Parshah Rabbit Hole - Noach: (Copy)

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The constellations did not function all twelve months [of the Flood]. Rabbi Yonatan said to him: They functioned, but their effect was not palpable.

When Noah entered the Ark he brought with him precious stones and gems. When they were dull, he knew that it was daytime; when they were shiny he knew that it was nighttime. Why [did he need to know]? There are animals eating at daytime and there are animals eating at nighttime. But is there not written, make a skylight to the ark? Following him who said that the stars were not operative in the year of the flood.

According to the opinion that during the entire duration of the flood the whole world was dark, one must say that during those days of darkness, time was was [still] divided into days and nights, and that every 24 hour period was considered a day and night. Since it is clearly written "The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights."...

... And we do not say that all of the days of darkness were considered one long night. Therefore, the same is true of those who live in polar regions - for whom there are many days or months in which it is dark - that we certainly consider each 24 hour period as night and day.

It arose in my heart to investigate an idea regarding Shabbos: It is known that the time of night and day change from place to place due to the path of the sun, and that there is a great difference - many hours - between those who dwell in the east and those who dwell in the west and between those who dwell in mountainous regions and those who dwell in valleys - in one place it is day and in another it is night. And when it daylight for some, it is dark for others. Therefore, it is worth exploring [the following scenario]: If one begins Shabbos in a place where sunset is later and - on that same day - they travel, through recitation of a Divine Name and teleportation, to a far away place where sunset is much earlier, and therefore it comes out that rather than experiencing 24 hours of Shabbos, they end up observing 18 hours or less, what should they do? Must they follow the sunset, and once the sun has set it is then a weekday for them, even though they only kept the mitzvos of Shabbos for 18 hours? Or, perhaps they must keep Shabbos for a full 24 hours.

And Rabbi Yosei said: May my portion be among those who accept Shabbat in Tiberias, which is in a valley where day turns to evening earlier, and among those who see Shabbat out in Tzippori, which is located on a mountain top where the sun is visible for longer, and Shabbat ends later.

And if you say that this is not talking about one person, but rather two different people - one person who begins Shabbos in Tiberius and another who ends Shabbos in Tzippori - what is special about that? Whatever the first person gains by beginning shabbos [earlier], they lose in ending it [earlier]. And whatever the second person gains by ending [later], they lose by beginning [later]. Rather, it is certainly speaking about one person, which teaches us that Tiberius and Tzippori are close to one another and are within the range which one is allowed to travel on Shabbos.

However, this idea of Rabbi Yosei is used restrictively [to make Shabbos longer]. But our query is whether [such an idea can be used] permissively [to make shabbos shorter]. Specifically, regarding someone who has not kept 24 hours of Shabbos, should we be particular about the number of hours?

...“after seven days” means that the Holy One, Blessed be He, altered the order of Creation for that generation, i.e., in seven days He reversed the process of Creation, so that the sun would emerge in the west and set in the east.