Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] The next four mishnayas discuss the molocha of Kaysev, of writing, or as the malacha is defined in Parak zayin haqesev shite isiais, one who writes two letters. And the reason why the malacha is defined by writing two letters is because in the Mishkan, on each of the beams which made up the wall of the Mishkan, they would write one letter in order to know where the beams were placed, so that when they dismantled the Mishkan and then rebuilt it elsewhere, they would be able to rebuild the beams in exactly the same loc locations as they had been built the first time. So really there was one letter on each beam, and this was only useful with another beam to know that this beam goes next to the next beam along. So there would be one letter and then the second letter. Those two together make up a significant writing, at least in the Mishkan. And therefore on Shabbos, one is only obligated and liable for writing if he writes at least two letters. Another reason why it has to be two letters is just because that's considered a significant writing, whereas if there's only one letter, it is not considered a significant act of writing, says the Mishnah case of S.H. teresio, is when he writes two letters, whether he does so with his right hand or with his left hand. And the Gemara explains, we're discussing specifically an ambidextrous person.
[00:01:16] That means somebody who can write easily with both his right hand and his left hand, but for a regular person who is, let's say, right handed, if he were to write with his left hand, he wouldn't be obligated, since this is not considered to be a regular way of writing, continues the mission of whether it is two of the same letters, or whether it's two different letters, or whether it's two different kinds of ink. Nevertheless, if you write two letters, they still combine to make you Chayev.
[00:01:47] In whatever language you write it, it's still considered significant.
[00:01:50] In all these cases, Chayev, you would be said abyosi, and your biosi is going to be more strict than Tatanakama.
[00:02:00] The only said one is Chayev for writing two letters because of the mark which is made by them, because that's what they would write on the boards of the Mishkan to know which board was its pair, meaning to know which board goes next to which board. And Rabiesi is saying is that the writing in the Mishkan and the purpose that it served was nothing to do with the letters itself and what word it's spelt. Rather, it was just a way to mark it so that you would know where to place it the next time you build the Mishkan. And therefore, according to Baysi, even if somebody makes two random marks, which don't really mean anything to many people, it's not a letter or a number or a symbol which is generally used.
[00:02:45] Nevertheless, you would still be Chaev, because the Malachi is not specific to writing letters specifically. It's any mark which you find useful where you want the mark. So even if you do two random marks which are not actually letters, you will still be Chayev. Now we have a third opinion. Omar Rabbi Rebbe Rebbe Said Rebbe refers to Rebbehudah Hanasi.
[00:03:06] We find a smaller, shorter name which is part of a larger, longer name. For example, continues Rebbe Shaym Mishimon Shmuel. The name Shaym is the beginning two letters of Shimen and Shmuel. The first two letters are shin and mem, and that itself spells a word, a name.
[00:03:24] Noach is the first two letters of a different name is the beginning of Doniyel God, Migadil God are the first two letters of Gadiel. And so if somebody intends to, let's say, write the word Shimon, and he doesn't realize it's forbidden, or he doesn't realize it's Shabbos, and he writes down a shin and then a mem, and then he remembers Oyvei et Shabbos and he stops. So although his intention from the beginning was only to write the name Shimon, at the end of the day he has written two letters, and these two letters do spell something significant.
[00:03:54] And he always needed to write these two letters in order to get to Shimon. So he did want these two letters. It's all very nice. He intended that it would be a longer name. But he wrote two letters which he wanted, and those two letters spell a name. And therefore in such a case he would be Chayev. Mishna Dalad ha Kesavishteir is one who writes two letters in the same one period of being in a state of by mistake of not realizing it's Shabas or not realizing that this is forbidden, meaning if he didn't remember at all during the time that he was writing those two letters that what he is doing is forbidden, then of course that's a regular case. We'll see a slightly different case towards the end of the per. But for now continues the mission of Kosav. Bidioi if somebody writes the two letters with regular black ink, these are all different types of dye. And the point is they are permanent, they don't fade away easily.
[00:04:51] Anything which makes a permanent mark. If you use that to write the two letters, that is considered a real writing, such that you would be Chayev for doing so. Furthermore, Shnekos is a voice. Even if you write the two letters on two different walls which meet at a corner, so the letters are next to each other, just not on the same wall.
[00:05:11] Or if it's on two pages, two boards of a sort of book. Meaning if you open a book and you have two different pages next to each other, and you write one letter on one page and the other letter next to it on the other page, so they are close by such that they are read together as sort of one letter, as one word, then Chayev he is. Because in all of these situations he has written two letters next to each other, which is considered a significant act of writing. For which one is Chayev on Shabbos? Next case.
