Daf Yomi Shabbat

Shabbat 4a and 4b, wading further into the weeds of hotza’ah, trying to figure out whether the picking up and putting down need to be from a place 4 tefahim by 4 tefahim, bringing up other issues, throwing, handing over, whether picking up (akira) has different rules than putting down (hanaha).

Shabbat 8a and Shabbat 8b, on how high a reshut ha-rabim goes, whether ditches are easily usable, the role of bein ha-shemashot in defining an eruv and other rabbinic prohibitions.

This is supposed to be Shabbat 11a and Shabbat 11b, but we had technical difficulties. I will record it later this morning, NYC time, and it will go up. Sorry for the delay!

For a description, today mostly continues the statements of Raba bar Mehasya in the name of R. Hama bar Gurion in the name of Rav, and then moves to a discussion of items we should not wear close to Shabbat, lest we go out wearing them on Shabbat.

Shabbat 12a and Shabbat 12b, what counts as wearing an item to not be considered carrying it, the idea of melakhah she-einah tzerikhah le-gufah, visiting the sick and comforting the bereaved on Shabbat, and not using candlelight for careful tasks for fear of unthinkingly tipping the candle and violating Shabbat.

Shabbat 13a and Shabbat 13b, about ways we make sure to stop ourselves from unthinkingly sinning, by tipping a candle, or eating the wrong food, or letting the intimacy of a meal lead to other intimacies, with a long section on how husbands and wives separate at times they need to avoid intimacy.

Shabbat 14a and Shabbat 14b, where we get into the 18 decrees Beit Shammai convinced Beit Hillel to make in the attic of Hananiah b. Hizkiya b. Garon, who was in the process of proving the book of Yehezkel deserved to be in Tanakh. Most of these are about tumah and taharah, ways Hazal worked to protect the idea of terumah needing to be kept ritually pure.

Shabbat 15a and Shabbat 15b, some of the history of the end of the first Temple, in terms of the various gezerot made, particularly of the ritual impurity of hands, of whether and how often Hillel and Shammai themselves disputed matters of halakha, and what those were.

Shabbat 16a and 16b, figuring out the ritual impurity status of glass, and then back to the 18 gezerot to figure out what they were and why they were made.

Shabbat 17a and Shabbat 17b, finishing up the 18 decrees from the attic of Hananiah b. Hizkiyah b. Garon, including the prohibitions of socializing with non-Jews in ways too likely to lead to marriage or other social intimacies, as well as the possibility of absorbing their sense of worshiping powers other than Gd.

Shabbat 18a and Shabbat 18b, working off the Mishnah on 17b about actions Beit Shammai thought were a problem even Friday afternoon, partially because Beit Shammai think we’re obligated in shevitat kelim, even our inanimate appliances should not be performing melakhah on Shabbat. Along the way, we discuss some basics of lisha, kneading, and touch on cooking topics, including shema yehateh be-gehalim, the worry lest the person will forget and stoke the coals under something continuing to be heated on Shabbat.

Shabbat 19a and Shabbat 19b, we finish up 18b with a first glimpse of shema yehateh be-gehalim, the things we prohibit in terms of cooking, for fear a person will stoke the coals on Shabbat. Then, continuing Beit Shammai’s theme of actions with non-Jews that lead into Shabbat, we discussed giving mail to a non-Jew, setting siege to a city, and setting sail on a ship too close to Shabbat. We closed with a discussion of actions set into motion before Shabbat, leaving grapes in a press, and who holds those views.

Shabbat 20a and Shabbat 20b, finishing up the first chapter of Shabbat! With more of a first taste of cooking issues, especially rules to avoid stoking the coals, such as covering a fire or removing the fuel. Then, starting the second chapter, Bameh Madlikin.

Shabbat 21a and Shabbat 21b, from discussions of wicks and oils that do not catch the fuel well enough, making us fear the person will tip them or they will go out and the family will not have light, we come to Hanukkah discussions, issues of lighting the Menorah, how many candles, whether we can use the light of the Menorah, and more.

Shabbat 22a and Shabbat 22b, a continuation of our analysis of Hanukkah issues, including bizui mitzvah, mistreating mitzvot such as by counting money by the light of a menorah, and the question of lighting from one Hanukkah candle to another, which somewhat hinges on whether hadlakah oseh mitzvah, lighting the candles constitutes the act of mitzvah, or hanahah, placing it down.

Shabbat 23a and Shabbat 23b, finishing up Hanukkah for now, women’s equal obligation in Hanukkah candles because they were part of the miracle, and the priorities between Shabbat candles–very important for shalom bayit, a tranquil home atmosphere–Hanukkah candles, or kiddush wine.  The source verse for making berakhot on Rabbinic obligations, the obligation to avoid others’ suspicions, and some ideas about how our love of mitzvot has benefits beyond the specific mitzvah itself.

Shabbat 24a and Shabbat 24b, whether we insert Hanukkah into Grace After Meals, and/or into Mussaf, ideas we then apply to Rosh Hodesh, and other cases of a liturgical activity where a holiday would not apply (like the haftarah for Minhah on Shabbat afternoon!). Then we finish the first Mishnah of the chapter, and start discussing the prohibition of burning sanctified items on holidays.

Shabbat 25a and Shabbat 25b, finding the source for why we cannot burn ritually impure terumah on Yom Tov, why we can benefit from burning such terumah on non-holidays, how kodashim, sanctified or sacrificial meat, has more stringent rules than terumah. Then, back to Shabbat candles why they are an absolute obligation, and why washing for Shabbat is a preferred activity.

