1)

(a)The Tana begins the Masechta by listing the Yetzi'os of Shabbos - (carrying from one type of major domain to another) both inside and outside.

(b)'Inside' refers to the R'shus ha'Yachid and 'outside', to the R'shus ha'Rabim), or vice-versa.

(c)'Yetzi'os' (carrying out) includes - Hachnasos (carrying in).

(d)The Mishnah uses the word 'Yetzi'os' and not (the more grammatically-correct) 'Hotza'os' - because the source for the Isur is the Pasuk in Beshalach (in connection with the Manna) "Al Yeitzei Ish mi'Mekomo".

(e)The Tos. Yom-Tov quoting the Rambam explains that despite the fact that carrying is the last Melachah on the list of Avos Melachos (in the seventh Perek, Rebbi saw fit to begin the Maseches with carrying - since it is the most common Melachah and the one which people tend to transgress the most.

2)

(a)The Tana lists two Yetzi'os which are really four 'inside' - and two which are really four 'outside'.

(b)'Two which are four' means - two min ha'Torah which are four mi'de'Rabbanan.

3)

(a)The punishments for carrying on Shabbos ...

1. ... be'Shogeg is - a Korban Chatas.

2. ... be'Meizid is 'Kareis.

(b)And one is Chayav Sekilah - if he transgresses in front of two witnesses, who also warn him.

(c)We learn from the word "ba'Asosah" (in the Pasuk in Vayikra "ba'Asosah es Kol Mitzvos Hash-m") in connection with a Korban Chatas) - that one is only Chayav if he performs the entire Melachah by himself.

(d)Hotza'ah for which one is Chayav - constitutes Akirah (licking up) carrying from one R'shus to the other and Hanachah (putting it down.

(e)The cases which the Rabbanan instituted involving two men are - where one of them makes the Akirah and the other one, the Hanachah.

4)

(a)The Mishnah speak about a rich man ...

(b)... who is standing in his R'shus giving a loaf of bread to a poor man, who is standing in the R'shus ha'Rabim.

(c)By discussing specifically this case Rebbi teaches us - that the fact that one performs a Mitzvah does not detract from the fact that one is Mechelal Shabbos.

(d)The Tana obligates the ...

1. ... Ani there where he either stretches his hand into the R'shus ha'Yachid and places the empty basket into the rich man's hands, or takes the full basket from the rich man's hands and takes it out into the R'shus ha'Rabim.

2. ... the Ashir - where he either stretches his hand into the R'shus ha'Rabim and either places the loaf into the empty basket, or takes the empty basket from the poor man's hands into the R'shus ha'Yachid.

5)

(a)The problem with the fact that, in both of the above cases, either the Akirah or the Hanachah involves the hand of one of the two men is - that the both the Akirah and the Hanachah must be Chashuv (i.e. measure at least four by four Tefachim).

(b)We answer that - the hand is intrinsically Chashuv inasmuch as Hash-m created it specifically in a way that it can hold objects that are far larger than itself.

(c)In the two above cases, one of the men is Chayav, whilst the other is Patur. 'Patur' in this instance means - Patur and Mutar (since the recipient has not performed an act).

6)

(a)One of the two sets where both men are Patur Aval Asur is where the poor man hands the basket inside and either the rich man takes it from his hand or he places the loaf of bread into it and the poor man takes it out. The other set is where the rich man places his hand outside and either the poor man takes the loaf that he is holding from it, or places the basket into it and the rich takes it inside.

(b)The Tana only refers to two which are four, and not two which are eight, bearing in mind that in each of the last four cases, one of them performs an Akirah, and the other, a Hanachah. This is because he only contends with the person who performs the Akirah, which can lead to Hanachah (which will render him Chayav); whereas the person who performs the Hanachah cannot possibly become Chayav (see Tos. Yom.Tov).

7)

(a)the Mishnah now rules that (assuming one has not yet Davened Minchah) starting a haircut, entering a bath-house, or a tannery, starting a meal or a court-case close to Minchah-time - is prohibited.

