1. Babylonian Talmud, Berachot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 31a. אייתי כסא דמוקרא בת ארבע מאה זוזי ותבר קמייהו ואעציבו,רב אשי עבד הלולא לבריה חזנהו לרבנן דהוו קא בדחי טובא אייתי כסא דזוגיתא חיורתא ותבר קמייהו ואעציבו,אמרו ליה רבנן לרב המנונא זוטי בהלולא דמר בריה דרבינא לישרי לן מר אמר להו ווי לן דמיתנן ווי לן דמיתנן אמרי ליה אנן מה נעני בתרך א"ל הי תורה והי מצוה דמגנו עלן,א"ר יוחנן משום רשב"י אסור לאדם שימלא שחוק פיו בעולם הזה שנאמר (תהלים קכו, ב) אז ימלא שחוק פינו ולשוננו רנה אימתי בזמן שיאמרו בגוים הגדיל ה' לעשות עם אלה אמרו עליו על ר"ל שמימיו לא מלא שחוק פיו בעוה"ז מכי שמעה מר' יוחנן רביה:,ת"ר אין עומדין להתפלל לא מתוך דין ולא מתוך דבר הלכה אלא מתוך הלכה פסוקה,והיכי דמי הלכה פסוקה,אמר אביי כי הא דר' זירא דאמר ר' זירא בנות ישראל החמירו על עצמן שאפילו רואות טיפת דם כחרדל יושבת עליה שבעה נקיים,רבא אמר כי הא דרב הושעיא דאמר רב הושעיא מערים אדם על תבואתו ומכניסה במוץ שלה כדי שתהא בהמתו אוכלת ופטורה מן המעשר,ואב"א כי הא דרב הונא דא"ר הונא א"ר זעירא המקיז דם בבהמת קדשים אסור בהנאה ומועלין בו,רבנן עבדי כמתניתין רב אשי עביד כברייתא.,ת"ר אין עומדין להתפלל לא מתוך עצבות ולא מתוך עצלות ולא מתוך שחוק ולא מתוך שיחה ולא מתוך קלות ראש ולא מתוך דברים בטלים אלא מתוך שמחה של מצוה,וכן לא יפטר אדם מחברו לא מתוך שיחה ולא מתוך שחוק ולא מתוך קלות ראש ולא מתוך דברים בטלים אלא מתוך דבר הלכה שכן מצינו בנביאים הראשונים שסיימו דבריהם בדברי שבח ותנחומים,וכן תנא מרי בר בריה דרב הונא בריה דר' ירמיה בר אבא אל יפטר אדם מחבירו אלא מתוך דבר הלכה שמתוך כך זוכרהו,כי הא דרב כהנא אלוייה לרב שימי בר אשי מפום נהרא עד בי צניתא דבבל כי מטא להתם א"ל מר ודאי דאמרי אינשי הני צניתא דבבל איתנהו מאדם הראשון ועד השתא,א"ל אדכרתן מילתא דרבי יוסי ברבי חנינא דאמר ר' יוסי ברבי חנינא מאי דכתיב (ירמיהו ב, ו) בארץ אשר לא עבר בה איש ולא ישב אדם שם וכי מאחר דלא עבר היאך ישב אלא לומר לך כל ארץ שגזר עליה אדם הראשון לישוב נתישבה וכל ארץ שלא גזר עליה אדם הראשון לישוב לא נתישבה,רב מרדכי אלוייה לרב שימי בר אשי מהגרוניא ועד בי כיפי ואמרי לה עד בי דורא:,ת"ר המתפלל צריך שיכוין את לבו לשמים אבא שאול אומר סימן לדבר (תהלים י, יז) תכין לבם תקשיב אזנך,תניא א"ר יהודה כך היה מנהגו של ר"ע כשהיה מתפלל עם הצבור היה מקצר ועולה מפני טורח צבור וכשהיה מתפלל בינו לבין עצמו אדם מניחו בזוית זו ומוצאו בזוית אחרת וכל כך למה מפני כריעות והשתחויות:,א"ר חייא בר אבא לעולם יתפלל אדם בבית שיש בו חלונות שנאמר (דניאל ו, יא) וכוין פתיחן ליה וגו',יכול יתפלל אדם כל היום כלו כבר מפורש על ידי דניאל (דניאל ו, יא) וזמנין תלתא וגו',יכול משבא לגולה הוחלה כבר נאמר (דניאל ו, יא) די הוא עבד מן קדמת דנא,יכול יתפלל אדם לכל רוח שירצה ת"ל (דניאל ו, יא) (לקבל) [נגד] ירושלם,יכול יהא כוללן בבת אחת כבר מפורש ע"י דוד דכתיב (תהלים נה, יח) ערב ובקר וצהרים וגו',יכול ישמיע קולו בתפלתו כבר מפורש על ידי חנה שנאמר (שמואל א א, יג) וקולה לא ישמע,יכול ישאל אדם צרכיו ואח"כ יתפלל כבר מפורש על ידי שלמה שנאמר (מלכים א ח, כח) לשמוע אל הרנה ואל התפלה רנה זו תפלה תפלה זו בקשה אין אומר דבר (בקשה) אחר אמת ויציב אבל אחר התפלה אפי' כסדר וידוי של יה"כ אומר איתמר,נמי אמר רב חייא בר אשי אמר רב אע"פ שאמרו שואל אדם צרכיו בשומע תפלה אם בא לומר אחר תפלתו אפילו כסדר יום הכפורים אומר:, אמר רב המנונא כמה הלכתא גברוותא איכא למשמע מהני קראי דחנה (שמואל א א, יג) וחנה היא מדברת על לבה מכאן למתפלל צריך שיכוין לבו רק שפתיה נעות מכאן למתפלל שיחתוך בשפתיו וקולה לא ישמע מכאן שאסור להגביה קולו בתפלתו ויחשבה עלי לשכורה מכאן ששכור אסור להתפלל,ויאמר אליה עלי עד מתי תשתכרין וגו' א"ר אלעזר מכאן לרואה בחברו | 31a. bHe brought a valuable cup worth four hundred izuzand broke it before them and they became sad. /b,The Gemara also relates: bRav Ashi made a weddingfeast bfor his sonand bhe saw the Sages, who were excessively joyous. He brought a cup ofextremely valuable bwhite glass and broke it before them, and they became sad. /b,Similarly, the Gemara relates: bThe Sages said to Rav Hamnuna Zuti at the weddingfeast bof Mar, son of Ravina: Let the Master sing for us.Since he believed that the merriment had become excessive, bhe said to them,singing: bWoe unto us, for we shall die, woe unto us, for we shall die. They said to him: What shall we respond after you?What is the chorus of the song? bHe said to them,you should respond: bWhere is Torah and where is mitzva that protect us? /b,In a similar vein, bRabbi Yoḥa said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: One is forbidden to fill his mouth with mirth in this world,as long as we are in exile ( ige’onim /i), bas it is stated:“When the Lord returns the captivity of Zion we will be as dreamers” (Psalms 126:1). Only b“then will our mouths fill with laughter and our lips with song”(Psalms 126:2). bWhenwill that joyous era arrive? When b“they will say among nations, the Lord has done great things with these”(Psalms 126:2). bThey said about Reish Lakish that throughout his life he did not fill his mouth with laughter in this world once he heard thisstatement bfrom his teacher, Rabbi Yoḥa. /b,We learned in the mishna that it is appropriate to stand and begin to pray from an atmosphere of gravity. Regarding this, bthe Sages taught: Onemay bneither standand begin to pray, directly bfrominvolvement in bjudgment nordirectly bfromdeliberation over the ruling in a bmatter of ihalakha /i,as his preoccupation with the judgment or the halakhic ruling will distract him from prayer. bRatherit is appropriate to pray directly bfrominvolvement in the study of bauniversally accepted bconclusive ihalakha /ithat leaves no room for further deliberation and will not distract him during prayer., bAndthe Gemara asks: bWhat is an exampleof a bconclusive ihalakha /i? /b,The Gemara offers several examples: bAbaye said:One blike this ihalakha bof Rabbi Zeira,as bRabbi Zeira said: The daughters of Israel were stringent with themselves;to the extent bthat even if they see a drop of blood corresponding tothe size of ba mustardseed bshe sits seven cleandays bfor it.By Torah law, a woman who witnesses the emission of blood during the eleven days following her fixed menstrual period is not considered a menstruating woman; rather she immerses herself and is purified the next day. However, the women of Israel accepted the stringency upon themselves that if they see any blood whatsoever, they act as it if were the blood of a izava /i, which obligates her to count seven more clean days before becoming ritually pure (see Leviticus 15:25).,Citing an additional example of a conclusive ihalakha /i, bRava said:One blike this ihalakha bof Rav Hoshaya, as Rav Hoshaya said: A person may employ artificeto circumvent obligations incumbent buponhim in dealing with bhis grain and bring it intothe courtyard bin its chaff so that his animal will eatfrom it, bandthe grain bis exemptfrom btithes. iHalakhadictates that one is obligated to tithe grain that has been threshed and piled, regardless of the ultimate purpose for which the grain was intended. By Torah law, one is exempt from tithing grain that was not threshed and is therefore still in its chaff. By rabbinic law, one is prohibited from eating this grain in the framework of a meal. Feeding animals is permitted without first tithing that grain., bAnd if you wish, sayinstead yet another example of a conclusive ihalakha /i, which is the recommended prelude to prayer. One blike this ihalakha bof Rav Huna,as bRav Huna saidthat bRabbi Zeira said: One who lets blood from a consecrated animalthat was consecrated as a sacrifice; deriving bbenefitfrom that blood bis prohibited.Although blood of an offering that was sprinkled on the altar is not considered Temple property, nevertheless, deriving benefit from the blood of a living, consecrated animal is considered prohibited use of Temple property. In so doing, bone misusesproperty consecrated to the Temple, and as in any other case of misusing Temple property, if he did so unwittingly, he is liable to bring a guilt-offering.,It is related that bthe Sages acted in accordance withthe opinion of bour mishnaand rose to pray from an atmosphere of gravity; bRav Ashi acted in accordance withthe opinion of bthe ibaraita /iand preceded his prayer with a conclusive ihalakha /i.,On the topic of proper preparation for prayer, bthe Sages taught: One may neither stand to pray froman atmosphere of bsorrow nor froman atmosphere of blaziness, nor froman atmosphere of blaughter, nor froman atmosphere of bconversation, nor froman atmosphere of bfrivolity, nor froman atmosphere of bpurposeless matters. Rather,one should approach prayer bfroman atmosphere imbued with bthe joy of a mitzva. /b, bSimilarly, a person should neither take leave of another froman atmosphere of bconversation, nor froman atmosphere of blaughter, nor froman atmosphere of bfrivolity, nor froman atmosphere of bpurposeless matters. Rather,one should take leave of another bfrominvolvement in a bmatter of ihalakha /i. As we found inthe books of the Bible dealing with bthe early prophets, that they would conclude their talks with words of praise and consolation. /b, bAnd so Mari, the grandson of Rav Huna, son of Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba, taught in a ibaraita /i: One should only take leave of another frominvolvement in a bmatter of ihalakha /i, so that, consequently, he will remember him;whenever he recalls the one from whom he took leave, he will think well of him because of the new ihalakhathat he taught him ( iEliyahu Zuta /i)., bAsin the incident related by the Gemara bthat Rav Kahana accompanied Rav Shimi bar Ashi fromthe town of bPum Nahara to the palm grovein bBabylonia. When he arrived there,Rav Kahana bsaid toRav Shimi bar Ashi: bMaster, what is meant by that which people say: These palm treesof bBabylonia have beenin this place from the time of bAdam the firstman buntil now? /b,Rav Shimi bar Ashi bsaid to him: You reminded me of something that Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina,said, bas Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: What isthe meaning of bthat which is written: “In a land through which no man has passed and where no person [ iadam /i] has settled”(Jeremiah 2:6)? This verse is difficult; bsince it isa land through which bnoperson bhas passed, howcould anyone bhave settledthere permanently? The statement that “no person has settled there” is redundant. bRather,this verse comes bto teachthat bevery landthrough bwhich Adam the firstman passed and bdecreed that it would be settled was settled, and every landthrough bwhichAdam passed and bdecreed that it would not be settled was not settled.Based on this, what people say is true, and the palm trees of Babylonia are from the time of Adam, meaning that from the time of Adam this land was decreed to be suitable for growing palm trees ( iMe’iri /i). The Gemara cited an example of how one who parts from another with Torah learns something new.,Having mentioned the mitzva for a student to accompany his Rabbi, the Gemara relates