Shabbat 26a and Shabbat 26b, a discussion of balsam, pleasant enough of aroma to fear people will take some of the oil from the candle, but also dangerously likely to spark; more kinds of oils acceptable for candles, taking us to a discussion of linen (an exceptional material, in that it’s thought of as a tree, and yet can be used for wicks and is susceptible to ritual impurity), and a discussion of what counts as materials for clothing that can become tamei, at a Biblical level.

Shabbat 27a and Shabbat 27b, working our way through which aspects of tzara’at for clothing can be transferred to the effect of sheratzim, dead vermin, on clothing, and then which onto issues of tzitzit, in terms of size and material, as one of the attendees phrased it.

Shabbat 28a and Shabbat 28b, figuring out how we know hides of non kosher animals are susceptible to ohel impurity, and some of the Halakhot leMoshe miSinai of tefillin, such as that they have to be square, and be sewn of kosher animals.

Shabbat 29a and Shabbat 29b, a first experience of the idea of nolad, whether items that only became available for use on Shabbat or Yom Tov can be used, and then a couple of gezerot, decrees Hazal made to be sure we not extinguish fires on Shabbat.

Shabbat 30a and Shabbat 30b, a discussion of some pikuah nefesh issues, the permissiblity of violating Shabbat to save lives, leading into a long meditation on the advantages of life over death and vice verse, and then the contradictions within the books of Kohelet and Mishle.

Shabbat 31a and Shabbat 31b, the stories of Hillel’s patience, his refusal to become angry with someone intentionally rude, and his ability to find the way to bring problematic converts to a true embrace of Judaism.

Shabbat 32a and Shabbat 32b, the Mishnah about women dying in childbirth for specific sins moves to a discussion of when Gd chooses to consider people’s sins generally, which sins can lead to worse consequences than we might assume, and the interrelationship of the family unit in terms of sin and punishment.

Shabbat 33a and Shabbat 33b many examples of punishments the Gemara thought came for specific sins, as well as the story of R. Shimon b. Yohai and his 13 years in a cave.

Shabbat 34a and Shabbat 34b, the daf for the first day of Pesah, finishing up the story of R. Shim’on bar Yohai’s time in the cave, proving he wasn’t quite as mellowed by his time there as we might have thought, and moving on to how we make final Shabbat preparations on Friday afternoon, with a distinction between just before sunset, and during bein ha-shemashot, the transitional period from Friday to Shabbat. Leading us to try to figure out when and how long bein ha-shemashot is.

This is the daf for the 2nd day of Pesah, Shabbat 35a and Shabbat 35b, continuing our discussion of when bein ha-shemashot is and how to identify it, starting with sunset until the stars come out. Has my own theory of what Rabbenu Tam really meant by two sunsets.

Shabbat 36a and Shabbat 36b, finishing the chapter of Bameh Madlikin, with issues of items whose name changed over time, with ramifications for business sales and wherever else names matter. Then starting the third chapter, Kirah, about bishul (loosely: cooking) on Shabbat, starting with a rule about the difference between stoves fired by straw or those fired by wood, a rule we are not sure whether it is about leaving food on the oven (shehiyah) or returning it to the oven (hazzarah).

Shabbat 37a and Shabbat 37b, trying to see if the first Mishnah in Kirah has to follow Hananiah or not, and whether the level of cooking to allow leaving food on an uncovered fire is ma’akhal ben drosai, mitztamek ve-yafeh lo, or mitztamek ve-ra lo.

Shabbat 38a and Shabbat 38b, the question of punishing those who either cook or leave food on the fire improperly, either deliberately or without full knowledge of what they were doing, of hazarah, when we can return food to a fire from which we took it on Shabbat, and then other kinds of stoves and ovens and their halakhot.

Shabbat 39a and Shabbat 39b, the difference between toldot ha-or and toldot ha-hamah, items heated by fire or by the sun for Shabbat bishul purposes, as well as some discussion of bathing/showering/washing on Shabbat and Yom Tov.

Shabbat 40 and Shabbat 40b, about the development of the prohibition against bathing or going to a sauna on Shabbat, for fear of heating water on Shabbat, and then the idea of warming up water rather than cooking it, whether oil is considered cookable, and the difference between a keli rishon, the item in which food was heated on the fire, and keli sheni, the container into which cooked food was transferred.

Shabbat 41a and Shabbat 41b, issues of modesty while bathing,  using a keli rishon once it’s off the fire, and the idea of davar she-eino mitkaven, an outcome that is not at all our purpose in a certain act.

Shabbat 42a and Shabbat 42b, finishing off some bishul issues, keli rishon, keli sheni, hot water and what looks like cooking. Then spices, salt, and kalei ha-bishul, with a Mishnah then pivoting us to muktzeh issues.

Shabbat 43a and Shabbat 43b, on whether we cannot carry for the sake of an item itself prohibited to be carried, whether we are prohibited from being mevatel an item, making it subsidiary to an item we cannot carry, the idea of being allowed to carry an item le-tzorekh mekomo, for its place, and tiltul min ha-tzad, carrying or moving items in an unusual way.

Shabbat 44a and Shabbat 44b, finishing up the issue of kavod ha-met, honor for the deceased, and why we worry about kibui, extinguishing, and then the spectrum of muktzeh, when items are disgusting, when they have been set aside for a purpose, when they have been set aside on that Shabbat for a purpose.

