We begin a new perek with daf 89. Focusing on rooftops, today's daf opens up questions regarding architecture, community structure, leisure, and other ideas.
The rabbis debate about whether or not an eiruv is required between rooftops. They consider the heights of the rooftops, their ownership, their relative size, their use, and whether or not they are enclosed. Some rabbis believe that most of these considerations are unnecessary; as long as the rooftops are not greater than 10 handbreadths higher/lower than the other, they are already connected (R. Meir). I am imagining that this is due to the concept of lavud, but that is just a guess. Other rabbis lean toward more stringent interpretations.
What I find most interesting is the idea that people would be carrying things from one rooftop to another at all. And one note suggests that there might be residents upon the rooftops. Were people living or spending time on their rooftops? Was this leisure time, or sleep time, or work time? Would an entire family spend time together on the rooftops or congregation be determined by sex? Was the rooftop a part of the home; an extra room, or was it simply a place to carry things from one part of town to another?
Answering these questions would help me better understand the context within which our rabbis have been arguing. If, for example, people slept on the roof at night - husbands and wives together - might that change the rabbis' understandings of the night sky and astrological signs? Or, perhaps, would they have different concerns regarding bathing, or the proximity of dangerous animals, or the closeness of neighbours who were also sleeping on the roof? All of the circumstances of our lives inform all other parts of our lives. The rabbis were not exempt from this rule. Knowing more about the practicality of their lives helps me to understand the reasoning behind their opinions and assertions.
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I know that my dad often talks about how, in Iraq, the roof became the summer bedroom because it was much too hot to sleep inside in the summer months...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your words. It makes sense that the roof would serve as an extension of the home, particularly in the summer heat.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if people actually carried things from one rooftop to another when your father was using the roof in Iraq for sleep. The rooftops would have to have been quite close to each other (imagine the potential fun for kids/worry for parents, wanting to jump from one rooftop to another!).