Q&A: Definition of Sowing
Definition of Sowing
Question
Hello and blessings,
I saw this discussed:
What is the definition of “sowing”? Is it an indirect action, since a person does not “bake” directly with his hands? Or perhaps the essence of indirect causation is that it is subsumed under the category of labor, and therefore one must discuss how to define baking and sowing [see Rashash on Sabbath 73a, s.v. “one who sows,” and Minchat Chinukh, commandment 298].
We would be glad to know the Rabbi’s view…
Answer
I did not understand the question. That is itself precisely the discussion of Minchat Chinukh and Rashash, and see also Eglei Tal. The question is whether the causation itself is the labor, as such (similar to the reasoning of the Rosh against Rashi in Bava Kamma 60, regarding one who winnows and the wind assists him on the Sabbath), and what the relation is between it and the result. Is the completion of the baking a condition for liability, or is it the completion of the labor itself? (This is relevant only to baking, of course. Sowing is completed only after a long time.)