Talmud Builders

    Shabbat 22a

    Chapter 2 - BaMeh Madlikin

    גם: שבת דף כ״ב ע״א, פרק ב׳ במה מדליקין

    English translation - Shabbat 22a

    Translation: William Davidson Edition - English. Read alongside the Aramaic below; numbers match the passages of the daf.

    1A Hanukkah lamp that one placed above twenty cubits is invalid, just as a sukka whose roofing is more than twenty cubits high, and just as an alleyway whose beam, its symbolic fourth partition in order to place an eiruv , is more than twenty cubits high, are invalid. The reason is the same in all three cases: People do not usually raise their heads and see objects at a height above twenty cubits. As there is a requirement to see all of these, they are deemed invalid when placed above that height. And the Gemara cites another statement that Rav Kahana said that Rav Natan bar Manyumi taught in the name of Rav Tanḥum: What is the meaning of the verse that is written with regard to Joseph: “And they took him, and cast him into the pit; and the pit was empty, there was no water in it” (Genesis 37:24)? By inference from that which is stated: And the pit was empty, don’t I know that there was no water in it? Rather, why does the verse say: There was no water in it? The verse comes to emphasize and teach that there was no water in it, but there were snakes and scorpions in it.

    2Rabba said: It is a mitzva to place the Hanukkah lamp within the handbreadth adjacent to the entrance. The Gemara asks: And where, on which side, does he place it? There is a difference of opinion: Rav Aḥa, son of Rava, said: On the right side of the entrance. Rav Shmuel from Difti said: On the left. And the halakha is to place it on the left so that the Hanukkah lamp will be on the left and the mezuza on the right. One who enters the house will be surrounded by mitzvot ( ge’onim ).

    3Rav Yehuda said that Rav Asi said that Rav said: It is prohibited to count money opposite a Hanukkah light. Rav Yehuda relates: When I said this halakha before Shmuel, he said to me: Does the Hanukkah light have sanctity that would prohibit one from using its light? Rav Yosef strongly objected to this question: What kind of question is that; does the blood of a slaughtered undomesticated animal or fowl have sanctity? As it was taught in a baraita that the Sages interpreted the verse: “ He shall spill its blood and cover it with dust” (Leviticus 17:13): With that which he spilled, he shall cover. Just as a person spills the blood of a slaughtered animal with his hand, so too, he is obligated to cover the blood with this hand and not cover it with his foot. The reason is so that mitzvot will not be contemptible to him. Here too, one should treat the Hanukkah lights as if they were sacred and refrain from utilizing them for other purposes, so that mitzvot will not be contemptible to him.

    4The Gemara relates that they raised a dilemma before Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: What is the halakha with regard to using decorations of a sukka all seven days of the festival of Sukkot ? He said to them: They already said in a similar vein that it is prohibited to count money opposite the Hanukkah light, which proves that one may not use the object of a mitzva for another purpose. Rav Yosef replied in surprise: Master of Abraham! He makes that which was taught dependent upon that which was not taught. As, with regard to sukka , the prohibition to enjoy use of its decorations was taught in a baraita , and the prohibition to enjoy use of the Hanukkah lights was not taught in a baraita at all. As it was taught in a Tosefta in tractate Sukka : With regard to one who roofed the sukka in accordance with its halakhic requirements, and decorated it with colorful curtains and sheets, and hung in it ornamental nuts, peaches, almonds, and pomegranates, and grape branches [ parkilei ], and wreaths of stalks of grain, wines, oils, and vessels full of flour, it is prohibited to use them until the conclusion of the last day of the Festival. And, if before he hung the decorations he stipulated with regard to them that he will be permitted to use them even during the Festival, everything is according to his stipulation, and he is permitted to use them. In any case, since the prohibition to benefit from the Hanukkah light is not explicitly taught, a proof should not be cited from there to resolve the dilemma with regard to sukka decorations. Rather, Rav Yosef said: There is no need to bring a proof for the halakhot of sukka from the Hanukkah light. Rather, the paradigm of them all is blood. The verse with regard to the covering of the blood of slaughter is the original source from which the prohibition to treat mitzvot with contempt is derived.

