Study Shabbat folio 149A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
גמ׳ מאי טעמא? רב ביבי אמר: גזירה שמא ימחוק. אביי אמר: גזירה שמא יקרא בשטרי הדיוטות.
Talmud: We learned in the Mishnah that one may not read the names of his guests or the appetizers served in his meal from a written list. The Talmud asks: What is the reason for this prohibition? Rav Beivai said: It is a decree lest one erase something that is written on the list if he regrets inviting a particular guest or changes his mind about a particular dish. Abaye said: It is a decree lest one read regular business documents.
מאי בינייהו? איכא בינייהו דכתיב אכותל ומידלי: למאן דאמר שמא ימחוק — לא חיישינן, ולמאן דאמר שמא יקרא — חיישינן.
The Talmud asks: What is the practical difference between them? The Talmud answers: There is a difference between them in a case in which the writing is on a wall and it is raised higher than a person can reach. According to the one who says that the decree was made lest one erase something from the list, in a case such as this we are not concerned about erasure because one cannot even reach the writing. But according to the one who says that the decree was made lest one read business documents, we are still concerned in this case.
ולמאן דאמר שמא ימחוק, ניחוש שמא יקרא! ותו, לשמא ימחוק לא חיישינן? והתניא: לא יקרא לאור הנר. ואמר רבה: אפילו גבוה שתי קומות, אפילו גבוה שתי מרדעות, אפילו עשרה בתים זה על גבי — זה לא יקרא.
The Talmud asks: And according to the one who says that the decree was made lest one erase, we should also be concerned lest one read business documents. And furthermore, are we really not concerned lest one erase when the writing is high up? But wasn’t it taught in a baraita that one may not read by the light of a lamp on Shabbat lest one adjust the lamp toward oneself; and Rabba said: Even if the lamp was two statures of a person high, and even as high as two plow handles, and even if it was as high as 10 houses one atop the other, one may not read by its light. This clearly demonstrates that when we are concerned that one may violate halakha, we do not distinguish between situations in which such a violation is more or less likely.