1. Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Herman, Rubenstein (2018), The Aggada of the Bavli and Its Cultural World. 226| 58a. למדורה וקדרות מקיפות אותה,מטה של תלמידי חכמים כיצד כל שאין תחתיה אלא סנדלין בימות החמה ומנעלין בימות הגשמים ושל עם הארץ דומה לאוצר בלוס:,ר' בנאה הוה קא מציין מערתא כי מטא למערתא דאברהם אשכחיה לאליעזר עבד אברהם דקאי קמי בבא א"ל מאי קא עביד אברהם א"ל גאני בכנפה דשרה וקא מעיינא ליה ברישיה,א"ל זיל אימא ליה בנאה קאי אבבא א"ל ליעול מידע ידיע דיצר בהאי עלמא ליכא עייל עיין ונפק,כי מטא למערתא דאדם הראשון יצתה בת קול ואמרה נסתכלת בדמות דיוקני בדיוקני עצמה אל תסתכל הא בעינא לציוני מערתא כמדת החיצונה כך מדת הפנימית ולמ"ד שני בתים זו למעלה מזו כמדת עליונה כך מדת התחתונה,א"ר בנאה נסתכלתי בשני עקיביו ודומים לשני גלגלי חמה הכל בפני שרה כקוף בפני אדם שרה בפני חוה כקוף בפני אדם חוה בפני אדם כקוף בפני אדם אדם בפני שכינה כקוף בפני אדם,שופריה דרב כהנא (מעין שופריה דרב שופריה דרב) מעין שופריה דרבי אבהו שופריה דר' אבהו מעין שופריה דיעקב אבינו שופריה דיעקב אבינו מעין שופריה דאדם הראשון,ההוא אמגושא דהוה חטיט שכבי כי מטא אמערתא דרב טובי בר מתנה תפשיה בדיקניה אתא אביי א"ל במטותא מינך שבקיה לשנה אחריתי הדר אתא תפשיה בדיקניה אתא אביי לא שבקיה עד דאייתי מספרא וגזיא לדיקניה,ההוא דאמר להו חביתא דעפרא לחד בראי חביתא דגרמי לחד בראי חביתא דאודרא לחד בראי לא הוו ידעי מאי קאמר להו אתו לקמיה דרבי בנאה אמר להו אית לכו ארעא אמרו ליה אין אית לכו חיותא אין אית לכו בסתרקי אין אי הכי הכי קאמר לכו,ההוא גברא דשמעה לדביתהו דקא אמרה לברתה אמאי לא צניעת באיסורא הך איתתא עשרה בני אית לה ולית לי מאבוך אלא חד כי שכיב אמר להו כל נכסי לחד ברא,לא ידעי להי מינייהו אתו לקמיה דרבי בנאה אמר להו זילו חבוטו קברא דאבוכון עד דקאי ומגלי לכו להי מינייכו שבקא אזלו כולהו ההוא דבריה הוה לא אזל אמר להו כולהו נכסי דהאי אזלו אכלו קורצא בי מלכא אמרי איכא גברא חד ביהודאי דקא מפיק ממונא מאנשי בלא סהדי ובלא מידי אתיוהו חבשוהו,אזלא דביתהו אמרה להו עבדא חד הוה לי פסקו לרישיה ופשטו למשכיה ואכלו בישריה וקא מלו ביה מיא ומשקו ביה לחברייא ולא קא יהבי לי דמי ולא אגריה,לא ידעי מאי קא אמרה להו אמרי ניתו לחכימא דיהודאי ולימא קריוהו לר' בנאה אמר להו זרנוקא אמרה לכו אמרי הואיל וחכים כולי האי ליתיב אבבא ונידון דינא,חזא דהוה כתיב באבולא כל דיין דמתקרי לדין לא שמיה דיין אמר להו אלא מעתה אתא איניש מעלמא | 58a. b to a bonfire, /b where the fire is in the center b and pots surround it. /b Similarly, the table of an ignoramus is arranged with the food in the center and is surrounded by plates.,Rabbi Yoḥa asked: b How /b should b the bed of Torah scholars /b be kept? He replied: It is acceptable b as long as there /b is b nothing except sandals beneath it during the summer, and shoes /b beneath it b during the rainy season, /b i.e., winter. b And /b the bed b of an ignoramus /b is b similar to a cluttered [ i balus /i ] storehouse, /b as he keeps a wide array of items beneath it.,§ Having mentioned Rabbi Bena’a, the Gemara relates an incident in which he was involved. b Rabbi Bena’a was marking /b burial b caves /b for the purpose of helping to prevent the contracting of ritual impurity. b When he arrived at the cave of Abraham, /b i.e., the Cave of Machpelah, b he encountered Eliezer, /b the b servant /b of b Abraham, who was standing before the entrance. /b Rabbi Bena’a b said to him: What is Abraham doing /b at this moment? Eliezer b said to him: /b He is b lying in the arms of Sarah, and she is examining his head. /b ,Rabbi Bena’a b said to him: Go tell him /b that b Bena’a is standing at the entrance, /b so that he should assume an appropriate position to receive a visitor. Eliezer b said to him: Let /b him, i.e., Rabbi Bena’a, b enter, /b since b it is known that there is no /b evil b inclination in this /b higher b world, /b so it is not inappropriate for Rabbi Bena’a to see Abraham and Sarah in this position. He b entered, examined /b the cave in order to measure it, b and exited. /b , b When he arrived at the cave of Adam the first /b man, who is buried in the same area, b a Divine Voice emerged and said: You gazed upon the likeness of My image, /b i.e., Abraham, who is similar to the image of Adam the first man. b Do not gaze upon My image itself, /b i.e., Adam the first man, about whom the verse states that he was formed in the image of God (see Genesis 1:27). Rabbi Bena’a said: b But I need to mark the cave. /b The voice said to him: b As /b the measurements of the b dimensions of the outer /b cave where Abraham is buried, b so /b are the measurements of the b dimensions of the inner /b cave, where Adam is buried. The Gemara notes: b And according to the one who says /b that the Cave of Machpelah consists of b two chambers, this /b one b above that /b one, not two adjacent chambers, the voice said: b As /b the measurements of the b dimensions of the upper /b cave where Abraham is buried, b so /b are the measurements of the b dimensions of the lower /b cave. Therefore, there is no need to measure it., b Rabbi Bena’a says: I gazed at his, /b Adam’s, b two heels, and /b they shone so brightly that b they are similar to two suns. /b Along these lines, the Gemara states that b all /b people b compared to Sarah /b are b like a monkey compared to a human, /b as Sarah was exceedingly beautiful; b Sarah compared to Eve /b is b like a monkey compared to a human; Eve compared to Adam /b is b like a monkey compared to a human; /b and b Adam compared to the Divine Presence /b is b like a monkey compared to a human. /b ,It was also stated that b the beauty of Rav Kahana is a semblance of the beauty of Rav. The beauty of Rav is a semblance of the beauty of Rabbi Abbahu. The beauty of Rabbi Abbahu is a semblance of the beauty of Jacob our forefather. The beauty of Jacob our forefather is a semblance of the beauty of Adam the first /b man.,On the topic of burial caves, the Gemara relates that there was b a certain magus [ i amgusha /i ] who was rummaging /b through the graves of the b dead. When /b he b arrived at the /b burial b cave of Rav Tovi bar Mattana, /b Rav Tovi b grabbed him by his beard /b and would not release him. b Abaye came and said to /b Rav Tovi: b I beg of you /b to b release him. /b The magus b came again in another year, /b and Rav Tovi b grabbed him by his beard. Abaye came /b and requested that he release him, but Rav Tovi b did not release him, until /b Abaye b brought a scissors and cut his beard. /b ,§ The Gemara relates additional incidents involving Rabbi Bena’a: There was b a certain /b individual b who said to /b his family before he died: b A barrel of earth to one of my sons, a barrel of bones to one of my sons, /b and b a barrel of wads /b of wool b to one of my sons. They did not know what he was saying to them. They came before Rabbi Bena’a /b for guidance. Rabbi Bena’a b said to them: Do you have land /b that your father left as an inheritance? b They said to him: Yes. /b He asked: b Do you have livestock /b that your father left as an inheritance? They said: b Yes. /b He asked: b Do you have quilts [ i bistarkei /i ] /b that your father left as an inheritance? They said: b Yes. /b He said to them: b If so, this is what he said to you, /b i.e., he meant that he is bequeathing land to one son, livestock to the second, and quilts to the third.,There was b a certain man who heard his wife saying to her daughter: Why do you not act clandestinely /b when you engage b in forbidden /b sexual intercourse? b That woman has, /b i.e., I have, b ten sons, and I have only one from your father, /b and no one knows. So too, you must be careful so that no one will discover your illicit behavior. Having overheard that only one son was his, b when /b that man b was dying he said to /b his