    5It was stated in a dispute between amora ’ im that Rav said: One may not light from one Hanukkah lamp to another lamp. And Shmuel said: One may light in that manner. The Gemara cites additional disputes between Rav and Shmuel. Rav said: One may not untie ritual fringes from one garment in order to affix them to another garment. And Shmuel said: One may untie them from one garment and affix them to another garment. And Rav said: The halakha is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon in the case of dragging, as Rabbi Shimon permitted dragging objects on Shabbat, even if, as a result, a furrow would be dug in the ground, as it was not the person’s intent to dig that hole. Shmuel said that the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon in the case of dragging.

    6Abaye said: In all halakhic matters of the Master, Rabba, he conducted himself in accordance with the opinion of Rav, except these three where he conducted himself in accordance with the opinion of Shmuel. He ruled: One may light from one Hanukkah lamp to another lamp, and one may untie ritual fringes from garment to garment, and the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon in the case of dragging. As it was taught in a baraita , Rabbi Shimon says: A person may drag a bed, chair, and bench on the ground, as long as he does not intend to make a furrow in the ground. Even if a furrow is formed inadvertently, one need not be concerned.

    7One of the Sages sat before Rav Adda bar Ahava, and he sat and said: The reason for the opinion of Rav, who prohibited lighting from one Hanukkah lamp to another, is due to contempt for the mitzva. Using the light for a purpose other than illumination demeans the mitzva of Hanukkah lights. Rav Adda bar Ahava said to his students: Do not listen to him, as the reason for Rav’s opinion is due to the fact that he thereby weakens the mitzva. By lighting from lamp to lamp he slightly diminishes the oil and wick designated for the purpose of the mitzva. The Gemara asks: What is the practical difference between them? The Gemara answers: The practical difference between them is in a case where he lights directly from lamp to lamp, without using a wood chip or another lamp to light the second lamp. According to the one who said that Rav’s reason is due to contempt for the mitzva, directly from lamp to lamp he may even light ab initio , as, by lighting another Hanukkah lamp, he does not thereby demean the sanctity of the mitzva because the second lamp is also a mitzva. According to the one who said that Rav’s reason is because he weakens the mitzva, lighting directly from lamp to lamp is also prohibited, as ultimately, he utilizes the mitzva lamp for a task that he could have accomplished with a non-sacred lamp.

    8Rav Avya raised an objection from that which was taught in a Tosefta : A sela of

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    Rashi

    Invalid - Since the eye will not master (notice) [things] above twenty cubits, and there will be no publication of the miracle.

    Sukkah and alleyway - Since we learned (in the Mishnah) explicitly in Eruvin and in Tractate Sukkah, that they are invalid.

    It is a commandment to place it in the courtyard or the public domain a handbreadth away from the entrance. As if he moves it further from the entrance, it will not be noticeable that the head of the household put it there.

    On the right - When he enters his house, it is to the right.

    Mezuzah - It is established for us, that it is on the right. For it is written, "your house" ( beitekha ) - [and expounded to mean,] the way you arrive ( biatekha ); and when a person raises his foot, he raises his right foot first.

    To sort - To count.

    With that which he spilled - With his hand with which he spilled, and not with his foot.

    Decorations of a sukkah - Fruit hung in it for decoration.

    Master of Abraham - It is an expression of wonderment.

    Depend - Sukkah, which was taught explicitly in a baraita, as it will explain ahead [was made to depend...]

    On that which was not taught - On the Channukah light, as it is [only] a statement of Rav Assi, and it is not a baraita.

    And decorated it with keramim - He decorated it with colored curtains, that are called ovrez.

    He stipulated with regard to them - In Tractate Beitzah (30b), [this case is] established to be about one who says, "I will not separate from them during all of the twilight of the sanctification of the first holiday," such that holiness does not latch on to them. But another stipulation does not work.

    The paradigm of them all - From which all of them are learned.

