| 87a. (בראשית יט, ג) ויפצר בם מאד א"ר אלעזר מכאן שמסרבין לקטן ואין מסרבין לגדול,כתיב (בראשית יח, ה) ואקחה פת לחם וכתיב (בראשית יח, ז) ואל הבקר רץ אברהם אמר רבי אלעזר מכאן שצדיקים אומרים מעט ועושים הרבה רשעים אומרים הרבה ואפילו מעט אינם עושים,מנלן מעפרון מעיקרא כתיב (בראשית כג, טו) ארץ ארבע מאות שקל כסף ולבסוף כתיב (בראשית כג, טז) וישמע אברהם אל עפרון וישקל אברהם לעפרון את הכסף אשר דבר באזני בני חת ארבע מאות שקל כסף עובר לסוחר דלא שקל מיניה אלא קנטרי דאיכא דוכתא דקרי ליה לתיקלא קנטירא,כתיב (בראשית יח, ו) קמח וכתיב סלת א"ר יצחק מכאן שהאשה צרה עיניה באורחים יותר מן האיש,כתיב (בראשית יח, ו) לושי ועשי עוגות וכתיב (בראשית יח, ח) ויקח חמאה וחלב ובן הבקר ואילו לחם לא אייתי לקמייהו,אמר אפרים מקשאה תלמידו של רבי מאיר משמיה דרבי מאיר אברהם אבינו אוכל חולין בטהרה היה ושרה אמנו אותו היום פירסה נדה,(בראשית יח, ט) ויאמרו אליו איה שרה אשתך ויאמר הנה באהל להודיע ששרה אמנו צנועה היתה אמר רב יהודה אמר רב ואיתימא רבי יצחק יודעים היו מלאכי השרת ששרה אמנו באהל היתה אלא מאי באהל כדי לחבבה על בעלה,רבי יוסי ברבי חנינא אמר כדי לשגר לה כוס של ברכה תני משום רבי יוסי למה נקוד על איו שבאליו לימדה תורה דרך ארץ שישאל אדם באכסניא שלו והאמר שמואל אין שואלין בשלום אשה כלל על ידי בעלה שאני,(בראשית יח, יב) אחרי בלותי היתה לי עדנה אמר רב חסדא אחר שנתבלה הבשר ורבו הקמטין נתעדן הבשר ונתפשטו הקמטין וחזר היופי למקומו,כתיב (בראשית יח, יב) ואדוני זקן וכתיב (בראשית יח, יג) ואני זקנתי דלא מותיב הקב"ה כדקאמרה איהי,תנא דבי רבי ישמעאל גדול שלום שאפי' הקב"ה שינה בו שנאמר (בראשית יח, יב) ותצחק שרה בקרבה וגו' (בראשית יח, יב) ואדוני זקן וכתיב (בראשית יח, יג) ויאמר ה' אל אברהם וגו' ואני זקנתי,(בראשית כא, ז) ותאמר מי מלל לאברהם הניקה בנים שרה כמה בנים הניקה שרה אמר רבי לוי אותו היום שגמל אברהם את יצחק בנו עשה סעודה גדולה היו כל אומות העולם מרננים ואומרים ראיתם זקן וזקנה שהביאו אסופי מן השוק ואומרים בנינו הוא ולא עוד אלא שעושין משתה גדול להעמיד דבריהם,מה עשה אברהם אבינו הלך וזימן כל גדולי הדור ושרה אמנו זימנה את נשותיהם וכל אחת ואחת הביאה בנה עמה ומניקתה לא הביאה ונעשה נס בשרה אמנו ונפתחו דדיה כשני מעיינות והניקה את כולן ועדיין היו מרננים ואומרים אם שרה הבת תשעים שנה תלד אברהם בן מאה שנה יוליד מיד נהפך קלסתר פנים של יצחק ונדמה לאברהם פתחו כולם ואמרו (בראשית כה, יט) אברהם הוליד את יצחק,עד אברהם לא היה זקנה מאן דהוה בעי למשתעי בהדי אברהם משתעי בהדי יצחק בהדי יצחק משתעי בהדי אברהם אתא אברהם בעא רחמי והוה זקנה שנאמר (בראשית כד, א) ואברהם זקן בא בימים,עד יעקב לא הוה חולשא אתא יעקב בעא רחמי והוה חולשא שנאמר (בראשית מח, א) ויאמר ליוסף הנה אביך חולה עד דאתא אלישע לא הוה דחליש ואתפח אתא אלישע בעא רחמי ואתפח שנאמר (מלכים ב יג, יד) ואלישע חלה את חליו אשר ימות בו מכלל דחלה חלי אחריתי,תנו רבנן שלשה חלאין חלה אלישע אחד שדחפו לגיחזי בשתי ידיו ואחד שגירה דובין בתינוקות ואחד שמת בו שנאמר (מלכים ב יג, יד) ואלישע חלה את חליו אשר ימות בו:,אלא עד שלא יתחילו במלאכה צא ואמור להם על מנת שאין לכם עלי אלא פת וקטנית כו': אמר ליה רב אחא בריה דרב יוסף לרב חסדא פת קטנית תנן או פת וקטנית תנן אמר ליה האלהים צריכה וי"ו כי מורדיא דלברות:,רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר אינו צריך הכל כמנהג המדינה: הכל לאתויי מאי לאתויי הא דתנן השוכר את הפועל ואמר לו כאחד וכשנים מבני העיר נותן לו כפחות שבשכירות דברי רבי יהושע וחכמים אומרים משמנין ביניהם:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big ואלו אוכלין מן התורה העושה במחובר לקרקע בשעת גמר מלאכה ובתלוש מן הקרקע עד שלא נגמרה מלאכתו ובדבר שגידולו מן הארץ ואלו שאין אוכלים העושה במחובר לקרקע | 87a. b“And he urged them greatly”(Genesis 19:3), only after which they acquiesced? bRabbi Elazar says: From herewe learn bthat one may declinethe request of ba lesser