Commentary for Shabbat 9:2
וכ"ת הכא נמי במקורה התינח ברשות היחיד מקורה בר"ה מקורה מי חייב והאמר רב שמואל בר יהודה אמר רבי אבא א"ר הונא אמר רב המעביר חפץ ד' אמות בר"ה מקורה פטור לפי שאינו דומה לדגלי מדבר
but not in one which is uncovered. And should you answer, Here too [in our Mishnah it speaks of] it as covered, [I might retort] that is well of a covered private ground, but is one liable for a covered public ground? Did not R. Samuel b. Judah say in the name of R. Abba in the name of R. Huna in Rab's name: If one carries an article four cubits in covered public ground, he is not liable, because it is not like the banners of the wilderness?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' It is stated infra 49b and 96b that the definition of what constitutes forbidden work on the Sabbath is dependent on the work that was done in connection with the Tabernacle in the wilderness. Carrying was necessary, and so carrying an article four cubits is work. But there it was done under the open sky; hence Rab's dictum, and the same applies here. By 'banners of the wilderness' is meant the whole disposition and encampment of the Israelites, and they did not have any covered-in public ground. ');"><sup>2</sup></span>
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