Bava Kamma 82: Ezra's Ordinances - or are they?

Joshua wasn't the only person with conditions for the Jews entering HaAretz.  We learn that Ezra the Scribe instituted ten ordinances.  These are:

• People must read Torah on Shabbat afternoons, Mondays and Thursdays
• The Gemara discusses reasons for this, including the difficulty of going three days without Torah
• Judges must sit at court on Mondays and Thursdays
• The days that people were in town, anyhow, to learn Torah
• One does laundry on Thursdays
• This must be aimed at the women, and the Gemara suggests that this encourages clean clothing on Shabbat.
• One should eat garlic on Shabbat eve
• Garlic was thought to cure intestinal worms, increase sexual potency, and generally enhance health.  This ordinance was intended for those who engaged in Sexual intercourse that evening - Torah scholars were expected to have intercourse with their wives once each week, preferably on Shabbat
• Women should rise and bake bread early when they wish
• Generally women baked on Friday mornings so that poor families could take from their bread on Shabbat and the week.
• Women should wear a breechcloth
• Thought to be referring to underwear and suggested due to reasons of modesty.  Could also refer to an apron that covers one's dress which would otherwise be pulled up in front to catch crumbs and avoid staining on the front of one's skirt.
• Women must comb their hair and then immerse in a mikvah
• Paddlers of cosmetics and perfumes should travel though each town
• To help women continue to be attractive to their husbands
• All should attend a mikvah after a seminal emission.

The Gemara shares the arguments above.  It also considers whether or not Ezra in fact created some of these ordinances.  Perhaps some of them originated in rabbinic literature or even in Torah text.

The Gemara then returns to our original Mishna.  First - are chickens permitted in the city?  What would cause a city to become idolatrous?  How is Jerusalem different from all other cities?  Next - pigs cannot be found anywhere in Jerusalem.  How does this operate in practice?  Who was in power when these rules were actually instituted - long before Ezra the Scribe?  

We end our daf with a phrase said by the Sages: Cursed is one who raises pigs and cursed is one who teaches his son Greek wisdom.  What do we know about Greek wisdom?  perhaps this referred to Greek culture and literature, because our notes teach us that Jews spoke Koine Greek to communicate freely with their Gentile neighbours.  Very few people knew other parts of Greek culture, but those who did were used to translate and communicate often.