The shvitz and me TB Shabbat 147

Today’s daf TB Shabbat 147 took me back my year studying in Israel when I was a junior in college. We discovered an old-fashioned shvitz with a hot water pool, a cold water pool, and a pool with tepid water.

“The Gemara cites that Rabbi Ḥelbo said: The wine of Phrygia [Perugaita] and the water of the Deyomset deprived Israel of the ten lost tribes. Because the members of these tribes were attracted to the pleasures of wine and bathing and did not occupy themselves with Torah, they were lost to the Jewish people.

 “The Gemara relates that once Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh happened to come there, to Phrygia and Deyomset, and he was drawn after them, and his Torah learning was forgotten. When he returned, he stood to read from a Torah scroll and was supposed to read the verse: “This month shall be for you [haḥodesh hazeh lakhem]” (Exodus 12:2), but he had forgotten so much that he could barely remember how to read the Hebrew letters, and instead he read: Have their hearts become deaf [haḥeresh haya libbam], interchanging the similar letters reish for dalet, yod for zayin, and beit for khaf. The Sages prayed and asked for God to have mercy on him, and his learning was restored.” (Sefria.org translation)

 Even though he shvitz was not in the best physical shape, spending time there was relaxing and I did go there from time to time. One rabbinical school student loved that experienced so much he must have bought a year’s pass. If memory serves me correctly, he went there almost daily. But unlike Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh, his Talmud skills never were forgotten. He could pick up any page of Gemara and sight read the daf, Rashi, and tosafot! Back then I knew I could not go to the shvitz that often without neglecting my studies. By the way, when I returned to Israel sometime years later the shvitz had permanently closed.

 I’m still not as good as that colleague was, but I’m hoping that my daf yomi journey will continually improve my Gemara skills.