Bava Batra 74: Fantastic Travels

Today's daf is detailed, fascinating, and far too rich for me to look at this evening.  Some highlights only:

• The rabbis tell fantastical stories about their travels
• We learn about sea monsters, sea treasures, the voice of G-d, and giant creatures
• Each tale involves impossible situations in unusual places where G-d's grandeur surpasses all threats
• The leviathan is discussed in some detail as male and female; their threats are different and thus they are managed differently by G-d
• An alternate version of the creation of the earth and animals suggests that the angel of the sea refused G-d's order that it swallow excess water from the earth, and so G-d made it a physical entity, i.e. killed it

Notably the rabbis give each other permission to create these truly magical stories without claiming that any of them is transgressing halacha.  Perhaps the rabbis believed that their tales would allow the people to believe that they deserved greater status and respect.  It is clear that these stories are metaphors, but some of them seem to challenge Torah deliberately.