Shabbat 45a and Shabbat 45b, figuring out the positions on muktzeh of Rav, Rebbe, and R. Yohanan, including in terms of dehiyah ba-yadayim, taking action to make something no longer available for Shabbat or Yom Tov use.

Shabbat 46a and Shabbat 46b, R. Yohanan’s version of muktzeh, and the issue of expecting or not expecting to be able to use something as a factor in deciding if it’s usable on Shabbat or Yom Tov.

Shabbat 47a and Shabbat 47b, finishing up Perek Kirah with some more thoughts about muktzeh, what counts as prepared or unprepared, as a basis for something that is prohibited or not, and what is considered remaking a usable item or as ein binyan be-kelim. And, at the very end, the first stages of hatmanah, wrapping food to retain heat.

Shabbat 48a and Shabbat 48b, the beginnings of hatmana, the idea of insulating hot food to keep it hot, the difference between mosif hevel or not. Then, because mochin is a material for hatmana, a discussion of whether it stops being muktzeh, which takes us back to muktzeh issues, and to what counts as making a keli on Shabbat.

Shabbat 49a and Shabbat 49b, hatmanah issues leading us back to some muktzeh issues, whether a professional also intends to use some of the merchandise for himself and then sell it (leather yes, wood no). The story of Elisha ba’al kenafyim, whose dedication to tefillin led to his miraculous salvation, and then back to hatmanah, with moist or dry items and small or large bits taken out of flax.

Shabbat 50a and Shabbat 50b, more muktzeh issues, because of the question of a what to do with a pot insulated with muktzeh items. From there, to what we need to do to turn an item into one we are allowed to consider usable on Shabbat, and from there into issues of personal hygiene (which materials we can use to wash ourselves on Shabbat, and what kinds of washing are appropriate hygiene, what are excessive). Then back to hatmanah with a muktzeh item.

Shabbat 51a and Shabbat 51b, finishing BaMeh Tomnin and heading into Bamah Behemah. The end of hatmanah was about insulating cold foods (it’s ok), insulating foods poured into a keli sheni (it’s ok), and adjusting the pre-existing insulation (it’s ok).

Then into the question of what we can let animals wear on Shabbat, because we’re not allowed to make them do work.

Shabbat 52a and Shabbat 52b, on unneeded restraints as a burden to animals, nailing down Shemuel’s view, and then to the rings of animals’ collars, and rings in general.

Shabbat 53a and Shabbat 53b, what we do for animals on Shabbat in terms of reducing their distress, whether or not giving them pleasure allows attaching items to them on Shabbat, and whether the rules for not using medicine apply to animals as well.

Shabbat 54a and Shabbat 54b, finishing up the discussion of the kinds of coverings animals can have, to promote or prevent breeding, promote or prevent lactation. We also touch on the many ways people would protect their animals, with items that might fall of and therefore be carried by the owner.

Shabbat 55a and Shabbat 55b, from the cow attributed to R. Elazar b. Azaryah for his failure to remonstrate with a neighbor to the idea of remonstration generally, the liability we can incur by not remonstrating where possible, and from there to examples of people whom Scripture describes as having sinned in one way when they actually sinned in another way.

Shabbat 56a and Shabbat 56b, more examples of R. Shmeul b. Nahmani in the name of R. Yonatan pointing out places where the simple reading of Scripture ascribes a sin to someone, and it’s not the sin you would think it is. Finishing the chapter of Bameh Behemah.

Shabbat 57a and Shabbat 57b, beginning Bameh Isha, a chapter about what people can wear where there is no eruv, what counts as a garment, but more significantly what kinds of decorations we worry people (particularly women) will take off to show others, and then forget and carry them in a public place. To avoid the problem, Hazal made the rule of not wearing such items even to a hatzer, a courtyard.

Shabbat 58a and Shabbat 58b, much about the badges slaves would wear, introducing two kinds of worries: the slave would lose the badge and adjust his clothing to cover the spot, in a way that made the garment no longer a piece of clothing but a burden, and/or would pick up the broken badge to carry it. From there, we got into issues of ritual impurity, how thought can make an item susceptible to it, but it takes an action to stop it, and what pieces of items are considered linked or not.

Shabbat 59a and Shabbat 59b, what qualifies as broken for tumah purposes, whether it must retain some of its original use, kinds of jewelry women will or will not take off to show to friends (and kinds of women who are too dignified for that), the story of why Levi came to Bavel, and the difference between all metal jewelry, or fabric with some precious metal on or in it.

Shabbat 60a and Shabbat 60b, moving from finishing up women’s rings to men’s wearing sandals with nails in them. Both are lessons in how Hazal made decrees, the women’s rings getting us into questions of whether laws of ritual impurity view rings the same as for Shabbat, the sandal a question of how Hazal chose to commemorate tragedies, how narrowly or broadly they defined “similar situations.”

Shabbat 61a and Shabbat 61b wearing sandals on one foot, either to protect a wound or for comfort, amulets as medicinal (and who and what qualifies as medicinal), wearing tefillin on Shabbat as a question of carrying.

Shabbat 62a and Shabbat 62b, how men and women differ in clothing rules for Shabbat, and the role of perfume, positive and negative.

Shabbat 63a and Shabbat 63b, finishing up with the problems of inappropriate sexuality in Yerushalayim of Yeshayahu’s time, the wearing of weapons of war as a decoration or not, the nature of the Messianic era, the relationship between those who study Torah together, a bit on women’s garments as carrying or not, and then back to ritual purity and impurity.