family: b All of my property /b is left b to one son. /b , b They did not know /b to b which of them /b he intended to leave his property. b They came before Rabbi Bena’a /b for guidance, and b he said to /b the sons: b Go strike your father’s grave, until he rises and reveals to you to which of you he left /b his property. b They all went, /b but b that /b one b who was his son did not go. /b Rabbi Bena’a b said to them: All of /b the b property belongs to this /b son who did not go. The other brothers were angry. b They went and slandered [ i akhlu kuretza /i ] /b Rabbi Bena’a in b the king’s house. They said: There is one man among the Jews who removes money from people without witnesses and without any /b evidence. The king’s guards b brought /b Rabbi Bena’a b and imprisoned him. /b , b The wife of /b Rabbi Bena’a b went /b and b said to /b the guards: b I had one servant. They cut off his head, and skinned him and ate his flesh, and they fill him with water and /b give their b friends to drink from him, and they have not paid me /b his b value nor have they rented him. /b , b They did not know what she was saying to them. They said: Let us bring the wise /b man b of the Jews, and let him say /b what she meant. b They called Rabbi Bena’a, /b and b he said to them: She spoke to you of a water skin [ i zarnuka /i ]. /b In other words, she was referring to a goat she owned that was slaughtered, its meat eaten, and its skin made into a water skin that could be filled with drinking water. b They said: Since /b he is b so wise, let /b him b sit at the gate /b where the judges congregate b and render judgment. /b ,Rabbi Bena’a b saw that it was written upon the gate [ i be’abbula /i ]: Any judge who is summoned to judgment is not considered a judge, /b as judges must be above reproach. b He said to them: If that is so, /b then if b a person comes from elsewhere /b |
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2. Babylonian Talmud, Berachot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Herman, Rubenstein (2018), The Aggada of the Bavli and Its Cultural World. 142| 56a. אמר ליה קיסר לר' יהושע בר' (חנינא) אמריתו דחכמיתו טובא אימא לי מאי חזינא בחלמאי אמר ליה חזית דמשחרי לך פרסאי וגרבי בך ורעיי בך שקצי בחוטרא דדהבא הרהר כוליה יומא ולאורתא חזא אמר ליה שבור מלכא לשמואל אמריתו דחכמיתו טובא אימא לי מאי חזינא בחלמאי אמר ליה חזית דאתו רומאי ושבו לך וטחני בך קשייתא ברחייא דדהבא הרהר כוליה יומא ולאורתא חזא,בר הדיא מפשר חלמי הוה מאן דיהיב ליה אגרא מפשר ליה למעליותא ומאן דלא יהיב ליה אגרא מפשר ליה לגריעותא אביי ורבא חזו חלמא אביי יהיב ליה זוזא ורבא לא יהיב ליה אמרי ליה אקרינן בחלמין (דברים כח, לא) שורך טבוח לעיניך וגו' לרבא אמר ליה פסיד עסקך ולא אהני לך למיכל מעוצבא דלבך לאביי א"ל מרווח עסקך ולא אהני לך למיכל מחדוא דלבך,אמרי ליה אקרינן (דברים כח, מא) בנים ובנות תוליד וגו' לרבא אמר ליה כבישותיה לאביי א"ל בנך ובנתך נפישי ומינסבן בנתך לעלמא ומדמיין באפך כדקא אזלן בשביה,אקריין (דברים כח, לב) בניך ובנותיך נתונים לעם אחר לאביי א"ל בנך ובנתך נפישין את אמרת לקריבך והיא אמרה לקריבה ואכפה לך ויהבת להון לקריבה דהוי כעם אחר לרבא א"ל דביתהו שכיבא ואתו בניה ובנתיה לידי איתתא אחריתי דאמר רבא אמר ר' ירמיה בר אבא אמר רב מאי דכתיב בניך ובנותיך נתונים לעם אחר זו אשת האב,אקרינן בחלמין (קהלת ט, ז) לך אכול בשמחה לחמך לאביי אמר ליה מרווח עסקך ואכלת ושתית וקרית פסוקא מחדוא דלבך לרבא אמר ליה פסיד עסקך טבחת ולא אכלת ושתית וקרית לפכוחי פחדך,אקרינן (דברים כח, לח) זרע רב תוציא השדה לאביי א"ל מרישיה לרבא א"ל מסיפיה,אקרינן (דברים כח, מ) זיתים יהיו לך בכל גבולך וגו' לאביי א"ל מרישיה לרבא א"ל מסיפיה,אקרינן (דברים כח, י) וראו כל עמי הארץ וגו' לאביי א"ל נפק לך שמא דריש מתיבתא הוית אימתך נפלת בעלמא לרבא אמר ליה בדיינא דמלכא אתבר ומתפסת בגנבי ודייני כולי עלמא קל וחומר מינך למחר אתבר בדיינא דמלכא ואתו ותפשי ליה לרבא.,אמרי ליה חזן חסא על פום דני לאביי א"ל עיף עסקך כחסא לרבא א"ל מריר עסקך כי חסא,אמרי ליה חזן בשרא על פום דני לאביי אמר ליה בסים חמרך ואתו כולי עלמא למזבן בשרא וחמרא מינך לרבא אמר ליה תקיף חמרך ואתו כולי עלמא למזבן בשרא למיכל ביה,אמרי ליה חזן חביתא דתלי בדיקלא לאביי אמר ליה מדלי עסקך כדיקלא לרבא אמר ליה חלי עסקך כתמרי,אמרי ליה חזן רומנא דקדחי אפום דני לאביי אמר ליה עשיק עסקך כרומנא לרבא אמר ליה קאוי עסקך כרומנא,אמרי ליה חזן חביתא דנפל לבירא לאביי א"ל מתבעי עסקך כדאמר נפל פתא בבירא ולא אשתכח לרבא א"ל פסיד עסקך ושדי' ליה לבירא,אמרי ליה חזינן בר חמרא דקאי אאיסדן ונוער לאביי אמר ליה מלכא הוית וקאי אמורא עלך לרבא א"ל פטר חמור גהיט מתפילך א"ל לדידי חזי לי ואיתיה אמר ליה וא"ו דפטר חמור ודאי גהיט מתפילך,לסוף אזל רבא לחודיה לגביה אמר ליה חזאי דשא ברייתא דנפל אמר ליה אשתך שכבא אמר ליה חזיא ככי ושני דנתור א"ל בנך ובנתך שכבן אמר ליה חזאי תרתי יוני דפרחן א"ל תרי נשי מגרשת אמר ליה חזאי תרי גרגלידי דלפתא אמר ליה תרין קולפי בלעת אזל רבא ההוא יומא ויתיב בי מדרשא כוליה יומא אשכח הנהו תרי סגי נהורי דהוו קמנצו בהדי הדדי אזל רבא לפרוקינהו ומחוהו לרבא תרי דלו למחוייה אחריתי אמר מסתיי תרין חזאי,לסוף אתא רבא ויהיב ליה אגרא א"ל חזאי אשיתא דנפל א"ל נכסים בלא מצרים קנית א"ל חזאי אפדנא דאביי דנפל וכסיין אבקיה א"ל אביי שכיב ומתיבתיה אתיא לגבך א"ל חזאי אפדנא דידי דנפיל ואתו כולי עלמא שקיל לבינתא לבינתא א"ל שמעתתך מבדרן בעלמא א"ל חזאי דאבקע רישי ונתר מוקרי א"ל אודרא מבי סדיא נפיק א"ל אקריון הללא מצראה בחלמא א"ל ניסא מתרחשי לך,הוה קא אזיל בהדיה בארבא אמר בהדי גברא דמתרחיש ליה ניסא למה לי בהדי דקא סליק נפל סיפרא מיניה אשכחיה רבא וחזא דהוה כתיב ביה כל החלומות הולכין אחר הפה רשע בדידך קיימא וצערתן כולי האי כולהו מחילנא לך בר מברתיה דרב חסדא יהא רעוא דלמסר ההוא גברא לידי דמלכותא דלא מרחמו עליה,אמר מאי אעביד גמירי דקללת חכם אפילו בחנם היא באה וכ"ש רבא דבדינא קא לייט אמר איקום ואגלי דאמר מר גלות מכפרת עון,קם גלי לבי רומאי אזל יתיב אפתחא דריש טורזינא דמלכא ריש טורזינא חזא חלמא א"ל חזאי חלמא דעייל מחטא באצבעתי א"ל הב לי זוזא ולא יהב ליה לא א"ל ולא מידי א"ל חזאי דנפל תכלא בתרתין אצבעתי א"ל הב לי זוזא ולא יהב ליה ולא א"ל א"ל חזאי דנפל תכלא בכולה ידא א"ל נפל תכלא בכולהו שיראי שמעי בי מלכא ואתיוה לריש טורזינא קא קטלי ליה א"ל אנא אמאי אייתו להאי דהוה ידע ולא אמר אייתוהו לבר הדיא אמרי ליה אמטו זוזא דידך חרבו | 56a. On a similar note, the Gemara relates that the Roman b emperor said to Rabbi Yehoshua, son of Rabbi Ḥaya: You /b Jews b say that you are extremely wise. /b If that is so, b tell me what I will see in my dream. /b Rabbi Yehoshua b said to him: You will see the Persians capture you, and enslave you, and force you to herd unclean animals with a golden staff. He thought the entire day /b about the images described to him by Rabbi Yehoshua b and that night he saw /b it in his dream. b King Shapur /b of Persia b said to Shmuel: You /b Jews b say that you are extremely wise. /b If that is so, b tell me what I will see in my dream. Shmuel said to him: You will see the Romans come and take you into captivity /b and force you b to grind date pits in mills of gold. He thought the entire day /b about the images described to him by Shmuel, b and that night he saw /b it in his dream.,The Gemara relates: b Bar Haddaya was an interpreter of dreams. /b For b one who gave him a fee, he would interpret /b the dream b favorably, and /b for b one who did not give him a fee, he would interpret /b the dream b unfavorably. /b The Gemara relates: There was an incident in which both b Abaye and Rava saw an /b identical b dream /b and they asked bar Haddaya to interpret it. b Abaye gave him money /b and paid his fee, b while Rava did not give him /b money. b They said to him: /b The verse: b “Your ox shall be slain before your eyes /b and you shall not eat thereof” (Deuteronomy 28:31) b was read to us in our dream. He /b interpreted their dream and b to Rava he said: Your business will be lost and you will derive no pleasure from eating