Today’s daf TB Shabbat 39 clarifies some of the rules concerning cooking (בִּישול) on Shabbat. Cooking is one of the 39 prohibited types of work
on Shabbat. Cooking is generally defined by making food edible over or in a fire.
All derivatives of fire (תּוֹלְדוֹת אֵש) are also prohibited by the Torah.
Consequently, if you heat up metal by fire and then cook something on that
metal on Shabbat, you’re violating the prohibition of cooking. However, using
the sun’s direct heat to cook something is permissible since this is not the
usual way of cooking. What about a derivative of the sun?
“Rav Naḥman said:
With regard to heating food in the sun itself, everyone agrees that
one is permitted to place food in the sun to heat it, as it is certainly
neither fire nor a typical form of cooking. Likewise, with derivatives of
fire, i.e., objects that were heated by fire, everyone agrees that it is
prohibited to heat food with them, as heating with them is tantamount to
heating with fire itself. Where they argue is with regard to heating with
derivatives of the sun, i.e., objects heated with the heat of the sun. This
Sage, who represents the opinion of the Rabbis, holds that we
issue a decree prohibiting a person to heat with derivatives of the sun
due to derivatives of fire, which are prohibited. People have no way of
knowing how the cooking vessel was heated. If the Sages permit the use of
objects heated in the sun, people will come to permit use of objects heated by
fire as well. And this Sage, Rabbi Yosei, holds that we do not
issue a decree. Even though it is prohibited to heat with derivatives of
fire, heating with derivatives of the sun is permitted.” (Sefaria.org translation)
The Mishna on TB Shabbat 38b reports a very interesting
story about the citizens of Tiberias. “The mishna relates a story about the
people of the city of Tiberias, and they ran a cold-water pipe [silon]
through a canal of hot water from the Tiberias hot springs. They thought
that by doing so, they could heat the cold potable water on Shabbat. The
Rabbis said to them: If the water passed through on Shabbat, its legal
status is like that of hot water that was heated on Shabbat, and
the water is prohibited both for bathing and for drinking. And if
the water passed through on a Festival, then it is prohibited for bathing
but permitted for drinking. On Festivals, one is even permitted to boil
water on actual fire for the purposes of eating and drinking.” (Sefaria.org translation)
The question arises whether Rabbi Yosei agrees or disagrees
with the sages in this case. What is the source of the heat that heating up the
hot Springs? At first glance the source doesn’t appear to be a flame so we
would think that here too Rabbi Yosei would disagree with the sages and permit
the hot water to be used. Surprisingly
Rabbi Yosei agrees with the sages because the source of the hot springs is indeed
heated by a flame. “Rabbi Yosei said to them: That is not so. That
incident involved derivatives of fire, as the hot springs of Tiberias
are hot because they pass over the entrance to Gehenna They are heated
by hellfire, which is a bona fide underground fire. This is not the case with
derivatives of the sun, which are not heated by a fire at all.” TB Shabbat 39b (Sefaria.org
translation)
Now we know where the entrance of hell is. Do we know where
heaven is? The Gemara hints that heaven is also accessible here on earth. “And Rabba bar bar Hana said: Once we were
traveling in the desert and we were accompanied by a certain Arab would take
dust and smell it and say: This is the
road to such and such a place, and that is the road to such and such a place…This
Arab also said to me: Come, I will show you the place where the earth
and the heavens touch each other. I took my basket and placed it in a
window of the heavens. After I finished praying, I searched for it but
did not find it. I said to him: Are there thieves here? He said to me: This is
the heavenly sphere that is turning around; wait here until tomorrow and you
will find it.” TB Bava Batra
73b-74a (Sefaria.org translation)
Where does heaven and earth touch? Since we don’t have that Arab
anymore as our guide, I think that Uncle Remus and his Br’er Rabbit points us in
the right direction. Remember the story how Br’er Rabbit tricks Br’er Fox and
Br’er bear to throw him into the briar patch. What Br’er Fox and Br’er think is
a horrible fate turns out that the briar patch is Br’er Rabbit’s laughing place
and he was laughing at them. One of the lessons of the story is everybody has
his or her own laughing place and they are not necessarily the same place. Likewise
I think that each and every one of us has his or her own place where heaven and
earth touch. All we have to do is go out and find it.
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