Shabbos 47
“The value of an object is determined not by its context, but by its intrinsic value.”
The analysis of set-aside prohibitions continues today with discussion of what is allowed through the passing down of commentary from Rabbi Zeira to Rabbi Asi to Rabbi Yoḥanan to Rabbi Ḥanina to Rabbi Romanus. Today’s reading also includes analysis on what is allowed to be taken apart and reassembled on the Shabbat and insulation of pots of food.
We are told to “leave the candle, oil, and wick, since they became a base for a prohibited object.” The prohibited object is the flame, which even Rabbi Shimon agrees should be set-aside on the Shabbat. And since it is prohibited to move the flame, moving anything attached to it, such as the lamp, oil and wick is also prohibited.
Of course, it is not so straight forward to reach a conclusion from Rabbi Shimon’s assessment and extend the logic to other scenarios. Rabbi Yohanan provides examples of prohibited items that are allowed to be carried away on the Sabbath if they are attached to permissible ones. For example, if you want to move a stone on the Sabbath, place it in the hands of your child and carry him to the designated place. But be careful he doesn’t drop the stone on your foot, which could result in a broken toe and the unfortunate act of dropping your child to the ground as you try to seek more stable footing.
And according to Rabba bar bar Ḥana, Rabbi Yoḥanan said that another method for moving a stone on the Sabbath is to place it in a basket of fruit. Fruit is allowed to be carried about and if you are careful not to damage its skin, provides good cover for the transport of a stone.
Rabbi Hana was brought to his feet and left “astonished for a while” when he was asked about moving a coal pan that is filled with ashes. Rabbi Asi stepped into the silence and offered his opinion: moving the coal pan is permissible if it has bits of frankincense within it, because it is not enough quantity of incense to be significant. Evidentially, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi (or most likely his wife) may not be sweeping on a regular basis, because there are bits of ashes mixed with frankincense in his home; we are told that because they are just bits of dust and ashes they are not of much value and can be moved.
Small bits, however, are not always permissible to be carried away and value is created from their context. A poor person who wears small clothes will treasure the remains of a handful of frankincense and may bring the ashes home and attempt to wring some small scent from them. A rich person, who for some reason wears much larger (not more extravagant or better quality, but larger) clothes, will see little intrinsic value in a handful of ashes. We are told accordingly, “the significant of an object is determined by its context and its owner.”
The recent readings of what is permissible under set-aside rules, can be compared with the act of setting aside almost anything foreign that I bring into my apartment that does not require refrigeration. I am setting aside on my balcony items that are boxed or bagged in cardboard or plastic so that any trace of lingering virus can fall away. According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine which was quoted by a recent New York Times article, the virus can live for up to three days on hard metal surfaces (mailbox! subway pole! doorknob! elevator button! supermarket cart!) and up to 24 hours on cardboard. I have ben setting aside Amazon box deliveries on my balcony for 24 hours so that any trace of the virus can dissipate before I bring them inside. Can this be considered the Covid-19 version of a set-aside rule
I take morning walks through the Chelsea neighborhood in New York City. It is eerily quiet at a time when the city is usually bustling with rush hour traffic. Stores and restaurants are shuttered. It feels like I am living in some sort of dystopian universe where most of the people have disappeared and there are just a few of us left foraging for food and some sort of meaningful existence. It is as though the city has been set aside.
Here is a link to the New York Times article that answers the question if the virus can live on your clothes, shoes, hair, or cardboard: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/well/live/coronavirus-contagion-spead-clothes-shoes-hair-newspaper-packages-mail-infectious.html