English: “This shall be for them” — the two thousand cubits of the Shabbos techum are squared like a square tablet so that one gains the corners. As Rav Chananya taught: “This shall be for them the open lands of the cities” — like this shall be all who rest on Shabbos.
Type of Learning
Halakhic shape of the Shabbos techum derived from the migrash measure.
What Is Learned
The two-thousand-cubit limit is measured as a square (not a circle), giving the walker the benefit of the corners; the verse’s “this” supplies the model for every Shabbos techum.