Shalom Rabbi: I hope that you are well.

I know that we are not yet up to Beitza in the Daf, but we will be there soon, and I am currently learning it in more depth in a weekly shiur. I was hoping that you might be able to share any insight that you may have with respect to the following.

On Daf 5a, the gemara discusses kerem revai, and attempts to define the region within which one must bring the fruits, rather than deconsecrating it onto money. To the west as far as Lod, and to the east as far as the Yarden. It is the north and south that particularly interested me.

The gemara says Akrava to the north and Eilat to the south. Rav Steinsaltz indicates the Akrava was a significant city near Shechem, and Eilat was a village near Chevron. However, the gemara indicates an alternative girsa which says Akrava to the south and Eilat to the north.

I notice that Akrava sounds like the word for scorpion - the constellation Scorpio is to the south. Eilat sounds like the word for ram, and I believe that the constellation Aries is somewhat to the north. I might posit from this that one would look to the constellation, drop a hypothetical line down, and thereby calculate the geographic limit. I did not see any commentaries that discussed this. Have you ever come across anything similar?

Kol tuv.

Jeffrey K. Levin