Shabbat 10: Judgement and Bathing on Erev Shabbat

In yesterday's daf, we learned that if we have already begun a haircut, bath, meal or judgement on erev Shabbat, we need not stop that activity.  While discussing the meal, the rabbis turn to the question of timing - when does a meal begin.  The rabbis then suggest that the time for prayer is distinct just as the time for Torah is distinct.  We should not rush our Torah study to get to prayer.  And we should not rush our prayer for Torah study.

When considering judgement, the rabbis ask when it is appropriate to have a trial.  Court should adjourn at non, says Rav Sheshet  This is because we will avoid any drunkenness that might be caused by wine at lunch.  We then learn about a baraita that says: eating in the first hour of the morning, one hour after dawn, is when the Ludim eat - the are cannibals and ravenous.  Robbers eat at the second hour because they spend the night stealing and are hungry in the morning.  Heirs eat at the third hour because they are only concerned with their own appetites.  Workers and perhaps all others eat at the fourth hour.  Torah scholars eat at the sixth hour.

When considering the halachot regarding prayer in a bathhouse, the rabbis are at odds with each other.  Is it permitted to pray at all in a bathhouse if there are bathrooms there, and thus it is a disgusting place?  Is prayer limited to the entry room where people are clothed and it is permitted to say "shalom" to each other?  What if the bathhouse has not been used as a bathhouse yet - is prayer permitted?  The rabbis even wonder about saying certain words to describe G-d while they are in a bathhouse, for those words should not be associated with G-d's name in such a place.  

We learn about sharing a gift.  It is suggested that we should always inform others when we give them gifts.  The proof texts for this are G-d's sharing the gift of Shabbat with us and Moshe's glowing face after he received the gift of Torah.  This was said by Rava bar Mechasseya who said that Rav Chama bar Gurya said that Rav said it.  Other things that were recorded as said by the same people: 

• One should never distinguish one son from other sons, for Jacob gave two sela of fine wool to Joseph which led the brothers to be jealous which led to the Jewish people being enslaved in Egypt
• One should always seek and dwell in a city that has been settled in the recent past because it would have fewer sins, like when Lot told the angel that they were running to a city that was close, which means newly settled, and its sins were meagre

Our rabbis are so very careful to follow the logic of their own questions and arguments.  However, their questions are not comprehensive.  For example, the rabbis could have chosen to follow questions and debate about not just when a trial is appropriate regarding drunkenness, but about how different judges who are known to have longer trials should be encouraged to end those trials long before erev Shabbat.  

The questions that we ask are based on our own experiences, histories and assumptions.  If the group of rabbis in discussion were more diverse, different questions and possible answers would have been shared.  Our tradition is vast and strong but still limited by our human constraints.