Siman - Shabbos Daf 142

• Moving a basket with a stone in it

The Mishnah on Daf 141b stated that one may move a basket with a stone in it. The Gemara asks why the person should be able to move the basket since it should be considered a בסיס לדבר האסור, a base to a forbidden object, thereby giving the basket the same muktzeh status as the stone. An initial suggestion made is that the basket is primarily filled with produce, which would make it a bosis to a permitted object, thereby permitting to move it. The Gemara rejects this suggestion since the produce and stone could be easily spilled out of the basket, and then the produce could be returned to the basket.

Rebbe Il’ai said in the name of Rav that in this case the produce cannot be spilled out, because it is produce that would become soiled and ruined if it were spilled out. Rashi brings the examples of ripe figs, berries or grapes.

The Gemara questions this answer as well, and says that it would still be technically possible to shake the basket until only the stone fell out. Rav Chiya bar Ashi in the name of Rav offers an alternative answer, that we are dealing with a case where the stone is filling a hole in the basket and thereby the stone is considered part of the basket, and therefore it is not muktzeh.

• How to remove money left on a pillow

The next Mishnah states that if one left money on a pillow, one may shake the pillow so that the money falls off.

Rav Chiya bar Ashi said in the name of Rav that one may only shake the pillow in a situation of שוכח, i.e. one forgot that he placed money there, but in a case of מניח, i.e. where one intentionally left the money there, the pillow becomes a bosis and may not be moved.

Rabbah bar bar Chanah said in the name of Rebbe Yochanan that one is only required to shake the money off, לצורך גופו, when the pillow is needed for the sake of its use, but in a case of צורך מקומו, when the pillow needs to be moved because one needs its place, one may move the pillow with the money on it.

• Using a child or loaf of bread to move muktzeh

Rebbe Oshaya said that if one forgot a purse containing money in a courtyard where it is unprotected, he may place a loaf of bread or a young child upon it and move it. Two other Amoraim state similar rulings.

Rav Ashi said that the dispensation for moving muktzeh by placing a loaf of bread or a young child upon it, is only permitted in the case of placing it on top of a corpse, in order to move it. Rashi explains that this is permitted because of kavod habrios (preserving human dignity) such as in the case where the corpse is lying in the sun.