man, but one may not declinethe request of ba great man. /b,The Gemara continues analyzing the same passage. bIt is written: “And I will fetch a morsel of bread,and satisfy your heart” (Genesis 18:5), band it is written: “And Abraham ran to the herd,and fetched a calf tender and good” (Genesis 18:7). bRabbi Elazar said: From herewe learn bthatthe brighteous say little and do much,whereas the bwicked say much and do not do even a little. /b, bFrom where do wederive this principle that the wicked say much and do not do even a little? We derive it bfrom Ephron. Initially, it is writtenthat Ephron said to Abraham: b“A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver,what is that between me and you?” (Genesis 23:15). And bultimately it is written: “And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the hearing of the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant”(Genesis 23:16), i.e., shekels that could be used in any location. This teaches bthatnot only did Ephron take shekels from Abraham, bhe took from him only centenaria [ ikantarei /i],i.e., superior coins, bas there is a place where they call a shekel a centenarius. /b,The verse states: “Make ready quickly three measures of flour, fine flour” (Genesis 18:6). The Gemara questions the apparent redundancy. bIt is written: “Flour,” and it isalso bwritten: “Fine flour.” Rabbi Yitzḥak says: From herewe learn bthat a woman is more stingy with guests than a man.Sarah wanted to use merely flour, and Abraham persuaded her to use fine flour.,The Gemara continues its analysis of the verses. bIt is written: “Knead it, and make cakes”(Genesis 18:6), and two verses later bit is written: “And he took curd, and milk, and the calfwhich he prepared” (Genesis 18:8). Abraham served these items to the guests, band yet he did not bring bread before themdespite having instructed Sarah to prepare baked goods., bEfrayim Miksha’a, disciple of Rabbi Meir, says in the name of Rabbi Meir: Abraham, our forefather, would eat non-sacred foodonly when he was bina state of britual purity,i.e., he treated his food as though it were consecrated to God. bAnd Sarah, our foremother, menstruated that day,which rendered the baked goods ritually impure, preventing Abraham from handling them. Therefore, they could not serve bread to their guests.,The next verse states: b“And they said to him: Where is Sarah your wife? And he said: Behold, in the tent”(Genesis 18:9). The Gemara explains that this verse serves bto informus bthat Sarah, our foremother, was a modest woman,as she remained inside while the guests were present. bRav Yehuda saysthat bRav says, and some sayit is bRabbi Yitzḥakwho says: bThe ministering angels,who visited Abraham in the guise of travelers, bknew that Sarah, our foremother, was inside the tent. Rather, whatwas the purpose of their eliciting Abraham’s response: bIn the tent?It was bin order to endear her to her husband,by accentuating Sarah’s modesty., bRabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says:They inquired about her bin order to send herthe bcup of blessing.It is customary to recite Grace after Meals over a cup of wine, which is then distributed to those present. bIt is taught in the name of Rabbi Yosei: Why are there dotsin the Torah scroll bupon the letters ialef /i, iyod /i,and ivavinthe word b“to him [ ieilav /i]”?These letters spell iayo /i, which means: Where is he? bThe Torah is teaching the proper etiquette,which is bthat a person should inquire of his hostessabout