Rava is really into this ritual. The final discussion before the new Mishna is about who can watch this ordeal. Where Abaye tries to limit the Mishna to only women watching - which admittedly is a stretch for a Mishna that says "whoever wants to watch can watch" - but it does keep with the goals of the ritual. If only women can watch, then it serves its purpose as a deterrent to women and you don't have the sadomasochistic men watching. Rava, however, rebukes this position and offers a harsh interpretation -- not only are men allowed to watch, but women are obligated to watch. Obligating women to watch is just as much of a stretch of the original Mishna as saying that men cannot watch as Abaye said.
In our day, it is hard to comprehend Rava's motivations here.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
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