Shabbat 91A

מהו דתימא, בטולי בטלה למחשבתו ⁠— קא משמע לן: כל העושה, על דעת ראשונה הוא עושה.

Lest you say that in doing so his original intention is completely nullified, since when he carries it out he is no longer conscious of the reason that he stored it, the tanna of the Mishnah teaches us that anyone who performs an action with an object with which he had dealings in the past, performs the action with the original intention in mind.

אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל: מחייב היה רבי מאיר אף במוציא חטה אחת לזריעה. פשיטא, ״כל שהוא״ תנן! מהו דתימא: ״כל שהוא״⁠ — לאפוקי מגרוגרת, ולעולם עד דאיכא כזית, קא משמע לן. מתקיף לה רב יצחק בריה דרב יהודה: אלא מעתה, חישב להוציא כל ביתו, הכי נמי דלא מיחייב עד דמפיק לכוליה?! התם ⁠— בטלה דעתו אצל כל אדם.

Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: R' Meir deemed liable one who carried out even a single wheat seed for sowing on Shabbat. The Talmud asks: This is obvious. We learned in the Mishnah that the measure that determines liability for one who carries out seeds for sowing on Shabbat is any amount. Since the principle is that an unattributed Mishnah is in accordance with the opinion of R' Meir, clearly R' Meir would deem him liable for carrying out one seed. He would even deem him liable for carrying out less than one seed. The Talmud answers that Shmuel’s statement was necessary. Lest you say that when the Mishnah employs the term any amount it is to exclude the standard measure for carrying out food on Shabbat, a dried fig-bulk; and actually one is only liable if there is at least an olive-bulk of whatever he is carrying out. Therefore, Shmuel teaches us that any amount refers to even a single seed. Rav Yitzḥak the son of Rav Yehuda strongly objects to this: But now, based on the approach that the measure of liability depends solely on the intention of the person carrying out the object and not on objective measures, one who planned to carry out the contents of his entire house at once, so too, is he only liable when he carries it out at once? The Talmud answers: There is no comparison. There, with regard to a person who plans to carry out the contents of his entire house, his intention is rendered irrelevant by the opinions of all other people, as most people do not conduct themselves in that manner.