Talmud sur L’Exode 23:12

HALAKHAH: “Until when may one plough, etc.” It is written¹Shortened versions of this discussion are in the Babli, Roš Haššanah9b, Makkot 8b. In both places, the argument is attributed to the school of R. Aqiba. In Mekhilta deR.Simeon bar Ioḥai to 34:22, it is attributed to R. Jehudah. Practice noted in the next paragraph follows the school of R. Ismael as explained in Mishnah 5. (Ex. 23:12): “Six days you shall do your work but on the Seventh Day you shall rest.” And it is written (Ex. 34:21): “You shall rest from ploughing and harvesting.²The argument is somewhat elliptic. Ex. 23:12 reads: “Six days you shall do your work but on the Seventh Day you shall cease, so that your donkey and your ox may rest and the son of your bondsmaid and the stranger may recuperate.” Ex. 34:21: “Six days you shall work; on the Seventh day you shall rest, from ploughing and harvesting you shall rest.” It would seem more natural to quote the second verse in toto; this is the approach of the commentaries which emend the first quote away but such an approach is impossible since our text clearly quotes two different verses. The explanation is in the Mekhiltot(deR.Ismael,Massekhta dekhas pa, p. 331; deR.Simeon bar Ioḥai,Mishpaṭim, p. 217): It says in the Ten Commandments, that “six days you shall labor and do all your work.” Hence, one could think that the Sabbath has to be kept only if all work is permitted on weekdays. This would exclude the Sabbath days of the Sabbatical year since most agricultural work is forbidden in the Sabbatical. Hence, the verse Ex. 23:12 is necessary to include the Sabbath days of the Sabbatical years; this only makes sure that Ex. 34:21 is redundant as far as both Sabbath day and Sabbatical year are concerned.” Where do we hold? If one speaks about the Sabbath of Creation³The Sabbath day., was it not already said (Ex. 20:9): “Six days you shall labor and do all your work?” If one speaks about Sabbatical years, was it not already said (Lev. 25:3): “Six years you shall sow your field and six years you shall prune your vineyard?” If it cannot refer to the Sabbath of Creation nor to Sabbatical years, let it refer to the prohibition of the first two terms⁴The “two terms” are the two periods during which agricultural work has to cease before the onset of the Sabbatical year, one for orchards and one for fields.. “You shall rest from ploughing and harvesting,” from ploughing when harvesting is forbidden; what is this? This is ploughing in the year preceding the Sabbatical in preparation of the Sabbatical. And from harvesting when ploughing is forbidden, what is this? That is the harvest of Sabbatical growth after the Sabbatical.

Why did they say, if he was riding on an animal one tells him, descend? The colleagues say, maybe the animal will (be girded, be nursing) [be damaged]⁴¹The text is not clear, nor is its meaning. The scribe’s text is תיטק but the letter ט is damaged and was read as נו by the Venice printer and נז by the corrector. There is no Hebrew root נטק (or יטק) on record; the Arabic root נטק means “to gird”. In the Babli 36b the reason is purely rabbinic, lest one cut a twig from a tree to drive the animal. The reader’s own conjecture as to the meaning will be as good as any other proposed interpretation.. Rebbi Yose said to them, think of it, if it was a large camel! Rebbi Aḥa bar Pappus stated before Rebbi Ze`ira: There is a difference, because he is commanded about the rest of his animals like his own: That your ox and your donkey rest⁴²Ex. 23:12.; like you⁴³Deut. 5:14.. There are Tannaim who state, one may lean on an animal. There are Tannaim who state, one may not lean on an animal. Rav Ḥisda said, he who said one may lean on, if he is healthy; he who said one may not lean on, if he is weak⁴⁴A healthy person leans on an animal as he would lean on a human; this must be permitted. A sickly person might use the animal to support his entire weight; this is counted as a biblical infraction.. Rebbi Yose says, Rebbi Abba bar Mamal and the colleagues disagreed. One said, one may lean on, but the other said, one may not lean on. He who said one may lean on, if he leans a little bit; he who said one may not lean on, if he puts on his full weight. We do not know who said what. Since Rebbi Yose did not say anything in the name of Rebbi Abba bar Mamal, this implies⁴⁵Since R. Yose reported the disagreement between Amoraim without further discussion he indicated that this disagreement was unimportant since the apparent disagreement between Tannaim already was explained away by Rav Ḥisda; the latter’s explanation was accepted also in the Galilean Academy. In the Babli (Šabbat155a, Ḥagigah16b) any leaning on animals is forbidden. that a healthy person may lean on, a weak one may not lean on.

“One may not tie camels one to the other and draw.” Rebbi Abba said, because of the suspicion, that they should not say this man goes out to do his job on the Sabbath. Assi said, it was necessary for kilaim⁵⁰This refers to the rule that in leading a group of camels or horses one should not twist the ropes together but keep them separate in his hand. This is to avoid problems if one rope was of linen and another of wool. Babli 54a. Rav Jehudah in the name of Samuel ⁵¹The text in parentheses is a duplicate of the following one and is out of place here; it should be disregarded.(said, from his hand it is forbidden but from the neck of the animal it is permitted, for if it is not for the animal) wound around the animal’s neck it is forbidden⁵²In this opinion, the rope coiled around the animal’s neck is a load forbidden on the Sabbath., hanging from the animal’s neck it is permitted. Rav Huna and Rav Jehudah, both in the name of Samuel. One said, from his hand is forbidden but from the animal’s neck it is permitted. The other one inverts. He who says from his hand is forbidden, because of a load on the Sabbath⁵³Since the animal may be led against its will the rope is a load.. But from the animal’s neck it is permitted, because for the animal it is not a load on the Sabbath. And he who says from his hand is permitted, because it is impossible⁵⁴It may be necessary to lead the animal to water or to pasture for the animal’s benefit and this may be impossible without having control over the animals by the ropes., but from the animal’s neck it is forbidden⁵²In this opinion, the rope coiled around the animal’s neck is a load forbidden on the Sabbath., because he is responsible for the rest of his animal as for his own, as it is said, that your ox and your donkey rest”⁵⁵Ex. 23:12. “like you”⁵⁶Deut. 5:14..