Eruvin No.1: Caution: Rabbis Working

Husiatyn. A view of the 16th century fortress synagogue. 'A border city in eastern Galicia. The synagogue...stands on a hill and is the last building in town. The white houses in the distance are [over the border] in the USSR' (in Soviet Ukraine). [source]

The Architecture of Talmud, Mitchell Schwarzer

Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (2001) 60 (4): 474–487

Judasim: The Evidence of the Mishnah, Jacob Neusner

University of Chicago Press, 1981

בראשית רבה א׳:א׳

הַתּוֹרָה אוֹמֶרֶת אֲנִי הָיִיתִי כְּלִי אֻמְנוּתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, בְּנֹהַג שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם מֶלֶךְ בָּשָׂר וָדָם בּוֹנֶה פָּלָטִין, אֵינוֹ בּוֹנֶה אוֹתָהּ מִדַּעַת עַצְמוֹ אֶלָּא מִדַּעַת אֻמָּן, וְהָאֻמָּן אֵינוֹ בּוֹנֶה אוֹתָהּ מִדַּעַת עַצְמוֹ אֶלָּא דִּפְתְּרָאוֹת וּפִנְקְסָאוֹת יֵשׁ לוֹ, לָדַעַת הֵיאךְ הוּא עוֹשֶׂה חֲדָרִים, הֵיאךְ הוּא עוֹשֶׂה פִּשְׁפְּשִׁין. כָּךְ הָיָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַבִּיט בַּתּוֹרָה וּבוֹרֵא אֶת הָעוֹלָם, וְהַתּוֹרָה אָמְרָה בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים. וְאֵין רֵאשִׁית אֶלָּא תּוֹרָה, הֵיאַךְ מָה דְּאַתְּ אָמַר (משלי ח, כב): ה' קָנָנִי רֵאשִׁית דַּרְכּוֹ.

Bereshit Rabbah 1:1

The Torah is saying, "I was the artisan's tool of Hashem." In the way of the world, a king of flesh and blood who builds a castle does not do so from his own knowledge, but rather from the knowledge of an architect, and the architect does not build it from his own knowledge, but rather he has scrolls and books in order to know how to make rooms and doorways. So too Hashem gazed into the Torah and created the world. Similarly the Torah says, "Through the reishis Hashem created [the heavens and the earth]," and reishis means Torah, as in "Hashem made me [the Torah] the beginning (reishis) of His way" (Mishlei 8:22).

עירובין ב׳ א:א׳

מָבוֹי שֶׁהוּא גָּבוֹהַּ לְמַעְלָה

Eruvin 2a:1

MISHNA: an alleyway at a height above

Excavations at the southern area of Çatal Hüyük

[source]

Model of Catal Höyük

[source]

עירובין ג׳ ב:ז׳

אַמַּת מָבוֹי בְּאַמָּה בַּת חֲמִשָּׁה

Eruvin 3b:7

The Gemara elaborates: The cubit of an alleyway is a cubit consisting of five handbreadths.

How the ancient city-state of Ur may have looked like around 2000 BC.

[source]

“De Hedificiis Communibus Murandis …” Notes on the Beginning of Building Regulations in Medieval Tuscany, Klaus Tragbar

Second International Congress on Construction History (2006)

עירובין ב׳ א:ו׳-ז׳

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: חֲכָמִים לֹא לְמָדוּהָ אֶלָּא מִפִּתְחוֹ שֶׁל הֵיכָל, וְרַבִּי יְהוּדָה לֹא לְמָדָהּ אֶלָּא מִפִּתְחוֹ שֶׁל אוּלָם. דִּתְנַן: פִּתְחוֹ שֶׁל הֵיכָל גׇּבְהוֹ עֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה וְרׇחְבּוֹ עֶשֶׂר אַמּוֹת, וְשֶׁל אוּלָם גׇּבְהוֹ אַרְבָּעִים אַמָּה וְרׇחְבּוֹ עֶשְׂרִים אַמּוֹת.

Eruvin 2a:6-7

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: The Rabbis only derived this halakha, that an opening more than twenty cubits high is not considered an entrance, from the doorway of the Sanctuary, the inner sanctum of the Temple. And Rabbi Yehuda only derived his opinion, that even an opening more than twenty cubits high is considered an entrance, from the doorway of the Entrance Hall leading into the Sanctuary. As we learned in a mishna: The doorway of the Sanctuary is twenty cubits high and ten cubits wide, and that of the Entrance Hall is forty cubits high and twenty cubits wide.

