Eiruvin 85a, b

Daf 85 reminds me that we study the Talmud to understand what the rabbis were trying to tell us - and the Talmud is a collection of conversations about what the previous Sages were trying to tell the rabbis. This act of continual interpretation is a perfect forerunner for the invention of psychoanalysis, modern literary criticism, and many other applied systems of thought.

Today we learn about rules regarding eiruvin for neighbours who share a cistern that sits in between the two windows of the homes.  The rabbis argue about first and second balconies and throwing/ lowering items.  In daf b, the rabbis focus on a statement about two residences situated on adjacent courtyard where each residence is close to one ruin and far from another.  Are residents allowed to use the ruin closest to them as a place to which they can throw? or as a place to adjust a burden while walking on Shabbat?  The rabbis describe a number of different possible blueprints for this scenario.  They consider the heights of each home in relation to the other; whether it is permitted or prohibited to place an eiruv in a gatehouse, a portico or a balcony.  And then they look at whether it is allowed to place an eiruv in a woodshed, a storehouse, a hayshed or a cowshed.  They discuss the merging of alleyways verses the creation of eiruvin for courtyards.  Finally they discuss using the bread from a dinner toward establishing an eiruv and/or merging an alleyway.

The daf ends with what looks to be a fascinating conversation about wealth, learning, power, and respect.  We are introduced to a man named Bonyas and his son, who approach Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi demonstrating their financial status.  I'm looking forward to the conclusion of this story tomorrow!

There are so many pieces of today's daf that are missing for me.  Why do two individuals sharing courtyard have to create an eiruv at all?  Why would they change each others' abilities to carry?  What is the significance of lowering versus raising something in the laws regarding work on Shabbat?   What were they throwing onto the ruins?  What were these 'ruins'?  Why would someone be carrying a burden on Shabbat at all?  How does water differ from other substances in terms of carrying on Shabbat?  How and why do we merge alleyways in the air or on the ground?  Why are the rabbis spending so much energy and time on this topic, a side-bar to masechet Shabbat?

I wonder about whether the entire masechet is about community harmony.  To follow laws like these, it would be necessary to have ongoing conversations with one's neighbours.  Every time a person moved in or out of the courtyard, the conversation would be renewed.  When we talk to our neighbours in an effort to create a mutually beneficial situation, we are creating community.  Jewish prayer is not done alone.  Ideally, we pray in minyanim, in a group of at least 10 adults.  Perhaps these conversations about eiruvin are actually conversations about creating community.