that bRav Mordekhai accompaniedhis mentor, bRav Shimi bar Ashi,a great distance, bfromthe city of bHagronya to Bei Keifei; and some saythat he accompanied from Hagronya bto Bei Dura. /b,Returning to the topic of preparation for prayer, bthe Sages taughtin the iTosefta /i: bOne who prays must focus his heart toward Heaven. Abba Shaul says: An indication ofthe importance of this bmatteris stated in the verse: “The desire of the humble You have heard, Lord; bdirect their hearts, Your ear will listen”(Psalms 10:17). In other words, if one focuses his heart in prayer as a result of God directing his heart, his prayer will be accepted as God’s ear will listen.,With regard to one’s intent during prayer, bit was taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Yehuda said: This was the custom of Rabbi Akiva, when he would pray with the congregation he would shortenhis prayer band go up, due tohis desire to avoid being an bencumbrance on the congregationby making them wait for him to finish his prayer. bBut when he prayed by himselfhe would extend his prayers to an extent that ba person would leaveRabbi Akiva alone bin one cornerof the study hall bandlater bfind himstill praying bin another corner. And whywould Rabbi Akiva move about bso much? Because of his bows and prostrations.Rabbi Akiva’s enthusiasm in prayer was so great, that as a result of his bows and prostrations, he would unwittingly move from one corner to the other (Rav Hai Gaon).,Many ihalakhotare derived from evoking the prayers of biblical characters. bRabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: One should always pray in a house with windows, as it is statedregarding Daniel: “And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went to his house. In his attic bthere were open windowsfacing Jerusalem, and three times a day he knelt upon his knees and prayed and gave thanks before his God, just as he had done before” (Daniel 6:11).,In the iTosefta /i, additional ihalakhotwere derived from Daniel’s prayer. I bmight havethought bthat one could prayas many times as he wishes bthroughout the entire day; it has already been articulated by Daniel,with regard to whom it is stated: b“And three timesa day he knelt upon his knees and prayed.” This teaches that there are fixed prayers., bI might have thought that thispractice of fixed prayer bbeganonly bwhen he came tothe Babylonian bexile; it was stated:“Just bas he had done before.” /b,Further, I bmight havethought bthat one may prayfacing bany direction he wishes; the verse states:The appropriate direction for prayer is b“facing Jerusalem.” /b,Daniel does not describe how these three prayers are distributed during the day. I bmight havethought bthat one may include allthree prayers bat one time; it has already been articulated by Davidthat one may not do so, bas it is written: “Evening and morning and noon,I pray and cry aloud and He hears my voice” (Psalms 55:18).,Furthermore, bI might havethought bthat one may make his voice heard in his iAmida bprayer; it has already been articulated by Hannahin her prayer, bas it is stated:“And Hannah spoke in her heart, only her lips moved band her voice could not be heard”(I Samuel 1:13)., iHalakhotregarding the order of the prayers were also learned from the prayers of biblical characters. I bmight havethought bthat one should request his own needs first, and afterwards recite prayersof thanksgiving and praise; bit has already been articulated by Solomonthat this is not so, as in Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the Holy Temple bit is stated: “To hear the song and the prayerthat Your servant prays before You today” (I Kings 8:28). In this verse, bsong is prayerin the sense of thanks and praise, and bprayer isone’s brequestof his personal needs. Therefore, one who is praying bdoes not speak matters of request afterhe began to recite iemet veyatziv /iprior to the iAmidaprayer, which is the essence of prayer. Rather, he begins with praise in the first three blessings of the iAmidaprayer, and only thereafter does he include requests for his needs. bBut after the iAmida bprayerthere is no limit. If he desires to recite beven the equivalent of the order of the confession of Yom Kippur,he may breciteit.,This bwas also statedby an iamora /i; bRav Ḥiyya bar Ashi saidthat bRav said: Althoughthe Sages bsaidthat bone requests hispersonal bneeds inthe blessing: bWho listens to prayer,that is with regard to one who wishes to do so as part of the iAmidaprayer. bIf he comesto add band reciteadditional requests baftercompleting bhis iAmida bprayer, evenif his personal requests are bthe equivalent of the order of the confession of Yom Kippur,he may brecitethem., bRav Hamnuna said: How many significant ihalakhot bcan be derived from these versesof the prayer bof Hannah?As it says: “And Hannah spoke in her heart, only her lips moved and her voice could not be heard, so Eli thought her to be drunk” (I Samuel 1:13). The Gemara elaborates: bFromthat which is stated bhere: “And Hannah spoke in her heart,”the ihalakhathat bone who prays must focus his hearton his prayer is derived. And bfromthat which is stated bhere: “Only her lips moved,”the ihalakhathat bone who prays must enunciatethe words bwith his lips,not only contemplate them in his heart, is derived. bFromthat which is written bhere: “And her voice could not be heard,”the ihalakhathat bone is forbidden to raise his voice in his iAmida bprayeras it must be recited silently. bFromthe continuation of the verse bhere: “So Eli thought her to be drunk,”the ihalakhathat ba drunk person is forbidden to pray.That is why he rebuked her.,On the subject of Eli’s rebuke of Hannah, as it is stated: b“And Eli said to her: How long will you remain drunk?Remove your wine from yourself” (I Samuel 1:14); bRabbi Elazar said: From herethe ihalakhathat bone who sees in another /b |
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2. Babylonian Talmud, Hulin, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 13a. ואין להן מחשבה,אמר ליה מחשבה גרידתא לא קא מיבעיא ליה כי קא מיבעיא ליה מחשבתו ניכרת מתוך מעשיו,כגון דהוה קיימא עולה בדרום ואתיוה בצפון ושחטה מאי מדאתייא בצפון ושחט איכוין לה או דילמא מקום הוא דלא איתרמי ליה,הא נמי אמרה רבי יוחנן חדא זימנא דתנן המעלה פירותיו לגג מפני הכנימה וירד עליהם טל אינן בכי יותן ואם נתכוין לכך הרי הן בכי יותן,העלום חרש שוטה וקטן אף על פי שנתכוונו לכך אינן בכי יותן מפני שיש להן מעשה ואין להן מחשבה,וא"ר יוחנן ל"ש אלא שלא היפך בהן אבל היפך בהן הרי זה בכי יותן,הכי קא מיבעיא ליה דאורייתא או דרבנן,רב נחמן בר יצחק מתני הכי א"ר חייא בר אבא בעי רבי יוחנן קטן יש לו מעשה או אין לו מעשה,אמר ליה רבי אמי ותיבעי ליה מחשבה מאי שנא מחשבה דלא קא מיבעיא ליה דתנן אין להן מחשבה מעשה נמי לא תיבעי ליה דתנן יש להן מעשה,הכי קא מיבעיא ליה דאורייתא או דרבנן ופשיט יש להן מעשה ואפילו מדאורייתא אין להן מחשבה ואפי' מדרבנן מחשבתו ניכרת מתוך מעשיו מדאורייתא אין לו מדרבנן יש לו,בעא מיניה שמואל מרב הונא מנין למתעסק בקדשים שהוא פסול שנאמר (ויקרא א, ה) ושחט את בן הבקר שתהא שחיטה לשם בן בקר אמר לו זו בידינו היא לעכב מנין (ת"ל) (ויקרא יט, ה) לרצונכם תזבחוהו לדעתכם זבוחו:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big שחיטת עובד כוכבים נבלה ומטמאה במשא:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big נבלה אין איסור הנאה לא מאן תנא א"ר חייא ברבי אבא א"ר יוחנן דלא כרבי אליעזר דאי ר"א האמר סתם מחשבת עובד כוכבים לעבודת כוכבים,רבי אמי אמר הכי קתני שחיטת עובד כוכבים נבלה הא דמין לעבודת כוכבים תנינא להא דת"ר שחיטת מין לעבודת כוכבים פיתו פת כותי יינו יין נסך ספריו ספרי קוסמין פירותיו טבלין וי"א אף | 13a. bbut they do not havethe capacity to effect a halakhic status by means of bthought. /b,Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba bsaid toRabbi Ami: With regard to a case of effecting a halakhic status by means of bthought alone,Rabbi Yoḥa bdoes not raise a dilemma. When he raises a dilemma,it is with regard to a case where bhis thought is discernible from his actions. /b, bFor example,in a case bwherean animal that is brought as ba burnt offering was standing in the southof the Temple courtyard banda minor btook it to the northof the courtyard, the designated place for its slaughter, band slaughtered itthere, bwhatis the ihalakha /i? Can one conclude bfromthe fact bthat he took it to the north and slaughteredit there that bhe hadthe bintent toslaughter the animal for the sake of a burnt offering; bor perhapshe moved the animal to the north because ba place did not happento be available bfor himin the south?,Rabbi Ami asked: But with regard to bthismatter, btoo, Rabbi Yoḥaalready bsaida conclusive resolution bone time, as we learnedin a mishna ( iMakhshirin6:1): In the case of bone who takes his produce up to the roofto protect it bfrom insects, and dew fell upon it,the produce bis not inthe category of the verse: “But bwhenwater bis placedupon the seed” (Leviticus 11:38), from which it is derived that produce becomes susceptible to ritual impurity only if it is dampened by one of seven liquids and its owner was agreeable to its dampening. bAnd ifafter taking the produce up to the roof bhe intendedthat the produce would be dampened by dew, the produce bis inthe category of the verse “But bwhenwater bis placedupon the seed.”,That mishna continues: In a case where ba deaf-mute, an imbecile, or a minor tookthe produce bupto the roof, beven if they intendedthat the produce would be dampened by dew, the produce bis not inthe category of the verse “But bwhenwater bis placedupon the seed” bdue tothe fact bthat they havethe capacity to perform ban action but they do not havethe capacity for halakhically effective bthought. /b, bAnd Rabbi Yoḥa says:The itanna btaughtthis ihalakha bonlyin a case bwherethe minor bdid not turn them over. Butif bhe turned them over,indicating that he wants them to be dampened by the dew, the produce bis inthe category of the verse “But bwhenwater bis placedupon the seed.” Evidently, Rabbi Yoḥa rules that when the intention of a minor is apparent from his actions, it is halakhically effective.,Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said to Rabbi Ami that bthisis bthe dilemmathat Rabbi Yoḥa braises:In a case where the intent of a minor is clear from his actions, is the fact that his thought is effective bby Torah law or by rabbinic law?That is one version of the exchange between Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba and Rabbi Ami., bRav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak teachestheir exchange in bthismanner. bRabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba saysthat bRabbi Yoḥa raises a dilemma:With regard to ba minor, does he havethe capacity to perform ban actionthat is halakhically effective bor does he not havethe capacity to perform such ban action? /b, bRabbi Ami said toRabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: bAnd letRabbi Yoḥa braise this dilemmawith regard to the bthoughtof a minor. bWhat is differentabout the bthoughtof a minor bthatRabbi Yoḥa bdoes not raise a dilemma?Is it due to the fact bthat we learnedin a mishna ( iKelim17:15): A deaf-mute, an imbecile, and a minor bdo not havethe capacity for effective bthought?With regard to baction as well let him not raise this dilemma, as we learnedin the same mishna: bThey havethe capacity to perform ban action. /b,Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said to Rabbi Ami that bthisis bthe dilemmathat Rabbi Yoḥa braises:Is the fact that their actions are effective and their thought is ineffective bby Torah law,and a minor’s action would consequently be effective even with regard to the sacrifice of a burnt offering, boris this fact bby rabbinic lawand it is merely a stringency? bAndRabbi Yoḥa bresolvesthe dilemma: bThey havethe capacity to perform ban action andit is effective, beven by Torah law.But bthey do not havethe capacity for effective bthought, even by rabbinic law.Nevertheless, in a case where bhis thought is apparent from his actions, by Torah law he does not haveeffective thought, and bby rabbinic law he haseffective thought.,§ bShmuel asked Rav Huna: From whereis it derived with regard bto one who acts unawares inthe slaughter of bsacrificialanimals, i.e., he slaughtered without intending to perform the act of slaughter at all, bthatthe offering bis disqualified?Rav Huna said to him that it is derived from a verse, bas it is stated: “And he shall slaughter the young bull”(Leviticus 1:5), indicating bthat the slaughter must be for the sake of a young bull,i.e., knowing that he is performing an act of slaughter. Shmuel bsaid tohim: bwereceived bthisas an established ihalakhaalready bthatone must have intent to slaughter the animal iab initio /i. But bfrom whereis it derived that intent to slaughter is bindispensableeven after the fact? It is derived from a verse, as bthe verse states: “You shall slaughter it to your will”(Leviticus 19:5), indicating: bSlaughterthe animal bwith your intent,i.e., in the form of a purposeful action., strongMISHNA: /strong bSlaughterperformed by ba gentilerenders the animal ban unslaughtered carcass, andthe carcass bimparts ritual impurity through carrying. /b, strongGEMARA: /strong The slaughter renders the animal ban unslaughtered carcass, yes; an item from whichderiving bbenefit is prohibited, no. Whois the itannawho btaughtthe mishna? bRabbi Ḥiyya, son of Rabbi Abba, saidthat bRabbi Yoḥa said: It is not in accordance withthe opinion of bRabbi Eliezer, as, ifit were in accordance with the opinion of bRabbi Eliezer, doesn’t he say: The unspecified thought of a gentile is for idol worship. /b, bRabbi Ami saidthat bthisis what the mishna bis teaching: Slaughterperformed by ba gentilerenders the animal ban unslaughtered carcass, butslaughter performed bby a hereticis bforthe sake of bidol worship.The Gemara notes: bWe learnfrom an inference in the mishna bthat which the Sages taughtexplictly in a ibaraita /i: bSlaughterperformed by ba hereticis bforthe sake of bidol worshipand deriving benefit from it is prohibited, the halakhic status of bhis breadis that of bthe bread of a Samaritan,the status of bhis wineis that of bwineused for ba libationin idol worship, bhissacred bscrollsthat he writes bare the scrolls of sorcerersand it is a mitzva to burn them, bhis produce is untithed produceeven if he separated iterumaand tithes, band some say: Even /b |
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3. Babylonian Talmud, Menachot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 29b. had the bleg ofthe letter ihehinthe term: b“The nation [ iha’am /i]”(Exodus 13:3), written in his phylacteries, bsevered by a perforation. He came beforehis son-in-law bRabbi Abbato clarify the ihalakha /i. Rabbi Abba bsaid to him: If there remains inthe leg that is attached to the roof of the letter bthe equivalent of the measure of a small letter,i.e., the letter iyod /i, it is bfit. But if not,it is bunfit. /b,The Gemara relates: bRami bar Tamrei, whowas bthe father-in-law of Rami bar Dikkulei,had the bleg ofthe letter ivavinthe term: b“Andthe Lord bslew [ ivayaharog /i]all the firstborn” (Exodus 13:15), written in his phylacteries, bsevered by a perforation. He came before Rabbi Zeirato clarify the ihalakha /i. Rabbi Zeira bsaid to him: Go bring a child who is neither wise nor stupid,but of average intelligence; bif he readsthe term as b“Andthe Lord bslew [ ivayaharog /i]”then it is bfit,as despite the perforation the letter is still seen as a ivav /i. But bif not,then it is as though the term bwere: Will be slain [ iyehareg /i],written without the letter ivav /i, bandit is bunfit. /b,§ bRav Yehuda saysthat bRav says: When Moses ascended on High, he found the Holy One, Blessed be He, sitting and tying crowns on the lettersof the Torah. Moses bsaid beforeGod: bMaster of the Universe, who is preventing Youfrom giving the Torah without these additions? God bsaid to him: There is a man who is destined to beborn bafter several generations, and Akiva ben Yosefis bhis name; he is destined to derive from each and every thornof these crowns bmoundsupon bmounds of ihalakhot /i.It is for his sake that the crowns must be added to the letters of the Torah.,Moses bsaid beforeGod: bMaster of the Universe, show him to me.God bsaid to him: Return behind you.Moses bwent and sat at the end of the eighth rowin Rabbi Akiva’s study hall band did not understand what they were saying.Moses’ bstrength waned,as he thought his Torah knowledge was deficient. bWhenRabbi Akiva barrived atthe discussion of bone matter, his students said to him: My teacher, from where do youderive this? Rabbi Akiva bsaid to them:It is ba ihalakha /itransmitted bto Moses from Sinai.When Moses heard this, bhis mind was put at ease,as this too was part of the Torah that he was to receive.,Moses breturned and came before the Holy One, Blessed be He,and bsaid before Him: Master of the Universe, You have a manas great bas this andyet bYoustill choose to bgive the Torah through me.Why? God bsaid to him: Be silent; this intention arose before Me.Moses bsaid beforeGod: bMaster of the Universe, You have shown meRabbi Akiva’s bTorah,now bshow me his reward.God bsaid to him: Returnto where you were. Moses bwent backand bsaw that they were weighingRabbi Akiva’s bflesh in a butcher shop [ ibemakkulin /i],as Rabbi Akiva was tortured to death by the Romans. Moses bsaid before Him: Master of the Universe, this is Torah and this is its reward?God bsaid to him: Be silent; this intention arose before Me. /b,§ The Gemara continues its discussion of the crowns on letters of the Torah: bRava says: Seven letters require three crowns [ iziyyunin /i], and they arethe letters ishin /i, iayin /i, itet /i, inun /i, izayin /i; igimmel /iand itzadi /i. Rav Ashi says: I have seen that the exacting scribes of the study hall of Rav would put a hump-like stroke on the roof ofthe letter iḥetand they would suspend theleft bleg ofthe letter iheh /i,i.e., they would ensure that it is not joined to the roof of the letter.,Rava explains: bThey would put a hump-like stroke on the roof ofthe letter iḥetas if tothereby bsay:The Holy One, Blessed be bHe, lives [ iḥai /i] in the heights of the universe. And they would suspend theleft bleg ofthe letter iheh /i, as Rabbi Yehuda Nesia asked Rabbi Ami: Whatis the meaning of that bwhich is written: “Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord [ ibeYah /i] is God, an everlasting [ iolamim /i] Rock”(Isaiah 26:4)? Rabbi Ami bsaid to him: Anyone who puts their trust in the Holy One, Blessed be He,will have Him as bhis refuge in this world and in the World-to-Come.This is alluded to in the word “ iolamim /i,” which can also mean: Worlds.,Rabbi Yehuda Nesia bsaid toRabbi Ami: I was not asking about the literal meaning of the verse; bthis iswhat poses ba difficulty for me: What is differentabout that bwhich is written:“For bin the Lord [ ibeYah /i],” and it is not written:For bthe Lord [ iYah /i]? /b,Rav Ashi responded: It is bas Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Elai taught:The verse “For in the Lord [ ibeYah /i] is God, an everlasting Rock [ iTzur olamim /i]” is understood as follows: The term “ iTzur olamim /i” can also mean Creator of worlds. bTheseletters iyodand ihehthat constitute the word iyahare referring to the btwo worlds that the Holy One, Blessed be He, created; one with [ ibe /i]the letter ihehand one with [ ibe /i]the letter iyod /i. And I do not know whether the World-to-Comewas created bwiththe letter iyodand this worldwas created bwiththe letter iheh /i,or bwhether this worldwas created bwiththe letter iyodand the World-to-Comewas created bwiththe letter iheh /i. /b, bWhenthe verse bstates: “These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created [ ibehibare’am /i]”(Genesis 2:4), bdo not readit as ibehibare’am /i,meaning: When they were created; brather,read it as ibeheh bera’am /i,meaning: He created them with the letter iheh /i. This verse demonstrates that the heaven and the earth, i.e., this world, were created with the letter iheh /i, and therefore the World-to-Come must have been created with the letter iyod /i., bAnd for whatreason bwas this world createdspecifically bwiththe letter iheh /i?It is bbecausethe letter iheh /i, bwhichis open on its bottom, has ba similarappearance bto a portico,which is open on one side. And it alludes to this world, bwhere anyone who wishes to leave may leave,i.e., every person has the ability to choose to do evil. bAnd what is the reasonthat the left bleg ofthe letter iheh bis suspended,i.e., is not joined to the roof of the letter? It is bbecause if one repents, he is broughtback binthrough the opening at the top.,The Gemara asks: bButwhy not blet him enter through thatsame way that he left? The Gemara answers: That would bnot be effective,since one requires assistance from Heaven in order to repent, bin accordance withthe statement bof Reish Lakish. As Reish Lakish says: Whatis the meaning of that bwhich is written: “If it concerns the scorners, He scorns them, but to the humble He gives grace”(Proverbs 3:34)? Concerning one who bcomesin order bto become pure, he is assistedfrom Heaven, as it is written: “But to the humble He gives grace.” Concerning one who bcomes to become impure, he is provided with an openingto do so. The Gemara asks: bAnd what is the reasonthat the letter iheh bhas a crownon its roof? The Gemara answers: bThe Holy One, Blessed be He, says: Ifa sinner breturns,repenting for his sin, bI tiea crown bfor himfrom above.,The Gemara asks: bFor whatreason bwas