Eiruvin 97a, b

The rabbis begin today's daf with more discussion about tefilin.  They are determining how and when one can carry tefilin that have been found outside of the Shabbat boundary.  They understand that new tefilin cannot be carried, but why?  The rabbis speak about differences between new and used tefilin: new tefilin may not have been examined, may or may not be knotted, may or may not be wrapped and/or in bundles, may or may not be in pairs or alone, may or may not be dangerous to carry (for different reasons), may or may not be found close to the end of Shabbat, and more.  

In daf b, the rabbis set their minds to the differences between carrying tefilin and other objects from outside of the Shabbat boundary.  They speak about the person-to-person method, where items are passed through many hands while no one carries further than four cubits.  The rabbis compare carrying tefilin to carrying a newborn baby, a vessel containing a permitted amount of food, and a barrel of water.  They discuss the health needs of a baby briefly.  They then discuss the notion of water as an object.

Water is thought of as having no substance.  If it has no substance, then we are permitted to carry more than a prescribed amount of water outside Shabbat boundaries.  The barrel is secondary to the water, as the water is the object of importance being carried.  Thus the barrel is nullified relative to the water (Rava).

In their discussion of carrying food in a vessel, the rabbis tell us that the vessel is also nullified as it is secondary to the food that it carries (any amount of food less than the amount allowed for carrying on Shabbat).    Adding some humour (in my opinion) to the conversation, the rabbis explain that carrying a person in a bed is allowed on Shabbat.  Why? Because the bed is secondary to the person lying in the bed.  Furthermore, it is permitted to carry a person on Shabbat because a person can exert effort and share the load of carrying him/herself.  So even if a person is on a bed and thus cannot share the load of carrying, the bed is considered secondary to the person and the person is considered to have the capacity to make a physical contribution, thus carrying a person in a bed is allowed on Shabbat.  Oy!

A new mishna is introduced at the end of daf b.  It begins a conversation about one end of a scroll that has fallen from a window.  Is it permitted to rewind the scroll, whether or not the scroll has stretched ten handbreadths from the ground?  The rabbis suggest that the scroll should be turned upside down if it is left out with respect for the sanctity of the writing.

I wonder why some topics caught the interest of the rabbis at different points in time.  Why did the conversation about carrying a newborn last only a few short lines here while it was given more consideration in an earlier daf?  Will it come up again in something seemingly unrelated?  

I suppose that is the point.  In Talmud, all is connected with everything.  It spins around and around on itself, in time and in topic, where one must know what will be said and what was already said to understand what is being said.  It feels clear to me that learning Talmud is learning for a lifetime.