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Text Excerpt
מבוי שהוא גבוה למעלה מעשרים אמה — ימעט. רבי יהודה אומר: אינו צריך.
Mishnah: If an alleyway is enclosed on 3 sides with courtyards opening into it from 3 sides, and the 4th side opens into a public domain, it is prohibited by rabbinic law to carry objects in it on Shabbat. However, carrying in an alleyway under those circumstances is permitted if a cross beam is placed horizontally over the entrance to the alleyway. The Mishnah teaches that if the cross beam spans the entrance to an alleyway at a height above 20 cubits, one must diminish the height of the cross beam so that it is less than 20 cubits. R' Yehuda says: He need not diminish it, since the cross beam enables one to carry in the alleyway even at that height.
והרחב מעשר אמות ימעט. ואם יש לו צורת הפתח, אף על פי שהוא רחב מעשר אמות אין צריך למעט.
If the entrance to the alleyway is wider than 10 cubits, one must diminish its width. However, if the entrance to the alleyway has the form of a doorway, i.e., two vertical posts on the two sides, and a horizontal beam spanning the space between them, even if it is wider than 10 cubits, he need not diminish it, as it is then regarded as an entrance, rather than a breach, even if it is very wide.
גמ׳ תנן התם: סוכה שהיא גבוהה למעלה מעשרים אמה פסולה, ורבי יהודה מכשיר. מאי שנא גבי סוכה דתני ״פסולה״ וגבי מבוי תני תקנתא?
Talmud: We learned in a Mishnah there, in tractate Sukka: A sukka that is more than 20 cubits high is unfit, and R' Yehuda deems it fit. The halakhot are similar in substance but differ in formulation, and accordingly the Talmud asks: What is the difference that with regard to a sukka the Mishnah teaches that it is unfit, whereas with regard to an alleyway, it teaches the method of rectification, that one must diminish the height of the cross beam?