Because of the need to know what is permitted activity on the Moed, we learn about the daily routines of our ancestors.
Today the Gemara tells us about moving residences and moving furniture, picking up items from an artisan, buying and selling things in the market like spices, and caring for our produce, like figs that require covering.
The rabbis debate about what should be appropriate actions on the Intermediate Festival Days. They generally take into account the spirit of the days - celebratory. Simultaneously they balance this with the importance of the days - requiring a different set of rules than weekdays or Shabbat. Often the rabbis rule that we are permitted to do things on the Moed that cannot wait until after the end of the holiday. For example, food can be purchased, items can be retrieved or given away (as this will heighten feelings of joy). However, if these things can be done reasonably before the holiday, they should be completed before the holiday.
I picture people moving furniture from their home to the adjacent yard, delighting in the knowledge that their neighbours will have the furniture that they need. I picture people hurriedly shopping for spices, being careful to do so without drawing attention, for this could have been done before the holiday - but is permitted. I imagine running to retrieve a new cutting board from the artisan across the street.
It is difficult for me to imagine a lifestyle that requires permission to perform these daily tasks. The rabbis whose words we read have held such tremendous power over people's lives. I recognize the benefits - psychological, emotional, physical, spiritual - that can accompany a ritualized, structured life. At the same time, when we give our decision-making power over to another person, even if that person is a great rabbi, we lose some of what is G-d-given to each of us: the ability to think for ourselves. This tension is forever present in my reading of the Talmud.
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