(יב) שָׁמ֣֛וֹר אֶת־י֥וֹם֩ הַשַׁבָּ֖֨ת לְקַדְּשׁ֑֜וֹ כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוְּךָ֖֣ ׀ יְהוָ֥֣ה אֱלֹהֶֽ֗יךָ (יג) שֵׁ֤֣שֶׁת יָמִ֣ים֙ תַּֽעֲבֹ֔ד֮ וְעָשִׂ֖֣יתָ כָּֿל־מְלַאכְתֶּֽךָ֒׃ (יד) וְי֙וֹם֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֜֔י שַׁבָּ֖֣ת ׀ לַיהוָ֖֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑֗יךָ לֹ֣א תַעֲשֶׂ֣ה כָל־מְלָאכָ֡ה אַתָּ֣ה וּבִנְךָֽ־וּבִתֶּ֣ךָ וְעַבְדְּךָֽ־וַ֠אֲמָתֶךָ וְשׁוֹרְךָ֨ וַחֲמֹֽרְךָ֜ וְכָל־בְּהֶמְתֶּ֗ךָ וְגֵֽרְךָ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בִּשְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ לְמַ֗עַן יָנ֛וּחַ עַבְדְּךָ֥ וַאֲמָתְךָ֖ כָּמֽ֑וֹךָ׃
(12) Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as Adonai your God has commanded you. (13) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (14) but the seventh day is a sabbath of Adonai your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or your ass, or any of your cattle, or the stranger in your settlements, so that your male and female slave may rest as you do.
(ב) אֲבוֹת מְלָאכוֹת אַרְבָּעִים חָסֵר אֶחָת. הַזּוֹרֵעַ. וְהַחוֹרֵשׁ. וְהַקּוֹצֵר. וְהַמְעַמֵּר. הַדָּשׁ. וְהַזּוֹרֶה. הַבּוֹרֵר. הַטּוֹחֵן. וְהַמְרַקֵּד. וְהַלָּשׁ. וְהָאוֹפֶה. הַגּוֹזֵז אֶת הַצֶּמֶר. הַמְלַבְּנוֹ. וְהַמְנַפְּצוֹ. וְהַצּוֹבְעוֹ. וְהַטּוֹוֶה. וְהַמֵּסֵךְ. וְהָעוֹשֶׂה שְׁנֵי בָתֵּי נִירִין. וְהָאוֹרֵג שְׁנֵי חוּטִין. וְהַפּוֹצֵעַ שְׁנֵי חוּטִין. הַקּוֹשֵׁר. וְהַמַּתִּיר. וְהַתּוֹפֵר שְׁתֵּי תְפִירוֹת. הַקּוֹרֵעַ עַל מְנָת לִתְפֹּר שְׁתֵּי תְפִירוֹת. הַצָּד צְבִי. הַשּׁוֹחֲטוֹ. וְהַמַּפְשִׁיטוֹ. הַמּוֹלְחוֹ, וְהַמְעַבֵּד אֶת עוֹרוֹ. וְהַמּוֹחֲקוֹ. וְהַמְחַתְּכוֹ. הַכּוֹתֵב שְׁתֵּי אוֹתִיּוֹת. וְהַמּוֹחֵק עַל מְנָת לִכְתֹּב שְׁתֵּי אוֹתִיּוֹת. הַבּוֹנֶה. וְהַסּוֹתֵר. הַמְכַבֶּה. וְהַמַּבְעִיר. הַמַּכֶּה בַפַּטִּישׁ. הַמּוֹצִיא מֵרְשׁוּת לִרְשׁוּת. הֲרֵי אֵלּוּ אֲבוֹת מְלָאכוֹת אַרְבָּעִים חָסֵר אֶחָת:
(2) The primary labors are forty less one: sowing, plowing, reaping, binding sheaves, threshing, winnowing, selecting, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking, shearing wool, bleaching, hackling, dyeing, spinning, weaving, the making of two loops, weaving two threads, dividing two threads, tying and untying, sewing two stitches, tearing in order to sew two stitches, capturing a deer, slaughtering, or flaying, or salting it, curing its hide, scraping it [of its hair], cutting it up, writing two letters, erasing in order to write two letters [over the erasure], building, tearing down, extinguishing, kindling, striking with a hammer, [and] carrying out from one domain to another, These are the forty primary labors less one.