because of the /b extreme b sadness of your heart. To Abaye he said: Your business will profit and you will be unable to eat due to the joy in your heart. /b , b They said to him: /b The verse, b “You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity” /b (Deuteronomy 28:41), b was read to us /b in our dream. He interpreted their dreams, and b to Rava he said its /b literal, b adverse /b sense. b To Abaye he said: Your sons and daughters will be numerous, and your daughters will be married to outsiders and it will seem to you as if they were taken in captivity. /b ,They said to him: b The verse: “Your sons and your daughters shall be given unto another people” /b (Deuteronomy 28:32), b was read to us /b in our dream. b To Abaye he said: Your sons and daughters will be numerous. You say, /b that they should marry b your relatives and /b your wife b says /b that they should marry b her relatives and she will impose /b her will b upon you and they will be given /b in marriage b to her relatives, which is like another nation /b as far as you are concerned. b To Rava he said: Your wife will die and your sons and daughters will come into the hands of another woman. As Rava said /b that b Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba said /b that b Rav said: What is /b the meaning of b that which is written /b in the verse: b “Your sons and your daughters shall be given unto another people”? This /b refers to b the father’s wife, /b the stepmother.,They said to him: The verse: b “Go your way, eat your bread with joy, /b and drink your wine with a merry heart” (Ecclesiastes 9:7) b was read to us in our dream. To Abaye he said: Your business will profit and you will eat and drink and read the verse out of the joy of your heart. To Rava he said: Your business will be lost, you will slaughter but not eat, you will drink /b wine and b read /b passages from the Bible in order b to allay your fears. /b ,They said to him: The verse: b “You shall carry much seed out into the field, /b and shall gather little in; for the locust shall consume it” (Deuteronomy 28:38), b was read to us /b in our dream. b To Abaye he said from the beginning /b of the verse, that he will enjoy an abundant harvest. b To Rava he said from the end /b of the verse, that his harvest will be destroyed.,They said to him: The verse: b “You shall have olive-trees throughout all your borders, /b but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off” (Deuteronomy 28:40), b was read to us /b in our dream. And again, b to Abaye he said from the beginning /b of the verse. b To Rava he said from the end /b of the verse.,They said to him: The verse: b “All the peoples of the earth shall see /b that the name of the Lord is called upon you; and they shall be afraid of you” (Deuteronomy 28:10), b was read to us /b in our dream. b To Abaye he said: Your name will become well-known as head of the yeshiva, and you will be feared by all. To Rava he said: The king’s treasury was broken /b into b and you will be apprehended as a thief, and everyone will draw an i a fortiori /i inference from you: /b If Rava who is wealthy and of distinguished lineage can be arrested on charges of theft, what will become of the rest of us? Indeed, b the next day, the king’s treasury was burglarized, and they came and apprehended Rava. /b ,Abaye and Rava b said to him: We saw lettuce on the mouth of the barrels. To Abaye he said: Your business will double like lettuce /b whose leaves are wide and wrinkled. b To Rava he said: Your work will be bitter like /b a b lettuce /b stalk., b They said to him: We saw meat on the mouth of barrels. To Abaye he said: Your wine will be sweet and everyone will come to buy meat and wine from you. To Rava he said: Your wine will spoil, and everyone will go to buy meat in order to eat with it, /b to dip the meat in your vinegar., b They said to him: We saw a barrel hanging from a palm tree. To Abaye he said: Your business will rise like a palm tree. To Rava he said: Your work will be sweet like dates /b which are very cheap in Babylonia, indicating that you will be compelled to sell your merchandise at a cheap price., b They said to him: We saw a pomegranate taking root on the mouth of barrels. To Abaye he said: Your business will increase in value like a pomegranate. To Rava he said: Your work will go sour like a pomegranate. /b , b They said to him: We saw a barrel fall into a pit. To Abaye he said: Your merchandise will be in demand as /b the adage b says: Bread falls in a pit and is not found. /b In other words, everyone will seek your wares and they will not find them due to increased demand. b To Rava he said: Your merchandise will be ruined and you will throw it /b away b into a pit. /b , b They said to him: We saw a donkey-foal standing near our heads, braying. To Abaye he said: You will be a king, /b that is to say, b head of the yeshiva, and an interpreter will stand near you /b to repeat your teachings to the masses out loud. b To Rava he said: /b I see the words b i peter ḥamor /i , first-born donkey, erased from your phylacteries. /b Rava b said to him: I myself saw it and it is there. /b Bar Haddaya b said to him: /b The letter b i vav /i of /b the word b i peter ḥamor /i is certainly erased from your phylacteries. /b , b Ultimately, Rava went to /b bar Haddaya b alone. /b Rava b said to him: I saw the outer door of my house fall. /b Bar Haddaya b said to him: Your wife will die, /b as she is the one who protects the house. Rava b said to him: I saw my front and back teeth fall out. He said to him: Your sons and daughters will die. /b Rava b said to him: I saw two doves that were flying. He said to him: You will divorce two women. /b Rava b said to him: I saw two turnip-heads [ i gargelidei /i ]. He said to him: You will receive two blows with a club /b shaped like a turnip. b That same day Rava went and sat in the study hall the entire day. He discovered these two blind people who were fighting with each other. Rava went to separate them and they struck Rava two /b blows. When b they raised /b their staffs b to strike him an additional blow, he said: /b That is b enough for me, I /b only b saw two. /b , b Ultimately, Rava came and gave him, /b bar Haddaya, b a fee. And /b then Rava, b said to him: I saw my wall fall. /b Bar Haddaya b said to him: You will acquire property without limits. /b Rava b said to him: I saw Abaye’s house [ i appadna /i ] fall and its dust covered me. /b Bar Haddaya b said to him: Abaye will die and his yeshiva will come to you. /b Rava b said to him: I saw my house fall, and everyone came and took the bricks. He said to him: Your teachings will be disseminated throughout the world. /b Rava b said to him: I saw that my head split and my brain fell out. He said to him: A feather will fall out of the pillow /b near your head. Rava b said to him: The Egyptian i hallel /i , /b the i hallel /i that celebrates the Exodus, b was read to me in a dream. He said to him: Miracles will be performed for you. /b ,Bar Haddaya b was going with /b Rava b on a ship; /b bar Haddaya b said: Why am I /b going b with a person for whom miracles will be performed, /b lest the miracle will be that the ship will sink and he alone will be saved. b As /b bar Haddaya b was climbing /b onto the ship b a book fell from him. Rava found /b it b and saw: All dreams follow the mouth, written therein. He said /b to bar Haddaya: b Scoundrel. It was /b dependent b on you, and you caused me so much suffering. I forgive you for everything except for the daughter /b of b Rav