Shabbat 64a and Shabbat 64b, a lot about the source for the idea that goats’ hair garments and even straps on a saddle can be susceptible to ritual impurity (with some abut how derivations work), from there to the jewelry Midianite women wore for their inappropriate sexuality, and then back to items women can and cannot wear outside on Shabbat, for fear of carrying.

Shabbat 65a and Shabbat 65b, mar’it ayin and where it applies, whether the rules for what we can wear outside apply inside as well, and why they do or don’t apply in our times, mikveh water as opposed to running water, and false teeth on Shabbat.

Shabbat 66a and Shabbat 66b, prostheses and other attachments to the body, when they count as part of one’s clothing or not, when they are susceptible to ritual impurity or not, and then–from an idea about wearing certain folk remedies– to a list of acceptable Shabbat remedies that do not have the worry of grinding spices.

Shabbat 67a and Shabbat 67b, more of the Gemara’s view of how to heal various illnesses, with the crucial Mishnah about what counts as darkhei ha-Emori, the prohibition against following non-Jews just for the sake of following them. Raising the key question: what counts as for medicinal purposes, what looks like we think it’s for medicine but it’s really for another purpose, and what is just inappropriate?

With that, we conclude the chapter of Bameh Ishah.

Shabbat 68a and Shabbat 68b, beginning Kelal Gadol, a chapter about the various melakhot of Shabbat, starting with the question of kinds of violations of Shabbat, incurring different numbers of korban hatat to atone for the sin. The Gemara here introduces the concept of tinnok she-nishbah, someone who grew up among those with no concept of Shabbat, as part of tracing how much knowledge one has to have to be considered somewhat liable for a failure to observe Shabbat.

Shabbat 69a and Shabbat 69b, exploring the boundaries of shogeg, how far Hazal were willing to go in saying someone lacked the full awareness of their actions to yet qualify as a shogeg. Also, advice for how to handle oneself when having lost sight of the days of the week.

Shabbat 70a and Shabbat 70b, much of it taken up with deriving the idea of hilluk melakhot, how each category of melakha on Shabbat incurs its own korban hatat, hatat sacrifice, if violated unwittingly. While getting there, we also saw the interesting debate about whether hav’arah, burning fire, was a full-fledged category of prohibited activity, singled out by the Torah to teach the concept, or was only a plain prohibition. The debate also took us into issues of middot she-ha-Torah nidreshet bahen, the ways Hazal derive new ideas from the Torah.

Shabbat 71a and Shabbat 71b, what links and what separates actions in terms of being liable for another sacrifice to atone for it, especially the question of tamhuyin mehalkin, having prepared food differently being enough to obligate a separate sacrifice, or yedi’ot and/or setting aside a sacrifice, a debate between R. Yohanan and Resh Lakish.

Shabbat 72a and Shabbat 72b, more issues of knowledge of our actions and how they affect our liability, for Shabbat and other mitzvot, where knowledge of the sin separates acts of sin from each other, what counts as mit’asek, not having knowledge of the act, and how the standards of knowledge of sin differ for Shabbat as opposed to other mitzvot, particular avodah zarah, worshipping any power other than Gd.

Shabbat 73a and Shabbat 73b, comparing the mit’asek of Shabbat to that of ingesting karet-prohibited food, where there is a hatat anyways, she-ken neheneh, because the person derived benefit. Fleshing out how far Rava goes in the knowledge needed to qualify as a shogeg, and then the Mishnah that finally lists the 39 categories of prohibited labor, starting us on our journey of defining them fully.

Shabbat 74a and Shabbat 74b, defining melakhot better, especially borer and tohen, seeing how we count melakhot in our list.

Shabbat 75a and Shabbat 75b, finishing up the list of melakhot from the Mishnah, clarifying what they are, especially shohet, killing, and makeh be-patish, finishing the process of making items.

Shabbat 76a and Shabbat 76b, finiishing the chapter of Kelal Gadol with more issues of the minimum shiur, for animal food, for human food, and starting the next chapter, HaMotzi Yayin, with amounts for carrying liquids.

Shabbat 77a and Shabbat 77b, about the minimum amounts for carrying items, what it means to be useful, how wine congeals from a revi’it to a kezayit. And then a long piece about how everything in this world has a purpose.

Shabbat 78a and Shabbat 78b, more items of carrying, how frequency of use affects the amount that counts as a full fledged violation of Shabbat, and the difference between major and minor uses for all sorts of liquids and other substances. At the end, starting issues of when a shetar is still useful as a legal document.

Shabbat 79a and Shabbat 79b, on when a loan document no longer has value and is therefore not an amount to care about carrying, from there to hides and when they are useful, moving us into a discussion of the different parts of the hide used for mezuzah or tefillin (in the time of the Gemara).

Shabbat 80a and Shabbat 80b, the amount of ink to carry and be liable, letting us think about what’s considered one item for carrying purposes, and also whether the carrying has to be to one space, and how much the items being carried have to link to each other. Also cosmetics, clay, fertilizer, and reeds.

Shabbat 81a and Shabbat 81b, a great deal about bathroom functions, because Hazal allowed taking stones into a bathroom in lieu of toilet paper. Minimum amounts for carrying on Shabbat, then, were related to these bodily functions.

