177 · 4 panels
Someone brought up membership dues in the busy bathhouse lobby. Ara suggested stepping outside to hear them out.
In the bathhouse lobby, a visitor mentioned a neighbor who was having trouble paying the group dues.
Other visitors were coming and going around Jin and Ara.
Can we pause for a moment and pick this up outside?
Ara gestured toward the exit.
The three walked to a nearby park.
They stopped where fewer people were passing.
Let's ask the group about its dues policy. We can hear about the neighbor's situation if they choose to share it.
The visitor listened until Ara finished.
Gamliel left the bathhouse before answering Proclus's question about the Torah.
The source idea in our own words · Not a direct quotation
Avodah Zarah 44b:1–3 · Read the source ↗Ara took the question about dues seriously. She paused in the busy lobby and continued in a quieter spot. The group can discuss its shared rules, and the person affected can decide whether to tell their own story. Choosing where to answer can be another way to show care.
A modern interpretation for this story
When a question involves someone else's circumstances, where would I talk about it and which part would I start with?
Share the question together with a link to this story.
In Avodah Zarah 44b:1–3 of the Babylonian Talmud, Proclus asks why Rabban Gamliel uses a bathhouse in Akko that has a statue of Aphrodite. Outside, Gamliel says that Torah questions are not answered in the bathhouse and distinguishes a statue used to decorate the bathhouse from an image people treat as a deity. Segments 4–6 explain that even the statement about not answering there was made after he left. The wisdom line paraphrases his choice to answer outside. Jin, Ara, the modern bathhouse lobby and park, and the question and dialogue about membership dues are modern fiction inspired by the account and created with AI assistance.
Read the source ↗AI-generated artwork · Creative adaptation
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