💾 Archived View for scholasticdiversity.us.to › scriptures › jewish › t › Mishneh%20Torah%2C%20Sabba… captured on 2024-05-10 at 12:10:51. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
14 ‎[1] There are four domains [referred to by our Sages with regard to transferring objects on the Sabbath]: a private domain, a public domain, a *carmelit*, and a *makom patur*.
What constitutes a public domain? Deserts, forests, marketplaces, and the thoroughfares leading to them, provided that the thoroughfares are sixteen cubits wide and are not covered by a roof.
What constitutes a private domain? A mound that is at least ten handbreadths high and at least four handbreadths by four handbreadths in area;
a groove that is at least ten handbreadths deep and at least four handbreadths by four handbreadths in area;
a place that is surrounded by four walls that are [at least] ten handbreadths high and whose inner space is at least four handbreadths by four handbreadths in area. Even if such an area is several *millim* in size, [it is considered a private domain] if it was enclosed for the purpose of [creating] a dwelling - e.g., a city surrounded by a wall whose gates are closed at night and a lane that has three walls and a *lechi* at its fourth side. Similarly, a courtyard, a corral, and a stable that were enclosed for the purpose of [creating] a dwelling are considered private domains in a complete sense. ‎[2] Even vessels - e.g., a boat, a wooden closet, a beehive, or the like - are considered private domains in a complete sense if they are at least four handbreadths by four handbreadths in area and ten handbreadths high. ‎[3] The span of the walls of the private domain is considered to be like the private domain. If the [walls] create a distinction [from the public domain] for another [area - i.e., the space they contain], surely they create a distinction for themselves.
The space above a private domain until [the highest point] in the heavens is considered a private domain. The space ten handbreadths above the public domain, [by contrast,] is considered a *makom patur*. ‎[4] What is a *carmelit*? A mound that is four [handbreadths] by four [handbreadths] in area and between three [handbreadths]and ten [handbreadths] high. For a *carmelit* occupies only the space ten [handbreadths] or less above the ground and is not less than four [handbreadths] by four [handbreadths in area].
Each of the following is [also considered] a *carmelit*:
a groove that is four [handbreadths] by four [handbreadths] in area and between three [handbreadths] and ten [handbreadths] deep,
a place that is surrounded by four walls that are between three and ten [handbreadths] high and enclose an area at least four [handbreadths] by four [handbreadths], a corner next to the public domain - i.e., an area surrounded by three walls with the public domain on the fourth side - e.g., a passageway that does not have a *lechi* or a *korah* on the fourth side, seas, a valley [of fields], whether in the summer or in the rainy season. ‎[5] The space above a *carmelit* is considered equivalent to a *carmelit* for ten handbreadths. The space ten handbreadths above a *carmelit*, however, is considered a *makom patur*.
Therefore, the space above the water in a sea or river is considered a *carmelit* for ten [handbreadths], the space higher than ten [handbreadths above the water] is considered a *makom patur*. The entire depth of the water by contrast is considered as thick earth [and thus is deemed a *carmelit*]. ‎[6] A storage vat in a *carmelit* is considered a *carmelit* even if it is 100 cubits deep, if it is not four [handbreadths by four handbreadths in area].
A public domain that is covered by a roof or that is not sixteen cubits wide is considered a *carmelit*.
A stall between the pillars of the public domain and the narrow space at the side of the public domain is considered a *carmelit*. In contrast, the space between the pillars is considered a public domain, because many people walk there. ‎[7] What is meant by a *makom patur*? An area that is less than four handbreadths by four handbreadths in area and more than three handbreadths above the earth, even if it reaches the heavens themselves. An elevation less than three handbreadths high, by contrast, is considered as [being on] ground level.
Even brambles, briers, and dung that are located in the public domain and are more than three [handbreadths] high and less than four [handbreadths] by four [handbreadths] are deemed a *makom patur*.
Similarly, a groove that is less than four [handbreadths] by four [handbreadths] and more than three handbreadths deep, even if it reaches the earth's very depths, and a place that is surrounded by walls, but is not four [handbreadths] by four [handbreadths] in area and is more than three handbreadths high, are both considered a *makom patur*. Even if they are one thousand *millim* long, but the length of a barley corn less than four handbreadths wide, [they are still considered as a *makom patur*.