Ḥisda, /b Rava’s wife, whom bar Haddaya predicted would die. b May it be /b Your b will that this man be delivered into the hands of a kingdom that has no compassion on him. /b ,Bar Haddaya b said /b to himself: b What will I do? We learned /b through tradition b that the curse of a Sage, /b even if b baseless, comes /b true? b And all the more so /b in the case of b Rava, as he cursed /b me b justifiably. He said /b to himself: b I will get up and go into exile, /b as b the Master said: Exile atones for transgression. /b , b He arose and exiled himself to the seat of the Roman /b government. b He went and sat by the entrance, /b where b the keeper of the king’s wardrobe /b stood. b The wardrobe guard dreamed a dream. /b He b said to /b bar Haddaya: b I saw in the dream that a needle pierced my finger. /b Bar Haddaya b said to him: Give me a i zuz /i . He did not give him /b the coin b so /b bar Haddaya b said nothing to him. /b Again, the guard b said to him: I saw a worm that fell /b between b my two fingers, /b eating them. Bar Haddaya b said to him: Give me a i zuz /i . He did not give him /b the coin, b so /b bar Haddaya b said nothing to him. /b Again, the guard b said to him: I saw that a worm fell /b upon b my entire hand, /b eating it. Bar Haddaya b said to him: A worm fell /b upon and ate b all the silk /b garments. b They heard /b of this b in the king’s palace and they brought the wardrobe keeper and were /b in the process of b executing him. He said to them: Why me? Bring the one who knew and did not say /b the information that he knew. b They brought /b bar Haddaya b and said to him: Because of your i zuz /i , ruin /b came upon |
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3. Babylonian Talmud, Gittin, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Herman, Rubenstein (2018), The Aggada of the Bavli and Its Cultural World. 226| 56a. אמר ליה לא אמר ליה יהיבנא לך דמי פלגא דסעודתיך אמר ליה לא אמר ליה יהיבנא לך דמי כולה סעודתיך א"ל לא נקטיה בידיה ואוקמיה ואפקיה,אמר הואיל והוו יתבי רבנן ולא מחו ביה ש"מ קא ניחא להו איזיל איכול בהו קורצא בי מלכא אזל אמר ליה לקיסר מרדו בך יהודאי א"ל מי יימר א"ל שדר להו קורבנא חזית אי מקרבין ליה,אזל שדר בידיה עגלא תלתא בהדי דקאתי שדא ביה מומא בניב שפתים ואמרי לה בדוקין שבעין דוכתא דלדידן הוה מומא ולדידהו לאו מומא הוא,סבור רבנן לקרוביה משום שלום מלכות אמר להו רבי זכריה בן אבקולס יאמרו בעלי מומין קריבין לגבי מזבח סבור למיקטליה דלא ליזיל ולימא אמר להו רבי זכריה יאמרו מטיל מום בקדשים יהרג,אמר רבי יוחנן ענוותנותו של רבי זכריה בן אבקולס החריבה את ביתנו ושרפה את היכלנו והגליתנו מארצנו,שדר עלוייהו לנירון קיסר כי קאתי שדא גירא למזרח אתא נפל בירושלים למערב אתא נפל בירושלים לארבע רוחות השמים אתא נפל בירושלים,א"ל לינוקא פסוק לי פסוקיך אמר ליה (יחזקאל כה, יד) ונתתי את נקמתי באדום ביד עמי ישראל וגו' אמר קודשא בריך הוא בעי לחרובי ביתיה ובעי לכפורי ידיה בההוא גברא ערק ואזל ואיגייר ונפק מיניה ר"מ,שדריה עילוייהו לאספסיינוס קיסר אתא צר עלה תלת שני הוו בה הנהו תלתא עתירי נקדימון בן גוריון ובן כלבא שבוע ובן ציצית הכסת נקדימון בן גוריון שנקדה לו חמה בעבורו בן כלבא שבוע שכל הנכנס לביתו כשהוא רעב ככלב יוצא כשהוא שבע בן ציצית הכסת שהיתה ציצתו נגררת על גבי כסתות איכא דאמרי שהיתה כסתו מוטלת בין גדולי רומי,חד אמר להו אנא זיינא להו בחיטי ושערי וחד אמר להו בדחמרא ובדמלחא ומשחא וחד אמר להו בדציבי ושבחו רבנן לדציבי דרב חסדא כל אקלידי הוה מסר לשמעיה בר מדציבי דאמר רב חסדא אכלבא דחיטי בעי שיתין אכלבי דציבי הוה להו למיזן עשרים וחד שתא,הוו בהו הנהו בריוני אמרו להו רבנן ניפוק ונעביד שלמא בהדייהו לא שבקינהו אמרו להו ניפוק ונעביד קרבא בהדייהו אמרו להו רבנן לא מסתייעא מילתא קמו קלנהו להנהו אמברי דחיטי ושערי והוה כפנא,מרתא בת בייתוס עתירתא דירושלים הויא שדרתה לשלוחה ואמרה ליה זיל אייתי לי סמידא אדאזל איזדבן אתא אמר לה סמידא ליכא חיורתא איכא אמרה ליה זיל אייתי לי אדאזל איזדבן אתא ואמר לה חיורתא ליכא גושקרא איכא א"ל זיל אייתי לי אדאזל אזדבן אתא ואמר לה גושקרא ליכא קימחא דשערי איכא אמרה ליה זיל אייתי לי אדאזל איזדבן,הוה שליפא מסאנא אמרה איפוק ואחזי אי משכחנא מידי למיכל איתיב לה פרתא בכרעא ומתה,קרי עלה רבן יוחנן בן זכאי (דברים כח, נו) הרכה בך והענוגה אשר לא נסתה כף רגלה איכא דאמרי גרוגרות דר' צדוק אכלה ואיתניסא ומתה דר' צדוק יתיב ארבעין שנין בתעניתא דלא ליחרב ירושלים כי הוה אכיל מידי הוה מיתחזי מאבראי וכי הוה בריא מייתי ליה גרוגרות מייץ מייהו ושדי להו,כי הוה קא ניחא נפשה אפיקתה לכל דהבא וכספא שדיתיה בשוקא אמרה האי למאי מיבעי לי והיינו דכתיב (יחזקאל ז, יט) כספם בחוצות ישליכו,אבא סקרא ריש בריוני דירושלים בר אחתיה דרבן יוחנן בן זכאי הוה שלח ליה תא בצינעא לגבאי אתא א"ל עד אימת עבדיתו הכי וקטליתו ליה לעלמא בכפנא א"ל מאי איעביד דאי אמינא להו מידי קטלו לי א"ל חזי לי תקנתא לדידי דאיפוק אפשר דהוי הצלה פורתא,א"ל נקוט נפשך בקצירי וליתי כולי עלמא ולישיילו בך ואייתי מידי סריא ואגני גבך ולימרו דנח נפשך וליעיילו בך תלמידך ולא ליעול בך איניש אחרינא דלא לרגשן בך דקליל את דאינהו ידעי דחייא קליל ממיתא,עביד הכי נכנס בו רבי אליעזר מצד אחד ורבי יהושע מצד אחר כי מטו לפיתחא בעו למדקריה אמר להו יאמרו רבן דקרו בעו למדחפיה אמר להו יאמרו רבן דחפו פתחו ליה בבא נפק,כי מטא להתם אמר שלמא עלך מלכא שלמא עלך מלכא א"ל מיחייבת תרי קטלא חדא דלאו מלכא אנא וקא קרית לי מלכא ותו אי מלכא אנא עד האידנא אמאי לא אתית לגבאי א"ל דקאמרת לאו מלכא אנא | 56a. The host b said to him: No, /b you must leave. Bar Kamtza b said to him: I will give you money for half of the feast; /b just do not send me away. The host b said to him: No, /b you must leave. Bar Kamtza then b said to him: I will give you money for the entire feast; /b just let me stay. The host b said to him: No, /b you must leave. Finally, the host b took /b bar Kamtza b by his hand, stood him up, and took him out. /b ,After having been cast out from the feast, bar Kamtza b said /b to himself: b Since the Sages were sitting /b there b and did not protest /b the actions of the host, although they saw how he humiliated me, b learn from it that they were content /b with what he did. b I will /b therefore b go and inform [ i eikhul kurtza /i ] against them to the king. He went /b and b said to the emperor: The Jews have rebelled against you. /b The emperor b said to him: Who says /b that this is the case? Bar Kamtza b said to him: /b Go and test them; b send them an offering /b to be brought in honor of the government, and b see whether they /b will b sacrifice it. /b ,The emperor b went and sent with him /b a choice b three-year-old calf. While /b bar Kamtza b was coming /b with the calf to the Temple, b he made a blemish on /b the calf’s b upper lip. And some say /b he made the blemish b on /b its b eyelids, a place where according to us, /b i.e., i halakha /i , it b is a blemish, but according to them, /b gentile rules for their offerings, it b is not a blemish. /b Therefore, when bar Kamtza brought the animal to the Temple, the priests would not sacrifice it on the altar since it was blemished, but they also could not explain this satisfactorily to the gentile authorities, who did not consider it to be blemished.,The blemish notwithstanding, b the Sages thought to sacrifice /b the animal as an offering b due to /b the imperative to maintain b peace /b with the b government. Rabbi Zekharya ben Avkolas said to them: /b If the priests do that, people b will say /b that b blemished /b animals b may be sacrificed /b as offerings b on the altar. /b The Sages said: If we do not sacrifice it, then we must prevent bar Kamtza from reporting this to the emperor. The Sages b thought to kill him so that he would not go and speak /b against them. b Rabbi Zekharya said to them: /b If you kill him, people b will say /b that b one who makes a blemish on sacrificial /b animals b is to be killed. /b As a result, they did nothing, bar Kamtza’s slander was