הָא נָמֵי פְּשִׁיטָא! הָא קָא מַשְׁמַע לַן כִּדְרַב, דְּאָמַר רַב: מָצָאתִי מְגִלַּת סְתָרִים בֵּי רַבִּי חִיָּיא וְכָתוּב בָּהּ: אִיסִי בֶּן יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: אֲבוֹת מְלָאכוֹת אַרְבָּעִים חָסֵר אַחַת, וְאֵינוֹ חַיָּיב אֶלָּא אַחַת. אִינִי?! וְהָתְנַן: אֲבוֹת מְלָאכוֹת אַרְבָּעִים חָסֵר אַחַת. וְהָוֵינַן בַּהּ: מִנְיָנָא לְמָה לִי? וְאָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: שֶׁאִם עֲשָׂאָן כּוּלָּן בְּהֶעְלֵם אַחַת — חַיָּיב עַל כׇּל אַחַת וְאַחַת.
The Gemara asks: That is also obvious, as the Torah states explicitly that one who desecrates Shabbat intentionally without witnesses and forewarning is punishable by karet, and that when there are witnesses and forewarning he is executed by stoning. The Gemara answers: This came to teach us in accordance with the statement of Rav, as Rav said: I found a hidden scroll in the house of Rabbi Ḥiyya in which matters of Oral Torah were briefly summarized, and in it was written: Isi ben Yehuda says: The primary categories of prohibited labor on Shabbat are forty-less-one, and he is liable only for one. This expression is unclear, and it would seem that it means that one who performs all of the prohibited labors is only liable to bring one sin-offering. The Gemara asks: Is that so? Didn’t we learn in the mishna: The primary categories of prohibited labor are forty-less-one? The mishna proceeded to enumerate those labors. And we discussed it: Why do I need this tally of forty-less-one? It would have been sufficient for the mishna to merely list the prohibited labors. And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The number is also significant, in order to teach us that if he performed all of the prohibited labors within one lapse of awareness, during which he remained unaware of the prohibition involved, he is liable to bring a sin-offering for each and every one of the prohibited labors separately. Consequently, the statement of Isi ben Yehuda cannot be understood as suggested above.
גְּמָ׳ מִנְיָנָא לְמָה לִי? אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: שֶׁאִם עֲשָׂאָן כּוּלָּם בְּהֶעְלֵם אֶחָד — חַיָּיב עַל כׇּל אַחַת וְאַחַת. הַזּוֹרֵעַ וְהַחוֹרֵשׁ. מִכְּדֵי מִכְרָב כָּרְבִי בְּרֵישָׁא, לִיתְנֵי חוֹרֵשׁ וַהֲדַר לִיתְנֵי זוֹרֵעַ! תַּנָּא בְּאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל קָאֵי דְּזָרְעִי בְּרֵישָׁא וַהֲדַר כָּרְבִי. תָּנָא: הַזּוֹרֵעַ, וְהַזּוֹמֵר, וְהַנּוֹטֵעַ, וְהַמַּבְרִיךְ, וְהַמַּרְכִּיב — כּוּלָּן מְלָאכָה אַחַת הֵן. מַאי קָא מַשְׁמַע לַן? [הָא קָא מַשְׁמַע לַן] הָעוֹשֶׂה מְלָאכוֹת הַרְבֵּה מֵעֵין מְלָאכָה אַחַת אֵינוֹ חַיָּיב אֶלָּא אַחַת. אָמַר רַבִּי אַחָא, אָמַר רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אָשֵׁי, אָמַר רַבִּי אַמֵּי: זוֹמֵר חַיָּיב מִשּׁוּם נוֹטֵעַ, וְהַנּוֹטֵעַ וְהַמַּבְרִיךְ וְהַמַּרְכִּיב חַיָּיב מִשּׁוּם זוֹרֵעַ. מִשּׁוּם זוֹרֵעַ אִין, מִשּׁוּם נוֹטֵעַ לָא? אֵימָא: אַף מִשּׁוּם זוֹרֵעַ. אָמַר רַב כָּהֲנָא: זוֹמֵר וְצָרִיךְ לָעֵצִים — חַיָּיב שְׁתַּיִם: אַחַת מִשּׁוּם קוֹצֵר, וְאַחַת מִשּׁוּם נוֹטֵעַ. אָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף: הַאי מַאן דְּקָטֵל אַסְפַּסְתָּא חַיָּיב שְׁתַּיִם: אַחַת מִשּׁוּם קוֹצֵר, וְאַחַת מִשּׁוּם נוֹטֵעַ. אָמַר אַבָּיֵי: הַאי מַאן דְּקָנֵיב סִילְקָא