Shabbat 82a and Shabbat 82b, finishing up issues of the eliminatory system, how to cleanse oneself safely, and how to help the smooth workings of the system, with a side point about how wisdom in that area counts as Torah as well. The last Mishnah, about the size of a clay shard to count as a minimal amount for Shabbat carrying, cites a verse as a sort of support, taking us to the next chapter, where R. Akiva uses verses to condition his understanding of how the Rabbis structured their decree of ritual impurity for items of worship of powers other than Gd.

Shabbat 83a and Shabbat 83b, finishing up the analysis of the kind of ritual impurity Hazal created for items of worship of powers other than Gd, seeing how it is or isn’t similar to sheretz (creeping vermin), zav (ritual impurity by virtue of bodily secretions or emissions), and met (the ritual impurity associated with those who have passed away), a reminder we construct such impurities with leniencies built in, because they are de-rabbanan, and then a brief discussion of the ritual impurity of ships, or lack of it.

Shabbat 84a and Shabbat 84b, figuring out the midras tum’ah, the ritual impurity associated with a zav sitting on items, and whether and how it applies to pottery, to large items, and to where their openings are. Then, shifting to another area of law often left less studied, agriculture and kil’ayim, the number of different crops that can be planted in one small patch of a garden.

Shabbat 85a and Shabbat 85b, working out how to maximize our use of garden patches in terms of kil’ayim, to make sure it’s clear we aren’t planting them together, to leave a visible space between them.

Shabbat 86a and Shabbat 86b, from a Mishnah about the ritual impurity connected to marital relations, we begin to discuss the order of the week of the Giving of the Torah at Sinai, how the Jews were made ready for the moment by couples not engaging in marital relations.

Shabbat 87a and Shabbat 87b, bringing sources that support/contradict R. Yose and Rabbanan as to whether the Torah was given on the 6th or 7th of Sivan, when it is accepted the Jews left Egypt on a Thursday, 15 Nisan, and even first received man on a Sunday, 16th of Iyyar.

Shabbat 88a and Shabbat 88b, started with a discussion of the importance of empathy for African Americans struggling with police brutality and murder, then went on to the issues of Matan Torah in the daf (about minute 12), finishing up the timing of it, then the issue of Hashem holding the mountain over them, then the Jews’ saying na’aseh, we will obey, before nishma, we will listen.

Shabbat 89a and Shabbat 89b, finishing up our discussion of how the Giving of the Torah went at Sinai, including the Jews’ ability to bear the awesome experience, Moshe’s defending people’s right to the Torah. From there, we also saw ways the Patriarchs did or did not defend the Jews from strict divine justice, based on the verse we had quoted back in the Mishnah about tying a red string to the goat sent to Azazel on Yom Kippur.

Shabbat 90a and Shabbat 90b, finishing the chapter of “R. Akiva,” with discussions of various items and the amounts that were used for various purposes, for cooking, for medicine, for perfume, and more.

Shabbat 91a and Shabbat 91b, the relationship of intent to minimal size of carrying on Shabbat, especially when intent changes in the middle, and of halakhic significance as a factor in intent.

Shabbat 93a and Shabbat 93b, mostly on the question of shenayim she-asauha, when two people violate Shabbat in unison, and whether their joining in the act means it doesn’t count as a Biblical violation. Also on mesaye’a ein bo mamash, helping in the commission of a sin, where the other person or item could have done it, does not count for Biblical purposes. Closing with a Mishnah about where one item is subordinate to another in an act of carrying.

Shabbat 94a and Shabbat 94b, the question of hai nosei et atzmo, the extent to which living people count as lifting themselves up and therefore aiding in the process of carrying, the difference between tiltul and hotza’ah for a person who has passed away, the definition of melakhah she-einah tzerikhah le-gufah.

Shabbat 95a and Shabbat 95b, a few different melakhot and their reasons, like milking, braiding hair, applying makeup, making cheese, sweeping the house. First steps into atzitz nakuv, a planter with a hole in it, considered to be connected to the ground for many Shabbat purposes.

Shabbat 96a and Shabbat 96b, finishing up Ha-Matzni’a, with a discussion of when pottery containers have holes big enough to render them no longer a keli for ritual impurity. Moving on to Ha-Zorek, beginning a discussion of how zerikah, throwing, fits into the melakhah of hotza’ah, moving items from one space to another.

Shabbat 97a and Shabbat 97b, debates between R. Akiva and R. Yehudah b. Beteira about how much we reveal of negative information about Biblical characters, if the Torah did not, the risks of being suspicious of those who are innocent, and then a return to throwing issues, with the object passing through a different reshut, whether passing through counts as landing, whether covered spaces are considered completely filled, and where our intentions affect whether our action is considered done in a full way.

Shabbat 98a and Shabbat 98b, in trying to figure out why Rav thinks there is no covered public space, we get into discussions of how the planks of the Mishkan were stacked for transport, and from there to how the tapestries covered the Mishkan and its walls.

Shabbat 100a and Shabbat 100b, many issues of throwing– if the wind holds it up, throwing from one kind of space to another, through a puddle, onto a wall, into a hole on the wall.

Shabbat 101a and Shabbat 101b, ships and other watercraft and some of their Shabbat halakhot, especially gud ahit mehitzta, whether the walls can be envisioned as coming down to create a space, how traffic through a wall affects its status, and the need for physical barriers or connectors to join halakhic spaces.