accepted by the authorities, and consequently the war between the Jews and the Romans began., b Rabbi Yoḥa says: The /b excessive b humility of Rabbi Zekharya ben Avkolas destroyed our Temple, burned our Sanctuary, and exiled us from our land. /b ,The Roman authorities then b sent Nero Caesar against /b the Jews. b When he came /b to Jerusalem, he wished to test his fate. b He shot an arrow to the east /b and the arrow b came /b and b fell in Jerusalem. /b He then shot another arrow b to the west /b and b it /b also b fell in Jerusalem. /b He shot an arrow b in /b all b four directions of the heavens, /b and each time the arrow b fell in Jerusalem. /b ,Nero then conducted another test: b He said to a child: Tell me a verse /b that you learned today. b He said to him /b as follows: b “And I will lay My vengeance upon Edom by the hand of My people Israel” /b (Ezekiel 25:14). Nero b said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, wishes to destroy His Temple, and He wishes to wipe his hands with that man, /b i.e., with me. The Romans are associated with Edom, the descendants of Esau. If I continue on this mission, I will eventually be punished for having served as God’s agent to bring about the destruction. So b he fled /b and b became a convert, and /b ultimately b Rabbi Meir descended from him. /b ,The Roman authorities then b sent Vespasian Caesar against /b the Jews. b He came /b and b laid siege /b to Jerusalem for b three years. There were /b at that time b in /b Jerusalem b these three wealthy people: Nakdimon ben Guryon, ben Kalba Savua, and ben Tzitzit HaKesat. /b The Gemara explains their names: b Nakdimon ben Guryon /b was called by that name b because the sun shined [ i nakad /i ] on his behalf, /b as it is related elsewhere (see i Ta’anit /i 19b) that the sun once continued to shine in order to prevent him from suffering a substantial loss. b Ben Kalba Savua /b was called this b because anyone who entered his house when he was hungry as a dog [ i kelev /i ] would leave satiated [ i save’a /i ]. Ben Tzitzit HaKesat /b was referred to by that name because b his ritual fringes [ i tzitzit /i ] dragged /b along b on blankets [ i keset /i ], /b meaning that he would not walk in the street with his feet on the ground, but rather they would place blankets beneath him. b There are /b those b who say that his seat [ i kiseh /i ] was found among the nobles of Rome, /b meaning that he would sit among them.,These three wealthy people offered their assistance. b One /b of them b said to /b the leaders of the city: b I will feed /b the residents b with wheat and barley. And one /b of them b said to /b leaders of the city: I will provide the residents b with wine, salt, and oil. And one /b of them b said to /b the leaders of the city: I will supply the residents b with wood. /b The Gemara comments: b And the Sages gave /b special b praise to he /b who gave the b wood, /b since this was an especially expensive gift. b As Rav Ḥisda would give all of the keys [ i aklidei /i ] to his servant, except /b for the key b to /b his shed b for /b storing b wood, /b which he deemed the most important of them all. b As Rav Ḥisda said: One storehouse [ i akhleva /i ] of wheat requires sixty storehouses of wood /b for cooking and baking fuel. These three wealthy men b had /b between them enough commodities b to sustain /b the besieged b for twenty-one years. /b , b There were certain zealots among /b the people of Jerusalem. b The Sages said to them: Let us go out and make peace with /b the Romans. But the zealots b did not allow them /b to do this. The zealots b said to /b the Sages: b Let us go out and engage in battle against /b the Romans. But b the Sages said to them: You will not be successful. /b It would be better for you to wait until the siege is broken. In order to force the residents of the city to engage in battle, the zealots b arose and burned /b down b these storehouses [ i ambarei /i ] of wheat and barley, and there was /b a general b famine. /b ,With regard to this famine it is related that b Marta bat Baitos was /b one of the b wealthy women of Jerusalem. She sent /b out b her agent and said to him: Go bring me fine flour [ i semida /i ]. By the time he went, /b the fine flour b was /b already b sold. He came /b and b said to her: There is no fine flour, /b but b there is /b ordinary b flour. She said to him: Go /b then and b bring me /b ordinary flour. b By the time he went, /b the ordinary flour b was /b also b sold. He came and said to her: There is no /b ordinary b flour, /b but b there is coarse flour [ i gushkera /i ]. She said to him: Go /b then and b bring me /b coarse flour. b By the time he went, /b the coarse flour b was /b already b sold. He came and said to her: There is no coarse flour, /b but b there is barley flour. She said to him: Go /b then and b bring me /b barley flour. But once again, b by the time he went, /b the barley flour b was /b also b sold. /b , b She had /b just b removed her shoes, /b but b she said: I will go out /b myself b and see if I can find something to eat. /b She stepped on some b dung, /b which b stuck to her foot, and, /b overcome by disgust, b she died. /b , b Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai read concerning her /b a verse found in the section of the Torah listing the curses that will befall Israel: b “The tender and delicate woman among you who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot /b upon the ground” (Deuteronomy 28:56). b There are /b those b who say /b that she did not step on dung, but rather b she ate a fig of Rabbi Tzadok, and became disgusted and died. /b What are these figs? b Rabbi Tzadok observed fasts /b for b forty years, /b praying b that Jerusalem would not be destroyed. /b He became so emaciated from fasting b that when he would eat something it was visible from the outside /b of his body. b And when he would eat /b after a fast b they would bring him figs /b and b he would suck out their liquid and cast /b the rest b away. /b It was one such fig that Marta bat Baitos found and that caused her death.,It is further related that b as she was dying, she took out all of /b her b gold and silver /b and b threw it in the marketplace. She said: Why do I need this? And this is as it is written: “They shall cast their silver in the streets /b and their gold shall be as an impure thing; their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord; they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels” (Ezekiel 7:19).,§ The Gemara relates: b Abba Sikkara was the leader of the zealots [ i biryonei /i ] of Jerusalem /b and b the son of the sister of Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai. /b Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai b sent /b a message b to him: Come to me in secret. He came, /b and Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai b said to him: Until when will you do this and kill everyone through starvation? /b Abba Sikkara b said to him: What can I do, for if I say something to them they will kill me. /b Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai b said to him: Show me a method /b so b that I will /b be able to b leave /b the city, and it is b possible that /b through this b there will be /b some b small salvation. /b ,Abba Sikkara b said to him: /b This is what you should do: b Pretend to be sick, and have everyone come and ask /b about your welfare, so that word will spread about your ailing condition. Afterward b bring something putrid and place it near you, so that /b people