חַיָּיב שְׁתַּיִם: אַחַת מִשּׁוּם קוֹצֵר, וְאַחַת מִשּׁוּם זוֹרֵעַ. וְהַחוֹרֵשׁ. תָּנָא: הַחוֹרֵשׁ וְהַחוֹפֵר וְהַחוֹרֵץ כּוּלָּן מְלָאכָה אַחַת הֵן. אָמַר רַב שֵׁשֶׁת: הָיְתָה לוֹ גַּבְשׁוּשִׁית וּנְטָלָהּ, בַּבַּיִת — חַיָּיב מִשּׁוּם בּוֹנֶה, בַּשָּׂדֶה — חַיָּיב מִשּׁוּם חוֹרֵשׁ. אָמַר רָבָא: הָיְתָה לוֹ גּוּמָּא וּטְמָמָהּ, בַּבַּיִת — חַיָּיב מִשּׁוּם בּוֹנֶה, בַּשָּׂדֶה — מִשּׁוּם חוֹרֵשׁ. אָמַר רַבִּי אַבָּא: הַחוֹפֵר גּוּמָּא בְּשַׁבָּת וְאֵינוֹ צָרִיךְ אֶלָּא לַעֲפָרָהּ — פָּטוּר עָלֶיהָ. וַאֲפִילּוּ לְרַבִּי יְהוּדָה, דְּאָמַר מְלָאכָה שֶׁאֵינָהּ צְרִיכָה לְגוּפָהּ חַיָּיב עָלֶיהָ — הָנֵי מִילֵּי מְתַקֵּן, הַאי — מְקַלְקֵל הוּא. וְהַקּוֹצֵר. תָּנָא: הַקּוֹצֵר, הַבּוֹצֵר, וְהַגּוֹדֵר וְהַמַּסִּיק, וְהָאוֹרֶה — כּוּלָּן מְלָאכָה אַחַת. אָמַר רַב פָּפָּא: הַאי מַאן דִּשְׁדָא פִּיסָּא לְדִיקְלָא וְאַתַּר תַּמְרֵי חַיָּיב שְׁתַּיִם: אַחַת מִשּׁוּם תּוֹלֵשׁ, וְאַחַת מִשּׁוּם מְפָרֵק. רַב אָשֵׁי אָמַר: אֵין דֶּרֶךְ תְּלִישָׁה בְּכָךְ, וְאֵין דֶּרֶךְ פְּרִיקָה בְּכָךְ. וְהַמְעַמֵּר. אָמַר רָבָא: הַאי מַאן דְּכָנֵיף מִילְחָא מִמִּלְחֲתָא חַיָּיב מִשּׁוּם מְעַמֵּר. אַבָּיֵי אָמַר: אֵין עִימּוּר אֶלָּא בְּגִידּוּלֵי קַרְקַע. וְהַדָּשׁ. תָּנָא: הַדָּשׁ, וְהַמְנַפֵּץ, וְהַמְנַפֵּט — כּוּלָּן מְלָאכָה אַחַת הֵן. הַזּוֹרֶה, הַבּוֹרֵר, וְהַטּוֹחֵן, וְהַמְרַקֵּד. הַיְינוּ זוֹרֶה, הַיְינוּ בּוֹרֵר, הַיְינוּ מְרַקֵּד. אַבָּיֵי וְרָבָא דְּאָמְרִי תַּרְוַיְיהוּ: כׇּל מִילְּתָא דַּהֲוַאי בְּמִשְׁכָּן,
GEMARA: We learned in the mishna that the primary categories of labor number forty-less-one. The Gemara asks: Why do I need this tally? Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The tally was included to teach that if he performed all of the prohibited labors in the course of one lapse of awareness, during which he was unaware of the prohibition involved, he is liable for each and every one. We learned in the mishna, among those liable for performing primary categories of labor: One who sows, and one who plows. The Gemara asks: Since, after all, in terms of plowing, one plows first and only then sows, let the tanna teach first one who plows, and afterward let him teach one who sows. The Gemara answers: The tanna ordered the mishna based on the practice in Eretz Yisrael, where they sow first and then plow. In Eretz Yisrael, the practice was to plow a second time after sowing to cover the seeds. A baraita is taught with regard to the prohibited labor of sowing: One who sows, and one who prunes the branches of vines to accelerate their growth, and one who plants, and one who bends the branch of a vine or a tree into the ground so that it takes root while still attached to the trunk, and one who grafts the branch of one tree onto another have all performed one type of labor, as they all stimulate plant growth. The Gemara asks: What is the baraita teaching us? The Gemara explains: This teaches us that one who unwittingly performs numerous prohibited labors subsumed under a single primary category of labor, like those listed in the baraita, is liable to bring only one sin-offering, since they are considered aspects of the same labor. Rabbi Aḥa said that Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Ashi said that Rabbi Ami said: One who prunes is liable for the labor of planting. And