Commentary for Yoma 167:11

וחכ"א באילו אין בהן משום רפואה באילו למעוטי מאי מאי לאו אתרתי בתרייתא ולמעוטי דרישא לא אתרתי דרישא קמייתא ולמעוטי דסיפא

R'Hiyya B'Abba said to R'Johanan: According to whom is it? According to R'Matthia B'Heresh who said that if one has pains in his throat one may pour medicine into his mouth on the Sabbath?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' But the Sages oppose R. Matthia, hence he remains in the minority and his permission is invalid.');">¹¹</span> - I say: In this case, but in no other.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Here the Sages will agree with him, because of the ultimately dangerous character of the disease.');">¹²</span> Shall we say that the following [teaching] supports his view? If one is attacked by jaundice one may give him to eat the flesh of a donkey; if one was bitten by a mad dog, one may give him to eat the lobe of its liver; and to one who has pains in his mouth may be given medicine on the Sabbath - this is the view of R'Matthia B'Heresh; but the Sages say: These are not considered cures - Now what does 'these' mean to exclude? Won't you say it is meant to exclude medicine?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' As being permissible owing to their curative properties.');">¹³</span> No, it is meant to exclude blood-letting in case of asphyxia.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Which is permitted.');">¹⁴</span> Thus also does it seem logical. For it was taught: R'Ishmael son of R'Jose reported three things in the name of R'Matthia B'Heresh: One may let blood in the case of asphyxia on the Sabbath, and one whom a mad dog has bitten may be given to eat the lobe of its liver, and one who has pains in his mouth may be given medicine on the Sabbath, whereas the Sages hold: These are not considered cures. Now what does 'these' exclude? Would you not say 'these' excludes the two latter one, and not the first one?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Which the Rabbis consider a cure. Which proves that the Sages, while they regard bloodletting as a cure for asphyxia and permissible on Sabbath, do not extend this sanction to medicine in general.');">¹⁵</span> - No, it means to exclude the first two ones, and not the last one.

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