![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
daf bit: Shabbat 106
Our rabbis taught: one who catches locusts, gnats, hornets, or (another kind
of insect that is unclear) on Shabbat is culpable; this is the view of
Rabbi Meir. But the sages rule: if that species is hunted one is liable;
if that species is not hunted one is not liable. It was taught in a
baraita (a teaching contemporary with the mishna) that one who catches locusts
at the time of dew is not liable, but one who catches them at mid-day is.
(Why? Rashi comments here that they are sleepy early in the morning so
they don't require special effort to catch.)
Eleazar b. Mahabai (who?) said: if they advance in thick swarms he is not
culpable. (106b)
The reference to "hunting" seems to be about whether the insect in question is useful. Locusts (of the right type) could be eaten, but nobody has any use for a gnat. This doesn't appear to be about capturing insects to get them to stop bothering you. The status of catching fireflies for entertainment is unclear to me. (Though that tends to be done by children who are not yet old enough to be obligated in mitzvot...)
no subject
no subject