“God completed on the seventh day His labor that He had made; He rested on the seventh day from all His labor that He had made” (Genesis 2:2). “God completed on the seventh day” – Rabbi Ḥanina said: Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Yosei took me to a certain inn and said to me: ‘Here my father prayed the Shabbat [evening] prayer before Shabbat.’21On Friday afternoon. Rabbi Yirmeya and Rabbi Aḥa say: Rabbi Yoḥanan raised it as a difficulty: ‘Did my father pray the Shabbat [evening] prayer here before Shabbat?’ he asked in bewilderment.
But there was no need to raise a difficulty, as the donkey drivers had come up from Arav to Tzippori, and said: ‘Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa has already begun to observe Shabbat in his city.’ If you wish to raise a difficulty, raise it concerning this [version of the incident]: Rabbi Ḥanina said: Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Yosei took me to a certain inn and said to me: ‘Did my father pray the post-Shabbat [evening] prayer here on Shabbat?’22The difficulty is: How could he say the post-Shabbat prayer while it was still daytime?
Rabbi Abba said: ‘Concerning this as well there is no need to raise a difficulty, as Rabbi once was sitting and giving a lecture, and [afterwards] he said to Abba Yudan, his spokesman: Announce to the congregation that they should pray the weekday [evening] prayer now, though it is still daytime.’