- שור של פטם הרי הוא כרגלי כל אדם
Shmuel said: שור של פטם הרי הוא כרגלי כל אדם – The ox of a fattener, which Rashi explains is one who fattens cattle for sale, is accorded the techum like that of the feet of the one who purchases it. Rashi explains that although the techum of livestock is generally determined by the techum of the owner at the onset of Yom Tov, this case is an exception to the rule. Since it is customary for these cattle to be sold, their owner intended at the beginning of Yom Tov, for them to acquire the techum of their eventual buyers, even if they are from a different city. שור של רועה הרי הוא כרגלי אותה העיר – and the ox of a shepherd is accorded a techum like that of the feet of the residents of that city. Rashi explains that this refers to a shepherd who raises his own animals and occasionally sells some to neighbors and acquaintances. The animal is accorded the techum of the local town since the shepherd’s sales are limited to its residents. Since his animals are not especially fattened, people have no reason to come from another town to buy them.
- ביום טוב כרגלי המשאיל
The Mishnah on Daf 37a stated: ביום טוב כרגלי המשאיל – If one borrowed a kli on Yom Tov, it is accorded a techum like that of the feet of the lender. The Gemara on our Daf asks, that this is obvious since at the onset of Yom Tov the kli was in the possession of the lender, and answers that this ruling is necessary in the case דרגיל ושאיל מיניה – where he is in the habit of borrowing from him. You might have said that the lender assigned it to the possession and techum of the borrower before Yom Tov, since he anticipates its being borrowed on Yom Tov. The Mishnah is therefore coming to inform us that this is not so. The lender will say to himself that since his friend did not yet ask to borrow it, perhaps the borrower will find someone else and borrow from him. Therefore, the lender anticipated retaining possession of the kli, and it thus took on his techum.
- Rebbe Abba’s tefillah and the reason why dough is limited to the common techum area
The Mishnah on Daf 37a stated: וכן האשה ששאלה מחברתה תבלין ומים ומלח לעיסתה הרי אלו כרגלי שתיהן – And so too, a woman who borrowed from her friend, on Yom Tov, condiments for cooking food, or water and salt for her dough, these cooked foods or dough are accorded a techum like that of the feet of both of them, meaning that they may carry them only within their common techum area. When Rebbe Abba went up from Bavel to Eretz Yisroel, he davened, יהא רעוא דאימא מלתא דתתקבל – May it be the will of Hashem that I say something that will be accepted by the scholars there. When he arrived, he found them asking why the dough should be restricted to the techum common to both of the women. Let the water and salt become batel to the major ingredient of the dough, so that only the techum of the flour applies? Rebbe Abba said to them: If a kav of one’s wheat became mixed with ten kabin of his friend’s wheat, may the friend eat the entire mixture and rejoice that he gained a kav because it was batel? Obviously not. Bitul only works with issurim, but not with monetary matters. Similarly, the techum of the water does not become nullified in the dough, because the techum is based on ownership. The scholars laughed at him repeatedly, and the Gemara will explain why they rejected his position. The mefarshim explain that his prayer was inappropriate. He should have davened that his argument receive a serious hearing, so that the truth of the matter be established. He should not ask that his position necessarily be accepted.