Solomon Zeitlin

“ The fifth taḳḳanah is 'to eat garlic on the eve of the Sabbath'. The Talmud's explanation, that garlic is a מכניס אהבח‎, induces love, and that Friday night is the זמן עונה‎, makes thereof a strange, grotesque taḳḳanah, and long ago many expressed surprise that a Baralta should ascribe it to Ezra, particularly as the making Sabbath eve the זמן עונה‎ is one of the most recent things in the Talmud. ”

“ The reason in the latter case is that the Cutheans adhered to the old Halakah based on Scripture, and consequently did not eat garlic, because before plucking it from the ground, it was customary to wet it, pouring water upon it, and thereby it was rendered susceptible of becoming unclean; and since the Torah makes no distinction between detached from and attached to the soil, and the emendation of the Sages, that only such seed as is detached is susceptible of receiving defilement, but not that which is attached to the soil, had not been adopted by the Samaritans. ”

“ This is the reason underlying the difference between the Pharisees and the Sadducees in the matter of the burning of the Red Heifer, namely, the principle of טבול יום‎, and not, as is generally believed, that the Sadducees were more exacting in the matter of the purity of the priest who burned the Heifer, and the Pharisees less exacting, less scrupulous. ”

“ Such men as these, having no contagious disease (including those affected by noctis pollutio, and others) , were merely incapacitated from entering the Temple-court or the Sanctuary, but were not compelled to keep apart from their fellow citizens and leave the city. ”

“ In case a pedlar is seen leaving the house and his wife girding herself with a 'Senar', the husband has the right to divorce her without dower. See ibid., 63b, where the Talmud quotes Ben Sira as saying: רבים היו פצעי רוכל המרגילים לדבר עברח‎. ↑ This taḳḳanah, that the citizens should not hamper the pedlars in their efforts to sell their goods, was made because these men, who had formerly entered houses were now out of regard for the reputation of Jewish women disallowed to enter houses ”

“ Now we will examine the taḳḳanot themselves, that the Baraita ascribes to Ezra. This is the list: (1) Reading from the Scroll at Sabbath afternoon service; (2) Reading from the Scroll at morning service on Mondays and Thursdays; [6] (3) Holding court on Mondays and Thursdays; (4) Ritual bath (ṭebilah) for בעלי קרי‎; (5) Eating garlic on Eve of Sabbath; (6) Washing clothes [giving them out to be washed] on Thursdays; (7) That a woman should rise early and bake; (8) That a woman should gird herself with a belt; (9) That pedlars should carry about their wares in the cities ”

“ Had the redactors of the Babylonian Talmud been aware in this case of the Palestinian Gemara, they would not have asked this question, for there they would have seen שלשה ימים הוא (עזרא) החקין שתהא חופפת קודם למהרתה‎ 'He (Ezra) amended the law, so that a woman might dress her hair three days before her purification'.
The reason for the taḳḳanah was as follows: When a woman at the close of her separation period desired to cast off her uncleanness, she had to take the prescribed ritual bath at night ”