the World-to-Come createdspecifically bwiththe letter iyod /i,the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet? The Gemara answers: It is bbecause the righteous ofthe world bareso bfew. And for whatreason is the left side of bthe top ofthe letter iyod bbentdownward? It is bbecause the righteous who are inthe World-to-Come bhang their headsin shame, bsince the actions of one are not similar to those of another.In the World-to-Come some of the righteous will be shown to be of greater stature than others.,§ bRav Yosef says: Rav states these two matters with regard to scrolls, andin each case a statement bis taughtin a ibaraitathat constitutes ba refutation of hisruling. bOneis bthat which Rav says: A Torah scroll that contains two errors on each and every column may be corrected,but if there are bthreeerrors on each and every column then it bshall be interred. /b, bAnda statement bis taughtin a ibaraitathat constitutes ba refutation of hisruling: A Torah scroll that contains bthreeerrors on every column bmay be corrected,but if there are bfourerrors on every column then it bshall be interred.A itanna btaughtin a ibaraita /i: bIfthe Torah scroll bcontains one complete columnwith no errors, bit saves the entireTorah scroll, and it is permitted to correct the scroll rather than interring it. bRabbi Yitzḥak bar Shmuel bar Marta says in the name of Rav: And thisis the ihalakhaonly bwhen the majority of the scroll is written properlyand is not full of errors., bAbaye said to Rav Yosef: If that column contained three errors, whatis the ihalakha /i? Rav Yosef bsaid to him: Sincethe column itself bmay be corrected,it benables the correctionof the entire scroll. The Gemara adds: bAndwith regard to the ihalakhathat a Torah scroll may not be fixed if it is full of errors, bthis statementapplies when letters bare missingand must be added in the space between the lines. bButif there were bextraneousletters, bwe have noproblem bwith it,since they can easily be erased. The Gemara asks: bWhat is the reasonthat a scroll with letters bmissingmay bnotbe corrected? bRav Kahana said: Because it would look speckledif one adds all of the missing letters in the spaces between the lines.,The Gemara relates: bAgra, the father-in-law of Rabbi Abba, hadmany bextraneousletters bin his scroll. He came before Rabbi Abbato clarify the ihalakha /i. Rabbi Abba bsaid to him: We saidthat one may not correct the scroll bonly ina case where the letters are bmissing. /b |
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4. Babylonian Talmud, Moed Qatan, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 28a. אלא חיה אבל שאר נשים מניחין,ר' אלעזר אמר אפילו שאר הנשים דכתיב (במדבר כ, א) ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם סמוך למיתה קבורה,ואמר ר' אלעזר אף מרים בנשיקה מתה אתיא שם שם ממשה ומפני מה לא נאמר בה על פי ה' מפני שגנאי הדבר לאומרו,א"ר אמי למה נסמכה מיתת מרים לפרשת פרה אדומה לומר לך מה פרה אדומה מכפרת אף מיתתן של צדיקים מכפרת א"ר אלעזר למה נסמכה מיתת אהרן לבגדי כהונה מה בגדי כהונה מכפרין אף מיתתן של צדיקים מכפרת,ת"ר מת פתאום זו היא מיתה חטופה חלה יום אחד ומת זו היא מיתה דחופה ר' חנניא בן גמליאל אומר זו היא מיתת מגפה שנאמר (יחזקאל כד, טז) בן אדם הנני לוקח ממך את מחמד עיניך במגפה וכתיב (יחזקאל כד, יח) ואדבר אל העם בבקר ותמת אשתי בערב,שני ימים ומת זו היא מיתה דחויה ג' גערה ארבעה נזיפה חמשה זו היא מיתת כל אדם,א"ר חנין מאי קרא (דברים לא, יד) הן קרבו ימיך למות הן חד קרבו תרי ימיך תרי הא חמשה הן חד שכן בלשון יוני קורין לאחת הן,מת בחמשים שנה זו היא מיתת כרת חמשים ושתים שנה זו היא מיתתו של שמואל הרמתי ששים זו היא מיתה בידי שמים,אמר מר זוטרא מאי קרא דכתיב (איוב ה, כו) תבא בכלח אלי קבר בכלח בגימטריא שיתין הוו,שבעים שיבה שמונים גבורות דכתיב (תהלים צ, י) ימי שנותינו בהם שבעים שנה ואם בגבורות שמונים שנה אמר רבה מחמשים ועד ששים שנה זו היא מיתת כרת והאי דלא חשיב להו משום כבודו של שמואל הרמתי,רב יוסף כי הוה בר שיתין עבד להו יומא טבא לרבנן אמר נפקי לי מכרת א"ל אביי נהי דנפק ליה מר מכרת דשני מכרת דיומי מי נפיק מר א"ל נקוט לך מיהא פלגא בידך,רב הונא נח נפשיה פתאום הוו קא דייגי רבנן תנא להו זוגא דמהדייב לא שנו אלא שלא הגיע לגבורות אבל הגיע לגבורות זו היא מיתת נשיקה,אמר רבא חיי בני ומזוני לא בזכותא תליא מילתא אלא במזלא תליא מילתא דהא רבה ורב חסדא תרוייהו רבנן צדיקי הוו מר מצלי ואתי מיטרא ומר מצלי ואתי מיטרא,רב חסדא חיה תשעין ותרתין שנין רבה חיה ארבעין בי רב חסדא שיתין הלולי בי רבה שיתין תיכלי,בי רב חסדא סמידא לכלבי ולא מתבעי בי רבה נהמא דשערי לאינשי ולא משתכח,ואמר רבא הני תלת מילי בעאי קמי שמיא תרתי יהבו לי חדא לא יהבו לי חוכמתיה דרב הונא ועותריה דרב חסדא ויהבו לי ענותנותיה דרבה בר רב הונא לא יהבו לי,רב שעורים אחוה דרבא הוה יתיב קמיה דרבא חזייה דהוה קא מנמנם א"ל לימא ליה מר דלא לצערן א"ל מר לאו שושביניה הוא א"ל כיון דאימסר מזלא לא אשגח בי א"ל ליתחזי לי מר איתחזי ליה א"ל הוה ליה למר צערא א"ל כי ריבדא דכוסילתא,רבא הוה יתיב קמיה דר"נ חזייה דקא מנמנם א"ל לימא ליה מר דלא לצערן א"ל מר לאו אדם חשוב הוא א"ל מאן חשיב מאן ספין מאן רקיע,א"ל ליתחזי לי מר אתחזי ליה א"ל ה"ל למר צערא א"ל כמישחל בניתא מחלבא ואי אמר לי הקב"ה זיל בההוא עלמא כד הוית לא בעינא דנפיש בעיתותיה,רבי אלעזר הוה קאכיל תרומה איתחזי ליה א"ל תרומה קא אכילנא ולאו קודש איקרי חלפא ליה שעתא,רב ששת איתחזי ליה בשוקא אמר ליה בשוקא כבהמה איתא לגבי ביתא,רב אשי איתחזי ליה בשוקא א"ל איתרח לי תלתין יומין ואהדרי לתלמודאי דאמריתו אשרי מי שבא לכאן ותלמודו בידו ביום תלתין אתא אמר ליה מאי כולי האי קא דחקא רגליה דבר נתן ואין מלכות נוגעת בחבירתה אפילו כמלא נימא,רב חסדא לא הוה יכיל ליה דלא הוה שתיק פומיה מגירסא סליק יתיב בארזא דבי רב פקע ארזא ושתק ויכיל ליה,ר' חייא לא הוה מצי למיקרבא ליה יומא חד אידמי ליה כעניא אתא טריף אבבא א"ל אפיק לי ריפתא אפיקו ליה א"ל ולאו קא מרחם מר אעניא אההוא גברא אמאי לא קא מרחם מר גלי ליה אחוי ליה שוטא דנורא אמצי ליה נפשיה: | 28a. with regard to ba womanwho died bin childbirth,and therefore continues to bleed. bButthe biers of bother women may be set downin the street., bRabbi Elazar said: Eventhe biers of bother womenmust not be set down in the street, bas it is written: “And Miriam died there and was buried there”(Numbers 20:1), which teaches that bthesite of her bburial was close tothe place of her bdeath.Therefore, it is preferable to bury a woman as close as possible to the place where she died.,With regard to that same verse bRabbi Elazar saidfurther: bMiriam also died bythe divine bkiss,just like her brother Moses. What is the source for this? bThis is derivedthrough a verbal analogy between the word b“there”stated with regard to Miriam and the word b“there”mentioned bwith regard to Moses.With regard to Moses it says: “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab by the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 34:5). bFor whatreason bwas it notexplicitly bstated with regard to her,as it is stated with regard to Moses, that she died b“by the mouth of the Lord”?It is bbecause it would be unseemly to say such a thing,that a woman died by way of a divine kiss, and therefore it is not said explicitly., bRabbi Ami said: Why wasthe Torah portion that describes the bdeath of Miriam juxtaposed to the portiondealing with bthe red heifer? To tell you: Just as the red heifer atonesfor sin, bso too, the death of the righteous atonesfor sin. bRabbi Elazar said: Why wasthe Torah portion that describes the bdeath of Aaron juxtaposed tothe portion discussing bthe priestly garments?This teaches that bjust as the priestly garments atonefor sin, bso too, the death of the righteous atonesfor sin.,§ bThe Sages taughtthe following ibaraita /i: If one bdies suddenlywithout having been sick, bthis is deaththrough bsnatching.If he bbecame sick for a day and died, this is an expedited death. Rabbi Ḥaya ben Gamliel says: This is death at a stroke, as it is stated: “Son of man, behold, I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes at a stroke”(Ezekiel 24:16). bAndwhen this prophecy is fulfilled bit is written: “So I spoke to the people in the morning and at evening my wife died”(Ezekiel 24:18).,If he was sick for btwo days and died, this is a quickened death.If he was sick for bthreedays and died, this is a death of brebuke.If he died after being sick for bfourdays, this is a death of breprimand.If one died after a sickness lasting bfivedays, bthis is theordinary bdeath of all people. /b, bRabbi Ḥanin said: What is the versefrom which this is derived? It is stated: b“Behold, your days approach that you must die”(Deuteronomy 31:14). This verse is expounded in the following manner: b“Behold [ ihen /i]”indicates bone; “approach [ ikarvu /i],”a plural term, indicates btwo; “your days [ iyamekha /i],”also a plural term, indicates another btwo;and therefore in total bthis is five.How does the word ihen /iindicate bone? Because in the Greek language they callthe number bone ihen /i. /b,The Gemara discusses the significance of death at different ages: If one bdies whenhe is bfifty yearsold, bthis is death through ikaret /i,the divine punishment of excision, meted out for the most serious transgressions. If he dies when he is bfifty-two yearsold, bthis is the death of Samuel from Ramah.If he dies at the age of bsixty, this is death at the hand of Heaven. /b, bMar Zutra said: What is the versefrom which this is derived? bAs it is written: “You shall come to your grave in a ripe age [ ibekhelaḥ /i]”(Job 5:26). The word b“ripe age” [ ibekhelaḥ /i] has the numerical value of sixty,and it is alluded to there that dying at this age involves a divine punishment.,One who dies at the age of bseventyhas reached bold age.One who dies at the age of beightydies in bstrength, as it is written: “The days of our years are seventy, or if by reason of strength, eighty years”(Psalms 90:10). bRabba said:Not only is death at the age of fifty a sign of ikaret /i, but even death bfrom fifty to sixty yearsof age bis death by ikaret /i. Andthe reason that ball of these years were not countedin connection with ikaretis bdue to the honor of Samuel from Ramah,who died at the age of fifty-two.,The Gemara relates that bwhen Rav Yosef turned sixty he made a holiday for the Sages.Explaining the cause for his celebration, bhe said: I have passedthe age of ikaret /i. Abaye said to him: Master,even bthough you have passed the ikaretof years, have you, Master, escaped the ikaretof days?As previously mentioned, sudden death is also considered to be a form of ikaret /i. bHe said to him: Grasp at least half in your hand,for I have at least escaped one type of ikaret /i.,It was related that bRav Huna died suddenly,and bthe Sages were concernedthat this was a bad sign. The Sage bZuga from Hadayeiv taught themthe following: bThey taughtthese principles bonly whenthe deceased bhad not reachedthe age of bstrength,i.e., eighty. bBut if he had reachedthe age of bstrengthand then died suddenly, bthis is death by way of adivine bkiss. /b, bRava said:Length of blife, children, and