Jerusalem Talmud Shabbat 16:8

משנה: כּוֹפִין קְעָרָה עַל גַּבֵּי הַנֵּר בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁלֹּא תֶאֱחוֹז בַּקּוֹרָה וְעַל צוֹאָה שֶׁל קָטָן וְעַל עַקְרָב שֶׁלֹּא תִישָּׁךְ. אָמַר רִבִּי יְהוּדָה מַעֲשֶׂה בָא לִפְנֵי רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי בַּעֲרָב וְאָמַר חוֹשְׁשַׁנִי אֲנִי לוֹ מֵחַטָּאת: MISHNAH: One may put a pot over a light lest it set fire to a beam¹⁸To prevent the house being set on fire one may cause the flame to be ultimately extinguished once the oxygen in the vessel has been used up; this is indirect causation which only is rabbinically forbidden and can be waved in an emergency., and over a child’s excrement, and over a scorpion to prevent it from stinging. Rebbi Jehudah said, this happened before Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakkai in Arab and he said, I fear that he incurred liability for a purification sacrifice¹⁹He was not sure whether the person putting the vessel over the scorpion was doing so in order to save people from being stung, in which case the action was permitted on the Sabbath, or whether he intended to use the scorpion for medical purposes after the Sabbath, in which case if would be a violation of biblical Sabbath rules..

הלכה: כּוֹפִין קְעָרָה עַל גַּבֵּי הַנֵּר. ייָבֹא כַיי דָּמַר רִבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֵּרִבִּי יַנַּאי. אֲנִי לֹא שָׁמַעְתִּי מֵאַבָּא. אֲחוֹתִי אָֽמְרָה לִי מִשְּׁמוֹ. בֵּיצָה שֶׁנּוֹלְדָה בְיוֹם טוֹב סוֹמְכִין לָהּ בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁלֹּא תִּתְגַּלְגֵּל. אֲבָל אֵין כּוֹפִין עָלֶיהָ אֶת הַכֶּלִי. שְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר. אַף כּוֹפִין עָלֶיהָ אֶת הַכֶּלִי. HALAKHAH: “One may put a pot over a light.” It comes following what ¹³³This is copied from Shabbat 4:2:6" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Shabbat.4.2.6">Chapter 4, Notes 40–41. Rebbi Simeon ben Rebbi Yannai said: I did not hear from my father; my sister told me in his name. An egg which was laid on the Sabbath one props up against [a vessel] so it should not roll off. But one does not cover it with a vessel. But Samuel says, one may cover it with a vessel.

וְעַל צוֹאָה שֶׁל קָטָן. וְלֹא מַאֲכָל תַּרְנוֹגַלִּין אִינּוּן. אָמַר רִבִּי עוקְבַּן. תִּיפְתָּר בְּאִילֵּין רַכִּיכָה. שֶׁלֹּא יָבוֹאוּ לִידֵי מֵירוּחַ. “And over a child’s excrement.” Is that not chicken feed¹³⁴Therefore it should be obvious that it is not muqṣeh and should not be mentioned in Shabbat 16:1:2-9:3" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Shabbat.16.1.2-9.3">Mishnah 8.? Rebbi Uqban said, explain it if it is soft, that it should not be smeared around.

וְעַל עַקְרָב שֶׁלֹּא תִישָּׁךְ. מַעֲשֶׂה בָא לִפְנֵי רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי בַּעֲרָב וְאָמַר חוֹשֵׁשׁ אֲנִי לוֹ מֵחַטָּאת. רִבִּי עוּלָּא אָמַר. שְׁמוֹנָה עָשָׂר שְׁנִין עֲבִיד הֲוֵי יְהִיב בְּהָדָא עֲרָב וְלָא אֲתַא קוֹמוֹי אֶלָּא אִילֵּין תְּרֵין עוֹבְדַיָּא. אָמַר. גָּלִיל גָּלִיל. שְׂנֵאת הַתּוֹרָה. סּוֹפָךְ לַעֲשׂוֹת בְּמִסִּיקִין. “And over a scorpion to prevent it from stinging.” “This happened before Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakkai in Arab¹³⁵A village not far from Sepphoris. and he said, I fear that he incurred liability for a purification sacrifice¹⁹He was not sure whether the person putting the vessel over the scorpion was doing so in order to save people from being stung, in which case the action was permitted on the Sabbath, or whether he intended to use the scorpion for medical purposes after the Sabbath, in which case if would be a violation of biblical Sabbath rules..” Rebbi Ulla said, eighteen years did he spend in Arab and only these two cases¹³⁶The one mentioned in the Mishnah here and another case in Shabbat 22:3:1" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Shabbat.22.3.1">Mishnah 22:3. came before him. He said, “Galilee, Galilee, you are hating Torah; in the end you will work for discharged veterans¹³⁷Latin missicius, adj. “discharged from military service”, cf. Bava qamma 10:6, Note 60..”