Erouvin 1 - Talmud Steinsaltz, Biblieurope editions

Talmud Adin Steinsaltz "Erouvin 1".

The assisted and literal translation of the Talmud is aimed at both novices and experts - and allows for easy understanding.

Biblieurope Editions

The treaty 'Erouvin

“Consider that the Lord has granted you the Sabbath! Therefore, on the sixth day, He gives you two days’ worth of provisions. Each of you should remain where you are. No one should go out of his place on the Sabbath day.” ( Ex. 16:29)

“If you do not trample the Sabbath underfoot, and do not go about your business on this day which is holy to me, if you call the Sabbath a delight and honor the holy day of the Lord, and keep it holy by refraining from your business and from speaking of it…” (Isaiah 58:13)

“Do not carry any burden outside your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work. Keep the Sabbath holy, as I commanded your fathers” (Jeremiah 17:22).

'E rouvin follows and complements the treatise Chabat which, as its name indicates,

It outlines the laws pertaining to this day, including rabbinic ordinances related to the prohibition of transporting a load from one domain to another. Indeed, the Sabbath rest implies not only the interruption of creative work, but also the obligation to refrain from any transfer from private to public domain or vice versa, and from any significant movement within the public domain itself.

In relation to this prohibition, four different domains are distinguished: the private domain, the public domain, the semi-public domain ( carmélit ) and the exemption domain.

Any area measuring at least four palms by four palms and located ten palms above or below its surroundings, or separated from them by a barrier of that height, is considered private property, even if it is publicly owned. The airspace of private property has the same status.

Any place sixteen cubits wide used by a large number of people—600,000 according to some—is public property. Its airspace has the same status only up to ten palms above the ground.

To these two domains of biblical origin, the Sages added the semi-public domain and assimilated it to the public domain. They conferred this status upon any place that is not frequently frequented, but not sufficiently separated from its surroundings to be considered a private domain.

Finally, the place of exemption is a place with an area of ​​less than four cubits by four, as well as the airspace of a public or semi-public domain from ten palms above the ground.

From the time of the First Temple, the Sages deemed it necessary to reinforce Shabbat observance with additional restrictions. Thus, they prohibited carrying clothing on Shabbat in a courtyard or alleyway shared by multiple families, even though such a space was considered private according to the Torah. Furthermore, they limited the distance each person was permitted to travel outside the city limits on Shabbat.

Our treatise examines the legal means of resolving the problems arising from these new prohibitions. The aim is not to annul the rabbinic decrees, but to clearly distinguish between the private and public spheres, or to find a way to circumvent the boundary without challenging the new laws imposed by the Sages.

From this perspective, it is necessary to understand the precise definition of a wall and a dwelling, resorting, where appropriate, to certain abstract concepts revealed at Mount Sinai and transmitted through oral tradition. According to these principles, one can, for example, virtually extend a wall upwards ( goud assik ) or downwards ( goud a'hit ). It will be considered compliant with regulations even though it does not appear as such in concrete reality.

Similarly, it's easy to define the place of residence for someone who eats, sleeps, and stays at home, but this isn't the case for everyone. Hence the need to know how an individual can be recognized as residing in a particular place. Or, how can neighbors form a group to be considered as all living in the same property?

BIBLIEUROPE Editions