עירובין ג׳ א:ח׳

רַב נַחְמָן בַּר יִצְחָק אָמַר: בְּלָא רַב — מַתְנְיָיתָא אַהֲדָדֵי לָא קַשְׁיָין: לְרַבָּנַן קוֹרָה טַעְמָא מַאי — מִשּׁוּם הֶיכֵּרָא, וְהַאי דְּקָתָנֵי ״יָתֵר מִפִּתְחוֹ שֶׁל הֵיכָל״ — סִימָנָא בְּעָלְמָא.

Eruvin 3a:8

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: Without Rav, the baraitot do not contradict each other, as according to the Rabbis, what is the reason that a cross beam renders an alleyway fit for carrying? Because it serves as a conspicuous marker between the alleyway and the public domain. Ordinarily a cross beam more than twenty cubits high is not noticeable; however, a cornice attracts attention even at that height. And that which is taught in the other baraita with regard to the height of a beam at the entrance to an alleyway: Greater than the entrance of the Sanctuary, is merely a mnemonic device. No actual halakhot are derived from the entrance of the Sanctuary.

Mosaic floor belonging to the synagogue in Hamat, Tiberias

[source]

יחזקאל י״א:ט״ז

(טז) לָכֵ֣ן אֱמֹ֗ר כֹּֽה־אָמַר֮ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִה֒ כִּ֤י הִרְחַקְתִּים֙ בַּגּוֹיִ֔ם וְכִ֥י הֲפִֽיצוֹתִ֖ים בָּאֲרָצ֑וֹת וָאֱהִ֤י לָהֶם֙ לְמִקְדָּ֣שׁ מְעַ֔ט בָּאֲרָצ֖וֹת אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֥אוּ שָֽׁם׃ (ס)

Ezekiel 11:16

(16) Say then: Thus said the Lord GOD: I have indeed removed them far among the nations and have scattered them among the countries, and I have become to them a diminished sanctity in the countries whither they have gone.

עירובין ה׳ א:ב׳

לָא, דְּכוּלֵּי עָלְמָא קָסָבְרִי מוּתָּר לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ תַּחַת הַקּוֹרָה, וּבְהָא קָא מִיפַּלְגִי: מָר סָבַר קוֹרָה מִשּׁוּם הֶיכֵּר, וּמָר סָבַר קוֹרָה מִשּׁוּם מְחִיצָה.

Eruvin 5a:2

The Gemara rejects this explanation: No, everyone agrees that it is permitted to utilize the area beneath the cross beam, and they disagree with regard to this: This Master, Rav Yosef, holds that a cross beam functions in an alleyway as a conspicuous marker that demarcates the alleyway from the public domain, and consequently a mere handbreadth is sufficient, as even a handbreadth is sufficiently conspicuous. And this Master, Abaye, holds that a cross beam serves as a partition, and a partition is not effective for an area of less than four handbreadths. The principle that an outer edge descends and seals the alleyway does not apply if the beam is higher than twenty cubits. In order for it to be considered a partition, there must be at least four handbreadths that are less than twenty cubits beneath the cross beam.

יומא י׳ ב:ה׳

סוכה טעמא לחוד רבי יהודה לטעמיה דאמר סוכה דירת קבע בעינן ומיחייבא במזוזה ורבנן לטעמייהו דאמרי סוכה דירת עראי בעינן ולא מיחייבא במזוזה

Yoma 10b:5

The Gemara explains: With regard to sukka, the reason is discrete. Rabbi Yehuda conforms to his standard line of reasoning, as he said: In order to fulfill the mitzva of sukka, we require a well-built permanent residence. A permanent residence is obligated in the mitzva of mezuza. The Rabbis conform to their standard line of reasoning, as they say: In order to fulfill the mitzva of sukka, we require a temporary residence, not a full-fledged house. A temporary residence is not obligated in the mitzva of mezuza.

Fred Sandback

Hyundai 50, Part 2. Gallery Hyundai, Seoul. June 12–July 19, 2020.

