OPINIONS: The Mishnah (97b) discusses a case in which a person reads from a scroll while he sits on an Iskufah (the threshold of his home). If, while he holds one end of the scroll, the rest of it unrolls into Reshus ha'Rabim, he is allowed to roll it back.

The Gemara asks that Rebbi Yehudah, later in the Mishnah, states that when one sits on a roof and part of the scroll from which he reads rolls out of his hands towards Reshus ha'Rabim, he may roll it back only if it has not come to rest in Reshus ha'Rabim. Why, then, may the person in an Iskufah roll the scroll back even when the other end rests in Reshus ha'Rabim?

The Gemara quotes three answers.

1. Rav Yehudah answers that the first part of the Mishnah expresses the opinion of Rebbi Shimon. He argues with Rebbi Yehudah in the case of the person on the roof and maintains that even if the end of the scroll did come to rest in Reshus ha'Rabim, one may roll it back. The Rabanan did not decree any prohibition in this regard, in order to safeguard the honor of holy scrolls.

2. Rabah says that the Mishnah refers to an Iskufah over which a lot of people walk. It is a great disgrace to the scroll to be left spread out on that area. Therefore, even if it rests only partially in Reshus ha'Rabim, it may be rolled back. (In the case in the end of the Mishnah, in which the scroll unrolled down from the roof, it unrolled to a place in Reshus ha'Rabim where few people walk. Thus, even if it rests on the ground of Reshus ha'Rabim, one may not roll it back.)

3. Abaye asserts that neither of the previous answers is correct. He quotes a Beraisa which explicitly states that if the scroll unrolled beyond four Amos in Reshus ha'Rabim, one is not permitted to roll it back. He concludes that the Iskufah must be a Karmelis. As such, there is no Isur d'Oraisa involved when he brings the scroll back (as long as the scroll rolled less than four Amos away in Reshus ha'Rabim).

Why, though, is there no concern that he might take the scroll from Reshus ha'Rabim and walk with it through the Karmelis and into the house (Reshus ha'Yachid), and thereby commit a transgression of the prohibition of carrying from Reshus ha'Rabim into a Reshus ha'Yachid? There are two possible answers to this question. First, the Iskufah is very long and it is likely that he will stop at least once while he carries the scroll across the entire length of the Iskufah. Second, the Mishnah follows the opinion of Ben Azai who says that walking is considered like standing ("Mehalech k'Omed Dami"). Therefore, when one carries an object over the Iskufah, it is as if he has placed the object down on the Iskufah.

What is the Halachah?

(a) The BA'AL HA'ME'OR rejects the explanation of Abaye and the Beraisa he quotes (which stipulates that the scroll may be returned only if it rolled less than four Amos away). He points out that, unlike many other areas of Halachah, with regard to the laws of a Karmelis on Shabbos, the Rabanan do enact a Gezeirah for another Gezeirah (Shabbos 11b, Eruvin 99a). Therefore, whether the Iskufah is a Karmelis or a Reshus ha'Yachid is irrelevant. If it is prohibited to return the Sefer to its original place in a Reshus ha'Yachid, it should be prohibited to roll it back into a Karmelis as well.

Based on this, the Ba'al ha'Me'or rules like Rabah. He agrees that it is a disgrace to leave a holy scroll in a place where many people tread. Therefore, even a person who is in a Reshus ha'Yachid may roll a Sefer back to himself, even if the Sefer rolls more than four Amos away in the Iskufah. The ROSH and TUR (OC 392) cite this opinion of the Ba'al ha'Me'or, and it is also the ruling of the SHULCHAN ARUCH and REMA (OC 352:1).

(b) The RAMBAM (Hilchos Shabbos 15:21) does differentiate between a scroll that rolls beyond four Amos and one that rolls less than four Amos. (This is also the opinion of the RASHBA in AVODAS HA'KODESH and TOSFOS in Shabbos 5b, DH Hayah.) Although he seems to rule like Abaye, the Rambam does not mention that the Iskufah must be long in order for one to be permitted to bring the scroll back to him. He also does not rule like Ben Azai who says that walking is considered like standing (Hilchos Shabbos 14:15). Why is the Rambam not concerned that one will carry the scroll directly from Reshus ha'Rabim into Reshus ha'Yachid via the Iskufah?

The Acharonim suggest three approaches to explain the Rambam's position:

1. The VILNA GA'ON (BI'UR HA'GRA OC 352:1) notes that the Rambam does not mention the word "Iskufah." Rather, the Rambam writes about a person who stands in a Karmelis. An Iskufah is attached to a house and is considered part of the house. As such, there is a concern that someone will carry a scroll from Reshus ha'Rabim into Reshus ha'Yachid as he walks over the Iskufah and into the house. In contrast, the Rambam refers to an ordinary Karmelis which is not attached to a house. Thus, there is no fear that one might carry an object directly from Reshus ha'Rabim into Reshus ha'Yachid via the Karmelis.

2. The Vilna Ga'on also explains, according to the Rashba, that the Halachah does follow the opinion of Ben Azai with regard to rabbinic prohibitions. Even though the ruling of Ben Azai is not followed with regard to prohibitions that are mid'Oraisa, in this case -- which involves only an Isur d'Rabanan (since he still holds the end of the scroll in the Karmelis and it is not completely in Reshus ha'Rabim) -- we may rely on Ben Azai's opinion and permit him to bring the scroll back to the Iskufah based on the principle of "Mehalech k'Omed Dami."

3. The BI'UR HALACHAH points out that RABEINU CHANANEL's text of the Gemara differs from the standard text. According to his version, the Gemara gives a new answer to the question on Abaye. The Gemara states that one picks up the scroll from Reshus ha'Rabim with the intention to read from it, and does not intend to bring it from there into Reshus ha'Yachid. If, after he picks it up, he decides to bring it into Reshus ha'Yachid, he does not transgress an Isur d'Oraisa, since it was not his intention to bring it into Reshus ha'Yachid when he initially picked it up. Perhaps this was also the Rambam's understanding of the Gemara.