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Shabbos 155

1) THE BASKET CASE

The Gemara cites a Beraisa which says that if someone attempts to make an Eruv Techumin by hanging a basket of food above ten Tefachim on a peg protruding from a tree, his Eruv is not valid, because he cannot take the food from that basket on Shabbos without transgressing the prohibition of Hotza'ah (carrying from the basket, which is a Reshus ha'Yachid, to Reshus ha'Rabim). If he hung the basket of food on the tree *below* ten Tefachim, the Eruv is valid because he can take out the food without transferring from one Reshus to another (since everything below ten Tefachim in Reshus ha'Rabim is considered to be part of Reshus ha'Rabim).

Why is his Eruv valid in the second case? The basket itself is four Tefachim by four Tefachim. (This is evident from the first case, in which we consider the basket to be a Reshus ha'Yachid. A Reshus ha'Yachid must be at least four by four Tefachim.) The basket should be considered a Karmelis (like any object 4x4 and less than 10 Tefachim high), and it is prohibited mid'Rabanan to carry from a Karmelis into another Reshus on Shabbos! The Eruv should therefore be invalid!

ANSWERS:

(a) TOSFOS answers that a usable *vessel*, such as a basket, cannot become a Karmelis (Tosfos 5a, DH Kan; Rashi 8a, DH Pachos). Rather, it becomes subordinate to the Reshus in which it is resting. Therefore, in our case the basket becomes part of Reshus ha'Rabim.

(b) TOSFOS suggests another answer. The Beraisa is following the opinion of Rebbi, who maintains that when the Rabanan enacted Isurim d'Rabanan on Shabbos, they did not apply those Isurim during Bein ha'Shemashos. Since the food in the basket can be accessed during Bein ha'Shemashos (since carrying from a Karmelis to a Reshus ha'Rabim is only an Isur d'Rabanan), the Eruv is valid.

This answer is problematic. The Gemara explains that the Beraisa permits taking food from a basket that is hanging from a tree at a point lower than ten Tefachim only because one is not using the tree. He is only using "Tzidei Tzedadin," since the basket is hanging from a peg in the tree and not from the tree itself. According to Tosfos, though, even if the basket is hanging from the tree itself, only a Rabbinic prohibition is involved ("Mishtamesh b'Ilan," using the tree). It should be permitted during Bein ha'Shemashos, and the Eruv should be valid even if the basket is hanging from the tree itself (and not just Tzidei Tzedadin)! (REBBI AKIVA EIGER in Gilyon Hashas; SEFER HA'KOVETZ Rambam Hil. Shabbos 24:10; and others)

REBBI AKIVA EIGER himself (Tosfos Rebbi Akiva, Eruvin 3:3) answers by citing the BARTENURA in Eruvin (3:3) who explains that an act which involves only *one* Isur d'Rabanan is permitted Bein ha'Shemashos, but not an act which involves *two* Isurim d'Rabanan. Hence, according to Tosfos it is permitted to take food from the basket hanging on a peg into Reshus ha'Rabim during Bein ha'Shemashos, because that act involves only one Isur d'Rabanan (carrying from a Karmelis into a Reshus ha'Rabim). But it is not permitted to take the food from the basket if it is hanging directly from the tree, because that act involves two Isurim d'Rabanan (carrying from a Karmelis into Reshus ha'Rabim, and using the tree). (See Rebbi Akiva Eiger, ibid., who seriously questions the Bartenura's rule from a Sugya in Eruvin 32b.)

155b

Rav Papa said that there is no one poorer than the dog and no one richer than the swine. As Rashi explains, this refers to the ease with which those animals are able to find food.

The VILNA GA'ON (Kol Eliyahu, Maseches Shabbos 155b) adds an allegorical explanation to this Gemara. The dog alludes to those who speak Lashon ha'Ra (see Makos 23a), since they bark senselessly like a dog and scare people with their mouths. The swine alludes to the prohibitions of forbidden foods. Rav Papa is saying that there is no prohibition poorer than Lashon ha'Ra, meaning that there is no prohibition which is neglected as much as Lashon ha'Ra (Bava Basra 165a). There is no one richer than the swine means that there is no prohibition that is observed as scrupulously as the prohibitions of forbidden foods. Even though both are of equal importance (and both are done with the mouth), nevertheless people respect one more than the other.