Shabbat 102a and Shabbat 102b, finishing off the chapter of Ha-Zorek, with a discussion of when someone remembers in the middle of an action that it is prohibited and it is Shabbat, whether throwing an item or carrying it. Then, starting Ha-Boneh, how building occurs, in what amounts, and the idea of ein aniyut bimkom ashirut, the Mishkan and Mikdash made a principle of not skimping on items, as a sign of wealth.

Shabbat 103a and Shabbat 103b, finishing up some boneh and makeh be-patish issues, moving on to koteiv, writing, where we learn about whether marks can count as writing, if they convey meaning.

Shabbat 104a and Shabbat 104b, the difference between the end-word version of certain letters and how that letter appears at the beginning or middle of a word, a long disquisition on the names and shapes of letters as sending valuable messages of Jewish perspective, and then back to writing– the inks considered permanent enough to violate Shabbat in full, and how connected the two letters need to be to qualify as a Biblical violation (and whether one letter, completing a whole, can count).

Shabbat 105a and Shabbat 105b, finishing up writing issues, with a discussion of notrikon when a letter or word– including in Tanakh– can be an acronym for other words. Then, starting Ha-Oreg, about weaving, sewing, and tearing, a bit about how much weaving counts, then a long discussion of tearing clothing in mourning, not just for relatives, and in anger or to express anger to teach others a lesson.

Shabbat 106a and Shabbat 106b, finishing up issues of mourning, how one death in a group should be a warning to all members of the group, then a lot about what counts as tzeidah, trapping, for fish, birds, and animals, ending with what happens when two people combine on a trap, in various ways.

Shabbat 107a and Shabbat 107b, finishing Ha-Oreg with trapping, leading us to Shemuel’s view of three cases where patur means mutar, allowed. Then, starting Shemoneh Sheratzim, discussing which lizards/reptiles hides are considered separate enough from their bodies to for a bruise to count as havalah, as removing blood from the body, and be a Shabbat violation.

Shabbat 108a and Shabbat 108b, one page about the leathers we can use for tefillin–bird hides? fish skins?– and the second page about salt water, and using medicine on Shabbat.

Shabbat 109a and Shabbat 109b, a big day of remedies, figuring out which remedies look enough like ordinary diet or bathing and which are obviously medicinal (and therefore prohibited on Shabbat).

Shabbat 110a and Shabbat 110b, more remedies for various illnesses, especially for a woman with discharge that is not menstrual and for jaundice. All as to whether and what foods and drinks we can have on Shabbat even though they also have a medicinal function.

Shabbat 111a and Shabbat 111b, finishing up taking a medicine that might cause sterility, with the issue of mehametz ahar mehametz, acting in a way that leavens a flour offering after having already leavened it, and sirus ahar sirus, performing an act of castration after already having done another. From there, back to what counts as medicine, in terms of vinegar for teeth and oil for skin, with questions of ho’il, whether something permitted in one context must be permitted in a similar one, and of whether all the Jewish people count as princes.

And then we started Ve-Elu Kesharim, what knots and bows we may or may not tie and loosen on Shabbat.

Shabbat 112a and Shabbat 112b, the kinds of knots prohibited by the Torah, by the rabbis, and that are permitted to tie or untie on Shabbat, based largely on how often one tends to untie or retie them, with a digression to laws of ritual impurity and what counts as broken for a shoe, and when a repaired item is considered a whole new item.

Shabbat 114a and Shabbat 114b, first about the importance of clean clothing, especially for a Torah scholar, and the balance between Shabbat, Yom Kippur, and holidays in terms of sanctity, and blowing shofar from one day to the other.

Shabbat 115a and Shabbat 115b, starting Kol Kitvei, about saving holy writings in case of fire on Shabbat, discussing which texts we read on Shabbat, which texts we do or don’t translate, what inks we use, and the 85 letter minimum for being considered a remnant of a Torah scroll.

Shabbat 116a and Shabbat 116b, the 85 letters of the section of VaYehi Binso’a that constitute a Torah scroll of its own, the status of the parchment on the margins of a Torah scroll, the scrolls of heretics, and why and when we were supposed to not read Ketuvim.

Shabbat 117a and Shabbat 117b, saving a Torah scroll to what kind of a rabbinically prohibited space, and then saving food on Shabbat, with the issue of legal fictions permissible or not and how many meals we are required to eat on Shabbat.

Shabbat 118a and Shabbat 118b, the idea of eating three meals on Shabbat, of oneg Shabbat and the rewards it brings, leading into R. Yose’s many ideas of actions we can take that bring particular merit.

Shabbat 119a and Shabbat 119b, the value of and ways to honor Shabbat, and a discussion of reasons Jerusalem was destroyed (starting with their failure to honor Shabbat properly).

Shabbat 120a and Shabbat 120b, on saving items from a fire, how many and how many times, and then also finding ways to stop a fire’s spread or even, possibly, indirectly causing the fire to go out.

Shabbat 121a and Shabbat 121b, asking a non-Jew to act on our behalf, or a child, moving disgusting items on Shabbat, and dealing with dangerous animals.

Shabbat 122a and Shabbat 122b, finishing up issues of a non-Jew acting on his/her own behalf, or on behalf of a Jew, and how we can tell the difference, and then starting Kol HaKelim, about muktzeh, the doors of a chest and then the issue of moving a davar she-melakhto le-issur, an item whose main purpose is a prohibited activity on Shabbat, le-tzorekh gufo, for some other purpose its physical structure can accommodate (like a pitchfork to serve food to a child).

