Daf Ditty Shabbes 80: Ink, Letters and Horns
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Daf Ditty Shabbes 80: Ink, Letters and Horns Ennemoser's Geschichte der Magie ("History of the Magic"), (Leipzig, 1844). Our Daf discusses a case of carrying out enough ink to write two letters, while carrying only enough for one letter at a time. After the first drop was taken out and the letter was written, the ink dried. At this point, even with the remaining drop being taken into the public domain, the person is no longer liable, because the cumulative amount of ink, the amount dried plus the remaining drop, is no longer enough to comprise the minimum volume for culpability. בּי:וֵֹתּאאתשׁנָתּ ת ָ ְִדוֹיּ ְי,וֵֹתּאוֹיתשִׁ ְִיּ תוֹ לוּקְ בּ ,סוֹמְ תְּ שׁ יֵ תוֹא תוֹיִּ קְ בּ לַ מְ רָ .ןיִ ﬠָ בּ ֵ י בָ ר :אָ תוֹא חַ א תַ דִ בּ ,וֹיְ תוֹא חַ א תַ לוּקְ בּ ,סוֹמְ ,סוֹמְ לוּקְ בּ תַ חַ א תוֹא ,וֹיְ דִ בּ תַ חַ א תוֹא :אָ בָ ר י ֵ ﬠָ בּ .ןיִ רָ מְ לַ קְ בּ תוֹיִּ תוֹא יֵ תְּ שׁ ,סוֹמְ לוּקְ בּ תוֹ . וֹאת חַ א תַ קְ בּ לַ מְ רָ ,ןיִ ?וּהַ מ וּקיֵ תּ ?וּהַ מ ,ןיִ רָ מְ לַ קְ בּ תַ חַ א וֹאת A Tanna taught in a Tosefta: The measure that determines liability for carrying out ink is equivalent to that which is used to write two letters when he carries out dried ink, and two letters when the ink is in the quill, and two letters in the inkwell [kalmarin]. Rava raised a dilemma: What is the halakha if one carried out sufficient ink to write one letter in the form of dried ink, and sufficient ink to write one letter in the quill, and sufficient ink to write one letter in the inkwell? Do they join together to constitute the measure for liability, or is each considered separately? No resolution was found for this dilemma. Therefore, let it stand unresolved. רָארמ אתּ:וֹאַהשׁצב כתְיוִֹאָיתָ ֵ אָשׁןמכְָּבִוֹתיּוּ jְְֶַלּוּהה ֵ— כּ,יָביַּח ִָתיבְת ָן וֹז תאחאה נּת ןאָצַַאוַֹיתִהח ו. אר:בימָארהוָֹ ְִַָָָ אר:בימָארהוָֹ ו. ןאָצַַאוַֹיתִהח נּת תאחאה . כוּ ְ ,הָּתב רָזְחָו התצאַו תאוֹאחוֹ בְכ ַהִָּתַוּי ְָ — וּ.טמר יטאָפּ ?בַּמַﬠ דּאָנִידְְָּﬠא ְלהַּקְפּאָ ,חאְיתָיְָרְתַב לרֲָס רהַּשׁ דאיוּעיֵ ְַמָּקִ ָאְיתַי ְִָדיעֵרַ רָ חְתיְַָ לְַא אניְְא?ַַ טָ .מ Rava said: One who carried out a measure of ink equivalent to that which is used to write two letters on Shabbat, and he wrote two letters as he walked, even though he did not place the written material in the public domain, he is liable for carrying out the ink. Their writing is their placement. He is liable even without placing the ink on the ground. And Rava said: One who carried out sufficient ink to write one letter and he wrote it, and then proceeded to carry out sufficient ink to write one more letter and he wrote it, is exempt. What is the reason that he is exempt? At the time that he carried out the last drop of ink, he was lacking the first measure of ink. The ink that he carried out first dried slightly in the interim and not enough remained to write one letter. Gemara discusses the case where a person carries ink out into the public domain, and he performs hanacha by inscribing the ink upon a piece of paper. From where, however, did the paper appear? If the paper itself was also carried into the public domain together with the ink, then the person should be liable for transporting the paper itself, regardless of the ink being placed upon it. The RAN notes that one possibility is that it must be referring to a case where the person found the paper in the street after bringing the ink out from his yard. Or, it could be that he brought the paper out into the street, but the size of the paper was too small the person has to place the ink down, so that there will be a, יח בי to be liable. In order to be hanacha.The fact that the Gemara tells us that the person wrote the letters down indicates that there was no placement of the ink other than in their being written. Rashi explains that this is because the person continued walking the entire time. Therefore, although the ink is considered in motion as he walks, once the letters are written down on the paper, the ink is now considered as placed in a stationary position. The RAN asks why this should be different from a case earlier, which was left unresolved on 5b. The case there is if someone places a nut upon an object that is floating upon the water. Is this an hanacha or not? Relative to the object, the nut is stationary. Yet, the object itself is in motion as it floats on the water. The