Pesachim 55a, b

At the start of today's daf, we are reminded of the notion of presumptuousness, yohara.  They speak of the bridegroom's option of 'forgetting' to say the shema on his wedding night because of his preoccupation with completing the very important mitzvah in the bridal chamber.  If he says the shema anyway, is this simply a custom? or is his demonstrating his superior focus and thus being presumptuous?  How might this appear to other people?

In daf (a), the rabbis examine custom verses prohibition with the introduction of a new mishna.  They use 'performing labour on the 9th of Av' and 'performing labour in the Judea/the Galleli before the eve of Pesach' as their examples.  They note the typical conduct of Jews in different places at regarding different holidays.  They note the difficultly understanding what is minhag and what is halacha.  They follow a debate between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel.

Another mishna focuses both on when work must be completed on erev Pesach (midday) and what work might be granted exceptional (tailors, barbers, launderers and possibly shoemakers). But can one initiate a new project at that time? or simply complete an order?  And of course the order should be directly related to the Festival and not for another purpose. 

An interesting idea: on the intermediate days, people are permitted to sew, as usual. People who come in from overseas, people who are released from jail, those who cut hair or do laundry, and those who repair shoes can do so on intermediate days.  Why?  Because these things are necessary to fulfill the mitzvot of the Festival.  Especially for pilgrims, who will need to walk home again in those same shoes.

Two more mishna in this daf.  The first tells us about caring for animals on the 14 of Nisan: hens may be placed on their eggs, returned to their eggs, and placed on another deceased hen's eggs.  We can sweep under an animal's legs on the 14 of Nisan, and on the intermediate days we can clear it to the sides.  Finally we may take vessels to the craftperson's home for repairs and bring others home, even if they are not for the Festival.

In the Gemara, we witness a conversation regarding how long it might take for the eggs to be ruined and the major financial loss that could incur from these issues.  Not only can dung be swept away, but it can be removed to the dump if it becomes 'filty', Rava tells us.  One has to wonder why vessels are allowed to be repaired in a craftsperson's home, even on erev Pesach, even if the repair is unrelated to Pesach. Was one of the rabbis a craftsperson who would benefit from such a ruling?  

This larger conversation regarding the laws of intermediate days and the laws/customs regarding erev-Festivals is quite complex and I can't say that I understand the logic behind the rulings yet.

A final mishna is shared with us at the end of daf(b).  The Jews of Jericho performed six actions against common practice.  Only three of these were reprimanded by the rabbis.  These were permitting use of consecrated carob/sycamore branches, eating fallen fruit on Shabbat, designating the corners of vegetable fields for the poor.  The customs going unpunished were grafting palm trees all day on the 14th of Nisan, bundling shema, harvesting and piling grain before the omer offeriing was brought.