The entire melacha – ëì äîìàëä ëåìä åáùéòåøä, cont.

In the previous shiur we learned that the Torah prohibits us to perform an entire melacha, not part of a melacha and Chazal, in many cases, prohibited performing part of a melacha.

Is there a difference between part of a melacha and part of an amount?

We differentiate between çöé îìàëä and çöé ùéòåø. Doing part of a melacha such as lifting an item in a reshus harabim and walking 4 amos and not setting it down is part of a melacha, because the melacha is comprised of the above and setting it down (or standing still). Such an action is ossur mid’rabanan.

On the other hand, the Rambam writes [1] that one who bakes or cooks food the size of a âøåâøú is chayav, which means one has violated an issur d’oraisso. Cooking or baking less than that is also an issur d’oraisso albeit one is exempt from biblical punishment.

Why this distinction?

A çöé îìàëä (part of a melacha) is not the melacha the Torah refers to whereas performing a melacha with less of the required amount -çöé ùéòåø is the melacha the Torah refers to. [2]

What is the halacha if two people perform a melacha together?

It depends on whether they could have performed it individually or whether it requires a joint effort, as follows:-

v     One person is capable of turning on a light switch and two people turn it on at the same time, i.e. both press the switch. Both are pottur (exempt) from biblical punishment, even when done intentionally. [3]

v     A heavy package is transported from a reshus hayachid to a reshus harabim and neither could have done it individually, both are chayav. [4]

v     A heavy beam is transported through a reshus harabim [5] by Reuven and Shimon. Reuven could have carried it himself but Shimon could not have. Reuven is chayav and Shimon is pottur, because it is as if Reuven carried it himself and Shimon merely gave support – îñééò, which is negligible. [6]

What is the reasoning behind these distinctions?

The possuk in Vayikra (4:27) says áòùåúä (when he does it…) and the gemora Shabbos 92b learns that one person must perform an entire melacha not part of it and when two people perform the melacha, neither is performing the melacha in its entirety.

When two people cannot perform the melacha individually and only a joint effort can accomplish it, both are chayav. The gemora explains that the possuk only excludes the case when either person or both people could have accomplished it individually and not when both people could not have accomplished it.

Is it ossur mid’rabanan for two people to do a melacha together that they can both do individually?

It is a machlokes haposkim. The common p’shat is that it is only ossur mid’rabanan, as the possuk teaches us áòùåúä, do it individually otherwise it is not ossur. [7] However, many poskim [8] learn that it is ossur mid’oraisso and the possuk merely exempts the perpetrators from bringing a korban.

The Tosefos Shabbos [9] writes [10] that when one can do a melacha with one hand, such as writing or drawing and one writes with both hands, it is included in this exemption of áòùåúä.

Of what importance is the above when it is always ossur, either mid’oraisso or mid’rabanan?

There are several reasons why it is important to know the above.

Firstly, it is part of Torah, whether there is a nafka mina or not.

Secondly, it is important to know whether one is liable to bring a korban as a result of one’s action, in the time of the Beis Hamikdash. [11]

Thirdly, and the most critical nowadays, is when dealing with pikuach nefesh, one must know that there are ways to circumvent a direct d’oraisso by doing a shinui.

For example, a doctor who must operate an apparatus that requires turning on a light. If it can be done by one person and two people turn it on they are minimizing the issur and must do so when speed is not a factor.

An ambulance was parked outside my building one Friday night and being involved with the Hachovesh (hatzolo) service in the neighborhood, I went to see the proceedings. The “chovshim” needed to operate certain machinery and since time was on their side, one called the other over and both men pressed the button together.

It was indeed a kiddush Hashem to see how even during an emergency they were adhering to the halacha and knew how to apply it.

(When speed matters, they would not hesitate at all to operate it individually, as the halacha requires).