[00:05:43] One who writes two letters on his skin, even though it is bound to fade later on. The actual writing material was permanent. And it's just there's another factor, another cause which causes it to fade away. But right now it is considered very permanent and you're using the regular ink. Okay, next case. I'm a sorry, Talboy. One who scratches letters onto his skin such that his blood forms the letters, says he is liable to a carbon chatters. Of course, if he did this, not knowing he was doing an avera, however, exempts him because it's not the regular way of writing. Mishnahe. We're now going to see a few cases where one would be exempt. Kosabemashkin. If somebody wrote with liquids, for example, he took some berries and he scraped those on a piece of paper, let's say. So if he writes two letters with that with the jusk which comes out of fruit.
[00:06:40] If he writes two letters in the dust of the road, lets say there's lots of dust somewhere. So he writes some letters in that dust with his finger.
[00:06:49] Or if he does the same with the dust of scribes, this refers to the dust which would gather in the place where they kept their ink. It could get very dusty there. So if he wrote with his finger two letters, or if he writes two letters in any case where it will not last. Potter he is exempt because something is only considered to have been written if it is there permanently. Alright, next few cases, if somebody writes in an Unusual way, just like every other malacha, he will be exempt. For example, if he wrote it with the back of his hand, baragla with his foot, berfpiva with his mouth, uvamarpkoy with the inside of his elbow, all those are unusual ways to write, and therefore he will be exempt. Kossav isaacha som al khsav if he wrote one letter next to a letter which was already written before Shabbos. So on the one hand he is causing that there now be two letters written next to each other.
[00:07:41] On the other hand, all he did was write one letter. So since he did not really do the full moloch on Shabbos, he will be exempt. Kosav al gabay ksav if he wrote over a letter which was already written, let's say he wanted it to be more clear, nevertheless he's not really writing it, and therefore he'll be exempt in that case as well.
[00:08:00] If he intended to write the letter, and he wrote it in the script which the Torah is written in, and in the Torah ches is really made up of two Zions which are connected at the top between them. But if he didn't connect them, then it emerges that the chosav shnee zainin he actually ended up writing two letters of a Zion. But since he didn't intend to do so, he is exempt because he only intended to write one letter. Ekhan boeretzvach al bakira if he writes one letter on the ground and one letter on a beam on the ceiling. Or Kosval shneikos the abayas if he wrote on two different walls of a house, but two opposite walls, so the two letters are not read together. I'll shade up a pin case for einze. Or if he wrote two letters on two pages which are next to each other in a book, but they aren't read together. For example, if one is towards the top of the page and one is towards the bottom of the next page, so they're not read together, and therefore he will be exempt in all of these cases, Potter he will be exempt. Now the Mishnah ends off with a machlikes about Kosov eis akhas ne trikoin if somebody writes one letter as an abbreviation, so he wrote a letter and then a sort of apostrophe. So of course the intention behind writing this one letter is that it refers to a longer word, and because of that, because it's as if he wrote the entire word, since that is what he is referring to and his Intention is fulfilled. However, Vahom patron bechachom say he is exempt because at the end of the day he only wrote one letter. And it's all very nice that you can infer from that what he means. But he didn't write two letters, and therefore he cannot be according to the Chachamim. Now, we learned in the seventh par that if somebody does one malacha many different times, but he always thinks that it's actually permitted. And then let's say after doing it 10 times, he realizes os in such a scenario he'll only be one corbin chatos, since it was all done in one period of being, by mistake of not realizing there's only one shgoga and one aveira. And to explain it a bit further, one becomes obligated to bring the carbon chatos, not when he does the avera, not when he, let's say, writes the letters, because he doesn't yet know that he didn't have era. Rather, when he realizes when he remembers its Shabbos, or when he learns that it was forbidden what he did, then the obligation to bring a korban begins. Now what happens, says the Mishnah, Hakayshte, oisios bishteh leymus. One who writes two letters in two different periods of helm, of not realizing that what he is doing is forbidden. So let's say he didn't realize it was Shabbos and wrote one letter, then he remembered it's Shabbos, and then an hour later he forgot again, and he wrote the second letter once in the morning, then he remembered, and then he forgot again. Va has been harbayim, and he wrote the second letter in the afternoon, says the Mishnah.
[00:10:52] Rabban Gamliel holds that he is since he wrote two letters, both letters were written when it was by mistake. And even though he remembered in the middle, that doesn't divide the two letters into two different malachas, each one of which is not sufficient to make him Chayev. Rather, it's all considered like one period of ham. It's as if he didn't remember at all. And the reason for this is because the whole significance of realizing that it's Shabbos is when you realize that what you did before made you Chayev. But over here, what he did before he remembered doesn't make him Chayev, because he only wrote one letter, so it's not considered to be a real remembrance. However, the chachom say that he is potter, because since he remembered in the middle, that breaks up the two letters, it's considered like two separate periods of helm, and as such, they cannot combine. So it's like he wrote one letter and just did that twice, and therefore he is exempt according to the chachomem.
