The Ancient Mediterranean Religions Index Database

Results for
Please note: the results are produced through a computerized process which may frequently lead to errors, both in incorrect tagging and in other issues. Please use with caution.
Due to load times, full text fetching is currently attempted for validated results only.
Full texts for Hebrew Bible and rabbinic texts is kindly supplied by Sefaria; for Greek and Latin texts, by Perseus Scaife, for the Quran, by Tanzil.net

For a list of book indices included, see here.

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All subjects (including unvalidated):

subject	book bibliographic info
breast	Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 47, 48, 54, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 70, 75, 76, 144, 159, 166
breast, beneath the	McClay (2023), The Bacchic Gold Tablets and Poetic Tradition: Memory and Performance. 86
breast, capitium wrap	Radicke (2022), Roman Women’s Dress: Literary Sources, Terminology, and Historical Development, 134, 176, 177, 500, 505, 507, 508, 509, 510, 511, 573, 574
breast, carried by fourth in procession, golden vessel, in left hand of isis, small golden vessel with shape of female	Griffiths (1975), The Isis-Book (Metamorphoses, Book XI), 208
breast, church	Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 142, 146, 147, 159, 160, 197
breast, dedicatory objects, anatomical	Renberg (2017), Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World, 409
breast, fascia pectoralis wrap	Radicke (2022), Roman Women’s Dress: Literary Sources, Terminology, and Historical Development, 219, 223, 233, 499, 501, 502, 503, 505, 507, 508, 509, 510, 511, 513, 522, 523, 573
breast, female, golden vessel in shape of	Griffiths (1975), The Isis-Book (Metamorphoses, Book XI), 208
breast, golden vessel in shape of female	Griffiths (1975), The Isis-Book (Metamorphoses, Book XI), 208
breast, i.e. where the heart pectus resides	Mueller (2002), Roman Religion in Valerius Maximus, 63, 64, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 137, 138, 139, 150, 151, 152, 153, 163, 164, 167, 168
breast, images, persephone, milk and	McClay (2023), The Bacchic Gold Tablets and Poetic Tradition: Memory and Performance. 86
breast, milk	Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 94, 95, 100, 151, 152, 153, 156, 179, 181
breast, milk, food	Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 63, 103, 178, 179, 180
breast, milk, image and likeness	Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 90, 118, 156, 250
breast, milk, nourishment	Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 86, 87, 88, 89
breast, nature	Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 167
breast, of persephone	Graf and Johnston (2007), Ritual texts for the afterlife: Orpheus and the Bacchic Gold Tablets, 128, 151
breast, perfection	Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 97, 98, 104, 147, 163, 174
breast, piece or, breastplate,	Lidonnici and Lieber (2007), Heavenly Tablets: Interpretation, Identity and Tradition in Ancient Judaism, 15, 19
breast, plate, alexander the great his	Rutledge (2012), Ancient Rome as a Museum: Power, Identity, and the Culture of Collecting, 50
breast, political	Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 79, 80
breast, preaching	Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 102
breast, ritual	Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 98, 103, 104, 197, 219
breast, scripture	Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 128, 196, 197
breast, shared	Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 80
breast, thurii tablet, of 488, beneath the	McClay (2023), The Bacchic Gold Tablets and Poetic Tradition: Memory and Performance. 86
breast, vessel, golden, in left hand of isis, small golden vessel with shape of female	Griffiths (1975), The Isis-Book (Metamorphoses, Book XI), 208
breasts	Brule (2003), Women of Ancient Greece, 82 Radicke (2022), Roman Women’s Dress: Literary Sources, Terminology, and Historical Development, 124, 144, 147, 218, 219, 246, 247, 248, 249, 265, 279, 351, 495, 499, 500, 501, 502, 503, 505, 507, 508, 509, 510, 511, 513, 514, 664 Rosen-Zvi (2012), The Mishnaic Sotah Ritual: Temple, Gender and Midrash, 74, 80, 86, 87, 88, 89, 198, 209, 210, 213
breasts, and chests	Neis (2012), When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven: Rabbis and the Reproduction of Species. 160, 253
breasts, as figure of moses and aaron	Lieber (2014), A Vocabulary of Desire: The Song of Songs in the Early Synagogue, 113, 135, 188, 226
breasts, as figure of sanhedrin	Lieber (2014), A Vocabulary of Desire: The Song of Songs in the Early Synagogue, 150
breasts, body	Rothschold, Blanton and Calhoun (2014), The History of Religions School Today : Essays on the New Testament and Related Ancient Mediterranean Texts 42, 241, 242, 244, 245, 246
breasts, bona dea, in catana, of and isis	Griffiths (1975), The Isis-Book (Metamorphoses, Book XI), 321
breasts, chests and	Neis (2012), When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven: Rabbis and the Reproduction of Species. 160, 253
breasts, exposed, breast, female, golden vessel in shape of	Griffiths (1975), The Isis-Book (Metamorphoses, Book XI), 210
breasts, libation-vases, as	Griffiths (1975), The Isis-Book (Metamorphoses, Book XI), 208
breasts, of artemis at ephesus	Griffiths (1975), The Isis-Book (Metamorphoses, Book XI), 117
breasts, of bona dea, in catana	Griffiths (1975), The Isis-Book (Metamorphoses, Book XI), 210
breasts, of the north	Gagne (2021), Cosmography and the Idea of Hyperborea in Ancient Greece, 401
breasts, shekhinah	Fishbane (2003), Biblical Myth and Rabbinic Mythmaking, 298, 299, 322, 323, 324

