About this episode
What is Abba Shaul trying to add by saying, "If one can say it, then one can wait on the border when Shabbat is ending"? One can wait on the border to do a mitzva like for a bride or a dead person. One can also speak on Shabbat about buying or preparing things for these purposes. If a non-Jew does work on Shabbat, can a Jew benefit from this - on what does it depend? If the non-Jew did it for a non-Jew? Or what if it is unclear who it was done for? In the cases where the Jew can benefit, does he need to wait after Shabbat the amount of time it would take to do it after Shabbat? In cases where he cannot benefit, is it forbidden for him to benefit from it forever? One can do certain things with a person who died on Shabbat -what is allowed and what is not? One cannot close the eyes of a person about to die, even on a weekday as that hastens death. The gemara compares the fact that we desecrate Shabbat for a newborn baby but not for a dead person, even as great as King David. Poverty is cyclical - if you are not poor, likely one of your descendants will be. The gemara stresses the importance of helping and being sympathetic to others as you may need that kind of help in the future. The gemara describes old age and death and talks about how crying causes blindness in those over the age of forty. There are different types of tears - some that are good and some that are bad.