Introduction In mishnah ten we learned of three cases where Rabban Gamaliel was strict like Beth Shammai. In mishnah eleven we will learn three cases where he adopted a more lenient position than the other Sages.
Also he declared three decisions of a lenient character:
One may sweep up [on a festival] between the couches, In the time of the Mishnah, during formal meals people would recline on couches on the ground and eat off personal tables which were more like trays. According to Rabban Gamaliel one can sweep up between the couches after the meal on a festival. The Sages forbid this for fear that one might fill in a hole that is in the floor, which could be considered a form of building, which is forbidden on the Sabbath.
And put spices [on the coals] on a festival; Cooking food is allowed on a festival (but not on the Sabbath). Rabban Gamaliel allowed people to put spices on coals, which would make a pleasant scent. Even though this is not cooking food, it is permitted since it is still a bodily pleasure. The Sages forbid doing so since not all people are equally accustomed to put spices on coals after a meal.
And roast a kid whole on the night of Passover. But the sages forbid them. When there was a Temple in Jerusalem, people would roast kids (lambs, not the human kind) as Passover sacrifices on the day before Passover and eat them at night. When the Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E. sacrifices could no longer be offered. Nevertheless, Rabban Gamaliel permitted people to make roasted kids at their own seders. The other Sages forbid this, lest someone think that they were eating sacrificial meat outside of Jerusalem.