one who plants, and one who bends, and one who grafts is liable for the labor of sowing. The Gemara is surprised at this: Is that to say that one who bends and one who grafts a branch, for sowing, yes, he is liable; for planting, no, he is not liable? These labors, performed on trees, are more similar to planting. Rather, say as follows: One is liable even for sowing, as with regard to the halakhot of Shabbat there is no difference between sowing and planting. Rav Kahana said: One who prunes a tree and needs the wood that he hewed from the tree for fuel or some other purpose is liable to bring two sin-offerings: One sin-offering due to the labor of reaping, like anyone who severs an item from the ground for the purpose of harvesting the detached object, and one sin-offering due to the labor of planting, since he thereby stimulates growth of the plant. Similarly, Rav Yosef said: One who reaps alfalfa is liable to bring two sin-offerings: One due to reaping, since he is cutting the plant for animal feed, and one due to planting, since cutting stimulates the growth of the alfalfa. Similarly, Abaye said: One who cuts beet leaves is liable to bring two sin-offerings: One due to reaping and one due to sowing. We learned in the mishna among those liable for performing primary categories of labor: One who plows. A tanna taught in a baraita with regard to the labor of plowing: One who plows, and one who digs, and one who makes a furrow in the ground have all performed one type of labor. Rav Sheshet said: One who had a mound of earth and removed it in the house, thereby evening the surface, is liable due to the labor of building, as he thereby engages in construction of the house. In the field, he is liable due to the labor of plowing. Similarly, Rava said: One who had a hole and filled it, in the house he is liable due to the labor of building. In the field, he is liable due to the labor of plowing. Rabbi Abba said: One who digs a hole on Shabbat and digs the hole only because he needs its dirt is exempt for that act, which is not the labor of digging prohibited on Shabbat by Torah law. And even according to Rabbi Yehuda, who said that in general one who performs labor that is not necessary for its own sake, i.e., he performs the labor for a purpose other than the direct result of that action, is liable for it; that ruling applies only to a purpose that is constructive. However, this purpose is destructive, as one performs an act that unnecessarily mars the surface of the ground. Therefore, Rabbi Yehuda would agree that in this case he is exempt. And we learned in the mishna, among those liable for performing primary categories of labor: One who reaps. It was taught in a Tosefta with regard to the labor of reaping: One who reaps, and one who picks grapes, and one who harvests dates, and one who collects olives, and one who gathers figs have all performed one type of labor, as they all involve picking fruit. Rav Pappa said: One who threw a clod of earth at a palm tree and severed dates is liable to bring two sin-offerings: One due to severing, which is a subcategory of the primary category of reaping; and one for extracting, which is a subcategory of the primary category of threshing, as