Also considered a *makom patur* is the space above a public domain and the space above a *carmelit* that is more than ten handbreadths high. ‎[8] A place that is exactly nine handbreadths high, neither more or less, in the public domain is considered part of the public domain. [It is placed in this category] regardless of its width or length - whether large or small - because many people use it to arrange their loads.
If, however, it is more or less than nine handbreadths high, [different rules apply]: If it is four [handbreadths] by four [handbreadths] or more [in area], it is a *carmelit*. If it is less than four [handbreadths] by four [handbreadths in area], it is a *makom patur*. ‎[9] When a roof that is less than ten handbreadths [high] is located in proximity to the public domain and many use it for their loads, it is forbidden to carry on this roof unless a ladder [leading to the owner's courtyard] is permanently affixed there. [If this is done,] it is permitted [to carry on the roof].
A pillar that is located in the public domain and is ten handbreadths high and four [handbreadths by four handbreadths in area] is deemed a private domain. If, however, one inserted a spike in its side, even if [the spike is] less than three handbreadths high, since articles may be hung from it or it may be used [for other purposes], it reduces the height of the pillar and it is deemed to be a *carmelit*. [The pillar's] height is calculated beginning from the highest spike. ‎[10] Holes [in the wall of] a private domain are [considered part of] the private domain. Holes in the public domain, by contrast, [are not considered part of the public domain, but rather] are judged according to their size.
What is implied? Holes located at the side of the public domain which are four [handbreadths] by four [handbreadths] and ten [handbreadths] high are considered as a private domain. If they [are this length and width, but] are not ten [handbreadths] high, they are considered to be a *carmelit*. If they are smaller than four [handbreadths] by four [handbreadths], they are considered to be a *makom patur*.
[The above applies] provided that they are three [handbreadths above the ground]. Anything below three [handbreadths] is considered to be [an extension] of the ground. ‎[11] It is permitted to carry throughout a private domain and a *makom patur*. Even if such a domain is several *millim* long, one is permitted to carry throughout the entire area. In contrast, one may carry only within [a square of] four cubits in a public domain and in a *carmelit*.
If a person carried [an article], passed [it] to another person or threw [it] beyond four cubits in the public domain, he is liable. In a *carmelit*, one is not liable, since the prohibition against [carrying in] a *carmelit* is a Rabbinic decree, [enacted because] the area resembles a public domain and [the Sages were concerned] that a distinction between the two would not be made.
Accordingly, if one removed [an article] for which one had no purpose - e.g., one removed a thorn from a *carmelit* so that people would not be injured by it, the act is permitted. This applies even if one carries it several cubits. The same applies in other similar instances. ‎[12] Just as one is permitted to carry within a *makom patur*, so too, is one permitted to transfer articles from it to a private domain, a public domain, and, needless to say, a *carmelit.* Similarly, one may transfer articles to it from a private domain, a public domain, and, needless to say, a *carmelit*. ‎[13] Just as one is forbidden to carry within a *carmelit*, so, too, is one forbidden to remove articles from it to a private domain or a public domain. [Similarly, it is forbidden] to bring in an article from a private domain or a public domain to a *carmelit.* If one removes or brings in [an article], one is not liable. ‎[14] A person is not liable for transferring an article from one private domain to another private domain via a *carmelit*, nor [is he liable for transferring an article] from one public domain to another public domain via a *carmelit*. Similarly, a person who passes or throws an article from either of these types of domains to another similar domain via a *carmelit* is not liable.
When a person transfers an article from the public domain to a *carmelit,* puts it down in the latter domain, and afterwards, picks it up from the *carmelit* and brings it into a private domain, [he is not liable]. [Similarly, a person who transfers an article] from a private domain to a *carmelit,* puts it down in the latter domain, and afterwards, picks it up from the *carmelit* and brings it into a public domain, is not liable. ‎[15] A person is liable if he transfers an article from a private domain to a public domain even though he passes through a *makom patur*, because a person who is walking is not considered to have stood [in the places through which he passed]. Surely, when a person throws an article through a *makom patur*, the article is not considered to have come to rest.
A person is not liable if, while standing in a *makom patur*, he took an article from a private domain or from a person standing there and placed it down in the public domain or in the hands of a person standing there. Similarly, if one brought an article from a public domain to a private domain [via a] *makom patur* and stood in the latter domain, one is not liable. ‎[16] A pillar that is located in the public domain [is considered] a private domain [in the following situation]: It is ten [handbreadths] high and [possesses an upper surface] of four [handbreadths by four handbreadths] in area, but a lower surface that is not four [handbreadths by four handbreadths]. [This applies even] when its smaller end is more than three [handbreadths] high. [Therefore,] if a person throws an article from the public domain and it lands on [this pillar], he is liable.
