12:11: What person is there among you who has a sheep and, if it were
to fall into a pit on the Sabbath, will not grab it and pull it up?
The relevant stipulations here are the following:
Babylonian Talmud Šabbat 128B: Rab Judah († 299) said that Rab († 247)
said, “If a piece of livestock has fallen into a water ditch (on the Sabbath),
one brings blankets and cushions and lays them under it. If it comes up, it
comes up (there is no need to worry about any desecration of the Sabbath).” It
was objected, “If a piece of livestock has fallen into a water ditch, one cares
for it with food in its place (exactly where it is), lest it die. With food,
yes; with blankets and cushions, no!” There is no contradiction here: in the
one case it is possible to take care of the animal with food, in the other case
it is not possible. If it is possible, yes (one does it); but if it is not
possible, one brings blankets and cushions and lays them under it. Yet this
means a destruction of items from their finished state (which as a סתר, “tearing down,” is forbidden on the
Sabbath)! It was thought that the destruction of items from their finished
state was a rabbinic prohibition, but the pain of a living being (= cruelty to
animals) was a biblical prohibition; here the biblical prohibition should come
and supersede the rabbinic prohibition.—In this passage two orientations come
to expression: a stricter one that allowed feeding the animal in its endangered
situation, but not its being saved from this situation; and a looser one, which
to avoid cruelty to animals by invoking the Torah—we must think of Exod
23:5—allows facilitating rescuing the animal. From the circumstance that Jesus
deals with in our verse with his opponents e
concessis, it may be concluded that at his time the more lenient practice
was common. ‖ The two following passages do not relate to the Sabbath, but
rather to a festival. Since the stipulations about keeping the Sabbath holy and
keeping a festival holy did not overlap—on a festival, for example, the
preparation of food, and if necessary even the slaughtering of an animal was
indulged, see m. Beṣah 5.2 and 3.3—an inference cannot automatically be drawn
from festival practice to practice on the Sabbath. Nevertheless, the two
passages are also instructive for Matt 12:11. Mishnah Beṣah 3.4: If a first
born bit of livestock falls into a pit (on a festival), one skilled in the
matter should, as R. Judah (ca. 150) said, climb down and inspect it. If a
bodily blemish is found on it (which was present on it already before it fell
into the pit), one brings it up יעלה
and slaughters; but if not, one may not slaughter it. (On the use of a first
born animal afflicted with a bodily blemish in the household of the owner, see
Deut 15:21f.) ‖ Tosefta Beṣah 3.2 (205): If a bit of livestock together with
its young (who may not be slaughtered on one and the same day) falls into a pit
(on a festival), according to R. Eliezer (ca. 90), the first is brought up on
the condition of slaughtering it, and then one slaughters it; the other,
though, one cares for it with food in its place lest it die. (R. Eliezer, in
accordance with the strict observance, allows bringing the animal out of the
pit even on a festival day only for the purpose of slaughtering; if the latter
does not follow, the animal remains in the pit.) R. Joshua said, “The first is
brought up on the condition of slaughtering it, and then one does not slaughter
it (perhaps with reason that it is too lean). Then one deals cleverly and
brings up the second animal on the condition of slaughtering it. If he was not
willing to slaughter one of them (earlier, before the animals had fallen into
the pit), he (now) has the justification for this in his hand.”—This is found
as a baraita in b. Beṣah 37A; b. Šabb. 117B; y. Pesaḥ. 3.30A.59; y. Beṣah
3.62A.38. (Hermann L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, A Commentary on
the New Testament from the Talmud and Midrash, ed. Jacob N. Cerone, 4 vols.
[trans. Andrew Bowden and Joseph Longarino; Bellingham, Wash.: Lexham Press,
2022], 1:711-12)
13:15: Does not each one of you untie his ox or his donkey from its
trough and bring it away and bring it to drink?
On the rescue of an animal in need on the Sabbath, see § Matt 12:11. ‖
The cattle are driven out on the Sabbath. Mishnah Šabbat 5.1: With what are the
cattle permitted to go out (on the Sabbath)? The camel may go out with the
halter, the female camel with the nose ring, the Libyan donkey with the halter,
the horse with the chain; all chain-wearing animals may go out with the chain
and be guided (literally: pulled) on the chain; they may also be sprinkled (the
objects mentioned on the animals if they have become unclean) and immersed in
their place (where they are on the animal in question). ‖ Mishnah Šabbat 5.2:
The donkey may go out with a blanket if it is attached to it (and the
attachment had already taken place before the Sabbath); the rams may go out with
the leather (לבובין?) tied in front of them in the area of the
heart, the ewes with their tails tied upwards or downwards (which aids in
mating or prevents it) and with a sheath (for keeping the wool clean); the
goats may go out with the udders bound. R. Yose (ca. 150) declared all this
illegal, except for the ewes being wrapped. R. Judah (ca. 150) said, “The goats
may go out with the udder bound to dry out the milk, but not if it is for the
benefit of the milk (to prevent the milk from leaking out).” ‖ See further at
m. Šabb. 5.3, 4.
