Study Eruvin folio 52A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אמר: ״תהא שביתתי בצינתא״. אמר ליה אביי: מאי דעתיך, רבי מאיר ורבי יהודה — הלכה כרבי יהודה, ואמר רב חסדא: מחלוקת ב״מקום פלוני״,
He would declare on Friday: My residence is in Tzinta, a settlement located between the Shabbat limits of the two places. Abaye said to him: What is your opinion that led you to act in that manner? Is it because in a dispute between R' Meir and R' Yehuda, the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of R' Yehuda, and Rav Ḥisda said: The dispute between these two rabbis is in a case where the person said: My residence is in such-and-such place, and you rely on R' Yehuda and establish residence at a place between the two cities even though you are still at home?
והא רב נחמן, ותניא כוותיה! אמר ליה: הדרי בי.
But didn’t Rav Naḥman explain the dispute between R' Meir and R' Yehuda differently, and furthermore, a baraita was taught in accordance with his opinion. Rabba bar Rav Ḥanan said to him: I retract my opinion and will no longer do so.
אמר רמי בר חמא: הרי אמרו שבת יש לו ארבע אמות. הנותן את עירובו, יש לו ארבע אמות, או לא?
Rami bar Ḥama said: The rabbis have said that one who establishes residence by foot has 4 cubits at that location, and another 2,000 cubits beyond. However, with regard to one who deposits his eiruv in a certain place, there is a dilemma whether he has 4 cubits from the site of his eiruv, or not.
אמר רבא, תא שמע: לא אמרו מערבין בפת אלא להקל על העשיר, שלא יצא ויערב ברגליו. ואי אמרת אין לו — האי להקל?! להחמיר הוא!
Rava said: Come and hear a resolution from the Mishnah: The rabbis said that one establishes an eiruv with bread only to be lenient with the wealthy person, so that he need not exert himself and go out and establish an eiruv with his feet. And if you say that one who establishes an eiruv with bread does not have 4 cubits, is this really a leniency? It is a stringency. Based on the Mishnah, apparently, all leniencies that apply to one who establishes an eiruv by foot must also apply to one who establishes an eiruv with bread.