Study Shabbat folio 155A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
יתד באילן ותלה בה כלכלה. למעלה מעשרה טפחים — אין עירובו עירוב. למטה מעשרה טפחים — עירובו עירוב.
a stake in a tree and hung a 4-by-4 handbreadth basket from it into which he placed the food for his joining of the Shabbat boundaries, if the basket was above 10 handbreadths from the ground, his eiruv is not a valid eiruv. It is prohibited for him to take the bread from the basket on Shabbat, because the basket’s area and height render it a private domain, and he is standing in a different domain. If the basket was below 10 handbreadths from the ground, his eiruv is a valid eiruv.
טעמא דנעץ יתד באילן, הא לא נעץ, אפילו למטה מעשרה טפחים אין עירובו עירוב. והא האי תנא דקאסר בצדדין, וקשרי בצדי צדדין!
The Talmud examines this statement: The reason for this distinction between above and below 10 handbreadths is specifically because he drove a stake into a tree and hung the basket from it. However, if he did not drive a stake into a tree, but tied the basket to the tree itself, even if it was below 10 handbreadths from the ground his eiruv is not a valid eiruv. If he were to take the bread from the basket he would be making use of the sides of the tree, which is prohibited on Shabbat. And isn’t it the case that this is the tanna who prohibits using the sides of the tree, and nevertheless, he permits using the sides of the sides, contrary to Rava’s opinion?
Rav Pappa said: Here, we are dealing with a narrow-mouthed basket that is tightly tied to the tree. Since it is difficult to remove anything from it, when he takes the bread for the eiruv he moves the tree, and he is thereby using the sides of the tree itself and not the sides of the sides of the tree. The Talmud concludes: And the halakha is that use of the sides of a tree or an animal is prohibited on Shabbat, but use of the sides of the sides is permitted.