b will say that you have died /b and are decomposing. b And /b then, b have your students enter /b to bring you to burial, b and let no one else come in so that /b the zealots b not notice that you are /b still b light. As /b the zealots b know that a living /b person b is lighter than a dead /b person.,Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai b did this. Rabbi Eliezer entered from one side and Rabbi Yehoshua from the other side /b to take him out. b When they arrived at the entrance /b of the city on the inside, the guards, who were of the faction of the zealots, b wanted to pierce him /b with their swords in order to ascertain that he was actually dead, as was the common practice. Abba Sikkara b said to them: /b The Romans b will say /b that b they pierce /b even b their teacher. /b The guards then b wanted /b at least b to push him /b to see whether he was still alive, in which case he would cry out on account of the pushing. Abba Sikkara b said to them: They will say /b that b they push /b even b their teacher. /b The guards then b opened the gate /b and b he was taken out. /b , b When /b Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai b reached there, /b i.e., the Roman camp, b he said: Greetings to you, the king; greetings to you, the king. /b Vespasian b said to him: You are liable for two death penalties, one /b because b I am not a king and /b yet b you call me king, and furthermore, if I am a king, why didn’t you come to me until now? /b Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai b said to him: /b As for b what you said /b about yourself: b I am not a king, /b |
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4. Babylonian Talmud, Ketuvot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •sokoloff, michael Found in books: Herman, Rubenstein (2018), The Aggada of the Bavli and Its Cultural World. 226| 62a. אורחא דמילתא כמה אמר רב חדש כאן וחדש בבית שנאמר (דברי הימים א כז, א) לכל דבר המחלקות הבאה והיוצאת חדש בחדש לכל חדשי השנה ור' יוחנן אמר חדש כאן ושנים בביתו שנאמר (מלכים א ה, כח) חדש יהיו בלבנון שנים חדשים בביתו,ורב נמי מ"ט לא אמר מההיא שאני בנין בית המקדש דאפשר ע"י אחרים ור' יוחנן מ"ט לא אמר מההיא שאני התם דאית ליה הרווחה,אמר רב אנחה שוברת חצי גופו של אדם שנאמר (יחזקאל כא, יא) ואתה בן אדם האנח בשברון מתנים ובמרירות תאנח ורבי יוחנן אמר אף כל גופו של אדם שנאמר (יחזקאל כא, יב) והיה כי יאמרו אליך על מה אתה נאנח ואמרת אל שמועה כי באה ונמס כל לב ורפו כל ידים וכהתה כל רוח וכל ברכים תלכנה מים,ורבי יוחנן נמי הכתיב בשברון מתנים ההיא דכי מתחלא ממתנים מתחלא ורב נמי הכתי' ונמס כל לב ורפו כל ידים וכהתה כל רוח שאני שמועה דבית המקדש דתקיפא טובא,ההוא ישראל ועובד כוכבים דהוו קאזלי באורחא בהדי הדדי לא אימצי עובד כוכבים לסגויי בהדי ישראל אדכריה חורבן בית המקדש נגיד ואיתנח ואפ"ה לא אימצי עובד כוכבים לסגויי בהדיה א"ל לאו אמריתו אנחה שוברת חצי גופו של אדם א"ל ה"מ מילתא חדתי אבל הא דשנן בה לא דאמרי אינשי דמלפי תכלי לא בהתה:,הטיילין בכל יום: מאי טיילין אמר רבא בני פירקי א"ל אביי מאן דכתיב בהו (תהלים קכז, ב) שוא לכם משכימי קום מאחרי שבת אוכלי לחם העצבים כן יתן לידידו שנא ואמר רב יצחק אלו נשותיהן של ת"ח שמנדדות שינה מעיניהם בעוה"ז ובאות לחיי העוה"ב ואת אמרת בני פירקי,אלא אמר אביי כדרב דאמר רב כגון רב שמואל בר שילת דאכיל מדידיה ושתי מדידיה וגני בטולא דאפדניה ולא חליף פריסתקא דמלכא אבביה כי אתא רבין אמר כגון מפנקי דמערבא,ר' אבהו הוה קאי בי באני הוו סמכי ליה תרי עבדי איפחית בי באני מתותיה איתרמי לי' עמודא סליק ואסקינהו ר' יוחנן הוה קסליק בדרגא הוו סמכי ליה רב אמי ורב אסי איפחתא דרגא תותיה סליק ואסקינהו אמרי ליה רבנן וכי מאחר דהכי למה ליה למיסמכיה אמר להו א"כ מה אניח לעת זקנה:,והפועלים שתים בשבת: והתניא הפועלים אחת בשבת א"ר יוסי ברבי חנינא לא קשיא כאן בעושין מלאכה בעירן כאן בעושין מלאכה בעיר אחרת תניא נמי הכי הפועלים שתים בשבת במה דברים אמורים בעושין מלאכה בעירן אבל בעושין מלאכה בעיר אחרת אחת בשבת:,החמרים אחת בשבת: אמר ליה רבה בר רב חנן לאביי איכפל תנא לאשמועינן טייל ופועל אמר ליה לא | 62a. The Gemara explains its query: Although a man can legally make any agreement with his wife to limit her conjugal rights, b how much /b is an acceptable b manner for this matter? Rav said: /b The husband may spend b a month here, /b in the study hall, b and /b then must spend b a month at home. /b The allusion to this is b as it is stated /b with regard to reserve units serving in King David’s army: b “In any matter of the courses, which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year” /b (I Chronicles 27:1). b And Rabbi Yoḥa said: /b He may spend b one month here, /b in the study hall, b and /b then b two /b months b in his home, as it is stated /b with regard to workers who worked in the construction of the Temple: b “A month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home” /b (I Kings 5:28).,The Gemara asks: b And what is the reason /b that b Rav did not also say /b a proof b from that /b source that Rabbi Yoḥa quoted? The Gemara answers: b The construction of the Temple is different, since it is possible /b for this work to be performed b by others, /b as there were many people involved in it, but with regard to Torah study, which cannot be performed by others, he is given permission to spend a month here and a month there. The Gemara further questions: b And what is the reason /b that b Rabbi Yoḥa did not say /b a proof b from that /b source that Rav quoted? The Gemara answers: b There, /b with regard to King David, b it is different, since he gains profit /b from working for the king; since there is profit involved, his wife might be willing to forgo his staying with her. However, in general a woman wants her husband to spend most of his time at home, so with regard to Torah study, where there is no monetary profit, she will not waive her right for as long.,§ Apropos a dispute between Rav and Rabbi Yoḥa with regard to the construction of the Temple, the Gemara cites another dispute between them. b Rav said: Groaning breaks half of a person’s body, as it is stated: “Groan, therefore, you son of man, with the breaking of your loins, groan so bitterly” /b (Ezekiel 21:11), which indicates that groaning breaks half of a one’s body, down to his loins. b And Rabbi Yoḥa said /b that groaning breaks b even a person’s entire body, as it is stated: “And it shall be, when they say to you: Why are you groaning? That you shall say: Due to the tiding, for it comes, and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be slack, and every spirit shall be faint, and all knees shall drip with water” /b (Ezekiel 21:12).,The Gemara asks: b And /b why doesn’t b Rabbi Yoḥa also /b say that it breaks half of one’s body? b Isn’t it written: “With the breaking of your loins,” /b implying that it does not break the entire body? The Gemara answers: b This /b does not mean that the breakage only reaches the loins, but rather b that when /b the sigh b begins /b to affect a person, b it begins from his loins. /b The Gemara asks: b And /b why doesn’t b Rav also /b say that it breaks the entire body? b Isn’t it written: “And every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be slack, and every spirit shall be faint,” /b which indicates that groaning causes the entire body to break? The Gemara answers: b The news with regard to /b the destruction of b the Temple is different, as it is extremely crushing /b and causes great anguish, but in general a sigh causes only half of the body to break.,It is related that b a certain Jew and a gentile were walking along the road together. The gentile could not keep up with the Jew, /b who was walking faster, and b he /b therefore b reminded him of the destruction of the Temple /b in order to make the