List of validated texts:

11 validated results for "breast"

1. Hebrew Bible, Song of Songs, 4.5, 4.11 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Breast, Breasts, beautiful, aroused people sympathy, Breast, Breasts, Church as • Breast, Breasts, uncovering • Breast, Breasts, uncovering, as an “act of madness” • Moses and Aaron, as women with breasts who nurse the Rabbis • Torah, as “breasts” • breast • breast-feeding, bond • breasts, as figure of Moses and Aaron

Found in books: Kosman (2012), Gender and Dialogue in the Rabbinic Prism, 147, 151; Lieber (2014), A Vocabulary of Desire: The Song of Songs in the Early Synagogue, 113; Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 61

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4.5 שְׁנֵי שָׁדַיִךְ כִּשְׁנֵי עֳפָרִים תְּאוֹמֵי צְבִיָּה הָרוֹעִים בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים׃ ^4.11 נֹפֶת תִּטֹּפְנָה שִׂפְתוֹתַיִךְ כַּלָּה דְּבַשׁ וְחָלָב תַּחַת לְשׁוֹנֵךְ וְרֵיחַ שַׂלְמֹתַיִךְ כְּרֵיחַ לְבָנוֹן׃'' None

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4.5 Thy two breasts are like two fawns That are twins of a gazelle, Which feed among the lilies. ^4.11 Thy lips, O my bride, drop honey— Honey and milk are under thy tongue; And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.'' None

2. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 22.24 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Torah ark, chest, shrine • breasts

Found in books: Levine (2005), The Ancient Synagogue, The First Thousand Years, 31; Rosen-Zvi (2012), The Mishnaic Sotah Ritual: Temple, Gender and Midrash, 198

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22.24 וְהוֹצֵאתֶם אֶת־שְׁנֵיהֶם אֶל־שַׁעַר הָעִיר הַהִוא וּסְקַלְתֶּם אֹתָם בָּאֲבָנִים וָמֵתוּ אֶת־הנער הַנַּעֲרָה עַל־דְּבַר אֲשֶׁר לֹא־צָעֲקָה בָעִיר וְאֶת־הָאִישׁ עַל־דְּבַר אֲשֶׁר־עִנָּה אֶת־אֵשֶׁת רֵעֵהוּ וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרָע מִקִּרְבֶּךָ׃'' None

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22.24 then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die: the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife; so thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee.'' None

3. Hebrew Bible, Lamentations, 1.16 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Breast, Breasts, uncovering • Breast, Breasts, uncovering, as an “act of madness” • breast

Found in books: Kosman (2012), Gender and Dialogue in the Rabbinic Prism, 151; Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 62

