Last week we continued explaining the enigmatic statement of the Gemara (Shabbos 74a) that says, “If you have in front of you types of food: separate and eat, separate and put down. And don’t separate. And if you separate, you are chayav chatas”.
The third explanation of this statement is given by Rav Yosef. He explains, “Separate by hand and eat, separate by hand and put down. With a k’non v’tachmchoy (plates which, although not made for separating, can assist in separating) don’t separate. And if you do separate you are patur. And with a sieve and sifter, don’t separate, and if you do separate, you are chayav chatas.”
Rav Yosef explains that the separate parts of the statement are referring to separate cases. If one separates by hand, this is not considered separating at all (רש"י סוף ד"ה פטור), rather like eating. Using a utensil that is made for separating is the prototypical case, and is chayav. Using a utensil that assists in, but is not made for, separating is prohibited Rabbinically.
Rav Hamnunah asks on Rav Yosef that the statement makes no mention of using any vessels (רש"י ד"ה מידי), and seems to only discuss cases permitted and prohibited Biblically. There seems to be no mention of any case that is Rabbinically prohibited (תוס' ד"ה מתקיף). He therefore rejects Rav Yosef’s explanation for technical reasons.
Next week, we will hopefully discuss Rav Hamnunah’s explanation.
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