Shabbos, Mishnah 1. The previous three Mishnayos dealt with the concern that during a fire a person might be tempted to extinguish it, as well as with other situations in which a person might perform a melachah out of panic and pressure. Our Mishnah continues along the same line: a barrel that broke, with wine inside it, and we are faced with a substantial monetary loss. The Sages were concerned that out of the pressure a person might come to repair the barrel, or run to bring vessels from outside in order to save its contents.
How Much May Be Saved from the Barrel:
Because of this concern, the Sages ruled that one may save from it only the equivalent of three meals' worth of food or drink. Nevertheless, he may say to others: come and save for yourselves as well.
"U'vilvad shelo yisfog" - provided that he does not soak it up:
The permission to save is conditional on his not soaking up the liquid with a sponge. The case here is a sponge that may be handled, such as one that has a leather handle, as we learned in the previous Mishnah. Even in such a case the Sages did not want him to soak up the liquid and transfer it to another vessel, and even if he has no intention of wringing out the sponge, because it looks like a weekday activity.
Squeezing Fruits:
The Mishnah rules that "ein sochtin es ha'peiros" - one may not squeeze fruits in order to extract their juice. This is actual squeezing, and it is a tolada of the melachah of mefarek, removing a substance from the original container in which it grew. And even if the juices "zavu me'atzman" - flowed out on their own - they are "asurin" - forbidden, lest, if he were able to benefit from liquid that came out by itself, he would come to actually squeeze on Shabbos.
Rabbi Yehudah says that the matter depends on the intent at the time of picking: if the fruits were picked from the outset for eating and not for their juice, whatever comes out on its own is permitted, since there is no concern that he will be tempted to squeeze. But if they were picked for their juice, even what comes out on its own is forbidden.
The Gemara's Explanation of the Dispute:
The Gemara explains the dispute between the Tanna Kamma and Rabbi Yehudah - whether what comes out on its own is forbidden in every case, or whether it depends on the purpose of the picking - and distinguishes between different types of fruit:
Olives and grapes: Their liquid is considered a beverage by Torah law, and therefore even if they were picked for eating, what comes out of them on its own is forbidden, since their primary purpose is squeezing, and there is reason for concern even when they were picked for eating.
Other kinds of fruit: Since it is not at all customary to squeeze them for their liquid, even in those circumstances the Tanna Kamma agrees that what comes out of them is permitted, because they are not picked for the purpose of drinking.
Mulberries and pomegranates: An intermediate category, since they are sometimes used for their juice as well, and about these they disagree: the Tanna Kamma forbids what comes out on its own even if they were picked for eating, while Rabbi Yehudah distinguishes - if they were picked for eating, what comes out on its own is permitted; if they were picked for the juice of the mulberries and pomegranates, what comes out on its own is forbidden.
Honeycombs:
The Mishnah continues: "chalos devash sherisken me'erev Shabbos" - honeycombs that he crushed while it was still day in order to extract the honey from them - "v'yatz'u me'atzman" - and the honey flowed out on its own on Shabbos - they are "asurin" - forbidden, lest he come to squeeze them and extract the honey on Shabbos itself. "Rabbi Elazar matir" - Rabbi Elazar permits: what comes out on its own is permitted, and there is no concern that he will extract it by hand, since he already crushed them before Shabbos.
In summary: In this Mishnah we learned the parameters of saving from a barrel that broke - only three meals' worth of food, and telling others to save for themselves, provided that one does not soak up the liquid with a sponge; the prohibition of squeezing fruits because of mefarek, and the law of juice that flows out on its own, about which the Tanna Kamma and Rabbi Yehudah disagree according to the purpose of the picking - with the Gemara's division between olives and grapes, other fruits, and mulberries and pomegranates; and finally the law of honeycombs that were crushed before Shabbos and whose honey flowed out on its own, and the dispute between the Tanna Kamma and Rabbi Elazar about it.