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1.16 עַל־אֵלֶּה אֲנִי בוֹכִיָּה עֵינִי עֵינִי יֹרְדָה מַּיִם כִּי־רָחַק מִמֶּנִּי מְנַחֵם מֵשִׁיב נַפְשִׁי הָיוּ בָנַי שׁוֹמֵמִים כִּי גָבַר אוֹיֵב׃'' None

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1.16 For these things I weep; my eye, yea my eye, sheds tears, for the comforter to restore my soul is removed from me; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed.'' None

4. None, None, nan (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Contraction, expansion, A perceptible spatial movement of the physical soul in the chest • directive faculty, located in chest • feelings, sensations in chest region

Found in books: Graver (2007), Stoicism and Emotion, 227; Sorabji (2000), Emotion and Peace of Mind: From Stoic Agitation to Christian Temptation, 38

5. Mishnah, Sotah, 1.5-1.6 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Breast, Breasts of Sotah, publicly bared • Breast, Breasts, aggressiveness in uncovering • Breast, Breasts, as “lev”, “heart” • Breast, Breasts, not considered always as Sexually arousing • Breast, Breasts, uncovering • Breast, Breasts, uncovering, as anti-male protest • Breast, Breasts, uncovering, as provocative rebuke • Breast, Breasts, versus Vagina • Male Mouth, versus female breast • Sotah, her breast are publicly bared • breasts

Found in books: Kosman (2012), Gender and Dialogue in the Rabbinic Prism, 142, 145; Rosen-Zvi (2012), The Mishnaic Sotah Ritual: Temple, Gender and Midrash, 74, 86, 88, 89, 210, 213

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1.5 אִם אָמְרָה טְמֵאָה אָנִי, שׁוֹבֶרֶת כְּתֻבָּתָהּ וְיוֹצֵאת. וְאִם אָמְרָה טְהוֹרָה אָנִי, מַעֲלִין אוֹתָהּ לְשַׁעַר הַמִּזְרָח שֶׁעַל פֶּתַח שַׁעַר נִקָּנוֹר, שֶׁשָּׁם מַשְׁקִין אֶת הַסּוֹטוֹת, וּמְטַהֲרִין אֶת הַיּוֹלְדוֹת, וּמְטַהֲרִין אֶת הַמְּצֹרָעִים. וְכֹהֵן אוֹחֵז בִּבְגָדֶיהָ, אִם נִקְרְעוּ נִקְרָעוּ, אִם נִפְרְמוּ נִפְרָמוּ, עַד שֶׁהוּא מְגַלֶּה אֶת לִבָּהּ, וְסוֹתֵר אֶת שְׂעָרָהּ. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אִם הָיָה לִבָּהּ נָאֶה, לֹא הָיָה מְגַלֵּהוּ. וְאִם הָיָה שְׂעָרָהּ נָאֶה, לֹא הָיָה סוֹתְרוֹ: ^1.6 הָיְתָה מִתְכַּסָּה בִלְבָנִים, מְכַסָּהּ בִּשְׁחוֹרִים. הָיוּ עָלֶיהָ כְלֵי זָהָב וְקַטְלָיאוֹת, נְזָמִים וְטַבָּעוֹת, מַעֲבִירִים מִמֶּנָּה כְּדֵי לְנַוְּלָהּ. וְאַחַר כָּךְ מֵבִיא חֶבֶל מִצְרִי וְקוֹשְׁרוֹ לְמַעְלָה מִדַּדֶּיהָ. וְכָל הָרוֹצֶה לִרְאוֹת בָּא לִרְאוֹת, חוּץ מֵעֲבָדֶיהָ וְשִׁפְחוֹתֶיהָ, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁלִּבָּהּ גַּס בָּהֶן. וְכָל הַנָּשִׁים מֻתָּרוֹת לִרְאוֹתָהּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יחזקאל כג) וְנִוַּסְּרוּ כָּל הַנָּשִׁים וְלֹא תַעֲשֶׂינָה כְּזִמַּתְכֶנָה:'' None