his host, just as he should inquire about the welfare of his hostess from the host. The Gemara asks: bBut doesn’t Shmuel say: One may not inquire about the welfare of a woman at all,as this is immodest? The Gemara answers: A greeting bby means of her husband is different.Asking a husband about his wife is not considered immodest.,The Gemara analyzes the verses that describe Sarah at the time: “And Sarah laughed within herself, saying: bAfter I am waxed old [ iveloti /i] shall I have pleasure [ iedna /i]”(Genesis 18:12). bRav Ḥisda says: After the skin had worn out [ initballa /i] and become full of wrinkles, the skin once again became soft [ initadden /i] and her wrinkles smoothed out, andSarah’s bbeauty returned to its place. /b, bIt is writtenthat Sarah said: b“And my lord is old”(Genesis 18:12), band it is written:“And the Lord said to Abraham: Why did Sarah laugh, saying: Shall I certainly bear a child, band I am old?”(Genesis 18:13). This verse indicates that bthe Holy One, Blessed be He, did not repeatto Abraham bthatwhich Sarah actually bsaid,that her husband is old. Why did God change the wording of her statement so that she was referring to herself?, bThe school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: Peace isof such bgreatimportance bthat even the Holy One, Blessed be He, alteredthe truth for the sake of preserving peace, bas it is stated: “And Sarah laughed within herself,saying: After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, band my lord is old,” and it is written: “And the Lord said to Abraham:Why did Sarah laugh, saying: Shall I certainly bear a child, band I am old?” /b,In reference to Sarah having given birth to Isaac, the verse states: b“And she said: Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah should nurse children?”(Genesis 21:7). The Gemara asks: bHow many children did Sarah nurse?Why does the verse use the plural form when she had only one child? bRabbi Levi says: That day when Abraham weaned his son Isaac, he prepared a greatcelebratory bfeast. All of the nations of the world were gossiping and sayingto each other: bSeethis bold man and old woman who brought a foundling from the market and are saying: He is our son, and moreover they are making a great feast to bolster their claim. /b, bWhat did Abraham, our forefather, do? He went and invited all of the greatmen bofthat bgeneration, and Sarah, our foremother, invited their wives. Each and every oneof the wives bbrought her child with her but did not bring her wet nurse. And a miracle occurred to Sarah, our foremother, and her breasts were opened like two springs, and she nursed allof these children. bAnd stillthose people bwere gossiping and sayingto each other: Even bif Sarah,at bninety years of age, can give birth, can Abraham,at bone hundred years of age, fathera child? bImmediately, the countece of Isaac’s face transformed and appearedexactly like that bof Abraham. Everyone exclaimed and said: “Abraham fathered Isaac”(Genesis 25:19).,§ The Gemara continues discussing Abraham: bUntil Abraham, there was no aging,i.e., old age was not physically recognizable. Consequently, bone who wanted to speak to Abrahamwould mistakenly bspeak to Isaac,and vice versa: An individual who wanted to speak bto Isaacwould bspeak to Abraham,as they were indistinguishable. bAbraham came and prayed for mercy, and aging wasat last noticeable, bas it is stated: “And Abraham was old, well stricken in age”(Genesis 24:1), which is the first time that aging