The first of the four rulings:
The House of Shammi ruled that, on Friday, one should not begin soaking ingredients for ink or dye, or begin soaking animal feed, unless there was enough time left before nightfall to complete the preparation.
(They felt that a person should not have his utensils doing work for them on Shabbos that the person would not be allowed to begin on Shabbos. Hence, they shouldn't even begin a process that didn't require their supervision or interference unless there was enough time left for it to finish before Shabbos.)
The House of Hillel didn't agree and permitted this.
Something that's interesting to note here: I don't think we actually rule like the House of Shammai in this case, despite the preface I put in. Because I know for certain that you're allowed to hang out washing on the line late on Friday, even though it'll continue drying on Shabbos...
Hmm.
Posted by adam at May 16, 2006 08:18 AM