Hello, the gemara mentions that Rava got hadrokan bc he didn't go to the bathroom when he needed to, since he had fixed times to learn with talmidim.
But isn't the halacha that if you need to go to the bathroom, you can't daven or learn torah? So how was Rava even able to act this way?
Thanks very much!
Josh
Good question. The Mor u'Ketzi'ah (Rav Yakov Emden) raises this point (Orach Chayim 3). He maintains (and this is also the view of the Terumas ha'Deshen #16) that this is not "Bal Teshaktzu" from the Torah, as the verse is discussing something else. However, even if there is an Isur d'Rabanan, Rava should still have been careful; however, in this case there was an issue of Kavod ha'Beriyos, since he was teaching in public, and for an Isur d'Rabanan we are lenient in a situation of Kavod ha'Beriyos.
However, the Gemara seems to be saying that Rava was held up by the Talmidim's questions and therefore he did not pay attention to his bodily needs. This would fit with Rava's nature, as we find in Shabbos 88a that when he was studying, he crushed his finger so hard that it bled and yet he did not notice. Here as well, due to his involvement in the lesson, he did not notice that he needed to go to the bathroom. This is the view of the Tevu'os Shor and Beis Efrayim (Even ha'Ezer 2), and Machazik Berachah (the Chida). Thus, even though there is an Isur from the Torah, he would not have been held responsible since he did not notice that he needed the bathroom.
Yoel Domb