sustece do not depend onone’s bmerit, but rather they depend upon fate. As, Rabba and Rav Ḥisda were both pious Sages;one bSagewould bprayduring a drought band rain would fall, andthe other bSagewould bpray and rain would fall. /b,And nevertheless, their lives were very different. bRav Ḥisda lived for ninety-two years,whereas bRabba lived foronly bfortyyears. bThe house of Rav Ḥisdacelebrated bsixty wedding feasts,whereas the bhouse of Rabbaexperienced bsixty calamities.In other words, many fortuitous events took place in the house of Rav Ḥisda and the opposite occurred in the house of Rabba., bIn the house of Rav Ḥisdathere was bread from bthe finest flour [ isemida /i]even bfor the dogs, and it was not asked after,as there was so much food. bIn the house of Rabba,on the other hand, there was coarse bbarley breadeven bfor people, and it was not foundin sufficient quantities. This shows that the length of life, children, and sustece all depend not upon one’s merit, but upon fate.,Apropos Rav Ḥisda’s great wealth, the Gemara reports that bRava said: These three things I requested from Heaven, twoof which bwere given to me,and bone was not given to me:I requested the bwisdom of Rav Huna and the wealth of Rav Ḥisda and they were given to me.I also requested the bhumility of Rabba bar Rav Huna,but bit was not given to me. /b,The Gemara continues its discussion of the deaths of the righteous. bRav Seorim, Rava’s brother, sat before Rava,and bhe saw thatRava bwas dozing,i.e., about to die. Rava bsaid tohis brother: bMaster, tell him,the Angel of Death, bnot to torment me.Knowing that Rava was not afraid of the Angel of Death, Rav Seorim bsaid tohim: bMaster, are you not a friend ofthe Angel of Death? Rava bsaid to him: Sincemy bfate has been handed overto him, and it has been decreed that I shall die, the Angel of Death bno longer pays heed to me.Rav Seorim bsaid toRava: bMaster, appear to mein a dream after your death. And Rava bappeared to him.Rav Seorim bsaid toRava: bMaster, did you have painin death? bHe said to him: Like the prickof the knife bwhen letting blood. /b,It was similarly related that bRava sat before Rav Naḥman,and bhe saw thatRav Naḥman bwas dozing,i.e., slipping into death. Rav Naḥman bsaid toRava: bMaster, tellthe Angel of Death bnot to torment me.Rava bsaid to him: Master, are you not an important personwho is respected in Heaven? Rav Naḥman bsaid to him:In the supernal world bwho is important? Who is honorable? Who is complete? /b,Rava bsaid toRav Naḥman: bMaster, appear to mein a dream after your death. And bhe appeared to him.Rava bsaid to him: Master, did you have painin death? Rav Naḥman bsaid to him: Like the removal of hair from milk,which is a most gentle process. But nevertheless, bwere the Holy One, Blessed be He, to say to me: Goback bto that world,the physical world, bas you were, I would not want to go, for the fear ofthe Angel of Death bis great.And I would not want to go through such a terrifying experience a second time.,The Gemara relates that bRabbi Elazar wasonce beating iteruma /i,when the Angel of Death bappeared to him. He said tothe Angel of Death: bI am eating iteruma /i; is it not called sacred?It would be inappropriate for me to die now and thereby defile this sacred iteruma /i. The Angel of Death accepted his argument and left him. bThe moment passed,and he lived for some time afterward.,It was similarly related that the Angel of Death once bappeared to Rav Sheshet in the marketplace.Rav Sheshet bsaid tothe Angel of Death: Shall I die bin the market like an animal? Come tomy bhouseand kill me there like a human being.,So too, the Angel of Death bappeared to Rav Ashi in the marketplace.Rav Ashi bsaid tothe Angel of Death: bGive me thirty days so that I may review my studies, for you sayabove: bFortunate is he who comes hereto Heaven bwith his learning in his hand. On the thirtieth daythe Angel of Death bcameto take him. Rav Ashi bsaid tothe Angel of Death: bWhat is all of this?Why are you in such a hurry to take me? Why can you not postpone my death? He said to him: bThe foot ofRav Huna bbar Natan is pushingyou, as he is ready to succeed you as the leader of the generation, band one sovereignty does not overlap with its counterpart, evenby bone hairbreadth.Therefore, you cannot live any longer.,The Angel of Death bwas unableto take bRav Ḥisda because his mouth was never silent from study.So the Angel of Death bwentand bsat on the cedarcolumn that supported the roof of bthe study hall of the Sages. The cedar cracked andRav Ḥisda bwas silentfor a moment, as he was startled by the sound. At that point the Angel of Death was bable totake bhim. /b,The Angel of Death bcould not come near Rabbi Ḥiyya,owing to his righteousness. bOne daythe Angel of Death bappeared to him as a poor person. He came and knocked on the door. He said toRabbi Ḥiyya: bBring out bread for me,and bhe took outbread bfor him.The Angel of Death then bsaidto Rabbi Ḥiyya: bMaster, do you not have mercy on a poor person? Why, then, do you not have mercy upon that man,i.e., upon me, and give me what I want? The Angel of Death then brevealedhis identity bto him,and bshowed him a fiery rodin order to confirm that he was the Angel of Death. At this point Rav Ḥiyya bsurrenderedhimself bto him. /b |
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5. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 38b. גופו מבבל וראשו מארץ ישראל ואבריו משאר ארצות עגבותיו א"ר אחא מאקרא דאגמא,א"ר יוחנן בר חנינא שתים עשרה שעות הוי היום שעה ראשונה הוצבר עפרו שניה נעשה גולם שלישית נמתחו אבריו רביעית נזרקה בו נשמה חמישית עמד על רגליו ששית קרא שמות שביעית נזדווגה לו חוה שמינית עלו למטה שנים וירדו ארבעה תשיעית נצטווה שלא לאכול מן האילן עשירית סרח אחת עשרה נידון שתים עשרה נטרד והלך לו שנאמר (תהלים מט, יג) אדם ביקר בל ילין,אמר רמי בר חמא אין חיה רעה שולטת באדם אלא אם כן נדמה לו כבהמה שנאמר (תהלים מט, יג) נמשל כבהמות נדמו:,(שע"ה בסו"ף ארמ"י סימן) אמר רב יהודה א"ר בשעה שבקש הקב"ה לבראות את האדם ברא כת אחת של מלאכי השרת אמר להם רצונכם נעשה אדם בצלמנו אמרו לפניו רבש"ע מה מעשיו אמר להן כך וכך מעשיו,אמרו לפניו רבש"ע (תהלים ח, ה) מה אנוש כי תזכרנו ובן אדם כי תפקדנו הושיט אצבעו קטנה ביניהן ושרפם וכן כת שניה כת שלישית אמרו לפניו רבש"ע ראשונים שאמרו לפניך מה הועילו כל העולם כולו שלך הוא כל מה שאתה רוצה לעשות בעולמך עשה,כיון שהגיע לאנשי דור המבול ואנשי דור הפלגה שמעשיהן מקולקלין אמרו לפניו רבש"ע לא יפה אמרו ראשונים לפניך אמר להן (ישעיהו מו, ד) ועד זקנה אני הוא ועד שיבה אני אסבול וגו',אמר רב יהודה אמר רב אדם הראשון מסוף העולם ועד סופו היה שנאמר (דברים ד, לב) למן היום אשר ברא אלהים אדם על הארץ ולמקצה השמים ועד קצה השמים כיון שסרח הניח הקדוש ברוך הוא ידו עליו ומיעטו שנאמר (תהלים קלט, ה) אחור וקדם צרתני ותשת עלי כפכה,אמר ר"א אדם הראשון מן הארץ עד לרקיע היה שנאמר למן היום אשר ברא אלהים אדם על הארץ ולמקצה השמים (עד קצה השמים) כיון שסרח הניח הקב"ה ידו עליו ומיעטו שנאמר אחור וקדם צרתני וגו' קשו קראי אהדדי אידי ואידי חדא מידה היא,ואמר רב יהודה אמר רב אדם הראשון בלשון ארמי ספר שנאמר (תהלים קלט, יז) ולי מה יקרו רעיך אל,והיינו דאמר ריש לקיש מאי דכתיב (בראשית ה, א) זה ספר תולדות אדם מלמד שהראהו הקב"ה דור דור ודורשיו דור דור וחכמיו כיון שהגיע לדורו של רבי עקיבא שמח בתורתו ונתעצב במיתתו אמר ולי מה יקרו רעיך אל,ואמר רב יהודה אמר רב אדם הראשון מין היה שנאמר (בראשית ג, ט) ויקרא ה' אלהים אל האדם ויאמר לו איכה אן נטה לבך רבי יצחק אמר מושך בערלתו היה כתיב הכא (הושע ו, ז) והמה כאדם עברו ברית וכתיב התם (בראשית ט, ט) את בריתי הפר,רב נחמן אמר כופר בעיקר היה כתיב הכא עברו ברית וכתיב התם (את בריתי הפר) (ירמיהו כב, ט) ואמרו על אשר עזבו (את) ברית ה' (אלהי אבותם),תנן התם ר"א אומר הוי שקוד ללמוד תורה ודע מה שתשיב לאפיקורוס אמר ר' יוחנן ל"ש אלא אפיקורוס (של) עובדי כוכבים אבל אפיקורוס ישראל כ"ש דפקר טפי,א"ר יוחנן כ"מ שפקרו המינים תשובתן בצידן (בראשית א, כו) נעשה אדם בצלמנו (ואומר) (בראשית א, כז) ויברא אלהים את האדם בצלמו (בראשית יא, ז) הבה נרדה ונבלה שם שפתם (בראשית יא, ה) וירד ה' לראות את העיר ואת המגדל (בראשית לה, ז) כי שם נגלו אליו האלהים (בראשית לה, ג) לאל העונה אותי ביום צרתי,(דברים ד, ז) כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלהים קרובים אליו כה' אלהינו בכל קראנו אליו (שמואל ב ז, כג) ומי כעמך כישראל גוי אחד בארץ אשר הלכו אלהים לפדות לו לעם (דניאל ז, ט) עד די כרסוון רמיו ועתיק יומין יתיב,הנך למה לי כדרבי יוחנן דא"ר יוחנן אין הקב"ה עושה דבר אא"כ נמלך בפמליא של מעלה שנאמר (דניאל ד, יד) בגזירת עירין פתגמא ובמאמר קדישין שאילתא,התינח כולהי עד די כרסוון רמיו מאי איכא למימר אחד לו ואחד לדוד דתניא אחד לו ואחד לדוד דברי ר"ע א"ל ר' יוסי עקיבא עד מתי אתה עושה שכינה חול אלא אחד לדין ואחד לצדקה,קבלה מיניה או לא קבלה מיניה ת"ש דתניא אחד לדין ואחד לצדקה דברי ר"ע א"ל ר' אלעזר בן עזריא עקיבא מה לך אצל הגדה כלך אצל נגעים ואהלות אלא אחד לכסא ואחד לשרפרף כסא לישב עליו שרפרף להדום רגליו,אמר רב נחמן האי מאן דידע לאהדורי למינים כרב אידית ליהדר ואי לא לא ליהדר אמר ההוא מינא לרב אידית כתיב (שמות כד, א) ואל משה אמר עלה אל ה' עלה אלי מיבעי ליה א"ל זהו מטטרון ששמו כשם רבו דכתיב (שמות כג, כא) כי שמי בקרבו,אי הכי ניפלחו ליה כתיב (שמות כג, כא) אל תמר בו אל תמירני בו אם כן לא ישא לפשעכם למה לי א"ל הימנותא בידן דאפילו בפרוונקא נמי לא קבילניה דכתיב (שמות לג, טו) ויאמר אליו אם אין פניך הולכים וגו',אמר ליה ההוא מינא לר' ישמעאל בר' יוסי כתיב (בראשית יט, כד) וה' המטיר על סדום ועל עמורה גפרית ואש מאת ה' מאתו מיבעי ליה א"ל ההוא כובס שבקיה אנא מהדרנא ליה דכתיב (בראשית ד, כג) ויאמר למך לנשיו עדה וצלה שמען קולי נשי למך נשיי מיבעי ליה אלא משתעי קרא הכי הכא נמי משתעי קרא הכי א"ל מנא לך הא מפירקיה דר"מ שמיע לי,דא"ר יוחנן כי הוה דריש ר' מאיר בפירקיה הוה דריש תילתא שמעתא תילתא אגדתא תילתא מתלי ואמר ר' יוחנן ג' מאות משלות שועלים היו לו לרבי מאיר ואנו אין לנו אלא שלש | 38b. bhis torsowas fashioned from dust taken bfrom Babylonia, and his headwas fashioned from dust taken bfrom Eretz Yisrael,the most important land, band his limbswere fashioned from dust taken bfrom the rest of the landsin the world. With regard to bhis buttocks, Rav Aḥa says:They were fashioned from dust taken bfrom Akra De’agma,on the outskirts of Babylonia., bRabbi Yoḥa bar Ḥanina says: Daytime is twelve hourslong, and the day Adam the first man was created was divided as follows: In the bfirst hourof the day, bhis dust was gathered.In the bsecond,an undefined bfigure was fashioned.In the bthird, his limbs were extended.In the bfourth, a soul was cast into him.In the bfifth, he stood on his legs.In the bsixth, he calledthe creatures by the bnameshe gave them. In the bseventh, Eve was paired with him.In the beighth, they arose to the bed two, and descended four,i.e., Cain and Abel were immediately born. In the bninth, he was commanded not to eat of the Treeof Knowledge. In the btenth, he sinned.In the beleventh, he was judged.In the btwelfth, he was expelled and leftthe Garden of Eden, bas it is stated: “But man abides not in honor;he is like the beasts that perish” (Psalms 49:13). Adam did not abide, i.e., sleep, in a place of honor for even one night., bRami bar Ḥama saysin explanation of the end of that verse: bA wild animal does not have power over a person unlessthat person bseems tothe wild animal blike an animal, as it is stated: “He is like the beasts that perish.” /b,The Gemara presents ba mnemonicfor the statements that follow: bAt the time, to the end, Aramaic. Rav Yehuda saysthat bRav says: At the time that the Holy One, Blessed be He, sought to create a person, He created one group of ministering angels. He said to them:If byou agree, let us fashion a person in our image.The angels bsaid before him: Master of the Universe, what are the actions ofthis person You suggest to create? God bsaid to them: His actions are such and such,according to human nature.,The angels bsaid before him: Master of the Universe: “What is man that You are mindful of him? And the son of man that You think of him?”