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1.5 If she said, “I am defiled to you”, she gives him a receipt for her ketubah and goes out with a get. But if she says, “I am pure”, they bring her up to the east gate, Nicanor’s gate, where they give women suspected of adultery the water to drink, purify women after childbirth and purify lepers. A priest seizes her clothing if they are torn, then they are torn, and if they become unstitched, then they are unstitched, until he uncovers her bosom, and he undoes the braids of her hair. Rabbi Judah says: if her bosom was beautiful he does not uncover it, and if her hair was beautiful he does not undo it. ^1.6 If she was clothed in white, he clothes her in black. If she wore gold jewelry or necklaces, ear-rings and finger-rings, they remove them from her in order to make her repulsive. After that the priest takes a rope made of twigs and binds it over her breasts. Whoever wishes to look upon her comes to look with the exception of her male and female slaves, since she has no shame in front of them. All of the women are permitted to look upon her, as it is said, “That all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness” (Ezekiel 23:48).'' None

6. New Testament, John, 1.1, 1.12-1.13, 1.18 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • bosom of the Father • bosom of the father, • breast milk • breast, scripture • breast-feeding, God

Found in books: Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 94, 196; Robbins et al. (2017), The Art of Visual Exegesis, 112, 142, 148, 156, 159, 162, 163; Černušková, Kovacs and Plátová (2016), Clement’s Biblical Exegesis: Proceedings of the Second Colloquium on Clement of Alexandria , 99, 132, 277, 279, 282, 285, 289, 290, 291

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1.1 ΕΝ ΑΡΧΗ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. ^1.12 ὅσοι δὲ ἔλαβον αὐτόν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα θεοῦ γενέσθαι, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, ^1.13 οἳ οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκὸς οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρὸς ἀλλʼ ἐκ θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν. ^1.18 θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακεν πώποτε· μονογενὴς θεὸς ὁ ὢν εἰς τὸν κόλπον τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκεῖνος ἐξηγήσατο.' ' None

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1.1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ' "^1.12 But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God's children, to those who believe in his name: " ^1.13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. ^1.18 No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. ' ' None

7. None, None, nan (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Body, breast(s) • breast-feeding, culture • breast-feeding, symbolic

Found in books: Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 43; Rothschold, Blanton and Calhoun (2014), The History of Religions School Today : Essays on the New Testament and Related Ancient Mediterranean Texts 242

8. None, None, nan (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • bosom of the Father • breast milk, food • breast, perfection • breast, ritual

Found in books: Penniman (2017), Raised on Christian Milk: Food and the Formation of the Soul in Early Christianity, 103, 104; Černušková, Kovacs and Plátová (2016), Clement’s Biblical Exegesis: Proceedings of the Second Colloquium on Clement of Alexandria , 285

9. None, None, nan (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Contraction, expansion, A perceptible spatial movement of the physical soul in the chest • directive faculty, located in chest • feelings, sensations in chest region

Found in books: Graver (2007), Stoicism and Emotion, 227; Sorabji (2000), Emotion and Peace of Mind: From Stoic Agitation to Christian Temptation, 38, 39, 40

10. Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Breast, Breasts, uncovering • Male Mouth, versus female breast • breasts and chests • chests and breasts

Found in books: Kosman (2012), Gender and Dialogue in the Rabbinic Prism, 134, 141; Neis (2012), When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven: Rabbis and the Reproduction of Species. 160

