Today we finished the ninth chapter of our massekhet and begin the last chapter, chapter 10, with daf TB Eruvin. Chapter 10 is a collection of different discussions on the laws of Shabbat. The chapter begins with what a person should do when he finds teffilin in a field on Shabbat. “MISHNA: One who finds phylacteries (tefillin-gg) outside the city on Shabbat, where they are in danger of becoming lost or damaged, brings them in to his house pair by pair by donning them in the manner in which they are typically donned for the mitzva…Rabbi Shimon says that there is an alternative method of transferring the phylacteries: One gives them to another who is less than four cubits from him, and the other passes them to another, until the phylacteries reach the outermost courtyard of the city. Since carrying less than four cubits in a public domain is not prohibited by Torah law, in this case, the Sages permitted carrying in that manner due to the sanctity of the phylacteries.” (Sefaria.org translation)
Even though massekhet Eruvin can easily be understood as an annex to massekhet Shabbat because it deals with the laws of carrying in different kinds of domains, Tosafot wonders what is it doing here instead of chapter 6 in massekhet Shabbat which deals with what kind of apparel is considered clothing and permitted to wear on Shabbat and what kind is considered a burden and forbidden to wear on Shabbat. They suggest a linguistic connection to massekhet Eruvin because the ending of the Mishnah. Rabbi Yehuda applies Rabbi Shimon solution to a case where the barrel is beyond the Shabbat tekhum. “Rabbi Yehuda says: A person may even give a barrel to another, and the other may pass it to another, and in that way even take it beyond the Shabbat limit, provided that no one person carries it more than four cubits.” Since we have been dealing with the concept of tekhumim throughout our massekhet, this chapter was included here instead of massekhet Shabbat.
Tosefot also clarifies a difficult understanding of Rabbi Shimon’s above statement. “in what case is this statement that one is permitted to carry phylacteries inside said? It is with regard to old phylacteries, which have already been used and are designated for the mitzva. However, with regard to new ones... he is exempt from performing the task.” (Sefaria.org translation) According to Rashi one can easily see that an old pouch is tefillin and holy while a new pouch could also be an amulet and not holy at all.[1] Obviously we treat holy objects with great respect and care. That’s why we find a way to bring lost tefillin home on Shabbat. Based on further discussion about new and old tefillin found on TB Eruvin 97a, if we know for fact that the new pouch is really tefillin and not an amulet, we treated with the same respect as the old.
[1] For example of an amulet see https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/inscriptions/miniature-writing-ancient-amulets-ketef-hinnom/
The Gemara in massekhet Shabbat 61a-b
discusses the permissibility of wearing an amulet on Shabbat.
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