(Psalms 8:5), i.e., a creature such as this is not worth creating. God boutstretched His small finger among them and burned themwith fire. bAnd the sameoccurred with ba second groupof angels. The bthird groupof angels that He asked bsaid before Him: Master of the Universe, the firsttwo groups bwho spoketheir mind bbefore You, what did they accomplish? The entire world is Yours; whatever You wish to do in Your world, do.God then created the first person., bWhenhistory barrived atthe time of bthe people of the generation of the flood and the people of the generation of the dispersion,i.e., the Tower of Babel, bwhose actions were ruinous,the angels bsaid before God: Master of the Universe, didn’t thefirst set of angels bspeak appropriately before You,that human beings are not worthy of having been created? God bsaid to themconcerning humanity: b“Even to your old age I am the same; and even to hoar hairs will I suffer you;I have made and I will bear; and I will carry, and I will deliver you” (Isaiah 46:4), i.e., having created people, I will even suffer their flaws., bRav Yehuda saysthat bRav says: Adam the firstman spanned bfrom one end of the world until the other, as it is stated: “Since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of heaven unto the other”(Deuteronomy 4:32), meaning that on the day Adam was created he spanned from one end of the heavens until the other. bOnceAdam bsinned, the Holy One, Blessed be He, placed His hand on him and diminished him, as it is stated: “Behind and before You have created me and laid Your hand upon me”(Psalms 139:5), that at first Adam spanned “behind and before,” meaning everywhere, and then God laid His hand on him and diminished him., bRabbi Elazar says:The height of bAdam the firstman bwas from the ground until the firmament, as it is stated: “Since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of heaven unto the other.”Adam stood “upon the earth” and rose to the end of the heavens. bOnceAdam bsinned, the Holy One, Blessed be He, placed His hand on him and diminished him, as it is stated: “Behind and before You have created meand laid Your hand upon me.” The Gemara asks: The interpretations of bthe verses contradict each other.The first interpretation is that his size was from one end of the world to the other, and the second interpretation is that it was from the earth until the heavens. The Gemara answers: bThis and that,from one end of the world to another and from the earth until the heavens, bare one measure,i.e., the same distance., bAnd Rav Yehuda saysthat bRav says: Adam the firstman bspoke in the language of Aramaic, as it is statedin the chapter of Psalms speaking in the voice of Adam: b“How weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God”(Psalms 139:17)., bAnd this,i.e., that the verse in Psalms is stated by Adam, is what bReish Lakish says: Whatis the meaning of that bwhich is written: “This is the book of the generations of Adam”(Genesis 5:1)? This verse bteaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, showedAdam bevery generation and itsTorah binterpreters, every generation and its wise ones. When he arrived athis vision of bthe generation of Rabbi Akiva,Adam bwas gladdened by his Torah, and saddened by hismanner of bdeath. He said: “How weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God,”i.e., how it weighs upon me that a man as great as Rabbi Akiva should suffer., bAnd Rav Yehuda saysthat bRav says: Adam the firstman bwas a heretic, as it is stated: “And the Lord called to the man and said to him: Where are you”?(Genesis 3:9), meaning, to bwhere has your heart turned,indicating that Adam turned from the path of truth. bRabbi Yitzḥak says: He wasone who bdrew his foreskinforward, so as to remove any indication that he was circumcised. It bis written here: “And they like men [ iadam /i] have transgressed the covet”(Hosea 6:7), bandit bis written there:“And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people; bhe has broken My covet”(Genesis 17:14)., bRav Naḥman says: He was a denier of the fundamental principleof belief in God. It bis written here:“And they like men [ iadam /i] bhave transgressed the covet,” andit bis written there: “He has broken My covet,”and it is written in a third verse: b“And then they shall answer: Because they have forsaken the covet of the Lord their Godand worshipped other gods and served them” (Jeremiah 22:9).,§ bWe learnedin a mishna bthere(Avot 2:14): bRabbi Eliezer says: Be persistent to learn Torah, and know what to respond to the heretic [ ila’apikoros /i]. Rabbi Yoḥa says:This was btaught onlywith regard to ba gentile heretic, butnot with regard to ba Jewish heretic,as one should not respond to him. bAll the more so,if one does respond bhe will become more heretical.His heresy is assumed to be intentional, and any attempt to rebut it will only cause him to reinforce his position., bRabbi Yoḥa says: Any placein the Bible from bwhere the hereticsattempt to bprove their heresy,i.e., that there is more than one god, bthe response to theirclaim is balongside them,i.e., in the immediate vicinity of the verses they cite. The verse states that God said: b“Let us make man in our image”(Genesis 1:26), employing the plural, bbut itthen bstates: “And God created man in His image”(Genesis 1:27), employing the singular. The verse states that God said: b“Come, let us go down and there confound their language”(Genesis 11:7), but it also states: b“And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower”(Genesis 11:5). The verse states in the plural: b“There God was revealed [ iniglu /i] to himwhen he fled from the face of his brother” (Genesis 35:7), but it also states in the singular: b“To God Who answers [ ihaoneh /i] me in the day of my distress”(Genesis 35:3).,Rabbi Yoḥa cites several examples where the counterclaim is in the same verse as the claim of the heretics. The verse states: b“For what nation is there so great that has God so near to them as the Lord our God is whenever we call upon Him?”(Deuteronomy 4:7), where the term “near” is written in plural, ikerovim /i, but the term “upon Him” is written in singular. Another verse states: b“And who is like Your people, like Israel, a nation one in the earth, whom God went to redeem unto Himself for a people?”(II Samuel 7:23), where the term “went” is written in plural, ihalekhu /i, but the term “Himself” is written in singular. Another verse states: “I beheld btill thrones were placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit”(Daniel 7:9); where the term “thrones” is written in plural, ikharsavan /i, but the term “sit” is written in singular.,The Gemara asks: bWhy do Ineed btheseinstances of plural words? Why does the verse employ the plural at all when referring to God? The Gemara explains: This is bin accordance withthe statement bof Rabbi Yoḥa, as Rabbi Yoḥa says: The Holy One, Blessed be He, does not act unless He consults with the entourage of Above,i.e., the angels, bas it is stated: “The matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones”(Daniel 4:14).,The Gemara clarifies: This bworks out well foralmost ballthe verses, as they describe an action taken by God, but bwhat is there to sayconcerning the verse: “I beheld btill thrones were placed”?The Gemara answers: bOnethrone is bfor Him and onethrone is bfor David,i.e., the messiah, bas it is taughtin a ibaraita /i: bOnethrone is bfor Him and onethrone is bfor David;this is bthe statement of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Yosei said to him: Akiva! Until when will you desacralize the Divine Presenceby equating God with a person? bRather,the correct interpretation is that both thrones are for God, as bonethrone is bfor judgment and onethrone is bfor righteousness. /b,The Gemara asks: Did Rabbi Akiva bacceptthis explanation bfromRabbi Yosei bordid he bnot accept it from him?The Gemara suggests: bComeand bheara proof to the matter from what was taught in another ibaraita /i, bas it is taughtin a ibaraita /i: bOnethrone is bfor judgment and onethrone is bfor righteousness;this is bthe statement of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said to him: Akiva! What are you doing near,i.e., discussing, matters of iaggada /i? Go neartractates iNega’imand iOholot /i,which examine the complex ihalakhotof ritual purity, where your knowledge is unparalleled. bRather,the correct interpretation is that while both thrones are for God, boneis bfor a throne and oneis bfor a stool.There is ba throne for God to sit upon, and a stoolthat serves bas His footstool. /b, bRav Naḥman says: This one,i.e., any person, bwho knowshow bto respond to the hereticsas effectively bas Rav Idit should respondto them, bbut ifhe does bnotknow, he bshould not respondto them. The Gemara relates: bA certain heretic said to Rav Idit:It bis writtenin the verse concerning God: b“And to Moses He said: Come up to the Lord”(Exodus 24:1). The heretic raised a question: bIt should havestated: bCome up to Me.Rav Idit bsaid to him: Thisterm, “the Lord,” in that verse bisreferring to the angel bMetatron, whose name is like the name of his Master, as it is written:“Behold I send an angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Take heed of him and obey his voice; do not defy him; for he will not pardon your transgression, bfor My name is in him”(Exodus 23:20–21).,The heretic said to him: bIf so,if this angel is equated with God, bwe should worship himas we worship God. Rav Idit said to him: It bis written: “Do not defy [ itammer /i] him,”which alludes to: bDo not replace Me [ itemireni /i] with him.The heretic said to him: bIf so, why do Ineed the clause b“For he will not pardon your transgression”?Rav Idit bsaid to him: We believe that we did not acceptthe angel beven as a guide [ ibefarvanka /i]for the journey, bas it is written: “And he said to him: If Your Presence go not with meraise us not up from here” (Exodus 33:15). Moses told God that if God Himself does not accompany the Jewish people they do not want to travel to Eretz Yisrael.,The Gemara relates: bA certain heretic said to Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei:It bis written: “And the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lordout of heaven” (Genesis 19:24). The heretic raised the question: bIt should havestated: bFrom Himout of heaven. bA certain launderer said toRabbi Yishmael: bLeave him be; I will respond to him.This is bas it is written: “And Lemech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lemech,hearken to my speech” (Genesis 4:23). One can raise the question: bIt should havebeen written: bMy wives,and not: “Wives of Lemech.” bRather, it isthe style of bthe verseto bspeak in thismanner. bHere too, it isthe style of bthe verseto bspeak in thismanner. Rabbi Yishmael bsaid tothe launderer: bFrom where did youhear bthisinterpretation? The launderer bsaid to him: I heard it at the lecture of Rabbi Meir. /b,The Gemara comments: This is bas Rabbi Yoḥa said: When Rabbi Meir would teach his lecture he would expound one-third ihalakha /i, one-third iaggada /i,and bone-third parables. And Rabbi Yoḥa says: Rabbi Meir had,i.e., taught, bthree hundred parables of foxes, and we have only three. /b |
