Sman - Shabbos Daf 104
- The meaning of the Aleph-Beis
The Rabbonon said to Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi that young students came to the beis hamidrash and said things the likes of which were not even said in the days of Yehoshua bin Nun, regarding the meaning and shape of the letters of the aleph-beis. For example:
•אלף בית : אלף בינה – learn, Torah (Rashi).
•גימל דלת: גומל דלים – help the needy. The leg of the gimmel (in a sefer Torah) is extended specifically towards the dalet because it is the way of one who bestows kindness to run after dalim. The leg of the dalet is extended towards the gimmel to teach that the poor person should make himself available to his benefactor and not make him chase after him.
•סמך עין: סמוך עניים – support the poor. Another explanation is סימנין עשה בתורה וקנה אותה – make Simanim for the Torah and acquire it.
- The letters of emes and sheker
The students said the reason why the letters of sheker are juxtaposed and the letters of emes are spread out is to teach שקרא שכיח – falsehood is common, while קושטא לא שכיח – truth is not common. The Maharal explains that sheker is always close at hand but emes is hard to come by.
The students also explained that the reason why the letters of sheker stand on one leg, meaning the letters ש ק ר all have one small base at the bottom, whereas the letters of emes are set like bricks, meaning א מ ת all have either a two-sided base or/and a wide base, is to teach that emes stands while sheker cannot .
- Adding a letter to complete a book/one thread to complete a beged
The Gemara seeks to identify the Tanna of a Baraisa that taught that if someone wrote one letter and thereby completed a book (Rashi – one of the 24 sifrei of Tanach), or wove one thread and thereby completed a garment, he is chayav.
• Rava bar Rav Huna said it is Rebbe Eliezer who says in a later Mishnah that one is chayav if he adds a thread to a previously worn garment.
• Rav Ashi says that the Baraisa could even be according to the Rabbonon who exempt a person from adding one thread, because completing a garment or a book is different because it is considered a significant amount.