    Blood - The covering of blood. For we extract it from a verse, "and he shall spill [...] and he shall cover." And there the reason is explained - that the commandments not be contemptible to him.

    From one lamp to another lamp - [Lamps] of Channukah, as its reason will be explained later.

    Untie - To take the tzitzit from an old cloak ( talit ) to a new cloak. And in Menachot, it explains the reason of the one that forbids [this].

    The law is in accordance with Rabbi Shimon - Since he said [that] something that one did not intend is permissible, even though he made a ditch - which is a derivative of plowing or building. And because the law follows Rav regarding prohibitions in the whole [Talmud] except for these three, they are mentioned together.

    All matters of the master - (The master being) Rabbah bar Nachmani.

    We teach the version, "To make a furrow."

    The reason for Rav - [He prohibits it] from one lamp to [another] lamp, due to contempt for the commandment. For he lights a wood chip that is not part of the commandment from a lamp of the commandment and lights the rest from it.

    He weakens it - As it appears like one who is taking light and drawing away some of the vitality of its oil.

    From lamp to lamp - He brings one lamp next to the [other] lamp, and they are both of the commandment; and [he does] not [do it] with a wood chip.

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    שבת 22 עמוד א

    1נר של חנוכה שהניחה למעלה מכ' אמה פסולה, כסוכה וכמבוי. ואמר רב כהנא, דרש רב נתן בר מניומי משמיה דרב תנחום: מאי דכתיב ״(בראשית לז״, כד) ״והבור רק אין בו מים״? ממשמע שנא' ״והבור רק״ איני יודע שאין בו מים? אלא מה ת"ל ״אין בו מים״ מים אין בו, אבל נחשים ועקרבים יש בו.

    2אמר רבה: נר חנוכה מצוה להניחה בטפח הסמוכה לפתח. והיכא מנח ליה? רב אחא בריה דרבא אמר: מימין רב שמואל מדפתי אמר: משמאל. והילכתא משמאל, כדי שתהא נר חנוכה משמאל ומזוזה מימין.

    3אמר רב יהודה אמר רב אסי (אמר רב): אסור להרצות מעות כנגד נר חנוכה. כי אמריתה קמיה דשמואל, אמר לי: וכי נר קדושה יש בה? מתקיף לה רב יוסף: וכי דם קדושה יש בו? דתניא (ויקרא יז, יג) ״ושפך וכסה״ במה ששפך יכסה. שלא יכסנו ברגל, שלא יהו מצות בזויות עליו. ה"נ שלא יהו מצות בזויות עליו.

    4בעו מיניה מרבי יהושע בן לוי: מהו להסתפק מנויי סוכה כל שבעה? א"ל הרי אמרו אסור להרצות מעות כנגד נר חנוכה. אמר רב יוסף: מריה דאברהם! תלי תניא בדלא תניא. סוכה תניא, חנוכה לא תניא. דתניא: סככה כהלכתה ועיטרה בקרמים ובסדינין המצויירין, ותלה בה אגוזים, אפרסקין, שקדים ורמונים, ופרכילי ענבים ועטרות של שבלים, יינות, (של) שמנים וסלתות אסור להסתפק מהן עד מוצאי יום טוב האחרון של חג. ואם התנה עליהן הכל לפי תנאו! אלא אמר רב יוסף: אבוהון דכולהו דם.

    5איתמר: רב אמר אין מדליקין מנר לנר, ושמואל אמר מדליקין. רב אמר אין מתירין ציצית מבגד לבגד, ושמואל אמר מתירין מבגד לבגד. רב אמר אין הלכה כרבי שמעון בגרירה, ושמואל אמר הלכה כרבי שמעון בגרירה.

    6אמר אביי: כל מילי דמר עביד כרב לבר מהני תלת דעביד כשמואל: מדליקין מנר לנר, ומתירין מבגד לבגד, והלכה כרבי שמעון בגרירה. דתניא, רבי שמעון אומר: גורר אדם מטה כסא וספסל ובלבד שלא יתכוין לעשות חריץ.