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6. Babylonian Talmud, Taanit, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 20b. נזדמן לו אדם אחד שהיה מכוער ביותר אמר לו שלום עליך רבי ולא החזיר לו אמר לו ריקה כמה מכוער אותו האיש שמא כל בני עירך מכוערין כמותך אמר לו איני יודע אלא לך ואמור לאומן שעשאני כמה מכוער כלי זה שעשית כיון שידע בעצמו שחטא ירד מן החמור ונשתטח לפניו ואמר לו נעניתי לך מחול לי אמר לו איני מוחל לך עד שתלך לאומן שעשאני ואמור לו כמה מכוער כלי זה שעשית,היה מטייל אחריו עד שהגיע לעירו יצאו בני עירו לקראתו והיו אומרים לו שלום עליך רבי רבי מורי מורי אמר להם למי אתם קורין רבי רבי אמרו לו לזה שמטייל אחריך אמר להם אם זה רבי אל ירבו כמותו בישראל אמרו לו מפני מה אמר להם כך וכך עשה לי אמרו לו אעפ"כ מחול לו שאדם גדול בתורה הוא,אמר להם בשבילכם הריני מוחל לו ובלבד שלא יהא רגיל לעשות כן מיד נכנס רבי אלעזר בן רבי שמעון ודרש לעולם יהא אדם רך כקנה ואל יהא קשה כארז ולפיכך זכה קנה ליטול הימנה קולמוס לכתוב בו ספר תורה תפילין ומזוזות:,וכן עיר שיש בה דבר או מפולת כו': תנו רבנן מפולת שאמרו בריאות ולא רעועות שאינן ראויות ליפול ולא הראויות ליפול,הי ניהו בריאות הי ניהו שאינן ראויות ליפול הי ניהו רעועות הי ניהו ראויות ליפול לא צריכא דנפלו מחמת גובהייהו אי נמי דקיימן אגודא דנהרא,כי ההיא אשיתא רעועה דהואי בנהרדעא דלא הוה חליף רב ושמואל תותה אע"ג דקיימא באתרה תליסר שנין יומא חד איקלע רב אדא בר אהבה להתם אמר ליה שמואל לרב ניתי מר נקיף אמר ליה לא צריכנא האידנא דאיכא רב אדא בר אהבה בהדן דנפיש זכותיה ולא מסתפינא,רב הונא הוה ליה ההוא חמרא בההוא ביתא רעיעא ובעי לפנוייה עייליה לרב אדא בר אהבה להתם משכי' בשמעתא עד דפנייה בתר דנפק נפל ביתא ארגיש רב אדא בר אהבה איקפד,סבר לה כי הא דאמר רבי ינאי לעולם אל יעמוד אדם במקום סכנה ויאמר עושין לי נס שמא אין עושין לו נס ואם תימצי לומר עושין לו נס מנכין לו מזכיותיו אמר רב חנן מאי קרא דכתיב (בראשית לב, יא) קטנתי מכל החסדים ומכל האמת,מאי הוה עובדיה דרב אדא בר אהבה כי הא דאתמר שאלו תלמידיו (את רבי זירא ואמרי לה) לרב אדא בר אהבה במה הארכת ימים אמר להם מימי לא הקפדתי בתוך ביתי ולא צעדתי בפני מי שגדול ממני,ולא הרהרתי במבואות המטונפות ולא הלכתי ד' אמות בלא תורה ובלא תפילין ולא ישנתי בבית המדרש לא שינת קבע ולא שינת עראי ולא ששתי בתקלת חברי ולא קראתי לחבירי בהכינתו ואמרי לה בחניכתו,אמר ליה רבא לרפרם בר פפא לימא לן מר מהני מילי מעלייתא דהוה עביד רב הונא אמר ליה בינקותיה לא דכירנא בסיבותיה דכירנא דכל יומא דעיבא הוו מפקין ליה בגוהרקא דדהבא וסייר לה לכולה מתא וכל אשיתא דהוות רעיעתא הוה סתר לה אי אפשר למרה בני לה ואי לא אפשר בני לה איהו מדידיה,וכל פניא דמעלי שבתא הוה משדר שלוחא לשוקא וכל ירקא דהוה פייש להו לגינאי זבין ליה ושדי ליה לנהרא וליתביה לעניים זמנין דסמכא דעתייהו ולא אתו למיזבן ולשדייה לבהמה קסבר מאכל אדם אין מאכילין לבהמה,ולא ליזבניה כלל נמצאת מכשילן לעתיד לבא,כי הוה ליה מילתא דאסותא הוי מלי כוזא דמיא ותלי ליה בסיפא דביתא ואמר כל דבעי ליתי ולישקול ואיכא דאמרי מילתא דשיבתא הוה גמיר והוה מנח כוזא דמיא ודלי ליה ואמר כל דצריך ליתי וליעול דלא לסתכן,כי הוה כרך ריפתא הוה פתח לבביה ואמר כל מאן דצריך ליתי וליכול אמר רבא כולהו מצינא מקיימנא לבר מהא דלא מצינא למיעבד | 20b. bHe happenedupon ban exceedingly ugly person,who bsaid to him: Greetings to you, my rabbi, butRabbi Elazar bdid not returnhis greeting. Instead, Rabbi Elazar bsaid to him: Worthless [ ireika /i]person, bhow ugly is that man. Are all the people of your city as ugly as you?The man bsaid to him: I do not know, but youshould bgo and say to the Craftsman Who made me: How ugly is the vessel you made. WhenRabbi Elazar brealized that hehad bsinnedand insulted this man merely on account of his appearance, bhe descended from his donkey and prostrated himself before him, and he said tothe man: bI have sinned against you; forgive me.The man bsaid to him: I will not forgive you go until you go to the Craftsman Who made me and say: How ugly is the vessel you made. /b, bHe walked behindthe man, trying to appease him, buntil they reachedRabbi Elazar’s bcity. The people of his city came out to greet him, saying to him: Greetings to you, my rabbi, my rabbi, my master, my master.The man bsaid to them: Who are you calling my rabbi, my rabbi? They said to him: To this man, who is walking behind you. He said to them: If thisman bis a rabbi, may there not be many like him among the Jewish people. They asked him: For whatreason do you say this? He bsaid to them: He did such and such to me. They said to him: Even so,forgive him, bas he is a great Torah scholar. /b, bHe said to them: For your sakes I forgive him, provided thathe accepts upon himself bnot to become accustomed to behave like this. Immediately, Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, entered the study hall and taught: A person should always be soft like a reed and he should not be stiff like a cedar,as one who is proud like a cedar is likely to sin. bAnd therefore,due to its gentle qualities, the breed meritedthat ba quill is taken from it to write with it a Torah scroll, phylacteries, and imezuzot /i. /b,§ The mishna taught: bAnd likewise,if a bcity isafflicted bby pestilence or collapsing buildings,that city fasts and sounds the alarm, and all of its surrounding areas fast but they do not sound the alarm. Rabbi Akiva says: They sound the alarm but they do not fast. bThe Sages taught:These collapsing buildings bto whichthe Sages breferredare those of bsturdy and not dilapidatedwalls; they have walls bthat are not ready to fall, and not those that are ready to fall. /b,The Gemara expresses puzzlement with regard to the wording of the ibaraita /i: bWhat are soundwalls; bwhat arewalls bthat are not ready to fall; what are dilapidatedwalls; bwhat are those that are ready to fall?The elements in each pair of walls are apparently the same, and the ibaraitais repetitive. The Gemara answers: bNo,it is bnecessaryto specify that in the case of walls bthat fell due to their height,i.e., they are sound but also ready to fall, due to their excessive height. bAlternatively,the ibaraitais referring to a case bwherethe walls bwere positioned on a riverbank,as they are likely to fall despite the fact that they are not dilapidated, as the riverbank itself is unstable.,The Gemara relates: This is blike thatdilapidated wall bthat was in Neharde’a, under which Rav and Shmuel would not pass, although it stood in place thirteen years. One day Rav Adda bar Ahava happenedto come bthereand walked with them. As they passed the wall, bShmuel said to Rav: Come, Master, let us circumventthis wall, so that we do not stand beneath it. Rav bsaid to him:It is bnot necessaryto do so btoday, as Rav Adda bar Ahava is with us, whose merit is great, andtherefore bI am not afraidof its collapse.,The Gemara relates another incident. bRav Huna had a certainquantity of bwine in a certain dilapidated house and he wanted to move it,but he was afraid that the building would collapse upon his entry. bHe brought Rav Adda bar Ahava to there,to the ramshackle house, and bhe draggedout a discussion with bhimconcerning a matter of ihalakhauntil they had removedall the wine. bAs soon as they exited, the building collapsed. Rav Adda bar Ahava realizedwhat had happened band became angry. /b,The Gemara explains: Rav Adda bar Ahava bholds in accordance with thisstatement, bas Rabbi Yannai said: A person should never stand in a place of danger and say: A miracle will be performed for me,and I will escape unharmed, blest a miracle is not performed for him. And if you saythat ba miraclewill be bperformed for him, they will deduct it from his merits. Rav Ḥa said: What is the versethat alludes to this idea? bAs it is written: “I have become small from all the mercies and all the truththat You have showed Your servant” (Genesis 32:11). In other words, the more benevolence one receives from God, the more his merit is reduced.,After recounting stories that reflect Rav Adda bar Ahava’s great merit, the Gemara asks: bWhat werethe exceptional deeds bof Rav Adda bar Ahava?The Gemara reports that they are bas it is stated:The students of Rabbi Zeira asked him, and some say that bthe students of Rav Adda bar Ahava asked him: To whatdo you attribute byour longevity? He said to them: In all my days I did not become angry with my household, and I never walked before someone greater than myself;rather, I always gave him the honor of walking before me.,Rav Adda bar Ahava continued: bAnd I did not thinkabout matters of Torah bin filthy alleyways; and I did not walk four cubits withoutengaging in bTorah and withoutdonning bphylacteries; and Iwould bnot fall asleep in the study hall, neither a deep sleep nor a brief nap; and Iwould bnot rejoice in the mishap of my colleague; and Iwould bnot call my colleague by his nickname. And some saythat he said: I would bnot call my colleague by hisderogatory bfamily name. /b,§ The Gemara relates another story about the righteous deeds of the Sages involving a dilapidated wall. bRava said to Rafram bar Pappa: Let the Master tell us some of those finedeeds bthat Rav Huna performed. He said to him: I do not rememberwhat he did bin his youth, butthe deeds bof his old age I remember. As on every cloudy day they would take him out in a golden carriage [ iguharka /i], and he would survey the entire city. Andhe would command bthat every unstable wallbe btorn down,lest it fall in the rain and hurt someone. bIf its owner was ableto build another, Rav Huna would instruct him bto rebuild it. And if he was unableto rebuild it, Rav Huna would bbuild it himself with his own