Shabbos, Chapter 7, Mishnah 2. This mishnah is the great event of the chapter: it is the mishnah that goes through all thirty-nine melachos of Shabbos. The mishnah opens and says: "avos melachos arba'im chaser achas" - the avos melachos, the primary categories of forbidden labor on Shabbos, are forty less one, thirty-nine. And what are they?
The order of working the ground and preparing bread:
"hazorei'a" - one who plants. Included in this melachah: one who plants a seedling, one who grafts, one who inserts a branch into the ground, one who prunes and one who waters.
"vehachoresh" - and one who plows, and likewise any improvement of the ground, any act done in order to improve the soil. And although the way of the world is to plow first and only afterward to sow, so that the mishnah seems to have listed them out of order, the mishnah comes to teach us that even one who does a second plowing after the sowing is liable for plowing.
"vehakotzer" - one who cuts a plant from the place where it grows.
"vehame'amer" - one who gathers wood or fruit from the place where they grew and forms them into a pile.
"hadash" - one who breaks open and removes the fruit or the grain from the casing in which it naturally grew.
"vehazoreh" - one who throws into the air the mixture of grain and the chaff in which it grew, thereby separating them from one another.
"haborer" - this too is a form of separation, except that it is done by removing stones, pebbles and dirt from among the kernels.
"hatochen" - one who grinds the grain.
"vehamerakeid" - one who sifts with a sieve; this too is separation, except that it is done by means of a utensil.
"halash" - one who takes flour and water and joins them together.
"veha'ofeh" - baking, and cooking is likewise included in this melachah.
This entire group is connected to a single process: the preparation of bread.
The order of making a garment:
"hagozez es hatzemer" - one who shears the wool of the sheep.
"hamelabno" - one who whitens the wool.
"vehamenaptzo" - one who combs the wool.
"vehatzovo" - one who dyes the wool.
"vehatoveh" - one who spins the wool into thread.
"vehameisach" - one who sets the threads on the loom and prepares them for weaving.
"veha'oseh shnei batei nirin" - in the weaving apparatus there are two frames whose job is to raise every other thread so that the woven thread can be passed between them. Passing the threads through that frame, through what are called the batei nirin, is this melachah.
"veha'oreg shnei chutin" - one who weaves by passing the shuttle, which holds the thread that runs in the other direction.
"vehapotze'a shnei chutin" - at times a problem or a mistake in the weaving needs to be repaired. If a thread tore in the middle and it had to be rejoined, they would open up the two threads and twist them back together with their fingers.
"hakosher" - one who ties a knot, "vehamatir" - one who unties a knot.
"hatofer shtei tefiros" - one who sews two stitches.
"hakorei'a al menas litpor shtei tefiros" - one who tears a garment for a purpose. This is not merely a destructive act, but a tearing done for a constructive need, so that he will be able to resew the two stitches that require sewing.
The order of preparing hide and parchment:
"hatzad" - one who traps a deer.
"hashochato" - one who slaughters it.
"hamafshito" - one who removes the hide.
"vehamolcho" - one who salts the hide, which is one of the stages of preparing hide.
"vehame'abed es oro" - one who tans the hide. The Gemara asks that salting and tanning are really both the same process of preparing hide, and therefore the Gemara says that in place of one of them a different melachah must be counted - "hamesartet", scoring a line in the hide in preparation for cutting it.
"vehamemachko" - they would scrape the hide and remove the hair in order to smooth it, in preparing parchment or any other form in which the hide was going to be used.
"vehamechatcho" - one who cuts the hide to a particular measure.
Writing, building, fire and the finishing touch:
"hakosev shtei osiyos" - one who writes two letters.
"vehamochek al menas lichtov shtei osiyos" - one who erases in order to make room for writing two letters.
"haboneh" - one who builds a structure.
"vehasoser" - one who demolishes a structure; this too must be for the sake of rebuilding in that same area.
"hamechabeh" - one who extinguishes a flame for a constructive purpose, such as one who chars something in order to prepare it to burn better afterward.
"vehamav'ir" - one who kindles a fire.
"hamakeh bapatish" - one who delivers the final blow, and included in this is any completion of the making of a utensil.
"hamotzi mireshus lireshus" - one who transfers an object from one domain to another: from a private domain to a public domain and the reverse.
"Harei elu avos melachos arba'im chaser achas" - these are the primary categories of labor, forty less one, thirty-nine avos melachah.