    7יתיב ההוא מרבנן קמיה דרב אדא בר אהבה ויתיב וקאמר: טעמא דרב משום ביזוי מצוה. אמר להו: לא תציתו ליה, טעמיה דרב משום דקא מכחיש מצוה. מאי בינייהו? איכא בינייהו דקא מדליק משרגא לשרגא: מ"ד משום ביזוי מצוה משרגא לשרגא מדליק. מ"ד משום אכחושי מצוה משרגא לשרגא נמי אסור.

    8מתיב רב אויא: סלע של׃

    Tosafot

    A Hanukkah lamp that one placed above twenty cubits is invalid, just as a sukkah and as an alleyway: But perhaps you will say, "It should have said, 'Reduce [the height of] it,' like regarding the alleyway. Since there (Eruvin 2a), it said, 'an alleyway is rabbinic - [that is why] they taught the rectification.'" But it can be said (answered) that it mentioned, "invalid," because it needed to say, "just as a sukkah," which is from the Torah. Or also (another explanation) is that it did not want to speak at length: "Extinguish it, reduce [the height of] it and light it." As to reduce it and leave it as it is, would not be possible - as is shown later (Shabbat 23a).

    Sukkah was taught - It is implied that the reason for the decorations of the sukkah is on account of contempt towards the commandment. But this is difficult to RI: In the chapter [entitled] Kirah (Shabbat 45a), it is implied that the reason is on account of, 'given that it is set aside for its commandment!' And he answered that they need both [reasons]. For [it it was only] on account of, 'it is set aside for its commandment,' we would not have forbidden it during the intermediate days of the festival. For setting aside is only relevant to Shabbat and to a holiday. And [if it was only] on account of contempt, we would not forbid them when they had fallen. But now that we say that they were set aside and [there is] contempt of the commandment, we forbid them even when they fell and even on the intermediate days of the holiday. And it is difficult to RI: Since the decorations of a sukkah are forbidden because of contempt - if so, what did it ask in Beitzah (30b) in the chapter [entitled] HaMevi, from the decorations of a sukkah to the wood of a sukkah (used for its roof)? As it said, "And does a stipulation not help with a sukkah for the holiday; and did we not learn, 'One who roofed according to its law [and hung decorations], etc.?'" But what is the question? Perhaps the condition does not help with the wood of a sukkah, because [its being put aside] is extracted from a verse [in the Torah] - as it is expounded there, "From where [do we know] about the wood of a sukkah, that it is forbidden all seven [days of Sukkot? Hence] it teaches to say (Leviticus 23:24), 'The festival of Sukkot is seven days, etc.'" And it is a full-fledged teaching, as it is shown in the first chapter of Sukkah (9a) that Beit Shammai invalidates an old sukkah from this verse, whereas Beit Hillel render it proper - since they need [the verse] for the wood of a sukkah, that it is forbidden all seven [days]. But a stipulation does work with the decorations of a sukkah, since they are only forbidden on account of contempt. Moreover, in the chapter [entitled] Kirah (Shabbat 45a), it is explicitly understood that the wood of sukkah is only forbidden on account of, 'it is set aside for its commandment!' And Rabbenu Tam responded that both the decorations of a sukkah and the wood of sukkah beyond [what is required for] the validation of a sukkah are only forbidden on account of contempt; or (alternatively) on account of, 'given that it is set aside for its commandment' - but only enough for the validation of a sukkah is forbidden from a verse. And the one who asked in Beitzah (30b) from the decorations of a sukkah, about the wood of a sukkah, did not know that there is a difference between more than enough for the validation of the sukkah and enough for the validation of the sukkah. And it answered, "Where one says, 'I am not removing myself from them throughout twilight' - as no sanctity attaches itself" to the decorations of a sukkah, as well as to the wood of a sukkah beyond the validation of a sukkah. There a condition helps. But with the wood of a sukkah of the sukkah's validation, "the sanctity attaches itself" perforce, from the word of the Torah, "all seven [days]." So his condition does not help. And that which it said over there, "And if he made a condition, it is all according to his condition"; and it asks, "Is that saying that his condition helps, etc.?" And it answers, "The second part [in which a condition is said to help is talking about] a hut in general." And after this, it asks, "And does a stipulation not help with a sukkah for the holiday; and did we not learn, 'One who roofed, etc.?'" [About this], it did not want to answer [that], "it is all according to his condition," is about that which is beyond the validation of the sukkah" - since, "it is all according to his condition," implies [that it is so] in the whole sukkah.

