Shulchan Aruch · Orach Chayim

Hilchos Shabbos — in-depth study

סימן ש״נ

דִּין הַמּוֹצִיא רֹאשׁוֹ וְרֻבּוֹ מֵרְשׁוּת לִרְשׁוּת

עיון, פלפול, שיטות הראשונים והאחרונים

⚡ For lamdanim and talmidei chachamim ⚡

✦ ❖ ✦

In-depth pilpul

Talmudic sources, the underlying hakira,
shitos of the Rishonim on the din of one who puts his head and the greater part of his body from one reshus to another

Subject:
Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim siman ש״נ — 3 seifim
with the nosei kelim: commentaries on the Shulchan Aruch, ט״ז, מג״א, sources and notes

Mishnah Berurah: 14 se‘ifim katanim (ס״ק)

Editing and study:
Rav Yossef Haim Samama · DAAT

📑 Table of contents

Opening the sugya — head and the greater part of the body in Eruvin 99
The underlying hakira — the decree lest he bring them over to himself
Objects he has no need of — the permission to handle them
Drinking — head and the greater part of the body
The reading of the Yesh Mefarshim — fine vessels alone
The leniency of the karmelit — drinking in a rabbinic domain
Urinating and spitting from one reshus to another
Saliva already detached — walking four amos
The psak of the Beis Yosef and the Shulchan Aruch
Summary of the shitos and the halachic conclusion

📜 The text of the Shulchan Aruch — 3 seifim

סעיף א. דין המוציא ראשו ורובו מרשות לרשות. ובו ג סעיפים:
עומד אדם ברה״י ומוציא ידו לרשות הרבים ומטלטל שם חפצים שאינם צריכים לו במקום שהוא עומד שנוטלן מכאן ומניחן כאן ובלבד שלא יעבירם ארבע אמות ולא חיישינן שמא יביאם אליו כיון שאינם צריכין לו במקום שהוא עומד שם הילכך מותר לעמוד ברשות הרבים ליטול מפתח ברשות היחיד ולפתוח שם וכן מרה״י לרה״ר אבל לא יעמוד ברשות היחיד ויוציא ראשו לרשות הרבים וישתה שם או איפכא אלא אם כן יכנוס ראשו ורובו למקום שהוא שותה דכיון שהוא צריך לאלו המים חיישינן שמא יביאם אליו אבל מותר לעמוד ברשות היחיד או ברה״ר ולשתות בכרמלית או איפכא ויש מפרשים דחפצים הצריכים לו היינו כלים נאים שהוא צריך להם אבל אם הם כלים שאינם נאים מותר לשתות בהם אף ע״פ שלא הוציא ראשו ורובו אלא שהושיט צוארו לבד ושאר טלטולים חוץ משתייה אפילו כלים נאים מותר לטלטל שלא גזרו אלא בכלים נאים ובשותה בהם שהוא מקרבן לפיו:

summary: the heading of the siman, then seif 1 in three stages. One who stands in a reshus hayachid and puts his hand out into the reshus harabim may handle there objects he has no need of where he stands — taking from here and setting down there — provided he does not carry them four amos, since there is no fear that he will bring them over to himself. But he may not stand in the reshus hayachid, put his head out into the reshus harabim and drink there, nor the reverse, unless he brings his head and the greater part of his body into the place where he drinks — since he does need that water. Drinking into a karmelit, however, remains permitted. And there are those who explain that the objects he has need of are, for them, only the fine vessels.

סעיף ב. לא יעמוד אדם ברשות הרבים וישתין או ירוק ברשות היחיד או בכרמלית או איפכא אפילו אם הוציא פיו ואמתו לחוץ:

summary: one may not stand in the reshus harabim and urinate or spit into the reshus hayachid or into a karmelit, nor the reverse — even if he has put his mouth and his member outside.

סעיף ג. רוקו שנתלש מפיו ומוכן לזרקו יש מי שאומר שלא יהלך ד' אמות ברשות הרבים עד שירוק:

summary: saliva already detached in his mouth and ready to be spat out — there is one who says that he should not walk four amos in the reshus harabim until he has spat.

1. Opening the sugya — head and the greater part of the body in Eruvin 99

The source in the Gemara

The source of the siman is in Eruvin (98b — 99a) — the sugya of « לא יעמוד אדם ברשות היחיד וישתין ברשות הרבים, ברשות הרבים וישתין ברשות היחיד, וכן לא ירוק » (עירובין צ״ח ע״ב). There the Gemara examines the case of one whose body stands in one reshus while his act takes place in another, and it settles when we fear that he will bring the object over to himself.

The foundation: the handling itself, in the neighbouring reshus, is no forbidden melacha — the man stands here and handles there. The fear concerns what may follow: he might bring the object over to himself and thereby carry from one reshus to another. Everything therefore turns on a single question — does he need that object where he is standing?

