Melacha #39: HOTZA'AH - TRANSFERRING

Av Melacha: Transferring donations to the Mishkan.

Principle: Conceptually changing an object by changing its location.

Toldot: Transferring an object from a public domain to a private domain, or vice versa, or transferring it 6 ft. (1.8 m.) within a public domain.

Definition of the four domains:

A. Reshut Harabim -- Public Domain

An area is considered a Reshut HaRabim if it meets all of the following conditions (even if privately owned):

1. It is a main thoroughfare of a city, or it is used for the free gathering of people -- e.g. a marketplace, and

2. It is at least 16 amot wide (24 ft. = 8 m.), and

3. It does not have more than two walls, and

4. It does not have a roof, and

5. According to many opinions at least 600,000 people pass through it daily. (There are different opinions on how to count these 600,000 people.)

B. Reshut Hayachid -- Private Domain

An area is considered a Reshut HaYachid (a place set off from the main thoroughfare) if it meets all of the following conditions (even if it is publicly owned):

1. It has an area of at least 4 x 4 Tefachim (15 sq. in. = 36 sq. cm.).

2. It is surrounded on all sides by "walls" or "gates" that can physically close off the area. These "walls" must be:

a. at least 10 Tefachim high or deep (36 in. = 90 cm.)

b. able to withstand a normal wind without moving more than one Tefach (4 in. = 9 cm.)

The walls can be real barriers, or may consist of objects sitting in the street (the sides of the object constitute the wall), or be underground (where the ground itself constitutes the wall).

Examples of Reshut HaYachid: a house, a courtyard, an area with sides like the top of a truck, the bottom of a deep pit.

C. Karmelit -- Intermediate Domain

A Karmelit has an area of at least 4 x 4 Tefachim, but it is neither a Reshut HaRabim nor a Reshut HaYachid because it lacks one or more of the conditions of either domain. Examples: a sea, a lake, or a field (these have no walls); a narrow street (not a main thoroughfare, and/or not many people use it); a tunnel (has a roof).

D. Makom Patur -- Exempt location

A Makom Patur is a non-movable item located in a Reshut HaRabim (or in a Karmelit). It is at least 3 Tefachim high (12 in. = 27 cm.), and an area less than 4 x 4 Tefachim. Examples: a small mailbox, a fire hydrant, a thin pole.

E. Eiruv -- Changing the Status of Domains

The Rabbis permit changing a Karmelit into a Reshut HaYachid by surrounding it with "Halachic walls" in the form of a doorway or gate. The doorway must contain sides and a top, typically done in the form of poles with strings on top. Therefore, a Karmelit surrounded by poles and strings becomes a place in which it is permitted to transfer -- both within it, and also between it and a real Reshut HaYachid.

According to one opinion, however, these poles and strings only help to close off big breaches in [physical] walls surrounding a [private] domain. Therefore, if walls do not surround most of the area, then strings and poles cannot turn it into a Reshut HaYachid. Some are strict and will not transfer except in a place that is mostly surrounded by physical walls.

To change a Reshut HaRabim into a Reshut HaYachid (according to all opinions), the area must be surrounded with actual walls and not merely symbolic ones. A gate that can be shut is considered a closed part of the wall. (See above, par. B2, for definitions of what constitutes a wall.)