    It is prohibited to use them until the conclusion of the last day of the festival: And that which an etrog (citron) is permissible on the last day of the festival, more than a sukkah, is explained in the chapter [entitled] Lulav VeAravah (Sukkah 46b): Because when it is a doubt if it is the seventh or eighth [day], we sit in the sukkah. So if a meal chanced upon him at twilight, he would eat it there; and since it was set aside at twilight, it was set aside the whole day of the doubt about the eighth and the ninth [day]. However an etrog is not taken (shaken), when there is a doubt if it is the seventh or eighth [day], so it is only forbidden on the doubtful eighth [day] because it was set aside at twilight on the seventh [day]. And even though it is also forbidden at twilight of the eighth [day] because of the doubt about the day - since it is only forbidden on account of the doubt whether it is day or night, the whole day is not put aside with this. This is similar to an egg that was born on this [day] being permissible on [the other day], even though it was forbidden at twilight on account of the doubt whether it is day or night.

    The paradigm of them all is blood - That which it did not say, "the paradigm of them all is the wood of a sukkah, that we extract from a verse" - like it said at the beginning of [the chapter entitled] HaMevi: RI says that it is because we could not have learned from the wood of a sukkah, as a sukkah is different. For one who uses some of it negates the commandment, whereas with the decorations of a sukkah and with the changing of money by the light of the Channukah lamp, there is no negation of a commandment.

    Rav said, "One may not untie tzitzit from [one] garment to [another] garment": It is not necessary [to say] that it is forbidden if it is an obligation upon the garment; but even if it is an obligation on the person, it is forbidden as well. It is as we find with a mezuzah, that the one who took it was punished - in Bava Metzia (102a) at the end of the chapter [entitled] HaShoel - even though it is an obligation on the room. And Shmuel said that we may untie it: Even though Shmuel himself holds that it is on a obligation on the cloak, we remove them nevertheless; since he does it for the need of another garment. And concerning the mezuzah - such that he is punished - perhaps he did not have in mind to place it in another house. Or also (another answer), a mezuzah is different, since it is made to protect [one] from damaging spirits. And even though, according to everyone, we do not untie [ tzitzit ] when it is not to place them on another garment - that which is customary to untie the tzitzit from the cloaks of the dead is not difficult. For we only do not untie them from a cloak of one who is alive, as he is someone obligated.

    In all matters of the Master, he acted in accordance with Rav - There is a difficulty in the first chapter of Ketuvot (6a) - it is written there.

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    Rabbeinu Chananel

    ואסור להרצות מעות כנגד נר של חנוכה שלא יהא מצות בזויות עליו כמו הדם דאמר רחמנא ושפך וכסה שלא יכסנו ברגל וכו' וכן סככה כהלכתה כו' אמר רב יוסף אבוהון דכולהו דם פי' כל המצות מן הדם לומדות שלא יהא מצות בזויות עליו:

    תניא בכ"ה בכסליו חנוכה תמניא יומי דלא למספד שכשנכסו עכו"ם להיכל טימאו כל שמן שבמקדש וכשגברו כו':

    אתמר רב אמר אין מתירין ציצית מבגד לבגד כלומר מזו הטלית ומטילין לטלית אחרת וכו'. אין מדליקין מנר של חנוכה נר אחר ואין הלכה כרבי שמעון בגרירה. רבה בר נחמני לעולם היה עושה כרב בר מהני תלתי דעביד כשמואל דהוה שרי להתיר ציצית מבגד לבגד ולהדליק מנר של חנוכה נר אחר של חנוכה והלכתא כר"ש דאמר גורר.

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    Shabbat 22a

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