uteruses with leaves on top

The theme of separate seating in shuls has been with me for a little while now. I find, for myself, that the more demarcations we make between genders, the more I find myself thinking about gender-related issues, specifically sex, which of course is precisely what all these segregations are supposed to prevent.

Well, second day chag I was at a lunch 'n' learn led by a young and enthusiastic YU rabbi. His topic had to do with sitting in the succah on Shemini Atzeret - we sit in the succah but don't make a bracha, and his question was what's with that? surely if you're sure enough of the day to sit in the succah you make a bracha, and if you're sure enough not to make a bracha, why bother with the succah at all?* Unfortunately, he got into a dreadful pickle trying to explain it, so I can't explain how the conclusion is related to the question. But the answer is apparently that the succah is an enormous uterus and therefore we sit in it on Shemini Atzeret, the day of solemn gathering, but don't make a bracha.

Which merely reinforced my impression that Modern Orthodoxy is obsessed with sex. The succah a uterus, indeed.



* It has to do with how we act on different levels of uncertainty when tempered with various social considerations, and it's a squiddly bit complicated, but IMO it's basically because if you've been to all the trouble to make a succah you want to keep using it as long as you have the slightest excuse so to do.

Daf-Yomi treasures from Eruvin - 11b, the Eruv Wars

Hot on the heels of Shabbat, Eruvin takes the issue of not carrying objects in public domains, and addresses itself to precise definitions of domains, in particular the boundaries which define them. Clearly an entirely closed and high wall is some kind of marker, and clearly some kind of entrance is permitted, but what exactly constitutes an entrance?

So the question "What is a door?" and its complement question "What is an enclosure?" are absolutely done to death in the first few daf.

Now, everyone probably remembers hearing about some eruv being constructed - it doesn't matter where, any heavily Jewish area except Israel - there's the group which wants the eruv, and the group which not only doesn't want the eruv for various ideological reasons, but tears it down every time it's put up.

So. Rav Nachman and Rav Sheshet disagree on a technicality of eruv-building. Rav Nachman then went off and built an eruv his way, just incidentally for the Resh Galuta, the top Jewish political bod.

One of Rav Sheshet's stooges came and told him oooooo, Rav Nachman built the Resh Galuta's eruv his way and not your way! and Rav Sheshet told Rav Gadda, his sidekick, to go pull down the eruv and throw it away. So he did - went up to the Resh Galuta's house, ripped up his eruv, and threw it out. Unfortunately for Rav Gadda, he was caught in the act, and the Resh Galuta's household were a bit ticked, and locked him in a cupboard.* But Rav Sheshet pulled rank and made them let him out.

Later, Rav Sheshet meets Rabba bar Shmuel, sidles up to him and quietly asks him what the right answer to the eruv question was. Rabba bar Shmuel quotes him a piece of ancient legal code which proves that Rav Nachman was utterly, completely correct in his eruv methods, and Rav Sheshet was utterly and totally wrong.

Rav Sheshet realises that he tore up the Resh Galuta's eruv for no reason at all, and his heart falls into his sandals. He had the wrong answer, and all because he didn't know the early codes well enough! Good thing Rav Nachman didn't know that source either, but even so, he doesn't want to be proved wrong, he won't be top rabbi any more, he'll be laughed out of town.

So Rav Sheshet says to Rabba bar Shmuel, please, please, don't let this get about, don't let any of the Resh Galuta's lot know about that source! don't tell them Rav Nachman was right! don't ruin my reputation!




* ok, I invented the cupboard. But they did lock him up.