The Gemara is concerned with the contradiction Rava presents within his different explanations of the 2 Tana Devai Rebbe Yishmaels. One answer given is that rava retracts - hadar bai rava mahahee - and the second answer given is Rav Pappa is the author. My question is - why is the gemarah concerned with the contradiction within Rava and not the contradiction within Abayai? Abayai gives 2 explanations for the 2 Tana debai Rebbe Yishmaels and the gemara doesn't question him like they do rava? Why not?
dov adler, New York, USA
Abaye doesn't try to reconcile the two Tana Dvei Rebbi Yishmael's, but rather states flat out that they are arguing. Rava wanted to make the two statements of Tana Dvei Rebbi Yishmael have the same opinion (as clearly stated by Tosfos DH "Hadar Bei Rava"), and therefore retracted his original opinion (or possibly did not even say the latter explanation, which was actually stated by Rav Papa).
Kol Tuv,
Yaakov Montrose