tosefot recognizes that times change TB Moed Katan 11

With today’s daf TB Moed Katan 11 we finish the first chapter of our massekhet and begin the second chapter. Of course, we are only allowed to prepare food during the week of the holiday that can be eaten on the holiday.

“It was taught in the mishna: With regard to all preserved food from which he can eat on the Festival, he may preserve them on the intermediate days of a Festival. The Gemara relates that the Bedita River once overflowed, depositing large quantities of fish in small water deposits on the river bank on the intermediate days of a Festival. Everyone went and trapped and brought home fish, and Rava permitted them to salt some of the fish.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Rava’s permission to salt some of the fish and thereby preserving them seems to fly in the face of the Mishnah because not all of that fish could have been eaten during the week of the holiday. Consequently, the people living by the Bedita River were preparing food on the intermediate days of the festival to be eaten after the conclusion of the festival. When challenged by Abaye, Rava provides two different answers why he ruled leniently. First of all, if he didn’t permit the preservation of the fish they would have gone bad and created an excessive loss. Secondly, the salt from the salty fish can be squeezed out and the fish can be eaten. In fact the Gemara gives two examples. “as in that case of Shmuel, where they prepared recently salted fish for him by pressing it sixty times and he ate the fish. The Gemara relates that Rava happened to come to the house of the Exilarch and they prepared freshly salted fish for him by pressing it sixty times, and he ate it.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Since were on the topic of fish, the first chapter concludes with Adda the fisherman giving Rav some advice. ” Rav said: Adda the fisherman told me that a fish that has sat for some time and is close to spoiling is at its best.”  (Sefaria.org translation)

One of the most important Tosefot in the entire Talmud reacts to Adda’s advice. They recognize that knowledge changes over time and we must change our behavior based on that new knowledge. Tosefot  ד"ה כְּווֹרָא סָמוּךְ לְמִיסְרְחֵיהּ מְעַלֵּי acknowledge that eating fish close to spoiling is at its best is not good advice any more (as if it was good advice at one time!-gg) because eating fish this close to being spoiled is dangerous to a person’s health and wellbeing. Similarly they write that some of the medical cures promoted in the Talmud are not to be employed because our knowledge of medicine has changed. We have better practices today.

What was for the Middle Ages for the Tosefot, is just as true for us. Times change and we better be willing to change as well.