he removes something edible, the date, from its cover, its cluster. Rav Ashi said: In that case, one is exempt, since that is not the typical manner of severing, and that is not the typical manner of extracting, and one who performs a labor in an atypical manner is exempt. And we learned in the mishna, among those liable for performing primary categories of labor: One who gathers. Rava said: One who gathers salt from salt pools is liable due to the labor of gathering, as he gathers a substance from the field into a pile. Abaye said: That is not so, as the prohibition of gathering by Torah law applies only to produce that grows from the ground. And we learned in the mishna, among those liable for performing primary categories of labor: One who threshes. A tanna taught in a Tosefta: One who threshes, and one who beats flax to remove it from the hard cover of its stalk, and one who strikes a cotton plant to remove the cotton seeds have all performed one type of labor. And we learned in the mishna, among those liable for performing primary categories of labor: One who winnows, and one who selects, and one who grinds, and one who sifts. The Gemara asks: The prohibited labor of winnowing is the same as the prohibited labor of selecting, which is the same as the prohibited labor of sifting. They are all identical in the manner in which they are performed and have the same objective: Separating food from the accompanying waste. Why was it necessary to list them all? An answer was provided by Abaye and Rava, who both said and established a principle: Any manner of labor that was performed in the Tabernacle, for the purposes of the Tabernacle,
אַף עַל גַּב דְּאִיכָּא דְּדָמְיָא לַהּ — חָשֵׁיב לַהּ. וְלִיחְשֹׁב נָמֵי כּוֹתֵשׁ! אָמַר אַבָּיֵי: שֶׁכֵּן עָנִי אוֹכֵל פִּתּוֹ בְּלֹא כְּתִישָׁה. רָבָא אָמַר: הָא מַנִּי — רַבִּי הִיא, דְּאָמַר אֲבוֹת מְלָאכוֹת אַרְבָּעִים חָסֵר אַחַת, וְאִי חָשֵׁיב כּוֹתֵשׁ הָוְיָא לֵיהּ אַרְבָּעִים. וְלַיפֵּיק חֲדָא מֵהָנָךְ וּלְעַיֵּיל כּוֹתֵשׁ! אֶלָּא מְחַוַּורְתָּא כִּדְאַבָּיֵי.
even though there is a different labor that is similar to it, the mishna enumerated it. Every labor that was performed in the Tabernacle is significant. The Gemara asks: And let him enumerate the labor of pounding as well, as wheat was pounded to remove its outer kernel in the Tabernacle. Abaye said: The labor of pounding is not one of the essential stages in the baking of bread, as paupers eat their bread without pounding the wheat to remove the bran. Therefore, since the tanna enumerated threshing, there was no need to include pounding among the labors enumerated in the breadmaking process. Rava said a different explanation: Who is the tanna of this mishna? It is Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, who said: The primary categories of labor are forty-less-one, a number derived from a textual allusion. Therefore, the list cannot be expanded. And had the tanna enumerated pounding, there would be forty labors rather than thirty-nine. The Gemara asks: And let him take out one of these, selecting or winnowing, and insert pounding, thereby leaving the number intact. Rather, the reason that the tanna did not include pounding is clear, according to the explanation of Abaye.