^84a כי האי מעשה לידיה פגע ביה אליהו,אמר ליה עד מתי אתה מוסר עמו של אלהינו להריגה אמר ליה מאי אעביד הרמנא דמלכא הוא אמר ליה אבוך ערק לאסיא את ערוק ללודקיא,כי הוו מקלעי ר\' ישמעאל ברבי יוסי ור\' אלעזר בר\' שמעון בהדי הדדי הוה עייל בקרא דתורי בינייהו ולא הוה נגעה בהו,אמרה להו ההיא מטרוניתא בניכם אינם שלכם אמרו לה שלהן גדול משלנו כל שכן איכא דאמרי הכי אמרו לה (שופטים ח, כא) כי כאיש גבורתו איכא דאמרי הכי אמרו לה אהבה דוחקת את הבשר,ולמה להו לאהדורי לה והא כתיב (משלי כו, ד) אל תען כסיל כאולתו שלא להוציא לעז על בניהם,א"ר יוחנן איבריה דר\' ישמעאל בר\' יוסי כחמת בת תשע קבין אמר רב פפא איבריה דרבי יוחנן כחמת בת חמשת קבין ואמרי לה בת שלשת קבין דרב פפא גופיה כי דקורי דהרפנאי,אמר רבי יוחנן אנא אישתיירי משפירי ירושלים האי מאן דבעי מחזי שופריה דרבי יוחנן נייתי כסא דכספא מבי סלקי ונמלייה פרצידיא דרומנא סומקא ונהדר ליה כלילא דוורדא סומקא לפומיה ונותביה בין שמשא לטולא ההוא זהרורי מעין שופריה דר\' יוחנן,איני והאמר מר שופריה דרב כהנא מעין שופריה דרבי אבהו שופריה דר\' אבהו מעין שופריה דיעקב אבינו שופריה דיעקב אבינו מעין שופריה דאדם הראשון ואילו ר\' יוחנן לא קא חשיב ליה שאני ר\' יוחנן דהדרת פנים לא הויא ליה,ר\' יוחנן הוה אזיל ויתיב אשערי טבילה אמר כי סלקן בנות ישראל מטבילת מצוה לפגעו בי כי היכי דלהוו להו בני שפירי כוותי גמירי אורייתא כוותי,אמרו ליה רבנן לא מסתפי מר מעינא בישא אמר להו אנא מזרעא דיוסף קאתינא דלא שלטא ביה עינא בישא דכתיב (בראשית מט, כב) בן פורת יוסף בן פורת עלי עין ואמר ר\' אבהו אל תקרי עלי עין אלא עולי עין,ר\' יוסי בר חנינא אמר מהכא (בראשית מח, טז) וידגו לרוב בקרב הארץ מה דגים שבים מים מכסים אותם ואין העין שולטת בהן אף זרעו של יוסף אין העין שולטת בהן,יומא חד הוה קא סחי ר\' יוחנן בירדנא חזייה ריש לקיש ושוור לירדנא אבתריה אמר ליה חילך לאורייתא אמר ליה שופרך לנשי א"ל אי הדרת בך יהיבנא לך אחותי דשפירא מינאי קביל עליה בעי למיהדר לאתויי מאניה ולא מצי הדר,אקרייה ואתנייה ושוייה גברא רבא יומא חד הוו מפלגי בי מדרשא הסייף והסכין והפגיון והרומח ומגל יד ומגל קציר מאימתי מקבלין טומאה משעת גמר מלאכתן,ומאימתי גמר מלאכתן רבי יוחנן אמר משיצרפם בכבשן ריש לקיש אמר משיצחצחן במים א"ל לסטאה בלסטיותיה ידע אמר ליה ומאי אהנת לי התם רבי קרו לי הכא רבי קרו לי אמר ליה אהנאי לך דאקרבינך תחת כנפי השכינה,חלש דעתיה דרבי יוחנן חלש ריש לקיש אתאי אחתיה קא בכיא אמרה ליה עשה בשביל בני אמר לה (ירמיהו מט, יא) עזבה יתומיך אני אחיה עשה בשביל אלמנותי אמר לה (ירמיהו מט, יא) ואלמנותיך עלי תבטחו,נח נפשיה דר\' שמעון בן לקיש והוה קא מצטער ר\' יוחנן בתריה טובא אמרו רבנן מאן ליזיל ליתביה לדעתיה ניזיל רבי אלעזר בן פדת דמחדדין שמעתתיה,אזל יתיב קמיה כל מילתא דהוה אמר רבי יוחנן אמר ליה תניא דמסייעא לך אמר את כבר לקישא בר לקישא כי הוה אמינא מילתא הוה מקשי לי עשרין וארבע קושייתא ומפריקנא ליה עשרין וארבעה פרוקי וממילא רווחא שמעתא ואת אמרת תניא דמסייע לך אטו לא ידענא דשפיר קאמינא,הוה קא אזיל וקרע מאניה וקא בכי ואמר היכא את בר לקישא היכא את בר לקישא והוה קא צוח עד דשף דעתיה מיניה בעו רבנן רחמי עליה ונח נפשיה'' None