Jew feel sorrowful and slow down. b The Jew sighed and groaned, but even so the gentile could not keep up with him, /b as the Jew was still walking faster. The gentile b said to him: Don’t you say that groaning breaks half of a person’s body? /b Why didn’t it affect you? b He said to him: This applies only /b with regard to b a new /b sorrowful b affair, but this, /b from b which we have /b suffered b repeatedly /b and to which we have become accustomed, does b not /b affect us as much, b as people say: One who is used to being bereaved /b of her children b does not panic [ i bahata /i ] /b when one of them dies, and similarly, one who is used to a tragedy is not as devastated when being reminded of it.,§ The mishna said that b men of leisure /b must engage in marital relations with their wives b every day. /b The Gemara asks: b What /b is meant by the term b men of leisure? Rava said: /b These are b students /b of Torah who go daily to review b their lectures /b at a local study hall and return home each evening. b Abaye said to him: /b Wives of Torah scholars are b those about whom it is written: “It is vain for you to rise early and sit up late, you that eat the bread of toil, so He gives to His beloved in sleep” /b (Psalms 127:2), b and Rabbi Yitzḥak said /b in explanation of this verse: b These are the wives of Torah scholars who deprive their eyes of sleep in this world and reach the life of the World-to-Come. /b This indicates that Torah scholars exert themselves greatly in their studies and are not home in the evenings, b and you say /b that the b students /b reviewing b their lectures /b are men of leisure, whose wives have conjugal rights for every night?, b Rather, Abaye said: /b The mishna should be explained b in accordance with the opinion of Rav, as Rav said: /b This is referring to a man b such as Rabbi Shmuel bar Sheilat, who ate his own /b food, b drank his own /b drinks, b slept in the shade of his own house, and the king’s tax collector [ i peristaka /i ] did not pass by his door, /b as they did not know that he was a man of means. A man like this, who has a steady income and no worries, is called a man of leisure. b When Ravin came /b from Eretz Yisrael b he said: For example, the /b wealthy, b pampered /b men b in the West, /b Eretz Yisrael, are called men of leisure. Due to the time they have available and the richness of their diet, they have the ability to satisfy their wives every night.,To illustrate this point, the Gemara relates two incidents demonstrating the health and strength of the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael: b Rabbi Abbahu was /b once b standing in the bathhouse and two slaves were supporting /b his walking. b The bathhouse collapsed under him /b and was destroyed. b He found a pillar, /b stood on it and b got out, and pulled them /b both b up /b with him. Similarly, b Rabbi Yoḥa was /b once b going up stairs, /b and b Rav Ami and Rav Asi were supporting /b him. b The stair collapsed under him, but he went up and pulled them /b both b up /b with him. b The Sages said to him: Since /b it is clear that you are b so /b strong, b why do you need /b people b to support you? He said to them: If so, /b if I were to expend all my strength now, b what will I leave for /b myself in my b old age? /b ,§ The mishna said: The set interval for b laborers /b to fulfill their conjugal obligations to their wives is b twice a week. /b The Gemara asks: b Isn’t it taught /b in a i baraita /i : For b laborers, once a week? Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: /b This is b not difficult: Here, /b the case is b where they work in their own city. There, /b the case is b where they work in another city. This is also taught /b in the i Tosefta /i (5:6): For b laborers, twice a week. In what /b case b is this statement said? /b It is b when they work in their own city, but when they work in another city, /b the set interval for their conjugal obligations is b once a week. /b ,§ The mishna said: The set interval for b donkey drivers /b is b once a week, /b and for other professions it is even less frequent. b Rabba bar Rav Ḥa said to Abaye: Did the i tanna /i go to all that trouble just to teach us /b the i halakha /i for b a man of leisure and /b for b a laborer? /b According to the set intervals given for conjugal obligations, it seems that the i halakha /i that one who vowed to prohibit his wife from conjugal relations for longer than a week must divorce her is referring only to a man of leisure or a laborer, whose set interval for conjugal relations is less than that period. However, for other people, whose set interval is once a month or even less frequent, there should be no need to divorce the wife, since the vow does not deprive her of conjugal rights for longer than she would have been deprived anyway. b He said to him: No, /b |
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5. Babylonian Talmud, Megillah, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •sokoloff, michael Found in books: Herman, Rubenstein (2018), The Aggada of the Bavli and Its Cultural World. 226| 7a. השנית ואיצטריך למיכתב בכל שנה ושנה דאי מבכל שנה ושנה הוה אמינא כי קושין קא משמע לן השנית ואי אשמועינן השנית הוה אמינא בתחילה בראשון ובשני קמ"ל בכל שנה ושנה,ורבי אליעזר בר' יוסי האי השנית מאי עביד ליה מיבעי ליה לכדרב שמואל בר יהודה דאמר רב שמואל בר יהודה בתחילה קבעוה בשושן ולבסוף בכל העולם כולו,אמר רב שמואל בר יהודה שלחה להם אסתר לחכמים קבעוני לדורות שלחו לה קנאה את מעוררת עלינו לבין האומות שלחה להם כבר כתובה אני על דברי הימים למלכי מדי ופרס,רב ורב חנינא ורבי יוחנן ורב חביבא מתנו בכוליה סדר מועד כל כי האי זוגא חלופי רבי יוחנן ומעייל רבי יונתן שלחה להם אסתר לחכמים כתבוני לדורות שלחו לה (משלי כב, כ) הלא כתבתי לך שלישים שלישים ולא רבעים,עד שמצאו לו מקרא כתוב בתורה (שמות יז, יד) כתב זאת זכרון בספר כתב זאת מה שכתוב כאן ובמשנה תורה זכרון מה שכתוב בנביאים בספר מה שכתוב במגלה,כתנאי כתב זאת מה שכתוב כאן זכרון מה שכתוב במשנה תורה בספר מה שכתוב בנביאים דברי רבי יהושע ר' אלעזר המודעי אומר כתב זאת מה שכתוב כאן ובמשנה תורה זכרון מה שכתוב בנביאים בספר מה שכתוב במגילה,אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל אסתר אינה מטמאה את הידים,למימרא דסבר שמואל אסתר לאו ברוח הקודש נאמרה והאמר שמואל אסתר ברוח הקודש נאמרה נאמרה לקרות ולא נאמרה ליכתוב,מיתיבי רבי מאיר אומר קהלת אינו מטמא את הידים ומחלוקת בשיר השירים ר' יוסי אומר שיר השירים מטמא את הידים ומחלוקת בקהלת ר' שמעון אומר קהלת מקולי ב"ש ומחומרי ב"ה אבל רות ושיר השירים ואסתר מטמאין את הידים הוא דאמר כר' יהושע,תניא ר' שמעון בן מנסיא אומר קהלת אינו מטמא את הידים מפני שחכמתו של שלמה היא אמרו לו וכי זו בלבד אמר והלא כבר נאמר (מלכים א ה, יב) וידבר שלשת אלפים משל ואומר (משלי ל, ו) אל תוסף על דבריו,מאי ואומר וכי תימא מימר טובא אמר דאי בעי איכתיב ודאי בעי לא איכתיב תא שמע אל תוסף על דבריו,תניא ר' אליעזר אומר אסתר ברוח הקודש נאמרה שנאמר (אסתר ו, ו) ויאמר המן בלבו ר' עקיבא אומר אסתר ברוח הקודש נאמרה שנאמר (אסתר ב, טו) ותהי אסתר נשאת חן בעיני כל רואיה,ר"מ אומר אסתר ברוח הקודש נאמרה שנאמר (אסתר ב, כב) ויודע הדבר למרדכי רבי יוסי בן דורמסקית אומר אסתר ברוח הקודש נאמרה שנאמר (אסתר ט, י) ובבזה לא שלחו את ידם,אמר שמואל אי הואי התם הוה אמינא מלתא דעדיפא מכולהו שנאמר קימו וקבלו קימו למעלה מה שקיבלו למטה,אמר רבא לכולהו אית להו פירכא לבר מדשמואל דלית ליה פירכא דרבי אליעזר סברא הוא דלא הוה איניש דחשיב למלכא כוותיה והאי כי קא מפיש טובא ואמר אדעתיה דנפשיה קאמר,דר"ע דלמא כר' אלעזר דאמר מלמד שכל אחד ואחד נדמתה לו כאומתו,והא דרבי מאיר דלמא כרבי חייא בר אבא דאמר בגתן ותרש שני טרשיים היו,והא דרבי יוסי בן דורמסקית דלמא פריסתקי שדור דשמואל ודאי לית ליה פירכא אמר רבינא היינו דאמרי אינשי טבא חדא פלפלתא