Why is it that the Gemara interrupts our sugya about "Pores Mapa u'mekdesh" with the sugya of "Osam she'kidsu" only then to return back to our previous machlokes of Rebbe Yehuda and Rebbe Yosi? Why did the Gemara not finish our original topic and then come to the issue of making kiddush in a shul? What is the significance of this interruption and why was it structured in such a fashion?
Herschel Hartz, Jerusalem Israel
The Gemara does not really go back to study the argument of Rebbi Yehudah and Rebbi Yosi regarding Pores Mapah etc., but rather introduces other concepts through this Beraisa, such as Chavilos Chavilos and YKNH"Z etc.
[You might ask that this still doesn't answer why the Gemara does not quote the Beraisa in the first Gemara. One could either answer this by saying that the Gemara felt it did not make a significant difference to introduce it in the first Sugya as long as it would be know when it was quoted later. Alternatively, it could have to do with the way the Gemara was written and edited. However, explaining this answer well is beyond the scope of this forum.]
All the best,
Yaakov Montrose