Sheviis, Chapter 8, Mishnah 9. This mishnah continues the idea presented at the end of the previous mishnah, that one may not use oil of Sheviis - because of the sanctity of Sheviis that it carries - for smearing or polishing vessels. The question our mishnah raises is: what is the status of the vessel itself?
"O she'sacho b'shemen shel sheviis":
The mishnah discusses a hide that was rubbed with oil of Sheviis. This practice of treating leather with oil exists in our day as well - a special oil is sold for oiling baseball gloves - and it was already common in ancient times, presumably in order to soften the leather and make it more supple. The question, then, is what should be done with a hide that has already been rubbed with oil of Sheviis:
Rabbi Eliezer says: "Yidalek" - the hide that absorbed the oil of Sheviis must be burned.
And the Sages say: "Ye'achel k'negdo" - the solution mentioned in the previous mishnah is sufficient: one eats food with the sanctity of Sheviis corresponding to the oil that was lost, and there is no need to burn the hide itself.
"He said to them: Be quiet":
The mishnah continues: "Amru lifnei Rabbi Akiva: omer hayah Rabbi Eliezer, or she'sacho b'shemen shel sheviis yidalek" - as Rabbi Eliezer's position was cited above, that a hide rubbed with oil of Sheviis must be burned. Rabbi Akiva's response was: "Shetoku! Lo omar lachem mah she'Rabbi Eliezer omer bo" - do not report this ruling in his name, and I am also not willing to reveal to you what Rabbi Eliezer actually said about that hide that was treated with oil of Sheviis.
What did Rabbi Eliezer actually say - two views in the Yerushalmi:
In the Yerushalmi the Amoraim disagree about what that statement of Rabbi Eliezer was that Rabbi Akiva refused to disclose:
One view: Rabbi Eliezer was extremely stringent, to the point that he said about someone who rubbed oil of Sheviis into a hide - "the bones of that man should be burned", meaning that his bones deserve burning.
Second view: the opposite - Rabbi Eliezer was more lenient than the Sages, to the point that he said it is permitted even at the outset to use oil of Sheviis to polish vessels, the complete opposite of the position cited in his name in the mishnah.
Most commentators prefer the second view in the Yerushalmi: Rabbi Eliezer was extremely lenient, and Rabbi Akiva did not want to reveal how far he went in this, since the normative view was that one may not use oil of Sheviis for smearing vessels, and if one did so - "ye'achel k'negdo".
In summary: in this mishnah we learned the law of a hide that was rubbed with oil of Sheviis - according to Rabbi Eliezer "yidalek", and according to the Sages "ye'achel k'negdo" and there is no need to burn the hide. We examined Rabbi Akiva's refusal to repeat Rabbi Eliezer's words, and the two views in the Yerushalmi explaining that vanished statement - whether he was extremely stringent or extremely lenient, as most commentators hold.