is mentioned in the Bible., bUntil Jacob, there was no illnessleading up to death; rather, one would die suddenly. bJacob came and prayed for mercy, and illness wasbrought to the world, allowing one to prepare for his death, bas it is stated: “And one said to Joseph: Behold, your father is sick”(Genesis 48:1), which is the first time that sickness preceding death is mentioned in the Bible. bUntil Elisha, one did not fall ill andthen bheal,as everyone who fell ill would die. bElisha came and prayed for mercy and he was healed, as it is written: “Now Elisha fell ill with his illness from which he was to die”(II Kings 13:14). bBy inference,one can derive that bhehad previously bfallen illwith bother illnessesfrom which he did not die., bThe Sages taught: Elisha fell ill with three illnesses: Onewas due to the fact bthat he pushed Gehazi away with both hands,i.e., he banished Gehazi without granting him a chance to repent (see II Kings, chapter 5). bOnewas due to the fact bthat he incited bears against young children(see II Kings 2:23–25). bAnd onewas the illness bfrom which he died, as it is stated: “Now Elisha fell ill of his illness from which he was to die”(II Kings 13:14).,§ The mishna (83a) teaches that Rabbi Yoḥa ben Matya said to his son: bRather, before they beginengaging bintheir blabor, go out and say to them:The stipulation that food will be provided is bon the condition that you havethe right to claim bfrom me onlya meal of bbread and legumes,which is the typical meal given to laborers. bRav Aḥa, son of Rav Yosef, said to Rav Ḥisda:Did bwe learn: Bread of legumes [ ipat kitnit /i],i.e., inferior-quality bread made of legumes, bordid bwe learn: Bread and legumes [ ipat vekitnit /i]?Rav Ḥisda bsaid to him: By God!That word ivekitnit brequiresat its beginning the letter ivav /ias large bas an oar [ imordeya /i]made bof cypresswood [ ideliberot /i], i.e., ipat vekitnitis undoubtedly the correct version.,§ The mishna teaches that bRabban Shimon ben Gamliel says:The son of Rabbi Yoḥa ben Matya bdid not need to statethis, as the principle is: bEverything is in accordance with the regional custom.The Gemara asks: This term: bEverything,serves bto add what?What is the itannaincluding by this term? The Gemara answers: It serves bto add that which we learnedin a ibaraita /i: With regard to bone who hires a laborer and said to him:I will pay you bas one or two of the residents of the cityare paid, bhe gives himwages in accordance bwith the lowest wagepaid in that region. This is bthe statement of Rabbi Yehoshua. The Rabbis say: One dividesthe difference bbetweenthe highest and lowest paid wages, thereby giving the wages to this laborer according to the average of the regional custom. This ihalakhais alluded to in the statement of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel., strongMISHNA: /strong This mishna details the ihalakhathat a laborer is permitted to eat from the produce with which he is working. bAnd theselaborers bmay eat by Torah law:A laborer bwho works withproduce battached to the ground at the time of the completion ofits bwork,e.g., harvesting produce; banda laborer who works bwithproduce bdetached from the ground before the completion of its work,i.e., before it is sufficiently processed and thereby subject to tithes. bAndthis is the ihalakhaprovided that they are working bwith an item whose growth is from the land. And theseare laborers who bmay not eat:A laborer who bworks withproduce battached to the ground /b |
