caused others to postpone their work until the middle days) gave away on the very same year that orchard to the free use of the public. MISHNA: One may house his fruit from (dread of) thieves, and take flax out of the buck, that it be not spoiled, provided he does not intentionally defer doing it till the middle days ; but should he have so deferred, then in all these cases he forfeits the articles in question. GEMARA : A Boraitha states : '' Provided he does it pri- vately." R. Joseph had removed beams to his house in the day- time. Said Abayi to him : '' Have we not learned that it should be done privately?" He answered: *' In this case it may be considered more privately in the day-time than in the night-time ; for in the night-time it must be done by light, and it requires therefore more men." "And take the flax out of the buck,'' etc. R. Jeremiah pro- pounded the question to R. Zera : " One who deferred intention- ally doing it until the middle days and soon afterwards died, shall we impose the fine on his sons ? Shall we assume that the rabbis intended to punish him personally, and, therefore, his sons are released ? or shall we assume that the fine was directed against his property, and, therefore, his sons must pay it ? " And he answered : *' This we have learned in the following Mishna : A TRACT MOED KATAN (MINOR FESTIVALS). 23 field which has been cleaned from prickles during the Sabbatical year may be sown immediately thereafter ; but this is not the case if it was manured either by man's labor or by animals." Said R. Jose bar Hanina : " There is a tradition that if one had manured his field (on the Sabbatical year) and soon afterwards died, his son might sow it." Hence we see that the fine was directed against him, and not against his son. The same is the case with working on the middle days, stated above. MISHNA: One must not purchase houses, slaves, or cattle, excepting for the use of the whole festival, or for the use of the vendor, who otherwise might have nothing to eat. GEMARA : Rabha asked R. Na'hman : '' What is the law if a laborer has nothing to eat ? " And he answered him : " This we have learned in our own Mishna, * or for the use of the ven- dor,' which intends to include the case of the laborer." (For the case of the vendor is included in the statement, " for the use of the w/tole festival," which includes the middle days.) Rejoined Rabha : Perhaps the Mishna explains only what is meant by the expression " use of the vendor." MISHNA: One must not remove things from one house to another, but this may be done from the house of another court to his court. Things must not be brought home from the me- chanic's house, but if he fears (that they might be lost) he may remove them to another court. GEMARA : Did not the Mishna begin with the statement that it must not be removed at all ? Said Abayi : The last clause of the Mishna means to say, that it may be removed from the court-house to the court (but not to another house). MISHNA: Dried figs may be covered with straw. R. Jehu- dah says : " They may, likewise, be put in layers. Dealers in fruit, garments, or utensils may privately sell what is required for use on the middle days. Huntsmen (fishers) and manufac- turers of peeled barley and grits may carry on their occupations in private, as the exigencies of the festival may require it." R. Jose said : '' They have of their own accord adopted the more rigorous observance and do not carry on their occupations (on the middle days)." GEMARA : R. Hyya bar Abba and R. Assi, both in the name of Hezekiah and R. Johanan, differ. One holds that " covering," mentioned in the Mishna, means " thinly covering," and '' put in layers " means '' thickly covering " ; and the other one holds that ''covering " means both thinly and thickly covering, and ''put in 24 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. layers " means '' heaping up." So also we have learned in a Boraitha : " Putting in layers — placing in a heap. Such is the dictum of R. Jehudah." " T/ie dealers in fruit,'' etc. The schoolmen propounded a question : " Does it mean that they adopted a rigorous, etc., not to do any work at all, or only not in public ? " Come and hear : The dealers in fruit, garments, and utensils may sell in private, tor use on the middle days. R. Jose said : *' The dealers of Tiberias adopted of their own accord a more rigorous observance and did not sell at all." (The Boraitha states further on that R. Jose said that the same was the case with the hunters and fishers of Achu and the manufacturers of grits of Sepphoris.) Abayi said : ** It is called grits, if it (the kernel) is crushed into two ; pearl grits, if into three ; and meal, if crushed into four parts." When R. Dimi came he said : "■ It (grits) means spelt." R. Huna permitted the dealers in spices to trade in their usual way. R. Kahana objected : We have learned elsewhere : A store opening into a gallery may be locked and unlocked in the usual way, but if it opens into a public street he must open one door and lock the other ; and on the eve of the last day of Tabernacles one may decorate his stores with fruit in honor of the last day of the fes-