Much of today’s daf is taken up with a discussion about the burdens, generally in the form of objects, animals may or may not carry on the Sabbath. Animals, like people, are not supposed to work on Shabbat. So placing certain (but not all) items on animals might constitute a violation. The question is: which items?
One may hang a basket with fodder around the neck of an animal on Shabbat, and by means of kol v’chomer [an a fortiori inference], derive that one may place a saddlecloth on an animal’s back on Shabbat. How is this derived? Just as placing the basket of fodder so that the animal can eat without bending down, which is done for the animal’s pleasure, is permitted; so too placing the saddlecloth, which is done to prevent the animal from suffering from the cold, all the more so should be permitted.
Let’s begin by talking about the kind of argument made here, because it is a common one in the Talmud. The kol v’chomer inference, often translated by the not-entirely helpful Latin phrase a fortiori, means “minor to major.” The idea is that if a rule applies in one situation it might, for a similar reason, apply to another. In this case, if the person is allowed to hang a feedbag around the neck of their animal on Shabbat for the animal’s comfort, then we can logically deduce that they would also be allowed to cover the animal with a saddlecloth to keep it warm — also for comfort. In fact, of the two, the saddlecloth is more necessary for the animal’s comfort. That is, we learn from the minor comfort, the feedbag, that we may also use the more major comfort, the saddlecloth — kol v’chomer.
Of course, with the Talmud, it’s rarely that simple. Later in the Gemara, we learn that although a saddlecloth is allowed in some cases, in others it is prohibited. The Mishnah makes a distinction between saddlecloths that provide comfort, which are permitted, as opposed to saddlecloths that are part of an animal’s workload, which are prohibited.
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Shabbat is meant to be a day of rest, and this rabbinic discussion is truly in that spirit — extending the concern to include not just refraining from work but also incorporating comfort. What could happen to our week if we tried to also see Shabbat as an opportunity not only to rest from our burdens, but to seek comfort as well?
Read all of Shabbat 53 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on April 28, 2020. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
