Shabbat 115: Holy Letters

A new chapter: If holy writings are threatened by a fire, save them on Shabbat, no matter what language they're written in. Also: A story to Rabban Gamliel about Rabban Gamliel, his grandfather, who hadn't allowed the same policy re texts - and then the accuracy of that story is disputed. And: The essential value of scrolls in translation. Plus: the parameters of the texts that are holy enough or texts enough to count as worthy of breaking Shabbat to save. Also: what's the shortest text worth saving? 85 characters or "Vayhi benso'a aron," which is a smaller unit, and sufficient, but the exception to prove the rule. And: what about those 85 letters? Do they have to be consecutive? That's a dispute between Rav Huna and Rav Hisda. An important aside: Owning scrolls in that era was a much bigger deal than our default of owning books.