A mound whose incline ascends ten handbreadths within a distance of four cubits is considered to be a private domain. If a person throws an article from the public domain and it lands on [the mound], he is liable. ‎[17] When a person throws an article from the public domain and it lands upon a reed - even one that is 100 cubits high - which is implanted in a private domain, he is liable, for a private domain extends until the very heavens.
When a tree's [trunk] is located in a private domain and its branches extend into the public domain, a person who throws [an article from the public domain that] lands in its branches is not liable, because the branches are not [automatically considered as being] in the same domain as the stem. ‎[18] When a person throws an article that lands upon a reed with a basket at its top which is implanted in a public domain, he is not liable, for a public domain extends only ten [handbreadths high].
[The following rules apply when] a person throws an article in the public domain and it comes to rest on a wall - e.g., one threw fats or dough and they became attached to the wall: If they become attached above ten handbreadths [from the ground], it is considered as if he threw the article into the air, for the space more than ten handbreadths above a public domain is a *makom patur*.
If it becomes attached below ten handbreadths, it is as if he threw the article on the ground and he is liable. If he threw the article above ten [handbreadths high] and it came to rest in a hole that is of inconsequential size, he is not liable. ‎[19] If a person throws a reed or a spear from a private domain [to a public domain] and [the spear] becomes implanted in the public domain in an upright position, he is not liable, for a portion [of the article] is in a *makom patur*.
If a person throws a large utensil which is four [handbreadths] by four [handbreadths in area] and ten handbreadths high, he is not liable. The utensil itself constitutes a private domain, and thus the person is considered as one who transfers an article from one private domain to another. ‎[20] When a person uproots a clod of earth from the bottom of a pit that is nine handbreadths deep, and [by doing so] makes it ten handbreadths deep, he is not liable. [This decision is rendered] despite the fact that the removal of the article and the creation of the domain occur simultaneously, because the domain was not originally ten [handbreadths] deep.
A pit whose depth of 10 handbreadths is reduced by the addition of earth
[Conversely,] if a person throws a clod of earth into a pit that is ten handbreadths deep, and [by doing so] causes it to become less than ten handbreadths [deep], he is not liable. [This decision is rendered] because the placement of the article and the nullification of the domain occur simultaneously. ‎[21] A person is not liable if he throws a board that lands on spikes [implanted] in the public domain [even when] by doing so, he creates a private domain. [This applies] although a utensil was on the board. [The rationale for this decision is] that the creation of the domain occurs at the same time that the utensil comes to rest.
A Board Being Placed on Spikes in the Public Domain
‎[22] When a person throws a mat from a public domain into a pit that is ten handbreadths deep and [precisely] eight handbreadths wide, [and the mat falls in an upright position in the exact center of the pit,] dividing the width of the pit in half, he is not liable. [The rationale is] that when the article lands, it nullifies the domain, causing each of the halves to be less than four [handbreadths] by four [handbreadths]. ‎[23] When a person throws an article into a pit in the public domain that is ten handbreadths deep and four [handbreadths by four handbreadths] in area and is filled with water, he is liable although the article lands on the water, for the water does not nullify the domain.
[In contrast,] were [such a pit] to be filled with produce, a person who throws [an article] into it would not be liable, for the produce reduces the size of the pit. ‎[24] [The following rules apply to] an irrigation ditch that contains water that passes through the public domain, and which people [usually] walk through: If it is not ten handbreadths deep, it is considered to be a public domain regardless of whether it is four cubits [or more] wide or less than four handbreadths wide. [It is placed in this category, despite the fact that, in the latter instance,] most people would jump over it, rather than walk through it. [Regardless of its width,] since it is not ten handbreadths deep, it is considered to be [part] of the public domain.
If it is ten handbreadths or more deep, it is considered a *carmelit* like other bodies of water. [The above applies] when the ditch is at least four handbreadths wide, for there is no concept of a *carmelit* that is less than four handbreadths [wide].
Version: Mishneh Torah, trans. by Eliyahu Touger. Jerusalem, Moznaim Pub. c1986-c2007
Source: https://www.nli.org.il/he/books/NNL_ALEPH001020101/NLI
License: CC-BY-NC