Mishnah 3 continues with the theme from Mishnah 2 - staying away from things which may bring you to transgress by forgetfulness.
Professionals should not leave with their tools close to Friday afternoon. If they do, they may find themselves still carrying those tools at sunset, when Shabbos comes in. The examples given are a tailor and his needles (even if he sticks them into his coat) or a scribe and his quill (stuck behind his ear).
Mishnah 3 adds one more in this category; a person should not check his clothes for unpleasant little bugs late on Friday. (Removing an unwanted substance from a desired substance is another of the 39 prohibitions on Shabbos.)
Then it moves on to Shabbos itself while still retaining the general theme: a person should not read alone by the light of a candle on Shabbos. The candle may begin flickering annoyingly or dim, causing the reader to unthinkingly adjust the wick or (with an oil lamp) increase the flow of oil. Either action transgresses the prohibition of igniting/burning (also one of the 39).
Posted by adam at May 11, 2006 03:01 AM