2. The underlying hakira — the decree lest he bring them over to himself

חקירה — what is the frame of the prohibition to drink while standing in another reshus: a prohibition in itself, or a decree born of the fear of a mishap?

First side — the very act of drinking while the body stands in another reshus is a forbidden act, because it mingles two reshuyos.
Second side — there is no prohibition in itself; the whole of it is a decree, « שמא יביאם אליו » (שו״ע או״ח ש״נ:א): lest he draw the water over to himself and carry it from one reshus to another.

The proof for the second side: with objects he has no need of it is permitted to handle them in the other reshus, because there is no fear that he will bring them over. With drinking we do fear, precisely because he needs that water. It emerges that the whole siman is built on the decree of the fear that he will bring them over, and not on any intrinsic prohibition.

3. Objects he has no need of — the permission to handle them

Seif 1, opening clause — one who stands in the reshus hayachid and puts his hand out into the reshus harabim is entitled to handle there objects he has no need of in the place where he stands — taking from here and setting down there — provided he does not carry them four amos. We do not fear that he will bring them over to himself, since he has no need of them. Hence the practical permission: to stand in the reshus harabim and take a key lying in the reshus hayachid in order to open there, and likewise in the reverse direction.

4. Drinking — head and the greater part of the body

יסוד — with drinking the din is reversed: « לא יעמוד ברשות היחיד ויוציא ראשו לרשות הרבים וישתה שם » (שו״ע או״ח ש״נ:א). Since he needs that water, we fear that he will bring it over to himself. The provision: he may drink only if he brings his head and the greater part of his body into the place where he drinks — for he is then held to be standing there in fact, and the fear falls away.

5. The reading of the Yesh Mefarshim — fine vessels alone

The reading of the יש מפרשים — « חפצים הצריכים לו » (שו״ע או״ח ש״נ:א), the objects he has need of, does not mean every useful object, but specifically the fine vessels (כלים נאים) he cares about.

With vessels that are not fine it is permitted to drink even without bringing in his head and the greater part of his body: it is enough to stretch out the neck.
And the other forms of handling, apart from drinking, are permitted even with fine vessels; the decree was made only for a fine vessel one drinks from, because one brings it close to one's mouth.

On this reading the frame of the decree is narrow: a fine vessel, and in drinking.

6. The leniency of the karmelit — drinking in a rabbinic domain

Leniency in the karmelit — it is permitted to stand in the reshus hayachid or in the reshus harabim and drink into a karmelit, or the reverse. Since the karmelit is itself no more than a rabbinic prohibition, the decree of the fear that he will bring them over was not imposed there — for we do not make a decree upon a decree.

7. Urinating and spitting from one reshus to another

Seif 2 — one may not stand in the reshus harabim and urinate or spit into the reshus hayachid or into a karmelit (or the reverse) — even if he has put his mouth and his member outside. Urine and saliva are held to be among the things he needs, and he is as one who carries from one reshus to another something he has need of; putting the limb out does not suffice, since the man's body remains in the first reshus.

8. Saliva already detached — walking four amos

Seif 3 — saliva already detached from his mouth and ready to be spat out: there is one who says that he should not walk four amos in the reshus harabim until he has spat. Since it is detached and ready, he is held to be one who handles an object in the reshus harabim — and one who walks four amos in that state is as one who carries four amos in the reshus harabim.

9. The psak of the Beis Yosef and the Shulchan Aruch

Beis Yosef — he gathered the sugya of Eruvin 99 together with the shitos of the Rishonim (including the “יש מפרשים” concerning fine vessels), and ruled in the Shulchan Aruch in three seifim: the permission to handle objects he has no need of and the din of drinking (head and the greater part of the body), the prohibition of urinating and spitting, and the din of detached saliva. The Rama adds no gloss here — the din is agreed upon.

10. Summary of the shitos and the halachic conclusion

The foundation — everything rests on the decree of the fear that he will bring them over to himself:

objects he has no need of — it is permitted to handle them in another reshus (short of four amos);
drinking — forbidden unless he has brought in his head and the greater part of his body (for the יש מפרשים: specifically a fine vessel);
karmelit — it is permitted to drink there, since we do not make a decree upon a decree;
urinating and spitting from one reshus to another — forbidden even when the limb is put outside;
detached saliva — there are those who say he should not walk four amos until he has spat.

For the psak lema'aseh — according to the custom of one's community and the ruling of a rav.

Going further

Level 3 — Synthesis: a structured recap with memory aids, decision trees and rules of thumb.
Level 4 — Daat HaRav: the shitah of the Admur HaZaken (Shulchan Aruch HaRav).

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DAAT · Rav Yossef Haim Samama

Siman ש״נ · Level 2 — Lamdan
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