Berachot 27: When Do Morning & Afternoon Prayers End?; The End of Rabban Gamliel as Nasi

Today's daf considers the endpoints of the morning and afternoon prayers.  The rabbis continue to debate about when the additional prayer may be recited.  Does it include the seventh hour, noon?  Depending on when prayers must be recited, which prayer comes first, the afternoon prayer or the additional prayer?

Rabbi Yehuda ben Bava testified on five matters of halacha:

• When an orphan girl who was married by her mother or brother before age twelve reaches age twelve, she may retroactively annul their marriage as it cause problems related to levirate marriage/chalitza.
• a woman may be allowed to remarry after her husband's death based on the testimony of one witness unlike the two witnesses required in other situations
• a rooster is stoned to death in Jerusalem because it killed a person like the ox and other animals
• forty day-old wine was used for libation on the altar
• the daily morning offering was sacrificed at four hours of the day

This final testimony teaches that "until" means "until and including".  The rabbis continually come back to "And when the sun grew hot it melted," to help them understand what is included in 'the morning',  four or six hours of the day (Exodus 16:21).  

The Gemara discusses where we should stand when we pray - not directly in front of our rabbis, which would which would indicate that we feel as if we are equal to our rabbis, and not behind our rabbis because it could seem that we are bowing.  A baraita teaches about speaking in the name of our rabbis.  Further, we are not permitted to enter the bathhouse to perspire on Shabbat.

Can a mistake be reversed?  If we pray thinking that it is Shabbat, and it is not Shabbat, must we pray again?  Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says that we need not pray again because a community should not be burdened to pray a second time.  The rabbis discuss one who says havdala, the prayer separating Shabbat from Sunday. 

The end of our daf shares a story about Rabban Gamliel and Rabbi Yehoshua.  A student asked whether the evening prayer was optional or obligatory .  Rabban Gamliel said that it was required and Rabbi Yehoshua said that it was optional.  They discussed this when the 'masters of the shield', the Torah scholars who argue about Torah, entered the study hall.  Rabbi Yehoshua then agreed with Rabban Gamliel's opinion, that evening prayers were obligatory.  Rabban Galiel challenged him.  Rabbi Yehoshua stood up and said, "If I were alive and the student were dead, the living can contradict the dead and I could deny that I issued that ruling.  But we are both alive, and I cannot contradict the living.  I have to admit what I said".  

Rabbi Yehoshua continued to stand because Rabban Gamliel had not told him to sit.  The people began to resent Rabban Gamliel and they told Chutzpit who disseminated Rabban Gamliel's lecture to stop speaking.  The students reminded Rabban Gamliel about the fact that he also afflicted Rabbi Yehoshua on the prior Rosh HaShana.  And they agreed that he had afflicted others as well.  The students agreed to remove Rabban Gamliel from the position of Nasi.  The Sages decided to establish Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya because he was wise, rich and a tenth generation descendant of Ezra.  When they asked him if he would be the Nasi, he answered "I will go and consult with my household".  He consulted with his wife.