When you study today’s daf TB Pesakhim 12, you will understand it better if you think in terms of a perfect day when the day begins at 6 AM and ends at 6 PM. By dividing the daytime hours into 12 equal parts each hour is 60 minutes long, the unit of measure we are accustomed to. That means in this perfect day the first hour is from 6 AM to 7 AM; the second hour from 7 AM to 8 AM; the third hour from 8 AM to 9 AM; the fourth our from 9 AM to 10 AM; the fifth hour from 10 AM to 11 AM; and the six hour from 11 AM to 12 noon. At the conclusion of the sixth hour we are forbidden by the Torah eat any more hametz. To prevent accidentally transgressing both Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehuda proscribe when we should stop eating the hametz and when we need to destroy it.
In a capital court case the witnesses are asked what time the murder took place. Abaye and Rava give two different margins of error that underpin Rabbi Meir’s and Rabbi Yehuda’s position of what is an acceptable margin of error between the two witnesses. These margins of error are larger than the margins of error they allow when it comes to eating and destroying the hametz. (See the Mishnah on TB Pesakhim 11b)
Three reasons are given why Rabbi Yehuda is stricter when it comes to Passover and hametz. 1) “There is a difference between the issues of testimony and leaven, as testimony is entrusted to the vigilant. One comes to testify only if he thoroughly scrutinized the subject of his testimony. Therefore, he will not err significantly with regard to the time in question. However, the prohibition against eating leavened bread is a halakha entrusted to all, and not everyone is able to correctly determine the time.” 2) “The removal of leaven can be performed only by burning it, and therefore by prohibiting the consumption of leaven, the Sages provided him with one hour during which to gather wood to burn the leaven.” 3) “Rava reconsidered the previous explanation and said: It is a rabbinic decree due to a cloudy day, when one is unable to observe the precise position of the sun, increasing the likelihood of confusion.” (Sefaria.org. translation)
“The Gemara
raises a difficulty: If so, then even at fourth hour let one
no longer eat leaven, as according to Rabbi Yehuda a person errs by
three hours less a bit. Rav Pappa said: The fourth hour is
mealtime for everyone, and therefore everyone is aware of that hour and
will not confuse it with another.” (Sefaria.org. translation) Because we always
eat at the same time, our stomach knows what time it is!
In order to understand better when meals are eaten is important to remember that back in Talmudic times people only ate 2 meals a day, a large meal in the morning and a similar meal in the evening close to the setting of the sun. Different groups of people of course would snack at different times of the day.
“In light of Rav Pappa’s statement, the Gemara discusses the topic of mealtimes. The Sages taught in a baraita: Eating in the first hour of the morning is the time of eating for Ludim[1], who are members of a nation of cannibals, and they are ravenous and in a hurry to eat. The second hour is the time of eating for robbers [listin]. Since they spend the night stealing, they eat early in the morning. The third hour is the time of eating for heirs, i.e., people who inherited a lot of money and do not work for their sustenance. Their only preoccupation in the early hours of the morning is eating. The fourth hour is the time of eating for workers. The fifth hour is the time of eating for Torah scholars. The sixth hour is the time of eating for all people.”
[1] At the
root of my predicament are several traditions, reported in the Talmud, concerning individuals who fell into the hands of beings
known as "Ludim."It is clear in each of these cases that the victims
were very distressed, and wanted desperately to extricate themselves from their
predicament. https://people.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Shokel/031204_CanaanCannibals.html#:~:text=At%20the%20root%20of%20my,extricate%20themselves%20from%20their%20predicament.
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