Gemara leaves that question unresolved. Here, too, the ink is on the paper, but the paper is still being carried by the person who is moving. Why is it so clear here that the ink is considered stationary? The RAN answers that the nut is not expected to remain in the floating object forever. It is only there temporarily, and that is why it’s being “fixed” in the floating object is not necessarily significant. However, the ink being inscribed on the paper in our Gemara is now being placed in its final resting place. This is a stationary and stable condition, and its placement upon the paper is certainly considered a valid form of hanacha.1 A measure of ink sufficient to write two letters reminds me of the famous mistranslation by Jerome of the verse: And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount 29 טכ ינס ִַי, ֵַמהר ֶֹמשׁה ֶַוְיֶהבּדרת ְִי, ֶַוְיֶהבּדרת ֶֹמשׁה ֵַמהר ִַי, ינס Sinai with the two tables of the testimony in Moses' hand, when נְשׁוּ יֵ תֹחֻל תֻדֵﬠָה יְ בּ דַ - ,בּהֹמשׁ ִוֹתּדְרֶ ְ ִוֹתּדְרֶ ,בּהֹמשׁ he came down from the mount, that Moses knew not that the ִמן - ֹהָהא;רוּשׁלמ ָה ֶֹ - כּ דִי ַָיע, ןָקר ַ ןָקר .skin of his face sent forth beams while He talked with him וֹער ָ פּ ָנ י ו -- וֹתּ.וֹא ְַבְִּבּדר וֹתּ.וֹא IBN EZRA has strong words for those who misinterpret the word keren for horns: The bones of the sinner should deteriorate, who says that Moshe’s face was dry like a horn, because he hadn’t eaten bread, and the reasoning for “and they feared” was because his face was ugly. And how would this destroyed person not open his eyes? Because man isn’t afraid to approach a person unless they are in awe by something which they have never seen before. And there isn’t a man who has seen the face of a dead man and wasn’t afraid to approach him. 1 Daf Digest Shabbes 80 And, additionally, if this was so, why wasn’t the mask on his face at all times? Ibn Ezra Shemot 34: Rabbi Yosef Bechor Shor (Northern France, 12th century) likewise wrote about this expression as follows2: "Behold the skin of his face was beaming" : His skin was shining from the aura of the Holy Presence. It is the same in 'Rays (Karnayim) issued from His hand' (Habakkuk 3:4) The explanation is that when the light shone from his face, and the pillar of light which formed opposite him it resembled horns (Keren = horn of an animal). Similar to this is the expression Gazelle of Dawn (Ayelet Hashahar) because the shining sun looks like a gazelle whose horns (karnayim, sing. keren) are spread out. Thus (the Torah) used the word keren, since the first tablets were given amidst much commotion and these second ones in secret. The Holy One Blessed Be He demonstrated that these, too, were holy, by the fact that the face of Moses shined from the aura of the Holy Presence when he received them. Rabbi Yosef Bechor Shor explains that the passage before us describes a shining light - that the face of Moses shone from the aura of the Holy Presence. This wondrous phenomenon occurred only when he received the second Tablets and this came to demonstrate that despite the fact that they were given in secret, their holiness was no less than the holiness of the first Tablets which were given amid much pomp. In any case the meaning of the verb karan in this passage is a description of a beam or ray of light which emanated from the face of Moses. Rabbi Yosef adds that the same meaning can be found in another passage, in the prayer of the prophet Habakkuk which describes, among other things, the revelation of the Holy Presence going forth to strike the Chaldeans (Hab 3:4), And a brightness appeareth as the light; rays hath He at His 4 ד הַּגֹנְו רוֹאָכּ ,הֶיְהִתּ םִיַנְרַק וֹדָיִּמ וֹדָיִּמ םִיַנְרַק ,הֶיְהִתּ רוֹאָכּ הַּגֹנְו .side; and there is the hiding of His power וֹל ; ,םָשְׁו ןוֹיְבֶח .הֹזֻּﬠ ןוֹיְבֶח ,םָשְׁו This passage from Habakkuk is the only passage in the Bible in which the word keren appears as a noun in the sense of a ray of light (keren or). Rabbi Yosef Bechor Shor also commented on the parallel usage of keren as light and keren in the sense of horns or antlers. He explained that the light that emanated from the face of Moses like the pillar of dawn looked like horns. Rabbi Shmuel ben Meir (Rashbam), the grandson of Rashi and a contemporary of Bechor Shor, also writes concerning the term in question as follows: "karan refers to splendor, and similarly in 'rays’ issue from His hand' (Hab.