(b)'Samuch le'Minchah' means - close to Minchah Gedolah (i.e. from midday).

(c)The reason for the prohibition is - in case a delay occurs causing him to forget to Daven Minchah.

(d)In spite of the early hour, the Chachamim forbade having a haircut already from midday - in case a lengthy delay occurs (as we will explain shortly) that results in his forgetting to Daven Minchah.

(e)The Tana inserts the case of a haircut here - because it is similar to the ruling in the following forbidding a tailor to go out with his needle close to Shabbos, in case he forgets and carries on Shabbos. And because there are only a few cases that belong to the same group of prohibitions, he decided to complete the short list here, before returning to discuss the Dinim Shabbos at length.

8)

(a)We are afraid that, in the case of ...

1. ... a bath - he will faint.

2. ... a haircut - the scissors will break.

3. ... the tanner - the skins will get spoilt, and he will have to begin all over again.

4. ... a small meal - it may turn into a large one.

5. ... a court-case, assuming they already hold at the end of the case - they might discover a flaw in their arguments and will therefore need to begin afresh.

(b)If one forgot and inadvertently began any of the above, he may finish what he began and recite the Sh'ma later ...

(c)... unless there will not be time afterwards, in which case he is obligated to stop whatever he is doing and Daven.

9)

(a)The beginning of ...

1. ... a haircut is - when the barber places the protective cloth on his knees.

2. ... a tanner is - when the tanner puts on the special protective sleeves before beginning to work.

3. a meal is - when one washes one's hands for 'Motzi'.

4. ... a court-case is - when the Dayanim don their Talisos (to sit in judgement in awe before Hash-m).

5. ... a court-case if the Dayanim are already wearing a Talis from the previous case - as when the litigants begin stating their cases.

(b)One version of what constitutes the beginning of a bath is when the bather has already removed his underclothes; the other is - when he removes his Sudar (head-cloth, the first garment that one takes off in the bathhouse).

10)

(a)Our Mishnah forbid a tailor to go out with a needle on Friday afternoon shortly before Shabbos - in case he forgets and carries it on Shabbos.

(b)The Tana mention specifically a tailor - because the Mishnah is speaking even where the needle is stuck in his clothes, and it is only a tailor, who normally carries it that way, who is Chayav for doing so.

(c)He places a similar prohibition upon a Sofer (scribe) - to go out shortly before Shabbos with his quill behind his ear.

11)

(a)The Mishnah forbids delousing one's clothes and reading in front of an oil-lamp once Shabbos comes in- in front of an oil-lamp ...

(b)... in case one will inadvertently turn up the wick to obtain a better flame.

(c)The prohibition applies -even if the lamp is very high up, so that it is very difficult to get to (on account of 'Lo P'lug')

(d)The above are permitted under one of two conditions; one of them if there is somebody to remind him not to turn up the wick; the other - if he is an important person, who generally has a servant to prepare the lamp for him.

12)

(a)Be'emes, says the Mishnah, the Chazan is permitted to watch the children reading (by the light of a lamp). 'Be'emes' signifies that the statement is Halachah.

(b)'The Chazan' means - the children's Rebbe (based on the Targum for 'to see', because he oversees the children as they learn [Yos. Yom-Tov]).

(c)This is permitted - because it does not require much concentration, so we are not afraid that he will turn-up the wick.

(d)Neither are we afraid that the children will inadvertently turn up the wick, because the awe in which they hold their Rebbe will prevent them from doing so.

13)

(a)The Mishnah - forbids the Chazan to read the Parshah.

(b)We cannot assume that he will not turn up the wick in front of the children - because although the children hold him in awe, the reverse is not true.

(c)Based on this latter ruling, some people - forbid appointing one's wife to be a Shomer whilst he reads (though it is uinclear why his wife should be worse that any other stranger.

14)

(a)The Tana prohibits a Zav and a Zavah to eat together.

(b)He introduces this ruling with 'ke'Yotzei bo' - because inasmuch as it a Rabbinical decree to prevent them from coming to sin, it is similar to the previous rulings in the Mishnah.

