There is a big machlokes rishonim whether melacha on chol hamoed would be violation of a d'oraysa or a d'rabonon. It is based on the understanding of the cryptic line in chagiga 18a - see tosafos there and rosh and the beginning of moed katan.
Today's gemara seems very meduyak like the opinion that it is d'oraysa. The gemara says why should it be mutar to water on chol hamoed and shevi'is. Chol Hamoed makes sense since "it is an isuur tircha and in a situation of loss there was no prohibition", but shivi'is is an issur melacha d'oraysa so how can chazal permit it. To this the gemara answers that on shevi'is watering is also only derabonon, either bec. shevi'is nowadays is only derabonon or bec. toldos are only derabonon. From the fact that the gemara does not say, "chol hamoed makes sense since it is only an issur derabonon and in a situation of loss there was no prohibition", implies that really chol hamoed is an issur d'oraysa. The gemara is saying that even though it is an issur d'oraysa, it is not an issur melacha rather an issur tircha. Since the nature of the issur is tircha, it is automatically relative to the level of stress necessary and the loss that would be suffered by not doing it. It is considered excessive tircha which would be assur d'oraysa only if it would be very difficult i.e. watering from well water, or it is only for extra gains but not a loss i.e. beis hashalchin. But if the tircha is not excessive and it is to prevent loss, the rabbis determined that there would not be a torah prohibition of tircha in that case.
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