^84a Elijah the prophet encountered him,and said to him: Until when will you inform on the nation of our God to be sentenced to execution? Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, said to Elijah: What should I do? It is the king’s edict that I must obey. Elijah said to him: Faced with this choice, your father fled to Asia. You should flee to Laodicea rather than accept this appointment.,§ With regard to these Sages, the Gemara adds: When Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, and Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, would meet each other, it was possible for a pair of oxen to enter and fit between them, under their bellies, without touching them, due to their excessive obesity.,A certain Roman noblewoman matronita once said to them: Your children are not really your own, as due to your obesity it is impossible that you engaged in intercourse with your wives. They said to her: Theirs, i.e., our wives’ bellies, are larger than ours. She said to them: All the more so you could not have had intercourse. There are those who say that this is what they said to her: “For as the man is, so is his strength” (Judges 8:21), i.e., our sexual organs are proportionate to our bellies. There are those who say that this is what they said to her: Love compresses the flesh.,The Gemara asks: And why did they respond to her audacious and foolish question? After all, it is written: “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him” (Proverbs 26:4). The Gemara answers: They answered her in order not to cast aspersions on the lineage of their children.,The Gemara continues discussing the bodies of these Sages: Rabbi Yoḥa said: The organ of Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, was the size of a jug of nine kav. Rav Pappa said: The organ of Rabbi Yoḥa was the size of a jug of five kav, and some say it was the size of a jug of three kav. Rav Pappa himself had a belly like the baskets dikurei made in Harpanya.,With regard to Rabbi Yoḥa’s physical features, the Gemara adds that Rabbi Yoḥa said: I alone remain of the beautiful people of Jerusalem. The Gemara continues: One who wishes to see something resembling the beauty of Rabbi Yoḥa should bring a new, shiny silver goblet from the smithy and fill it with red pomegranate seeds partzidaya and place a diadem of red roses upon the lip of the goblet, and position it between the sunlight and shade. That luster is a semblance of Rabbi Yoḥa’s beauty.,The Gemara asks: Is that so? Was Rabbi Yoḥa so beautiful? But doesn’t the Master say: The beauty of Rav Kahana is a semblance of the beauty of Rabbi Abbahu; the beauty of Rabbi Abbahu is a semblance of the beauty of Jacob, our forefather; and the beauty of Jacob, our forefather, is a semblance of the beauty of Adam the first man, who was created in the image of God. And yet Rabbi Yoḥa is not included in this list. The Gemara answers: Rabbi Yoḥa is different from these other men, as he did not have a beauty of countece, i.e., he did not have a beard.,The Gemara continues to discuss Rabbi Yoḥa’s beauty. Rabbi Yoḥa would go and sit by the entrance to the ritual bath. He said to himself: When Jewish women come up from their immersion for the sake of a mitzva, after their menstruation, they should encounter me first, so that they have beautiful children like me, and sons learned in Torah like me. This is based on the idea that the image upon which a woman meditates during intercourse affects the child she conceives.,The Rabbis said to Rabbi Yoḥa: Isn’t the Master worried about being harmed by the evil eye by displaying yourself in this manner? Rabbi Yoḥa said to them: I come from the offspring of Joseph, over whom the evil eye does not have dominion, as it is written: “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a fountain alei ayin” (Genesis 49:22); and Rabbi Abbahu says: Do not read the verse as saying: “By a fountain alei ayin”; rather, read it as: Those who rise above the evil eye olei ayin. Joseph’s descendants are not susceptible to the influence of the evil eye.,Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said that this idea is derived from here: “And let them grow veyidgu into a multitude in the midst of the earth” (Genesis 48:16). Just as with regard to fish dagim in the sea, the water covers them and the evil eye therefore has no dominion over them, as they are not seen, so too, with regard to the offspring of Joseph, the evil eye has no dominion over them.,The Gemara relates: One day, Rabbi Yoḥa was bathing in the Jordan River. Reish Lakish saw him and jumped into the Jordan, pursuing