Shabbat 123a and Shabbat 123b, some basics of muktzeh, particularly moving a davar she-melakhto le-issur, an item normally used for a Shabbat prohibited purpose, with the categories of le-tzorekh gufo, to use its physical properties, le-tzorekh mekomo, the person needs the spot where it is, and me-hamah le-tzel, to get it out of the sun. With the history of how it started, the Jews’ failure to observe Shabbat in Nehemiah’s time.

Shabbat 124a and Shabbat 124b, continuing with muktzeh, figuring out whether we can move items whose usual function is permitted or prohibited for other purposes, such as to use their physical being for something, to clear their space, or just to save them from the sun. Also, the extent to which we try to treat Yom Tov the same as Shabbat, to avoid confusion, and how we categorize broken items on Shabbat.

Shabbat 125a and Shabbat 125b, what kind of damage–such as to an oven– and what kind of preparation, such as for a stone, make an item yes or not prepared to be allowed for use on Shabbat.

Shabbat 126a and Shabbat 126b, finishing Kol HaKeilim with a discussion of items that attach to fixed structures, when they look too much like boneh, adding to a fixed structure, like window shutters, or the covers for items fixed in the ground. Then starting Mefanin, about the kinds of physical effort permitted on Shabbat in order to make room for guests or students coming to hear a shiur.

Shabbat 127a and Shabbat 127b, what constitutes more effort for Shabbat purposes, moving heavier loads or taking more trips, the significance of helping travellers and other out of town guests, and the necessity of assuming the best about others we know to be generally good people.

Shabbat 128a and Shabbat 128b, which items are considered prepared enough to be moved on Shabbat to make way for guests or Torah study, how we can move animals or people when necessary, and what kinds of birth processes we aid on Shabbat or Yom Tov.

Shabbat 129a and Shabbat 129b, helping women in and after childbirth, the stages at which she is considered in life-threatening danger regardless of an obvious threat, and then much about phlebotomy, blood-letting, and how to do it safely and productively.

Shabbat 130a and Shabbat 130b, beginning the chapter of R. Eliezer de-Milah, where we see R. Eliezer’s view that the permission to perform a circumcision on Shabbat includes any necessary preparations, and how the Jewish people celebrated circumcision and therefore adhered to it even in times of persecution.

Shabbat 131a and Shabbat 131b, finishing up the eruv and mavoi issue Rav had, getting back to R. Eliezer, and the many sources he had for the idea of makhshirin, of the preparatory steps of a mitzvah, also being allowed on Shabbat when the mitzvah itself–for many mitzvot, but not all– was allowed on Shabbat.

Shabbat 132a and Shabbat 132b, how we know we can perform a circumcision on Shabbat when it is the eighth day of the baby’s life, along with important principles of Halakha le-Moshe mi-Sinai and aseh doheh lo ta’aseh, fulfilling a mitzvah can permit ignoring a prohibition (such as circumcising a foreskin despite a tzara’at lesion on it).

Shabbat 133a and Shabbat 133b, where in the discussion of circumcision and tzara’at, Abbaye learned the idea of R. Shim’on agreeing about pesik reisha, an inevitable secondary aspect of an act counts as intended. Also, the idea of tzitzin ha-me’akvin et ha-milah, the parts of the foreskin that must be removed to count as a valid circumcision, and the meaning of zeh E-li ve-Anvehu, this is my Gd and I will glorify Him, in the context of mitzvah performance.

Shabbat 134a and Shabbat 134b, medical remedies to various baby problems, and then the issue of washing a baby on Shabbat in hot water, after the circumcision.

Shabbat 135a and Shabbat 135b, circumcision on Shabbat in cases of doubt, when we draw symbolic blood because circumcision cannot be done, when circumcision need not wait for the eighth day.

Shabbat 136a and Shabbat 136b, on whether babies or animals are nefalim, born without full development, and therefore never viable, and how that affects their halakhic status. Then back to androginus,  a person with gender indications of both male and female, and how that affects its halakhic status for circumcision and other halakhic areas.

Shabbat 137a and Shabbat 137b, the idea of ta’ah bi-dvar mitzvah, someone thought a mitzvah required them to act in a way that actually violated Shabbat; the reasons a circumcision calendrically could not happen on the 8th day; tzitzin ha-me-akvini et ha-milah, parts of the foreskin that must be removed for a valid circumcision; and the blessings we say at a berit ceremony. Then, on to the chapter called Tolin, with another example of R. Eliezer being more lenient about preparations on Shabbat and holidays than the general view.

Shabbat 138a and Shabbat 138b, on different versions of making a covering on  Shabbat, Biblically prohibited, rabbinically, or allowed, how spread rabbinic disputes might be–could R. Eliezer allow something others thought the Torah prohibited?– and the possibility of Torah being lost to the Jewish people.

Shabbat 139a and Shabbat 139b, a long and important aggadeta about corruption and its pernicious effects on the life happenings of the Jewish people, another halakhah/aggadah about the different standards of rulings for those whose observance is suspect and those we trust, and then a new Mishnah about ways to strain wine that would be acceptable on Shabbat.

Shabbat 140a and Shabbat 140b, a lot about food preparation of various sorts, especially mustard and questions of lash, kneading, and asafoetida, a medicinal herb, and issues of uvdin de-hol, acting too much like during the week. Then, many pieces of advice of R. Hisda to poor yeshiva students on how to conserve their funds in food and clothing, and the definition of waste.

