(condensed from Ein Ayah, Shabbat 8:15)

[The gemara now looks at various Aramaic words, seeing them as (informal) contractions of two words.]

Gemara: Dasha (gate) is made up of derech sham (the path that goes there).

Ein Ayah: When a person is in the home that is special for him, he is unified with those around him, and he forgets that he is connected to the whole big world outside the door. Indeed, he is but one link in the great chain of mankind, which fills the entire world. By means of pathways, highways, marketplaces and streets, one can be connected to other people. Then, the spirit of the individual can reach a love of the community. The gate before a person’s home reminds him of this idea, as it is used for leaving the home as much as it is for entering it. It takes him out of the limited group of people close to him and connects him to the fortune of the community, even when he is still in his house and involved in his personal matters.