Watering the animals on the Sabbath. A baraita in b. ʿErub. 20B: Do
not fill a vessel with water and place it before the beast on the Sabbath.
Instead, fill it and pour it out, so that the beast drinks by itself.—The same
is said in b. ʿErub. 20B; 21A. ‖ If a well was in a public area and it formed
by itself in a single area (private area), such that it was ten hand widths
deep, then it was unusable on the Sabbath because its water could not be
carried away from its own area into the public area around it. In order to make
it nevertheless usable for watering cattle on the Sabbath, m. ʿErub. 2.1f.
makes the following determination: “You are to put stakes (boards) around the
wells, namely four double stakes (double boards) that appear as eight.” These
are the words of R. Judah (ca. 150). R. Meir (ca. 150) said, “Eight that appear
as twelve, four double stakes (double boards) and four simple ones.” [The words
mean: the fountain is fenced off at some distance in a rectangular way by
always making an angle of the rectangle from two stakes or boards. The sides of
the rectangle remain open, according to R. Judah, who only requires eight
stakes or boards. On the other hand, according to R. Meir, one post or board is
to be placed on each of the four sides in the space left open. He therefore
requires that the fence consists of twelve posts (boards). Through this
fencing, the enclosed space is made into the private district of the well, so
that now, even on the Sabbath, water may be scooped up and presented to the animals
within the enclosed space.] “The height of the double stakes is to be ten hand
widths, their width (toward the four sides) is six hand widths, and their
thickness can be as much as it is. Their space (on the sides) must be
sufficient for two teams of three cattle each.” These are the words of R. Meir.
R. Judah said, “Of four cattle each, when they are tied together, but not when
they are released. One team must be able to go in and the other (next to him)
out. One can erect the fence close to the well, but the cow with its head and
the larger part of its body must be within the fence when drinking. But one can
also erect it at any distance, only then must use more posts (boards).”—The
same is said with some deviations in t. ʿErub. 2.1f. (139).
According to m. Šabb. 7.2, tying (knotting) and untying were among the
39 activities prohibited on the Sabbath.—More precisely, m. Šabb. 15.1f. says:
These are the knots for which one is liable (on the Sabbath): The knot of the
camel drivers (on the nose ring of the animals) and the knot of the sailor
(according to Rashi on the front part of the ship). Just as one is liable for
tying them, so also is he liable for untying it. R. Meir (ca. 150) said, “You
are not liable for a knot that you can undo with one hand. There are knots for
which one is not liable, as in the case with the knots of the camel driver and
the sailor. A woman may tie (on the Sabbath) the (neck) opening of her shirt,
as well as the bands of the hair net and the belt, the straps of the shoes and
sandals, tubes with wine and oil, and cover a pot of meat.” R. Eliezer b. Jacob
(probably the II [ca. 150]) said, “You are permitted (on the Sabbath) to tie
ropes in front of the cattle so that it does not break out. You are permitted
to tie a scoop (over a well) with a belt, but not with a rope.” R. Judah (ca.
150) permitted it. As a general rule, R. Judah pronounced, “You are not liable
on account of a knot that does not remain permanently.” ‖ Babylonian Talmud
Šabbat 113A: R. Abba (ca. 290) said that R. Hiyya (b. Abba, ca. 280) said that
R. Yohanan († 279) said, “You may take a rope (on the Sabbath) from the house
and tie it to the cow and to the trough.” R. Aha the Tall One, that is R. Aha
b. Papa (ca. 300) responded to R. Abba, “You may tie a rope on the trough to
the cow and a rope on the cow to the trough, but you may not take the rope from
the house and tie it to the cow and to the trough. (To balance the two
sentences, it is then noted,) There it is an ordinary rope; here it is a
weaver’s rope.” (Hermann L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, A
Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Midrash, ed. Jacob N.
Cerone, 4 vols. [trans. Andrew Bowden and Joseph Longarino; Bellingham, Wash.:
Lexham Press, 2022], 2:232-33)