(c)The reason for the prohibition is - that this might lead them to become intimate ...

(d)... despite the fact that 'a Zav and a Zavah' will find it extremely difficult to be intimate.

15)

(a)When the Tana said that these are some of the Halachos that they learned in the attic of Chananyah ben Chizkiyah ben Guryon, he was referring to the two prohibitions of delousing one's clothes and reading by the light of a lamp that we learned in the previous Mishnah.

(b)Chananyah ben Chizkiyah ben Guryon hid himself in the attic in the first place - to reconcile a number of controversial Pesukim in Seifer Yechezkel as a result of which they were considering hiding the Seifer.

(c)One of the problems in Seifer Yechezkel lies in the Pasuk "Kol Neveilah u'Tereifah min ha'Of ... Lo Yochlu ha'Kohanim!" - which is problematic - since the Isur of Neveilah and T'reifah is in no way confined to Kohanim, and is just as applicable to Yisre'elim.

(d)Besides the above two Isurim, the Chachamim issued another sixteen decrees on that day.

16)

(a)All of these eighteen things - were disputes between Beis Shamai and Beis Hillel, and they ruled like Beis Shamai ...

(b)They deviated from the principle 'Halachah ke'Beis Hillel' and ruled like Beis Shamai - because they turned out to have a majority.

(c)The first two of the eighteen decrees concerned somebody who eats food that is a Rishon or a Sheini le'Tum'ah. They decreed - that whoever eats either of them becomes a Sheini.

(d)The third decree concerns somebody who drinks a Tamei liquid - who becomes a Sheini, too.

(e)The common reason for these three decrees is - because it sometimes happens that a person is eating Tamei food and he places Terumah liquid in his mouth whilst the Tamei food is still there, or the other way round (he places Terumah food in his mouth whilst he still has Tamei liquid there [which he will not do now that he has become a Sheini]).

17)

(a)The first of the two decrees (4&5) concerning Mayim She'uvim (drawn water) is that somebody who enters a pool of drawn water after Toveling in a Mikvah remains Tamei; the second is - a Tahor person on whose head and most of his body there fell three Lugin of drawn water.

(b)The reason for ...

1. ... this decree is - because they used to Tovel in caves, where the water was foul, so they needed to then bathe in Mayim She'uvim. Unfortunately however, people began saying that it was the Mayim She'uvim that rendered them Tahor.

2. ... the 6th decree that Sefarim of Kisvei Kodesh invalidate Terumah upon contact is - because, claiming that both are Kodesh, the Kohanim used to place them together, until the mice that came to eat the Terumah, gnawed at the Sifrei-Torah as well.

3. ... the 7th decree, that renders 'Stam' hands (that have not been ritually washed disqualify Terumah) is - because hands tend to touch unclean places, and it is a disgrace for the Terumah to be handled by people with dirty hands.

(c)And they decreed (no. 8) that food that touches liquid that became Tamei via hands that have not been washed (see previous decree) - on account of where it touches liquid that comes from a Sheretz (which is Tamei d'Oraisa).

(d)The underlying principle behind this ruling is - that whatever renders Terumah Pasul, renders liquid a Rishon le'Tum'ah.

(e)The reason that they confined this decree to liquid (and did not extend it to food [on account of food that becomes Tamei via a Sheretz]) is - because, unlike food, which requires 'Hechsher' before it can become Tamei, liquid is subject to Tum'ah immediately, and does not require Hechsher.

18)

(a)Vessels that became Tamei via the liquid of a Sheretz - become a Rishon.

(b)Beis Shamai and Beis Hillel now decreed (no. 9) - that they are Metamei Adam and Keilim ...

(c)... because, min ha'Torah, Adam ve'Keilim only receive Tum'ah from an Av ha'Tum'ah, and not from a Toldah (even if it is a Rishon).

(d)The reason that they saw fit to decree Tum'ah in this case is - because people will also declare Tahor Adam and Keilim that became Tamei via the liquid of a Zav and a Zavah, which render Tamei Adam and Keilim min ha'Torah.

