TheWholeTorah.aiBeta

Shabbos Chapter 10, Mishnah 3: The Manner of Carrying

Chavrusa Learning

Shabbos, Chapter 10, Mishnah 3. This mishnah discusses the manner and method by which a person carries out from a private domain to a public domain, and the distinction between carrying in the normal way that people carry and carrying in an unusual manner.

The words of the mishnah - the manners of carrying for which one is liable:

"HaMotzi bein biymino bein bismolo, besoch cheiko o al keseifo - chayav" - one who carries out, whether in his right hand or in his left hand, in his lap or on his shoulder, is liable. These are the details:

  • "Bein biymino bein bismolo" - one who carries out from a private domain to a public domain with his right hand or with his left hand. The Gemara concludes that this refers to someone who is ambidextrous.

  • "Besoch cheiko" - one who carries it out clasped against his body.

  • "Al keseifo" - carrying on the shoulder.

"Shekein masa bnei Kehas":

Regarding carrying on the shoulder, the mishnah explains that the basis for this is the way the sons of Kehas carried: this was the manner in which they carried the vessels and the furnishings of the Mishkan in the desert - on their shoulders. This is the source of the melachah of carrying out, for this labor was performed in the building of the Mishkan and for that reason it was forbidden on Shabbos. From here we have an indication that carrying on the shoulder is indeed considered a normal way of carrying.

The manners of carrying for which one is exempt:

  • "Le'achar yado" - on the back of his hand. "Ke'le'achar yad" is a term we use generally for any unusual manner of performing a melachah.

  • "Beraglo" - one who carries on his foot.

  • "Befiv" - inside his mouth.

  • "Uvemarpeko" - in the crook of his elbow.

  • "Be'ozno" - inside his ear.

  • "Uvis'aro" - in his hair.

  • "Uvefundaso ufiha lematah" - a money belt whose opening faces downward instead of upward, so that the items are liable to fall out of it. This is not the normal way to carry in it.

  • "Bein fundaso lechaluko" - between his undergarment and his shirt.

  • "Uvesfas chaluko" - in the hem of his garment.

  • "Beman'alo, besandalo" - inside his shoe or inside his sandal.

In all of these cases the one who carries is exempt, and the reason is stated explicitly in the mishnah: "Shelo hotzi kederech hamotzi'in" - he did not carry out and did not carry in the way that people generally carry out and carry things. Since this is not the normal way, there is no Torah transgression here, only a rabbinic prohibition.

In summary: The mishnah distinguishes between carrying in the normal manner - in the right or left hand, in one's lap or on one's shoulder (like the burden of the sons of Kehas in the Mishkan), for which one is liable - and carrying in an unusual manner, such as on the back of the hand, with the foot, in the mouth, in the elbow, in the ear, in the hair, in a money belt whose opening faces downward, between the money belt and the shirt, in the hem of the shirt, in a shoe or in a sandal, for which one is exempt by Torah law and which is only a rabbinic prohibition.