Study Shabbat folio 49A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
וגזרו רבנן על טומאה שלא בשעת מלאכה משום טומאה שבשעת מלאכה, ועל הזאה שבשעת מלאכה משום הזאה שלא בשעת מלאכה.
And the rabbis issued a decree that it should be considered a connection with regard to ritual impurity even when not in use, due to ritual impurity when in use. If one component becomes ritually impure, the other component becomes ritually impure as well. And, as a further stringency, they issued a decree that it is not considered a connection with regard to sprinkling even when in use, due to sprinkling when not in use. The water of purification must be sprinkled on each part individually.
בזמן שהן לחין. איבעיא להו: לחין מחמת עצמן, או דילמא לחין מחמת דבר אחר.
The Mishnah listed several materials in which food may not be insulated on Friday when those materials are moist. A dilemma was raised before the rabbis: Is the Mishnah referring specifically to materials that are moist due to their own natural state, or is it referring perhaps even to materials that are now moist due to something else, e.g., because they were soaked by liquid?
תא שמע: לא בתבן ולא בזגים ולא במוכין ולא בעשבים בזמן שהן לחין. אי אמרת בשלמא לחין מחמת דבר אחר — שפיר. אלא אי אמרת לחין מחמת עצמן, מוכין לחין מחמת עצמן היכי משכחת לה? ממרטא דביני אטמי.
Come and hear a resolution to this dilemma from the materials listed in the Mishnah: And one may neither insulate a pot in straw, nor in the residue of grapes that have been pressed for their juice, nor in soft materials, nor in grass, when these materials are moist. Granted, if you say that the Mishnah is referring to materials that are moist due to something else, this can be well understood, as all of these materials can get wet. However, if you say that it is referring to materials that are moist due to their own natural state, where do you find soft materials that are moist due to their own natural state? Wool is dry in its natural state. The Talmud rejects this argument: The Mishnah is referring to a case where the material is made from wool plucked from between the thighs of the animal, as that wool is usually damp from sweat.