19)

(a)The 10th decree is that the daughters of Kutim have the status another decree - that the daughters of Nochrim are subject to Nidus the moment they are born.

(b)What prompted them to issue this specific decree on the Kutim is - the fact that they did not adhere to the earlier decree.

(c)The 11th decree concerns Metaltelin that are at least as thick as the goad of oxen. Chazal decreed that if they are - they transmit Tum'ah via the Din of Ohel from one end to the other ...

(d)... provided the article measures at least a Tefach in diameter ...

(e)... the width it would need to be to transmit Tum'ah min ha'Torah.

20)

(a)Decree no. 12 concerns juice that flows from grapes that one picked for the wine-press. The reason that the grapes are not automatically Muchshar Lekabeil Tum'ah when the juice touches them is - because the owner does not want the juice (and wanting the liquid that renders food Muchshar is an intrinsic condition in renderring food Muchshar).

(b)They nevertheless decreed that they are - because of where the grapes are picked into cementd baskets, where the juice collects and where the owner does want it.

(c)The 13th decree is that 'Gidulei Terumah, Terumah' - meaning that the Terumah that one transplants remains Terumah ...

(d)... even by plants such as produce and legumes, which 'die' before re-growing, and which would otherwise lose their status of Terumah.

(e)The reason for this is on account of Terumah Teme'ah in the hand of a Kohen - which the Chachamim were worried that the Kohen might leave until the sowing season in order to re-plant, and in the meantime he will forget and eat them.

21)

(a)The 14th decree concerns someone who is traveling on Erev Shabbos and Shabbos is approaching. Beis Shamai and Beis Hillel permitted him to give his objects to a Nochri to carry on his behalf - but not to carry it less than four Amos at a time.

(b)The 15th and 16th decrees comprise not delousing one's clothes and reading by the light of an oil-lamp (that we learned in the previous Mishnah). In the 17th decree, they forbade Yichud (secluding oneself) with a daughter of a Nochri - as well as Nochri bread, oil and wine.

(c)They decreed on their ...

1. ... bread and their oil - because of their wine, on their ...

2. ... wine - because of their daughters, and on their ...

3. ... daughters - because of Avodah-Zarah.

(d)Decree no. 18, concerns a Nochri child - on whom they decreed Zivus (from the moment he is born ...

(e)... to prevent him from having an intimate relationship between himself and his Jewish friends.

22)

(a)Besides ink, the two other commodities that Beis Shamai forbid to leave to soak late on Friday afternoon are - dyes and vetch (an animal fodder).

(b)The condition that ...

1. ... they permit it is - that the soaking process terminates before the entry of Shabbos.

2. ... Beis Hillel permit it even if it does not - provided one adds the water before Shabbos.

(c)The basis of the Machlokes between Beis Shamai and Beis Hillel (both in this Mishnah and in the two cases in the next Mishnah) is - whether the Isur of Shevisas Behemto (the prohibition of one's animal working on one's behalf) extends to household vessels (Beis Shamai) or not (Beis Hillel).

(d)Beis Shamai nevertheless permit lighting Shabbos candles and leaving one's pot on the stove on Shabbos - on the assumption that one declared them Hefker.

23)

(a)By the same token, Beis Shamai forbid placing Unin shel Pishtan - (bundles of flax) into the oven unless they become bleached ...

(b)... or wool into a caldron - unless the dye catches, before Shabbos

(c)Beis Hillel permit it only if a. it is no longer on the stove - for fear that he may otherwise stoke the coal ...

(d)... and b. the caldron is closed and cemented, in case he comes to stir it, which is considered cooking.

24)

(a)Beis Hillel also permit placing traps to catch wild animals - or birds, and nets to catch fish just before Shabbos arrives.

(b)Beis Shamai forbid it - unless there is enough time to catch the them before Shabbos (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

25)

(a)Beis Shamai permit selling something to a Nochri on Friday afternoon - provided the latter will be able to reach his destination before Shabbos.