הֲדוּר יָתְבִי וְקָמִיבַּעְיָא לְהוּ: הָא דִּתְנַן אֲבוֹת מְלָאכוֹת אַרְבָּעִים חָסֵר אַחַת, כְּנֶגֶד מִי? אָמַר לְהוּ רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בַּר חָמָא: כְּנֶגֶד עֲבוֹדוֹת הַמִּשְׁכָּן. אֲמַר לְהוּ רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן בְּרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר, כָּךְ אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי בֶּן לָקוֹנְיָא: כְּנֶגֶד ״מְלָאכָה״ ״מְלַאכְתּוֹ״ וּ״מְלֶאכֶת״ שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה אַרְבָּעִים חָסֵר אַחַת. בָּעֵי רַב יוֹסֵף: ״וַיָּבֹא הַבַּיְתָה לַעֲשׂוֹת מְלַאכְתּוֹ״, מִמִּנְיָנָא הוּא, אוֹ לָא? אֲמַר לֵיהּ אַבָּיֵי: וְלַיְתֵי סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה וְלִימְנֵי. מִי לָא אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר בַּר חָנָה אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן לֹא זָזוּ מִשָּׁם עַד שֶׁהֵבִיאוּ סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה וּמְנָאוּם! אֲמַר לֵיהּ: כִּי קָא מְסַפְּקָא לִי מִשּׁוּם דִּכְתִיב: ״וְהַמְּלָאכָה הָיְתָה דַיָּם״ מִמִּנְיָנָא הוּא — וְהָא כְּמַאן דְּאָמַר לַעֲשׂוֹת צְרָכָיו נִכְנַס. אוֹ דִילְמָא ״וַיָּבֹא הַבַּיְתָה לַעֲשׂוֹת מְלַאכְתּוֹ״ מִמִּנְיָנָא הוּא, וְהַאי ״וְהַמְּלָאכָה הָיְתָה דַיָּם״ — הָכִי קָאָמַר: דִּשְׁלִימָא לֵיהּ עֲבִידְתָּא. תֵּיקוּ.
The Gemara relates that those same Sages who sat and discussed the issue of hides, sat again and they raised a dilemma: That which we learned in the mishna: The primary categories of labor, which are prohibited by Torah law on Shabbat, are forty-less-one; to what does this number correspond? That is to say, what is the source of this number? Rabbi Ḥanina bar Ḥama said to them: They correspond to the labors in the Tabernacle. All types of labor that were performed in the Tabernacle are enumerated as primary categories of labor with respect to Shabbat. However, other labors, even if they are significant, are not enumerated among the primary categories of labor since they were not performed in the Tabernacle. Rabbi Yonatan, son of Rabbi Elazar, said to them that so said Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi Yosei ben Lakonya: They correspond to the instances of the words labor, his labor, and the labor of, that appear in the Torah a total of forty-less-one times. Rav Yosef raised a dilemma: The term his labor is written with regard to Joseph: “And it came to pass about this time, that he came into the house to do his labor; and there was none of the men of the house there within” (Genesis 39:11). Is it included in the count of the thirty-nine instances or not? Abaye said to him: And let us bring a Torah scroll and count the instances of the word labor and thereby determine whether or not there are thirty-nine instances without that one. Didn’t Rabba bar bar Ḥana say that Rabbi Yoḥanan said in a case of similar uncertainty: They did not move from there until they brought a Torah scroll and counted them? Rav Yosef said to Abaye: I cannot reach a conclusion relying solely on a count because there is another instance of the term labor, whose meaning is not clear to me. The reason I am uncertain is because it is written with regard to the Tabernacle: “For the labor they had was sufficient for all the work to do it, and too much” (Exodus 36:7). The question arises whether or not this mention of labor is included in the count of thirty-nine instances, i.e., whether or not it refers to actual labor. And if it does, that verse with regard to Joseph should be understood in accordance with the opinion of the one who said that the expression, to do his labor, is a euphemism. It means that it was to attend to his needs and engage in relations with Potiphar’s wife that he entered. Or, perhaps, the verse relating to Joseph: “He came into the house to do his labor,” is included in the count, and it refers to actual labor. And this verse: “The labor they had was sufficient,” is saying the following: That they completed the preparatory labor, i.e., they brought all the materials, not that they engaged in the actual labor. Let the uncertainty stand unresolved.