money. /b,Rafram bar Pappa further relates: bAnd every Shabbat eve,in the bafternoon,Rav Huna bwould send a messenger to the marketplace, and he would purchase all the vegetables that were left with the gardenerswho sold their crops, band throwthem binto the river.The Gemara asks: bButwhy did he throw out the vegetables? bLet him give them to the poor.The Gemara answers: If he did this, the poor would bsometimes relyon the fact that Rav Huna would hand out vegetables, band they would not come to purchaseany. This would ruin the gardeners’ livelihood. The Gemara further asks: bAnd let him throw them to the animals.The Gemara answers: bHe holdsthat bhuman foodmay bnot be fed to animals,as this is a display of contempt for the food.,The Gemara objects: bButif Rav Huna could not use them in any way, he should bnot purchasethe vegetables bat all.The Gemara answers: If nothing is done, byouwould have been bfoundto have caused ba stumbling block for them in the future.If the vegetable sellers see that some of their produce is left unsold, the next week they will not bring enough for Shabbat. Therefore, Rav Huna made sure that the vegetables were all bought, so that the sellers would continue to bring them.,Another custom of Rav Huna was bthat when he hada new bmedicine, he would filla water bjugwith the medicine band hang it from the doorpost of his house, saying: All who need, let him come and takefrom this new medicine. bAnd there arethose bwho say: He had a remedyagainst the demon bShivtathat he knew by btradition,that one must wash his hands for protection against this evil spirit. bAndto this end, bhe would place a water jug and hangit by the door, bsaying: Anyone who needs, let him cometo the house and wash his hands, so bthat he will not be in danger. /b,The Gemara further relates: bWhenRav Huna bwould eat bread, he would open the doorsto his house, bsaying: Whoever needs, let him come in and eat. Rava said: I can fulfill all thesecustoms of Rav Huna, bexcept for this one, which I cannot do, /b |
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7. Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah, None
| 70a. יצרא דיין נסך לא תקיף להו זונה ישראלית ועובדי כוכבים מסובין חמרא אסור מ"ט הואיל וזילה עלייהו בתרייהו גרירא,ההוא ביתא דהוה יתיב ביה חמרא דישראל על עובד כוכבים אחדה לדשא באפיה והוה ביזעא בדשא אישתכח עובד כוכבים דקאי ביני דני אמר רבא כל דלהדי ביזעא שרי דהאי גיסא והאי גיסא אסור,ההוא חמרא דישראל דהוה יתיב בביתא דהוה דייר ישראל בעליונה ועובד כוכבים בתחתונה שמעו קל תיגרא נפקי קדים אתא עובד כוכבים אחדה לדשא באפיה אמר רבא חמרא שרי מימר אמר כי היכי דקדים אתאי אנא קדים ואתא ישראל ויתיב בעליונה וקא חזי לי,ההוא אושפיזא דהוה יתיב ביה חמרא דישראל אישתכח עובד כוכבים דהוה יתיב בי דני אמר רבא אם נתפס עליו כגנב שרי ואי לא אסיר,ההוא ביתא דהוה יתיב ביה חמרא אישתכח עובד כוכבים דהוה קאים בי דני אמר רבא אי אית ליה לאישתמוטי חמרא אסיר ואי לא חמרא שרי מיתיבי ננעל הפונדק או שאמר לו שמור אסור מאי לאו אע"ג דלית ליה לאישתמוטי לא בדאית ליה לאישתמוטי,ההוא ישראל ועובד כוכבים דהוו יתיבי וקא שתו חמרא שמע ישראל קל צלויי בי כנישתא קם ואזל אמר רבא חמרא שרי מימר אמר השתא מדכר ליה לחמריה והדר אתי,ההוא ישראל ועובד כוכבים דהוו יתיבי בארבא שמע ישראל קל שיפורי דבי שימשי נפק ואזל אמר רבא חמרא שרי מימר אמר השתא מדכר ליה לחמריה והדר אתי,ואי משום שבתא האמר רבא אמר לי איסור גיורא כי הוינן בארמיותן אמרינן יהודאי לא מנטרי שבתא דאי מנטרי שבתא כמה כיסי קא משתכחי בשוקא ולא ידענא דסבירא לן כרבי יצחק דא"ר יצחק המוצא כיס בשבת מוליכו פחות פחות מד' אמות,ההוא אריא דהוה נהים במעצרתא שמע עובד כוכבים טשא ביני דני אמר רבא חמרא שרי מימר אמר כי היכי דטשינא אנא איטשא נמי ישראל אחוריי וקא חזי לי,הנהו גנבי דסלקי לפומבדיתא ופתחו חביתא טובא אמר רבא חמרא שרי מ"ט רובא גנבי ישראל נינהו הוה עובדא בנהרדעי ואמר שמואל חמרא שרי,כמאן כרבי אליעזר דאמר ספק ביאה טהור,דתנן הנכנס לבקעה בימות הגשמים וטומאה בשדה פלונית ואמר הלכתי במקום הלז ואיני יודע אם נכנסתי לאותה שדה אם לא נכנסתי ר"א אומר ספק ביאה טהור ספק מגע טמא,לא שאני התם כיון דאיכא דפתחי לשום ממונא הוה ליה ספק ספיקא | 70a. but bthe passion for wineused for ba libation does not overwhelm theirjudgment, and they will not allow her to use it for a libation. In the case of ba Jewish prostitute and gentiles diningwith her, bthe wineis bforbidden. What is the reason?It is that bsince she is contemptible in theireyes, bshe is subjugated to them,and they use the wine for a libation without consideration for her.,§ The Gemara relates: There was an incident involving ba certain house where Jews’ wine was stored. A gentile enteredthe house, and bhe locked the door beforethe Jew, bbut there was a crack in the door,and bthe gentile was found standing between the barrels. Rava said: Allthe barrels bthat were opposite the crackthrough which the gentile could be seen are bpermitted,because he would have been wary about being seen tampering with them. Barrels bon this side and that sideof the crack, where the gentile could not be seen, are bforbidden,as perhaps the gentile used them for a libation.,The Gemara relates: There was an incident involving ba certain Jew’s wine that was stored inthe lower story of ba house,in bwhich the Jew was living in the upperstory band a gentile in the lowerstory, and the wine could be supervised from the upper story. One day the residents bheard a sound of quarrelingand bwent outside. The gentile cameback in bfirstand blocked the door beforethe Jew. bRava said: The wineis bpermitted,because the gentile presumably bsaidto himself: bJust as I cameback in bearly,perhaps my neighbor the bJew cameback in bearly and is sitting in the upperstory band watching me,and therefore he would not use the wine for a libation.,The Gemara relates: There was an incident involving ba certain inn [ iushpiza /i] where a Jew’s wine was stored,and ba gentile was found sitting among the barrels. Rava said: If he was caught as a thief,i.e., if the gentile seemed startled and did not have a good explanation for being there, the wine is bpermitted,as the gentile was presumably afraid about being caught and would not have used it for a libation. bBut if not,the wine is bforbidden. /b,The Gemara relates: There was an incident involving ba certain house where wine was stored. A gentile was found standing among the barrels. Rava said: If he hasa way bto excusehis entrance to where the wine was stored, bthe wineis bforbidden, but if not, the wineis bpermitted.The Gemara braises an objectionto this ruling from a ibaraita /i: If ban inn was lockedand a gentile was inside, borif the Jew bsaid tothe gentile: bSafeguardmy wine, the wine is bforbidden. What, is it notforbidden beven ifthe gentile bdoes not havea way bto excusehis entrance? The Gemara answers: bNo,the ibaraitais referring to a situation bwhere he does havea way bto excusehis entrance; otherwise the wine is permitted.,The Gemara relates: There was an incident involving ba certain Jew anda certain bgentile who were sitting and drinking wine.The bJew heard the sound of praying at the synagogue. He got up and wentto pray. bRava said: The wineis bpermitted,because the gentile presumably bsaidto himself: Any moment bnow he will remember his wine and come back. /b,The Gemara relates: There was an incident involving ba certain Jew anda certain bgentile who were sitting on a ship.The bJew heard the sound of the shofar of twilightindicating the beginning of Shabbat. bHe disembarked and wentinto town to spend Shabbat there. bRava said: The wineis bpermitted,because the gentile presumably bsaidto himself: Any moment bnow he will remember his wine and come back. /b,The Gemara comments: bAnd ifone might object that the gentile is presumably not concerned bbecausehe knows that the Jew will not return until the end of bShabbat, didn’t Rava say: Issur the Convert told me: When we werestill bgentiles,before converting, bweused to bsay: Jews do notactually bobserve Shabbat, as, if they observe Shabbat, how many wallets would be found in the marketplacethat the Jews could not take on Shabbat? bAnd I did not know that we maintainthat the ihalakhais bin accordance withthe opinion of bRabbi Yitzḥak, as Rabbi Yitzḥak says: One who finds a wallet on Shabbat may carry itin increments of bless than four cubits.Evidently, gentiles assume that a Jew would violate Shabbat for monetary gain.,The Gemara relates: There was an incident involving ba certain lion who roared in a winepress. A gentile heardthe roar and was frightened, and bhe hid among the barrelsof wine. bRava said: The wineis bpermitted,because the gentile presumably bsaidto himself: bJust as I am hiding, a Jewmight balsobe bhiding behind me and see me. /b,The Gemara relates: There was an incident involving bcertain thieves who came to Pumbedita and opened many barrelsof wine. bRava said: The wineis bpermitted. What is the reason? Most of the thievesin Pumbedita bare Jews,and the ihalakhafollows the majority, and therefore the wine is not rendered forbidden. bThere wasa similar bincident in Neharde’a, and Shmuel said: The wineis bpermitted. /b,The Gemara asks: bIn accordance with whoseopinion is this? Perhaps it is bin accordance withthe opinion of bRabbi Eliezer, who sayswith regard to cases of uncertainty concerning ritual purity that if the buncertaintyis with regard to a person’s bentryinto a certain place, he is deemed bpure. /b,This is bas we learnedin a mishna ( iTeharot6:5): With regard to bone who enters into a valley during the rainy season,i.e., winter, when people generally do not enter this area, bandthere was britual impurity in such and such a field, andhe bsaid:I know bI walked to that place,i.e., I walked in the valley, bbut I do not know whether I entered that fieldwhere the ritual impurity was bor whether I did notenter, bRabbi Eliezer says:In a case of buncertaintywith regard to bentry,i.e., it is uncertain whether he entered the area where the ritual impurity is located, he is britually pure.But if he certainly entered the area where the ritual impurity is located and the buncertaintypertains to bcontactwith the source of ritual impurity, he is britually impure.Apparently, the ruling of Shmuel, that in a case where it is uncertain whether gentile thieves entered the house at all the wine is permitted, is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer.,The Gemara rejects this: bNo,it bis different there,with regard to the wine barrels. bSince there arethieves bwho openbarrels bfor the sake ofperhaps finding bmoneyin them and are not interested in the wine, bit isa case of bcompound uncertainty,as it is uncertain whether the thieves were gentiles or Jews, and even if they were gentiles, it is uncertain whether or not they touched the wine. In a case of compound uncertainty, everyone agrees that the wine is not forbidden. |
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