694. Flipping a Pole

Shabbos 13:10

If a person uproots an object in the public domain and walks with it fewer than four cubits (about six feet) and then stands in place, he is not liable. Even if he does this all day long, carrying the item fewer than four cubits, stopping, and then resuming in increments of under four cubits, he would not be liable. This only applies if he stands within the four cubits to rest; if he stands to adjust his burden, he is considered to still be walking and therefore, when he stands still after proceeding four cubits, he is liable. This is when he stops after four cubits in order to rest; if he stopped to adjust his burden, he is considered as if he is still walking. One would not be liable until he stands in order to rest after proceeding more than four cubits.

Shabbos 13:11

If a pole, a spear or something similar is lying on the ground and a person picks up one end without raising the other end off the ground, and he then flips the pole forward (end over end), he is not liable. The is so even if he then picks up the other end, which had remained on the ground, and flips that end forward, continuing in this fashion until he has flipped the item end over end for several miles. The reason for this is because the person never picked the item up off the ground. However, if he pulls the object and drags it along the ground more than four cubits, he is liable because rolling an object is considered the same as uprooting it from its place.