Introduction Mishnah four, which we learned yesterday, contained three things that Rabbi Yishmael had said in front of the Sages in Yavneh. Mishnah five contains three things which Rabbi Yishmael did not know how to explain, and Rabbi Joshua ben Matya explained them for him.
They stated three things before Rabbi Yishmael, and he pronounced none of them either unlawful or lawful; and Rabbi Joshua ben Matya explained them.
One who lances an abscess on the Sabbath: if it was to make an opening he is liable; if it was to bring out the pus, he is exempt. The first issue about which Rabbi Yishmael did not know how to answer is one who lances an abscess on the Sabbath. Rabbi Joshua ben Matya explained that if he did it in order to make a permanent opening in the abscess, then he is obligated for breaking the Sabbath. This type of work is considered to be like “constructing” which is forbidden. If, however, he intended to let out the pus, he is exempt, for his intention was not to “construct” an opening. The fact that an opening was constructed is an unintended by-product, for which one is not generally liable on the Sabbath.
And concerning one who hunts a snake on the Sabbath: that if he was occupied with it in order that it should not bite him, he is innocent; but if that he might use it as a remedy, he is guilty. Hunting is forbidden on the Sabbath. If a person should kill a snake in order to prevent it from biting him, he is exempt since the death of the snake is an unintended by-product. His true intent was to protect himself. If, however, he kills the snake to use it for medicine, he is liable since his intention was to kill the snake.
And concerning Ironian stewpots: that they do not contract impurity when under the same tent as a corpse; but become impure if they are carried by a zav. Rabbi Eliezer ben Zadok says: “Even if they are carried by a zav they remain pure, because they are unfinished.” Ironian stewpots are clay pots that were made by villagers. They were at first made into hollow balls and then split in half to create two pots. The issue here is what type of impurity can these pots receive. Rabbi Joshua ben Mattiah explains, that as long as they have not been opened, they are considered to be covered clay pots which do not receive impurity by being in the same roofed structure as a corpse (see chapter one, mishnah fourteen). If a zav, a person who has had an abnormal genital discharge, should carry one of these jars it is impure, since clay jars can receive impurity by being carried by zavim. However, Rabbi Elazar ben Zadok, a later Sage, points out that they are not even made impure by contact with zavim. There is a general rule that a vessel which has not been completely finished does not receive impurity. Since Ironian pots are not completed until they are split in half, it can’t receive any impurity.