Study Shabbat folio 20B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אמר רב כהנא: קנים שאגדן — צריכין רוב, לא אגדן — אין צריכין רוב. גרעינין — צריכין רוב, נתנן בחותלות — אין צריכין רוב.
on a similar note, Rav Kahana said: Reeds that one tied them into a bundle, require that most of them ignite. If one did not tie them into a bundle, they do not require that most of them ignite, in accordance with the statement of Rav Huna. However, seeds require that most of them ignite. And if he placed them in woven baskets, they do not require that most of them catch fire.
תני רב יוסף: ארבע מדורות אין צריכין רוב: של זפת, ושל גפרית, ושל גבינה, ושל רבב. במתניתא תנא: אף של קש ושל גבבא.
Rav Yosef taught a baraita: 4 bonfires do not require that most of the flammable materials catch fire, as their materials burn easily once the fire takes hold of them. And they are: A bonfire of pitch, and of sulfur, and of dry cheese, and of fatty materials. And it was taught in a baraita: A bonfire of straw and one of rakings of wood gathered from the field also do not require that most of it catch fire.
אמר רבי יוחנן: עצים של בבל אין צריכין רוב. מתקיף לה רב יוסף: מאי היא? אילימא סילתי — השתא פתילה אמר עולא המדליק צריך שידליק ברוב היוצא, סילתי מבעיא? אלא אמר רב יוסף: שוכא דארזא. רמי בר אבא אמר: זאזא.
R' Yoḥanan said: Babylonian wood does not require that most of it catch fire. Rav Yosef the Babylonian objects: What is that wood that they use in Babylonia that burns so well? If you say that it refers to wood slivers used for burning and light, now that with regard to a wick, Ulla said that one who lights it for a Shabbat lamp must light most of what emerges from the vessel; is it necessary to mention with regard to wood slivers that most of them must be lit? Rather, Rav Yosef said: Certainly the reference is to the branch of a cedar tree. And Rami bar Abba said: The reference here is to a hyssop [zaza].