Sukkah, Daf Mem Daled, Part 6
Introduction
The final section contains another statement by Aibu.
אמר אייבו משום רבי אלעזר בר צדוק: אל יהלך אדם בערבי שבתות יותר משלש פרסאות. אמר רב כהנא: לא אמרן אלא לביתיה, אבל לאושפיזיה – אמאי דנקיט סמיך.
Aibu said in the name of R. Elazar b. Zadok: One should not walk more than three parasangs on erev Shabbat.
R. Kahana said: They made this statement only [in reference to a man who was going to] his home, but if he was going to his inn he relies upon [the food] which he has with him.
Aibu says that on Friday a person should not walk more than three parasangs. The exact length of a parasang is unknown, but a good estimate may be four kilometers. Thus this is about 12 km (7-8 miles). The problem with going so far on erev Shabbat is that he might not make it home. Rather, he should stop and prepare food for Shabbat wherever he is.
R. Kahana says that this is so only if he is going home. They won’t know that he is coming and they won’t prepare food for him. This will make him angry. But if he is going to an inn, he won’t expect them to make food for him, so he’ll be okay with eating whatever food he might have with him.
ואיכא דאמרי אמר רב כהנא: לא נצרכא אלא אפילו לביתיה.
אמר רב כהנא: בדידי הוה עובדא, ואפילו כסא דהרסנא לא אשכחי.
There are those that say that R. Kahana said: The statement was necessary even in the case of a man [who was going] to his home.
R. Kahana said: It actually happened with me, and I did not find even small fried fish.
There is another version of what R. Kahana said. In this version he says that Aibu’s statement refers even to one traveling to his own home. We might have thought that at home, they would give him whatever food they have. But Aibu says nevertheless a person shouldn’t surprise his family by popping in unexpectedly on Friday night. All the more so, one should not go to an inn, where he won’t find any food whatsoever.
The sugya closes with a story in which R. Kahana himself arrives at an inn on Friday night and there’s no food for him. Not even a small dish of fried fish.