Talmud Commentary: Bavli 5/3. bSukkah 52b-53a (mSukkah 2:3)

@General observations

The gemara cites a baraita describing the intensity of the light emanating from the fire of the altar during the Water Libation ceremony. It uses the example of a woman separating wheat from chaff in its light, to show its intensity, inasmuch as both parts of the wheat kernel are similar in color and it is usually difficult to distinguish between the two. The words “a woman sorted” seem to suggest that the baraita describes a real situation that existed in Jerusalem. Yet the parallel in the Yerushalmi states that such a scenario is merely possible, for it states: “a woman could sort wheat.”

Moreover, according to the Yerushalmi, this description does not apply to all of Jerusalem but only to the area near the altar, because it states that a woman could have used the fire from the altar, which was high and illuminated a large area below, in order to sort wheat. The permission to benefit from the fire of the altar prompts the gemara to ask: “Were not [the women] unlawfully using sacred property?” Such an offense, according to the halakhah, warrants death in the hands of Heaven (כרת) if done on purpose, or a fine if in error. Relying upon Rabbi Yehoshu‘a ben Levi,[1] the gemara of the Yerushalmi responds in the negative: benefit of the senses (smell, appearance or sound) is not considered unlawful use of sacred property.

On the other hand, the discussion of Rabbi Yehoshu‘a ben Levi’s remark in bPes 26a reveals a more limited interpretation: “There is no unlawful use of sacred property but it is prohibited” (מעילה הוא דליכא, הא איסורא איכא). Based on this understanding, the Tosefot, unlike the Yerushalmi, deny women permission to use the light of the altar. They claim that this is merely a theoretical possibility (דבוררת לאו דווקא). Consequently, I conclude that both baraitot in the Bavli and the Yerushalmi do not represent halakhah but rather depict the strong light that illuminated Jerusalem during the Water Libation ceremony.

@Feminist observations

In this tradition we are presented with a picture of a woman sitting and sorting wheat. Although certain preparations connected to bread were viewed as either men’s work (preparing/forming the dough) or tasks for both men and women (kneading), the gemara apparently viewed sorting wheat from chaff as women’s work, probably due to the fact that it does not require any physical strength but rather precision and patience. In a midrash on a verse from the creation story assigned to Rabbi Yosi in the Bavli we read:

Here Rabbi Yosi posits that from creation women were given the task of converting grains of wheat into something edible and flax seeds into proper garments. Thus, we should not be surprised that it is women who sort wheat in the light of the altar and not men.