Daf Ditty Eruvin 103: Papyrus, Bandaging, Despair The Soul has Bandaged moments The Soul has Bandaged moments - When too appalled to stir - She feels some ghastly Fright come up And stop to look at her - Salute her, with long fingers - Caress her freezing hair - Sip, Goblin, from the very lips The Lover - hovered - o'er - Unworthy, that a thought so mean Accost a Theme - so - fair - The soul has moments of escape - When bursting all the doors - She dances like a Bomb, abroad, And swings opon the Hours, As do the Bee - delirious borne - Long Dungeoned from his Rose - Touch Liberty - then know no more - But Noon, and Paradise The Soul's retaken moments - When, Felon led along, With shackles on the plumed feet, And staples, in the song, The Horror welcomes her, again, These, are not brayed of Tongue - EMILY DICKINSON 1 Her bandaged prison of depression or despair is truly a hell from which no words can escape, whether a call for help, a poem, or a prayer. 2 3 Rashi . שדקמ but not outside of the בש ת on שדקמה ב י ת may wrap a reed over his wound in the הכ ן A If he ימג יסמ - the ימג and, wound the heals פר ו הא תבשב ובש ת ה י א . ;explains, as the Gemara later says . אד ו ר י י את א י ס ו ר because it’s an , שדקמ in the סא ו ר is trying to draw out blood, it is even MISHNA: With regard to a priest who was injured on his finger on Shabbat, he may temporarily wrap it with a reed so that his wound is not visible while he is serving in the Temple. This leniency applies in the Temple, but not in the country, as it also heals the wound, and medical treatment is prohibited on Shabbat due to rabbinic decree. If his intention is to draw blood from the wound or to absorb blood, it is prohibited in both places. Jastrow 4 RASHI 5 GEMARA: Rav Yehuda, son of Rabbi Ḥiyya, said: They taught that only a reed is permitted. However, a small sash is prohibited, as it would be considered an extra garment, and it is prohibited for a priest to add to the priestly garments prescribed by the Torah. And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: They said that donning an extra garment is prohibited only if it is worn in a place on the priest’s body where the priestly garments are worn. But in a place where those garments are not worn, e.g., on his hand or the like, a sash that is tied there is not considered an extra garment. 6 The Gemara answers: Nothing can be proven from here, as a small sash is different, since it is significant, and it is therefore considered a garment even if it is less than three by three fingerbreadths. Bandaging a Kohen’s Injury Steinzaltz (OBM) writes:1 The Mishnayot on our daf continue with a discussion of activities that are permitted in the precincts of the Temple, even though they are forbidden by the Sages under ordinary circumstances. With regard to a priest who was injured on his finger on Shabbat, he may temporarily wrap it with a reed so that his wound is not visible while he is serving in the Temple. This leniency 1 https://steinsaltz.org/daf/eiruvin103/ 7 applies in the Temple, but not in the country, as it also heals the wound, and medical treatment is prohibited on Shabbat due to rabbinic decree. The term gemi (reed) is, apparently, a general term that refers to the products derived from the papyrus plant – Cyperus papyrus L. This plant was used throughout the ages to produce a variety of manufactured goods. From its hard, outer part, mats were woven; in ancient Egypt and other countries, its inner parts were used for making paper. The soft inner parts also were used for producing strips with which things could be tied, and sometimes – as in our case – for bandages. The Gemara specifies that only a gemi can be used, and not a small cloth. The small cloth would be a problem either because: (a) it would be a hatzitza – a separation between the kohen and the utensil that he needs to hold, or else it involves (b) yitur begadim – an extra item of clothing beyond the basic uniform of the kohen While the Gemara makes it sound as though either of these could be the problem, there are significant differences between the two. The problem of hatzitza is one of separation; thus, if the cloth is put on the left hand, for example, there would be no problem, since the Temple service was done only with the right hand. Yitur begadim is an independent problem, based on bal tosif – that it is forbidden to add to the commandments of the Torah – so once it is defined as a beged (garment), it would create problems no matter where it was placed on the kohen’s body. Our daf discusses a case where a kohen has a piece of reed-grass tied around his finger to protect and treat a wound. Among the various issues related to this condition, the Gemara asks why the intervening object, and therefore be a/ צח י הצ covering to his finger should not be considered a disqualifying factor as far as the service is concerned. The Gemara answers that the case is either where the wound is on the left hand of the kohen, which is not used directly in the service, or it is talking about a wound on the right hand, but not in a spot 8 on the hand where the kohen handles anything.The analyzes this inquiry and the response of the Gemara. are among those whose guidelines are —they are based צח י הצ The laws of purely upon oral tradition from Moshe at Sinai. a substance which is found ( בט י הל ) The rule is that in order to interfere with a proper immersion on one’s body is problematic only when it covers the majority of the body and the person cares .( דיפקמו ובור ) that it not be there If either of these components is missing, the immersion is valid from a Torah standpoint, but disqualified due to rabbinic restriction. Here, the reed-grass is certainly covering only a small part of the body of the kohen. Even if the kohen cares to have it removed, the situation falls under the category of a rabbinic injunction, and this limitation is suspended in the Mikdash. Why, then, is the Gemara concerned about the interposition of this make-shift bandage? The first answer he gives is that, apparently, not all rabbinic injunctions were suspended in the Mikdash. This one, concerning immersion interference, remained in effect. Another answer he gives is that the rule of disregarding a small interposition on the body is only true regarding immersion in a mikveh. However, in the context of the kohen involved in the service in the Mikdash, no interference is allowed at all. In fact, it is necessary for a kohen to be fitted so that the clothing not hang improperly. Even extra space under sagging fabric which fits poorly is unacceptable. Therefore, a small bandage could ruin the service of this kohen if it interferes with his direct contact with the service items. 9 R. Sari Laufer writes:2 I never actually watched Hands on a Hard Body, but the premise always fascinated me. The 1997 documentary film traces a yearly competition in Longview, Texas which pits 24 contestants against each other to see who can keep their hand on a pickup truck for the longest amount of time. Five minute breaks are issued every hour, and fifteen minute breaks every six hours, but other than that, one must be touching the truck at all times. Whoever endures the longest without leaning on the truck, squatting, or breaking contact wins the truck. As a one time participant (and referee) for Northwestern University’s Dance Marathon several years running, I have seen this sort of endurance competition up close. Inherent in the competition is a delight in and fascination with continuity — one which also pervades today’s daf. The question at hand is whether a bandage that has slipped off a wound can be replaced without being considered a new act of bandaging (which would be prohibited on Shabbat). The Gemara begins with a statement that is broadly permissive: The sages taught: With regard to a bandage that became detached from a wound, one may return it to its place on Shabbat in all cases. 2 myjewishlearning.com 10 But along comes Rabbi Yehuda to argue with this premise: Rabbi Yehuda says: If it slipped downward, one may push it upward; if it slipped upward, one may push it downward. One may also uncover part of the bandage and clean the opening of the wound on one side, and then uncover another part of the bandage and clean the opening of the wound on that side. Rabbi Yehuda effectively limits the permission to replace a bandage to cases in which the bandage slips a little — up, down, side-to-side — or is bent back partially. His statement implies that if the bandage is ripped off fully and intentionally, it cannot be replaced on Shabbat as this would constitute a new act of bandaging. But, the rabbis want to know, what would happen if the bandage fell off completely? May it be replaced? Now it gets more complicated, especially since Rav Yehuda and Rabbi Yehuda are not the same person! Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: The halakhah is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda.