Shabbat 87 – When was the Torah given?

The Torah was given on the sixth of the month Sivan; this, therefore, is when Shavuot, marking the giving of the Torah, is celebrated. However, Rabbi Yose says that this happened on the seventh of Sivan.

Rava put their disagreement in perspective: all agree that the Jews arrived to Sinai on the first of the month. How do we know? Because in Egypt God said, “This month (Nissan) will be for you the first of the months,” on at Sinai it says “On this day they arrived.” The word “this” connects the two and teaches us that both were the first of the month.

Furthermore, all agree that the Torah was given on Shabbat. And why is that? – Because part of the giving of the Torah was “Remember Shabbat,” so this must have happened on Shabbat itself, just as in Egypt, where it says “Remember this day,” and it was said on this very day.

If so, where do they disagree? – They disagree about on what day was the first of the month. Then what does Rabbi Yose do with the extra day in his count? – He says that Moses added an extra day of preparation, but God later agreed with him. Actually, Moses did three things on his own, to all of which God later agreed. The first is the one we just mentioned, the second is when he separated from his wife, so that he could be ready to experience Divine presence at any time, and third is when he broke the tablets. How do we know that God agreed? – From the last words of the Torah, “Which Moses broke in front of everyone.” God said, “Well done!” with no trace of displeasure.

Art: Claude Vignon - Moses with the Tablets of the Law

Shabbat 86 – Three days before the giving of the Torah

Next in the list of “from where do we know” is “From where do we know that a woman who emits semen on the third day after an intercourse becomes ritually impure?” – From the Torah phrase, “Moses said to the people, 'Keep yourself in readiness for three days. Do not come near a woman.'”

The Torah had to be given to people who are ritually pure. All other sources of impurity can be eliminated by going to a mikveh, after which the person becomes ritually pure. Therefore, the only reason for the three-day waiting period was the potential for semen – if it is viable – to be expelled later, and the semen is considered viable for three days. The Talmud also discusses other opinions on how long this period can be.

Actually, a person right out of the mikveh is considered pure, with a tinge of impurity until sunset. Still, it could have been enough for giving the Torah. Why, for example, was the Torah not given on Friday, right after everyone went to a mikveh? – Because God did not want to do it in secret at night. Then why was the mikveh time not set for Saturday morning, with the Torah given right after that? – Because then some would be returning from the mikveh, with others just going there, and the Jewish people needed a complete unity.

Art: German School - Purity

Shabbat 85 – Seeds in a garden patch

Another one in the list of allusions and implications is drawn from the phrase in Isaiah, “Like the earth gives forth its plant, and like a garden causes its seeds to sprout...” The prophet describes the salvation of the Jewish people which will blossom gloriously at the end of days, but he also hints to the laws of planting. In general, it is forbidden to plant different species together, and here we can derive that on a garden patch of six by six hand-breadths one can plant five types of seeds but no more. How do we know that?

“Gives forth” denotes one species, “its plant” is another, “its seeds” implies two, for the total of four, and “to sprout” is the fifth. The Talmud gives multiple possible layouts for seed planting, as well as derives that the size of the patch is indeed six by six hand-breadths, and that it is situated in a barren area, for otherwise other seeds would impede the planting of the five species inside.

Art: Carl Larsson - The seeds

Shabbat 84 – Allusions

Continuing with the list of comparisons and allusions, what did King Solomon mean when said that “Four things are incomprehensible to me... the path of a ship in the heart of the sea once it passed?” By comparing the ship to the sea, Solomon hints at the law that a ship, even a small one, is always ritually pure – just as the sea is ritually pure. A ship is unique in this respect. Other objects, for example, boxes small enough to be carried, do accept spiritual impurity. The law itself was known to Solomon, but he could not understand its reason.

Another allusion: the Torah writes, “When a man dies in a tent... all utensils under the tent will be impure.” Rabbi Yochanan explained, this teaches that a man should never leave the tent of study,  until the day of his death. Resh Lakish said, “Moreover, he will remember his learning only if he literally kills himself for its sake” – just as the Torah said, “When a man dies in a tent”.

Art: Gerbrand Van Den Eeckhout - Scholar with his Books

Shabbat 83 – Idol assembly

Earlier we learned that pieces of an idol that are broken off cease to convey ritual impurity. However, this is talking about pieces, about which the idolater reasons, “The idol could not protect itself, surely it is not going to protect me.”

Rav Chama asked a related question, “If one uses an idol that is assembled from parts, does it still convey impurity when disassembled? When a layman can reassemble the idol,” - he added - “I don't even need to ask, since this is considered as if it was intact. My only question is when only an expert can reassemble it. Do we say that this is better than a broken one, and the impurity is back, or do we say that right now the idol is unusable, and it conveys no impurity?”

Others presented his question in a different way: where a layman cannot assemble it, there is no need to ask, since it is as good as broken. The only question is when a layman can in fact assemble it back. Do we say that it is considered as whole, or do way say that on the contrary, right now it is pulled apart and dismantled, and is therefore unusable, and carries no impurity? – Which? This question remained unresolved.

Art: Rombout Van Troyen - Grotto with Statues and Numerous Figures Worshipping Idols

Shabbat 82 – Hints

There is a rule that when the Sages established their additional safeguards (out of the need to distance people from Torah violations), they used the same law structures as those found in the Torah, whenever possible. The result is that we can reason about their laws using the same deductions as in the Torah.

For example, there are a few cases in the Torah where one who carries an item indirectly, without touching it, nevertheless becomes ritually impure, such as meat of a non-kosher animal or a kosher one that was killed but not by slaughter. How do we know that the Sages applied the same law to one who carries an idol? – Explains Rabbi Akiva, since Isaiah says that in the future the Jews will “Cast the idols away as other objects that engender impurity, and you will say to them – Go!” – therefore we know that the Sages established ritual impurity for one who carries an idol.

What else can we learn from the comparison of an idol to, for example, a “zav” – man who had a special type of emission? – That just as his impurity does not apply to separate members of his body, so too it does not apply to pieces of an idol.

Art: Winslow Homer - Guide Carrying a Deer

Shabbat 81 – Using a bathroom

Of the amounts carrying which entails a Shabbat violation, here are the last items. Clay – enough for sealing cargo sacks – says Rabbi Akiva, but the Sages say – enough to seal a letter. Fertilizer – enough for a cabbage – that is Rabbi Akiva, and the Sages say – enough for a leek. A reed – enough for a small pen, and if unusable for a pen – enough to cook an egg on a skillet; and which egg cooks the fastest? – that of a chicken.

At that time, they used stones to wipe after relieving themselves. Zonin came to the study hall and asked, “My teachers! How many stones can one take to the bathroom?” Normally, stones are not prepared for Shabbat use and are therefore muktzeh, not to be handled. Additionally, one should not carry them – unless he goes less than four steps at a time and then stops, thus staying below the prohibited distance.

The Sages told him, “He can use the same sizes that he uses on weekdays: the first the size of an olive, the second the size of the nut, and the third the size of an egg.” They thus told him that the Shabbat prohibitions are relaxed to accommodate the unavoidable needs of people. Still, Zonin insisted, “Shall he bring a balance scale with him, to ascertain the weight?” After discussion, they voted to allow a handful of stones.

Art: Vincent Van Gogh - Still Life With Cabbage And Clogs