Topics covered:
No braiding hair on Shabbos, which we learn from the Holy One, for Whom the acme of the whole creation was Eve, and the final touch was braiding her hair. In this case, braiding is a rabbinic prohibition based on similarity to “building,” which is a Torah prohibtion. Milking an animal is prohibited on Shabbos, unless it’s done to alleviate the animal’s discomfort. Sweeping a dirt floor is prohibited, but sweepeing a tile floor is permitted. Cutting a leaf from a plant on Shabbos is a Torah violation due to “reaping.” Cutting a leaf from a potted plant is a rabbinic violation, unless the bottom is perforated (roots could grow through), in which case it’s a Torah violation. Earthenware vessels cease to be vessels in terms of ritual impurity when broken, but they may still be useful for a different purpose, and thus subject to tumah with respect to that other use.