We learned that one transgresses Shabbat if he carries enough ink to write two letters. Whether this ink is an an inkwell (with more ink on the walls) or in a quill, the amount liquid ink must be sufficient for writing the letters. Rava asked, “If he took ink for one letter in a ink-well, and for another letter in a quill, do they combine?” – No one found an answer.
The minimal amount of lime is defined as “enough to smear on a little girl.” What does this mean? Rav Yehudah explained, “Jewish daughters who matured but were still young in years and desired to remove unwanted hair: the daughters of the poor would smear themselves with lime; the daughters of the rich would use flour; and the daughters of the kings – would smear themselves with virgin olive oil.
Rabbi Nechemyah gives a larger limit on lime: enough to smear on the “andipi.” What is “andipi?” We learn this from the following story. A person from Galilee came to Babylon. They asked him to expound on the deep secrets of “The working of the chariot,” and he unhesitatingly agreed. Before he started, however, a hornet emerged from a nearby wall and stung him on the forehead (“andipi”), so that he died. We learn from here that “andipi” is the forehead.
Art: Benjamin Walter Spiers - Art and Letters
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