After one prepares his alleyway, so that one is allowed to carry there on Shabbat, he may discover that the beam that he placed on top is too high – higher than twenty amot. Instead of lowering the beam, he may decide to raise the floor. How much does he need to raise it?
The Talmud asks, “What’s the question? He must reduce the gap to twenty, so he must raise it as much as needed for that.” The question if then rephrased, “How wide does the floor platform have to be?” Rav Yosef says that just one hand-breadth is enough, but Abaye requires four hand-breadths. Since people are allowed to carry under the beam itself, they will notice even a small platform directly under the beam – that is the view of Rav Yosef. Abaye, who says that people are not allowed to carry directly under the beam – so that they don’t accidentally step out into the street – will require four hand-breadths to be noticed.
However, it could be that they both agree that one is allowed to carry directly under the beam. If so, they could be arguing about the reason for the beam. Rav Yosef says that it is a distinctive mark, and one hand-breadth already provides the needed reminder, while Abaye says that the beam is to form a symbolic partition, as if closing off the alley, and it needs to be at least four hand-breadths.
Or you can say that they agree on that the beam placed as a reminder. Then they could be arguing about a principle of “below should be like above. “ Rav Yosef agrees to this, and just as the beam itself is only one handbreadth, so too the platform below, while Abaye does not agree, and requires a larger platform.
The law in all these cases follows Rav Yosef.
Art: Suze Robertson - Alleyway
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