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Text Excerpt
אכולהו. והא ששה חדשים קאמר? אינו דומה מי שיש לו פת בסלו למי שאין לו פת בסלו.
the tanna taught us a halakha with regard to all of them, not only a man of leisure or a laborer. He asked him: But with regard to a sailor it said that the set interval for sex is 6 months; why, then, should he have to divorce her if he vowed to forbid these sex for only a week? He answered him: It is well known that one who has bread in his basket is not comparable to one who does not have bread in his basket. On a fast day, one who does not have bread available in his basket suffers more than one who does have bread available and knows that he will be able to eat later. In this case as well, when a woman knows that marital sex are forbidden to her due to a vow, her suffering from waiting for her husband to return is increased.
אמר ליה רבה בר רב חנן לאביי: חמר ונעשה גמל, מאי? אמר ליה: רוצה אשה בקב ותיפלות מעשרה קבין ופרישות.
Rabba bar Rav Hanan said to Abaye: If a donkey driver who is already married wants to become a camel driver, what is the halakha? Is he permitted to change his profession in order to earn more money from his work, even though this will mean he reduces the frequency with which he engages in sex with his wife? He answered him: A woman prefers a kav, i.e., modest means, with sex to 10 kav with abstinence. Consequently, he is not allowed to change his profession without her permission.
הספנים אחת לששה חדשים, דברי רבי אליעזר. אמר רב ברונא אמר רב: הלכה כרבי אליעזר. אמר רב אדא בר אהבה אמר רב: זו דברי רבי אליעזר, אבל חכמים אומרים: התלמידים יוצאין לתלמוד תורה שתים ושלש שנים שלא ברשות. אמר רבא: סמכו רבנן אדרב אדא בר אהבה ועבדי עובדא בנפשייהו.
§ The Mishnah stated: For sailors, the set interval for sex is once every 6 months. This is the statement of R' Eliezer. Rav Berona said that Rav said: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of R' Eliezer. Rav Adda bar Ahava said that Rav said: This is the statement of R' Eliezer, but the Rabbis say: Students may leave their homes to study Torah for as long as two or 3 years without permission from their wives. Rava said: The rabbis relied on R' Adda bar Ahava’s opinion and performed an action like this themselves, but the results were sometimes fatal.