him. At that time, Reish Lakish was the leader of a band of marauders. Rabbi Yoḥa said to Reish Lakish: Your strength is fit for Torah study. Reish Lakish said to him: Your beauty is fit for women. Rabbi Yoḥa said to him: If you return to the pursuit of Torah, I will give you my sister in marriage, who is more beautiful than I am. Reish Lakish accepted upon himself to study Torah. Subsequently, Reish Lakish wanted to jump back out of the river to bring back his clothes, but he was unable to return, as he had lost his physical strength as soon as he accepted the responsibility to study Torah upon himself.,Rabbi Yoḥa taught Reish Lakish Bible, and taught him Mishna, and turned him into a great man. Eventually, Reish Lakish became one of the outstanding Torah scholars of his generation. One day the Sages of the study hall were engaging in a dispute concerning the following baraita: With regard to the sword, the knife, the dagger vehapigyon, the spear, a hand sickle, and a harvest sickle, from when are they susceptible to ritual impurity? The baraita answers: It is from the time of the completion of their manufacture, which is the halakha with regard to metal vessels in general.,These Sages inquired: And when is the completion of their manufacture? Rabbi Yoḥa says: It is from when one fires these items in the furnace. Reish Lakish said: It is from when one scours them in water, after they have been fired in the furnace. Rabbi Yoḥa said to Reish Lakish: A bandit knows about his banditry, i.e., you are an expert in weaponry because you were a bandit in your youth. Reish Lakish said to Rabbi Yoḥa: What benefit did you provide me by bringing me close to Torah? There, among the bandits, they called me: Leader of the bandits, and here, too, they call me: Leader of the bandits. Rabbi Yoḥa said to him: I provided benefit to you, as I brought you close to God, under the wings of the Divine Presence.,As a result of the quarrel, Rabbi Yoḥa was offended, which in turn affected Reish Lakish, who fell ill. Rabbi Yoḥa’s sister, who was Reish Lakish’s wife, came crying to Rabbi Yoḥa, begging that he pray for Reish Lakish’s recovery. She said to him: Do this for the sake of my children, so that they should have a father. Rabbi Yoḥa said to her the verse: “Leave your fatherless children, I will rear them” (Jeremiah 49:11), i.e., I will take care of them. She said to him: Do so for the sake of my widowhood. He said to her the rest of the verse: “And let your widows trust in Me.”,Ultimately, Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, Reish Lakish, died. Rabbi Yoḥa was sorely pained over losing him. The Rabbis said: Who will go to calm Rabbi Yoḥa’s mind and comfort him over his loss? They said: Let Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat go, as his statements are sharp, i.e., he is clever and will be able to serve as a substitute for Reish Lakish.,Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat went and sat before Rabbi Yoḥa. With regard to every matter that Rabbi Yoḥa would say, Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat would say to him: There is a ruling which is taught in a baraita that supports your opinion. Rabbi Yoḥa said to him: Are you comparable to the son of Lakish? In my discussions with the son of Lakish, when I would state a matter, he would raise twenty-four difficulties against me in an attempt to disprove my claim, and I would answer him with twenty-four answers, and the halakha by itself would become broadened and clarified. And yet you say to me: There is a ruling which is taught in a baraita that supports your opinion. Do I not know that what I say is good? Being rebutted by Reish Lakish served a purpose; your bringing proof to my statements does not.,Rabbi Yoḥa went around, rending his clothing, weeping and saying: Where are you, son of Lakish? Where are you, son of Lakish? Rabbi Yoḥa screamed until his mind was taken from him, i.e., he went insane. The Rabbis prayed and requested for God to have mercy on him and take his soul, and Rabbi Yoḥa died.'' None

11. None, None, nan
Tagged with subjects: • Breast, Breasts, beautiful, aroused people sympathy, Breast, Breasts, Church as • Breast, Breasts, uncovering • Moses and Aaron, as women with breasts who nurse the Rabbis • Torah, as “breasts” • breasts, as figure of Moses and Aaron • breasts, as figure of Sanhedrin

Found in books: Kosman (2012), Gender and Dialogue in the Rabbinic Prism, 147; Lieber (2014), A Vocabulary of Desire: The Song of Songs in the Early Synagogue, 135, 150

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