Mishnah Shabbat 7:3
Mishnah Shabbat 7:3
Any item fit for storage, which [people value enough to] store鈥攊f one carried it out on Shabbat鈥攖hat person [is held liable for a Shabbat violation and] must bring a sin offering. But any item not fit for storage, which [people do not generally value enough to] store鈥攊f one carried it out on Shabbat鈥攐nly that person who [valued it enough] to store it [is held liable for a Shabbat violation and] must [bring a sin offering].
讻诇 讛讻砖专 诇讛爪谞讬注 讜诪爪谞讬注讬谉 讻诪讜讛讜–讛讜爪讬讗讜 讘砖讘转, 讞讬讬讘 注诇讬讜 讞讟讗转; 讜讻诇 砖讗讬谞讜 讻砖专 诇讛爪谞讬注, 讜讗讬谉 诪爪谞讬注讬谉 讻诪讜讛讜–讛讜爪讬讗讜 讘砖讘转, 讗讬谞讜 讞讬讬讘 讗诇讗 诇诪爪谞讬注讜.
Mishnah Shabbat 8:1
One who carries wine out [from domain to domain on Shabbat, only violates the prohibition] if there is enough to pour a cup. Milk鈥攊f there is enough for one gulp. Honey鈥攊f there is enough to spread on a [minor] wound. Oil鈥攊f there is enough to anoint a small limb. Water鈥攊f there is enough to moisten a compress. All other liquids, if there is a quarter [of a log, roughly four and a half ounces] . . .
讛诪讜爪讬讗 讬讬谉, 讻讚讬 诪讝讬讙转 诪讻讜住. 讞诇讘, 讻讚讬 讙诪讬讗讛. 讚讘砖, 讻讚讬 诇讬转谉 注诇 讛讻转讬转. 砖诪谉, 讻讚讬 诇住讜讱 讗讘专 拽讟谉. 诪讬诐, 讻讚讬 诇砖讜祝 讗转 讛拽讬诇讜专讬转. 讜砖讗专 讻诇 讛诪砖拽讬谉, 讘专讘讬注讬转…
I mentioned last week, in passing, that one violates the prohibition of carrying from domain to domain on Shabbat if one carries an object of value. How do we measure the value of objects? The Mishnah makes this measurement by noting the things that people save. Mishnah Shabbat 7:3 presents the abstract principle that anything which can be stored for some period of time (in the days before artificial refrigeration) and which people do, in fact, care enough about to store, is deemed to have value. In Mishnah Shabbat 8:1, we see a concrete example鈥攍iquids like wine, milk, honey, oil, and water are valuable and we make an effort to store them in conditions that will preserve them for as long as possible. However, at a certain point we consume enough of a liquid that the remains are too small for us to bother saving. It is simply too much trouble for most people to maintain less than a cup of wine or a gulp of milk.
However, the second half of Mishnah Shabbat 7:3 recognizes that there are people who value these small amounts, or seemingly trivial objects. Though for most people, carrying less than a mouthful of milk out of the house might not result in a Torah-level violation of Shabbat, for a person who would hold on to that “trivial” amount of milk, it would. So, oddly, two Jews can perform the same act of carrying, but only one may have violated Shabbat on a Torah level. This oddness may have been one of the reasons that our sages tell us to empty our pockets completely prior to Shabbat, carrying no burdens of any sort. Shabbat is a time when we put things of material value a bit to the side, so that other sorts of value can have precedence.
Questions
- What are the material things that we value? Does Shabbat help us to reorganize our hierarchy of values? How?
- Do you agree with the amounts listed in Mishnah Shabbat 8:1? Does the existence of refrigeration change how we value things? Should the amounts be different today?
