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Chapter 23, Mishna 2

Continuing our discussion of practices prohibited on Shabbos because they are like business dealings. One may not read from a list to count expected guests expected at a Shabbos meal. One may draw lots for portions at a meal among a family, but not if the portions are unequal. Issues with reading from a list: 1) we may come to erase names from the list, 2) we may come to read other documents including those relating to business. Does it matter if the list is written high up on a wall, out of reach? Does it matter if the list is engraved rather than written? How does this relate top the prohibition on reading by the light of a Shabbos lamp? Speaking of walls, some Sages held that we may not look into a mirror on Shabbos lest we come to pluck hairs. This prohibition was later limited: we may look into a mirror on Shabbos, whether hanging on a wall or handheld, unless it’s made of metal. We may not draw lots for unequal portions at a Shabbos meal because this resembles gambling, and the Sages were very negative on gambling. Especially professional gamblers who are considered thieves, or at least unsavory, and are disqualified from acting as witnesses. Rabbi Yaakov the son of Yaakov’s daughter explains why we say “Let no one be punished on account of me.”