Joel Wiesen asked:
Usually we read about sandals, and only occasionally about shoes. Are the unique words used for shoes and sandals used to mean the same footwear, or did they have real shoes back then?
Yehuda Wiesen, Newton, Massachusetts
The Kollel replies:
They wore different footwear in the summer and winter, see Gemara and Rashi Sukah 21b (DH Kol she'Ein), Bava Basra 58a (DH Ela Sandalim and Rashash there). Sandals were worn whenever weather permitted, since they were (and still are) much cheaper.
M. Kornfeld