(b)The other two things that they otherwise forbid are - to help him load his animal or to load the article on to his back.

(c)The reason for this decree is - because it looks as if he is helping the Nochri to carry on Shabbos (see also Tos. Yom-Tov).

(d)Beis Hillel - require only that the Nochri leaves the Yisrael's house before Shabbos.

26)

(a)Beis Shamai permit giving in skins to a Nochri tanner and clothes to a Nochri laundry-man on Friday afternoon - provided there is sufficient time to finish the job before Shabbos arrives.

(b)Beis Hillel permit it - right up to Sheki'as ha'Chamah.

27)

(a)Raban Gamliel testified - that his father (Raban Shimon ben Gamliel) would give white clothes to a Nochri laundry-man three days before Shabbos ...

(b)... because that was how long they would take to wash, and he was Mchmir on himself like Beis Shamai (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

(c)What is the Halachah in this regard is - like Beis Hillel.

28)

(a)Beis Shamai concede that one is permitted to load the Koros Beis-ha'Bad and the Igulei ha'Gas. Both 'Koros Beis-ha'Bad' and 'Igulei ha'Gas' - are heavy boards that one places on the pressed olives and grapes respectively, only whereas the former are regular-shaped boards, the latter are round-shaped.

(b)Beis-Shamai permit loading them both even though they continue to do their work on Shabbos - because, seeing as the olives and the grapes have already been pre-pressed, and the boards merely complete the job, it is only a Melachah de'Rabanan, in which case the Rabbanan did not extend the decree to Keilim.

29)

(a)The Mishnah permits roasting meat onions - and an egg on Friday afternoon provided they are roasted before Shabbos arrives.

(b)'Roasted' in this context means - to the Shi'ur of 'Ma'achal ben D'rusa'i (which is one third roasted) ...

(c)... because otherwise, one may come to stoke the coal.

(d)He does not require them to be fully roasted - because as long as they have reached the stage that they are edible, we are not afraid that one may come to stoke the coal.

(e)ben D'rusa'i - was a robber who used to eat the meat that he stole a third roasted.

30)

(a)By the same token, the Tana requires bread in the oven to be baked 'K'dei she'Yikremu Panehah' - (that the outer surface of the bread has grown a crust) before Shabbos arrives.

(b)Rebbi Eliezer rules - that it will suffice if the section of bread that is stuck to the oven has crusted.

(c)The Halachah - is like the Chachamim.

31)

(a)The Mishnah permits lowering the Pesach into the oven '(Meshalshin es ha'Pesach ... ' - because the opening of their ovens used to be on top, and not at the side like ours) right up to Sheki'ah.

(b)They rescinded the decree in the previous Mishnah with regard to the Korban Pesach - because the group of people who come to roast the Pesach are Zerizin (alert), and they will remind each other not to stoke the coals.

32)

(a)The Tana permits lighting a bonfire of wood on Erev Shabbos bi'Gevulin (outside the Beis-ha'Mikdash) - on condition that the fire has caught on to the majority of the wood (see Tif'eres Yisrael), that the flame is self-generating and no longer requires twigs to kindle it.

(b)Rebbi Yehudah - permits a coal fire no matter how little has caught fire

(c)... since coal does not tend to extinguish easily.

(d)We rule like Rebbi Yehudah - because nobody disagrees with him.

33)

(a)When the Mishnah says 'Ma'achizin es ha'Ur bi'Meduras Beis-ha'Mokad', it means - that, on Erev Shabbos, they would kindle a bonfire in the room in the Azarah called the 'Beis ha'Mokad' right up until Sheki'ah.

(b)The Meduras Beis ha'Mokad - needed to be constantly burning, because the Kohanim had to perform the Avodah in the Beis-ha'Mikdash bare-footed on the marble floor, and cold feet tended to make them ill.

(c)In spite of what we just learned regarding Gevulin, the Tana is lenient in this case - on account of the principle 'Kohanim Zerizim Heim' (Kohanim are alert, and we are not afraid that they will stoke the fire on Shabbos).