[source]

עירובין ו׳ א:י״א

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: כֵּיצַד מְעָרְבִין דֶּרֶךְ רְשׁוּת הָרַבִּים? עוֹשֶׂה צוּרַת הַפֶּתַח מִכָּאן, וְלֶחִי וְקוֹרָה מִכָּאן. חֲנַנְיָה אוֹמֵר: בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים: עוֹשֶׂה דֶּלֶת מִכָּאן וְדֶלֶת מִכָּאן וּכְשֶׁהוּא יוֹצֵא וְנִכְנָס נוֹעֵל. בֵּית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים: עוֹשֶׂה דֶּלֶת מִכָּאן, וְלֶחִי וְקוֹרָה מִכָּאן.

Eruvin 6a:11

The Sages taught in a baraita: How does one render a public thoroughfare fit for carrying by means of an eiruv? He constructs an opening in the form of a doorway from here, on one side of the thoroughfare, and a side post or a cross beam from here, on the other side. Ḥananya disagrees and says: This is the subject of an early dispute between tanna’im, for Beit Shammai say: He constructs a door from here, on one side, and a door from here, on the other side, and when he exits and enters, he must lock the door. It is not sufficient to construct a symbolic door; rather, there must be a door that actually closes. And Beit Hillel say: He constructs a door from here, on one side, and a side post or a cross beam from here, on the other side.

רש"י על עירובין נ״ט א:ו׳:א׳

מתני' עיר של יחיד - שלא היו נכנסין בה תמיד ס' רבוא של בני אדם ולא חשיבא רה"ר דלא דמיא לדגלי מדבר:

Rashi on Eruvin 59a:6:1

...

[source]

שבת צ״ו ב:א׳

גְּמָ׳ מִכְּדֵי זְרִיקָה תּוֹלָדָה דְהוֹצָאָה הִיא, הוֹצָאָה גּוּפַהּ הֵיכָא כְּתִיבָא? אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן, דְּאָמַר קְרָא: ״וַיְצַו מֹשֶׁה וַיַּעֲבִירוּ קוֹל בַּמַּחֲנֶה״, מֹשֶׁה הֵיכָן הֲוָה יָתֵיב? — בְּמַחֲנֵה לְוִיָּה, וּמַחֲנֵה לְוִיָּה רְשׁוּת הָרַבִּים הֲוַאי, וְקָאֲמַר לְהוּ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל: לָא תַּפִּיקוּ וְתַיְתוֹ מֵרְשׁוּת הַיָּחִיד דִּידְכוּ לִרְשׁוּת הָרַבִּים.

Shabbat 96b:1

GEMARA: With regard to the main issue, the Gemara asks: After all, throwing is a subcategory of carrying out. Where is the primary category of prohibited labor of carrying out itself written in the Torah? Isn’t it necessary to clarify the primary category before discussing the subcategory? Rabbi Yoḥanan said: As the verse said: “And Moses commanded, and they passed a proclamation throughout the camp saying: Neither man nor woman should perform any more work to contribute to the Sanctuary; and the people stopped bringing” (Exodus 36:6). According to Rabbi Yoḥanan, Moses commanded the people to cease bringing contributions in order to prevent them from bringing their contributions on Shabbat. He then explains: Where was Moses sitting? He was in the camp of the Levites, and the Levites’ camp was the public domain. And he said to Israel: Do not carry out and bring objects from the private domain, your camp, to the public domain, the camp of the Levites.

תלמוד ירושלמי שבת א׳:א׳:ב׳-ג׳

מניין שהוצאה קרוייה מלאכה רבי שמואל בר נחמן בשם רבי יונתן שמע להן מן הדא (שמות לו) ויצו משה ויעבירו קול במחנה לאמר איש ואשה אל יעשו עוד מלאכה לתרומת קודש ויכלא העם מהביא. נמנעו העם מלהוציא מבתיהן וליתן לגיזברים.

Jerusalem Talmud Shabbat 1:1:2-3

From where is it [in Scripture that we may derive] that taking [an object] out is called labor? Rabbi Shemuel bar Nahman in the name of Rabbi Yonatan : "They got the implication from this [verse: Exod. 36:6]: 'And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be passed throughout the camp, saying: Let neither man nor woman make any more labor for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people stopped bringing.'-- the people abstained from taking [objects] out from their houses to give to the treasurers."