Study Bava Kamma folio 119B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
ולא יטיל בו יותר משלשה חובין, ולא יסרוק הבגד לשתיו אלא לערבו. ומשויהו לארכו, אבל לא לרחבו. ואם בא להשוותו עד טפח – רשאי.
And a carder should not place in a piece of cloth more than 3 stitches for each loop that he attaches to the cloth in order to stretch it out, as this causes the cloth to overstretch and require trimming. And he should not card the cloth along its warp, i.e., vertically, but along its weft, i.e., horizontally. And he may even out the cloth by cutting it along its length, but not along its width, and if he comes to even out the cloth by removing up to a handbreadth of material, it is permitted for him to do so.
אמר מר: שני חוטין. והאנן תנן: שלש! לא קשיא; הא באלימי, והא בקטיני.
The Talmud analyzes the baraita: The Master said in the baraita that the launderer may take two threads. But didn’t we learn in the Mishnah that the launderer may take 3 threads? The Talmud answers: This is not difficult: The ruling of this baraita, which allows only two threads, is stated with regard to thick threads, and the ruling of that Mishnah, which allows 3 threads, is stated with regard to thin ones.
ולא יסרוק הבגד לשתיו, אלא לערבו. והתניא איפכא! לא קשיא; הא בגלימא, הא בסרבלא.
It was also stated in the baraita: And he should not card the cloth along its warp but along its weft. The Talmud asks: But isn’t it taught in another baraita that the opposite is the halakha? The Talmud answers: This is not difficult: The ruling of this baraita, which prohibits carding along the warp, is stated with regard to an ordinary garment, which is designed for durability, and one should therefore avoid wearing out the material by carding along the warp. The ruling of that baraita, which allows one to card along the warp, is stated with regard to an elegant cape [besarbela], which is made for aesthetic appearance and is therefore improved by carding in this manner.