Shabbat 141a and Shabbat 141b, moving things indirectly, cleaning clothing, softening leather shoes, worrying about carrying as the end to Tolin, then starting the new chapter, Notel, about picking up permissible items when they are connected to muktzeh ones, like a baby holding a rock.

Shabbat 142a and Shabbat 142b, moving muktzeh items that are mixed or connected to non-muktzeh ones; carrying a baby holding a stone or money, terumah mixed with ritually impure terumah; fixing a mixture of terumah and non-terumah; getting stones or money off of items we could otherwise move.

Shabbat 143a and Shabbat 143b, finishing Notel with some discussion of muktzeh and nolad, when food not previously available becomes available, but only useful for animals, and the link between muktzeh and davar she-eino mitkaven. Havit starts with saving food, squeezing sponges, then shifts to a discussion of squeezing fruits and whether juice that oozes out on its own is prohibited or not.

Shabbat 144a and Shabbat 144b, mostly figuring out issues of sehitah, squeezing fruit (and, therefore, the status of juices that came out of the fruit on their own on Shabbat or Yom Tov), and what fruit qualify as expected to be used for pressing. Along the way, we also saw a discussion of halakhic similarities/differences between mother’s milk and animal milk, and the issue of liquids that fall into a mikveh and change the appearance of the water.

Shabbat 145a and Shabbat 145b, finishing up the squeezing discussion, where the liquid goes onto food and therefore counts as food, and also for pickled and boiled vegetables. A new Mishnah about re-cooking being allowed, about kalei ha-bishul, including a mackerel called kulyas ha-ispenin that took us to discussions of differences between Bavel and Israel.

Shabbat 146a and Shabbat 146b, how Sinai changed the Jewish people, putting holes in barrels in permissible and impermissible ways, what constitutes a seal to be considered remaking a hole, and a new Mishnah about keeping things cool or letting the sun heat them.

Shabbat 147a and Shabbat 147b, when shaking off dirt or liquid from clothing counts as libun, washing, when we may or may not dry off with a towel after getting wet on Shabbat, when we have to worry we might get wet, the dangers and attractions of particularly excellent physical pleasures, and some issues of medicinal practices, like adjusting a baby’s spine.

Shabbat 148a and Shabbat 148b, finishing up Havit, finding out that Shemuel understood the Mishnah to have allowed setting broken bones on Shabbat (and we allow fixing dislocated joints as well). In the new chapter, Sho’el, we talk about loans on Shabbat, using language to be sure not to write down the loan, whether the loan could be collected in court, and when we do or don’t correct people’s wrong behavior if we are sure they will not change.

Shabbat 149a and Shabbat 149b, about writing lists of guests and the fear of erasing the list and/or reading what should not be read on Shabbat, and then drawing lots and/or charging interest with family for educational purposes but not with friends, where it might be actual interest, and then about not being the willing vehicle of another’s punishment.

Shabbat 150a and Shabbat 150b, on what we can say on Shabbat about non-Shabbat activities, such as the permissibility of discussing financial issues of mitzvah, and when we may or may not walk to the edge of the permissible Shabbat extension of a town to be ready to do a non-Shabbat activity after Shabbat, and a bit on how havdallah ends Shabbat in terms of allowing non-Shabbat activities.

Shabbat 151a and Shabbat 151b, on the relationship between speech and being mahshikh al ha-tehum. walking to the Shabbat limits to be ready to act after Shabbat. Taking care of the needs of brides or the deceased, and then more on how we treat the deceased, on the value of performing mitzvot while we still have the ability and the energy, and the galgal hozer ba-olam, how fortune turns and we should not ever expect to be always on top, feeding our compassion for those currently on bottom.

Shabbat 152a and Shabbat 152b, old age and death, for old age about how to act when young to have a better old age, and some of the indignities but also benefits of old age, for death, about the process of the soul separating from the body, decomposition and its meaning for the person.

Shabbat 153a and Shabbat 153b, finishing one chapter, with thoughts about how to live with proper awareness of priorities, to work one’s way to the World to Come, then moving to a new chapter, about how to take care of items if one gets stuck on the road Friday afternoon and cannot get to a place to put them before Shabbat starts. With a digression into the differences in status of a shoteh, a Jew not in his/her right mind, heresh, a deaf mute, or katan, a minor.

Shabbat 154a and Shabbat 154b, on whether the possibility of stoning is necessary for the possibility of a hatat sacrifice and vice verse, particularly in the context of mehamer, commanding an animal to act in Shabbat-prohibited ways. The idea of a lav ha-nitan le-azharat mitat bet din, a prohibition in the Torah to set up a court administered death penalty, then ways to get loads off an animal on Shabbat, depending on muktzeh issues, closing with a discussion of tzedadin, using the sides of an animal or tree.

Shabbat 155a and Shabbat 155b, a bit about using the tzedadin, sides, of muktzeh items (or the sides of the sides), and then more about taking care of animals, what we can do in terms of food preparation–turn non-food into food or make existing food more palatable– and then what kinds of feeding, force-feeding or only gentle feeding.

Shabbat 156a and Shabbat 156b, what kinds of kneading are sufficiently different to be allowed, what kind of fate does or does not affect the Jewish people, and then back to some muktzeh issues.

Shabbat 157a and Shabbat 157b on whether we follow R. Shim’on no muktzeh, the nullification of vows on Shabbat, and measuring.