חריפתא ממלי צני קרי,רב יוסף אמר מהכא (אסתר ט, כח) וימי הפורים האלה לא יעברו מתוך היהודים רב נחמן בר יצחק אומר מהכא וזכרם לא יסוף מזרעם:,ומתנות לאביונים: תני רב יוסף ומשלוח מנות איש לרעהו שתי מנות לאיש אחד ומתנות לאביונים שתי מתנות לשני בני אדם,רבי יהודה נשיאה שדר ליה לרבי אושעיא אטמא דעיגלא תלתא וגרבא דחמרא שלח ליה | 7a. the term: b The second, and it was /b also b necessary to write /b the phrase: b In each and every year; /b proof from one of the verses would have been insufficient. b As, if /b I had derived the i halakha /i only b from /b the phrase: b In each and every year, I would have said /b my conclusion b according to our question /b raised earlier: Why not celebrate Purim in the Adar adjacent to Shevat? b Therefore, it teaches us /b using the term: b The second. And had it taught us /b only the term: b The second, I would have said /b that Purim must be celebrated both b in the first /b Adar b and in the second /b Adar, b i ab initio /i . Therefore, it teaches us: In each and every year, /b indicating that even in an intercalated year, just as in an ordinary year, Purim is to be celebrated only once.,The Gemara asks: b And Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosei, what does he do with this /b term: b The second? /b Since he holds that the Megilla is read in the first Adar, what does he derive from the verse? The Gemara answers: b He requires /b the term b to /b derive b that /b statement b of Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda, as Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda said: Initially, they established /b the observance of Purim b in /b the city of b Shushan /b alone, b and ultimately /b they established it b throughout the world, /b according to the second letter of Purim.,Apropos the statement of Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda with regard to the establishment of the holiday of Purim, the Gemara cites a related statement. b Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda said: Esther sent to the Sages: Establish me for /b future b generations. /b Esther requested that the observance of Purim and the reading of the Megilla be instituted as an ordice for all generations. b They sent to her: You will /b thereby b arouse the wrath of the nations upon us, /b as the Megilla recounts the victory of the Jews over the gentiles, and it is best not to publicize that victory. b She sent /b back b to them: I am already written in the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia, /b and so the Megilla will not publicize anything that is not already known worldwide.,It was related that b Rav and Rabbi Ḥanina and Rabbi Yoḥa and Rav Ḥaviva taught /b the statement cited below. The Gemara comments: b Throughout the order of i Moed /i , wherever this /b latter b pair /b of Sages is mentioned, b exchange Rabbi Yoḥa and insert Rabbi Yonatan /b in his place. They said: b Esther sent to the Sages: Write me for /b future b generations /b and canonize my book as part of the Bible. b They sent to her /b that it is written: b “Have I not written for you three times” /b (Proverbs 22:20), indicating that Israel’s battle with Amalek is to be mentioned b three times /b in the Bible b and not four times? /b Since it is already mentioned three times (Exodus 17:8–16; Deuteronomy 25:17–19; I Samuel 15), there is no need to add a fourth source.,The Sages did not accede to Esther’s request b until they found a verse written in the Torah: “Write this for a memorial in the book, /b and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: That I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heavens” (Exodus 17:14). The Sages interpreted the verse: b “Write this,” that which is written /b in the Torah b here /b in Exodus, b and in Deuteronomy; “a memorial,” that which is written in the Prophets, /b i.e., in I Samuel, on this matter; b “in the book,” that which is written in the Megilla. /b The Megilla is the third mention of Amalek and not the fourth, as both mentions in the Torah pertaining to Amalek are considered one; therefore, Esther would be the third, not the fourth source.,The Gemara comments: This matter is b parallel /b to a dispute between b the i tanna’im /i , /b as it was taught in a i baraita /i : b “Write this,” that which is written here, /b in the book of Exodus; b “a memorial,” that which is written in Deuteronomy; “in the book,” that which is written in the Prophets; /b this is b the statement of Rabbi Yehoshua. Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i /b disagrees and b says: “Write this,” that which is written /b in the Torah b here /b in Exodus, b and in Deuteronomy; “a memorial,” that which is written in the Prophets /b on this matter; b “in the book,” that which is written in the Megilla. /b Here too, the i tanna’im /i disagreed whether or not the book of Esther has the same force and sanctity as that of the canonized books of the Bible., b Rav Yehuda said /b that b Shmuel said: /b The book of b Esther does not render the hands ritually impure. /b Although the Sages issued a decree that sacred scrolls render hands ritually impure, the book of Esther was not accorded the sanctity of sacred scrolls.,The Gemara asks: b Is this to say that Shmuel maintains /b that the book of b Esther was not stated with /b the inspiration of b the Divine Spirit? But didn’t Shmuel /b himself b say /b elsewhere that the book of b Esther was stated with /b the inspiration of b the Divine Spirit? /b The Gemara answers: b It was stated /b with the Divine Spirit that it is b to be read /b in public; b however, it was not stated /b that it is b to be written. /b Therefore, the text was not accorded the sanctity of sacred scrolls., b The Gemara raises an objection /b from a i baraita /i . b Rabbi Meir says: /b The book of b Ecclesiastes does not render the hands ritually impure, /b as it was not accorded the sanctity of sacred scrolls; b however, there is a dispute with regard to /b whether or not b the Song of Songs /b renders the hands impure. b Rabbi Yosei says: The Song of Songs renders the hands ritually impure, but there is a dispute with regard to /b the book of b Ecclesiastes. Rabbi Shimon says: /b The ruling with regard to b Ecclesiastes is among the leniencies of Beit Shammai and among the stringencies of Beit Hillel, /b as according to Beit Hillel it renders the hands impure and according to Beit Shammai it does not. b However, /b everyone agrees that the books of b Ruth, and the Song of Songs, and Esther render the hands ritually impure, /b contrary to the opinion of Shmuel. The Gemara answers: It was Shmuel b who stated /b his opinion b in accordance with /b the opinion of b Rabbi Yehoshua /b cited earlier that the book of Esther was not accorded the sanctity of sacred scrolls., b It is taught /b in a i baraita /i : b Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya says: /b The book of b Ecclesiastes does not render the hands ritually impure because it is the wisdom of Solomon, /b and not divinely inspired. b They said to him: /b It was certainly divinely inspired and that is the reason that the book of Ecclesiastes was added to the canon; b as was it this alone that /b Solomon b said? Wasn’t it already stated: “And he spoke three thousand proverbs, /b and his poems were a thousand and five” (I Kings 5:12)? Solomon spoke many proverbs, but only a portion of them were canonized in the Bible. Apparently, what is unique about those in Ecclesiastes is that they were divinely inspired. b And it says: “Add you not unto his words” /b (Proverbs 30:6).,The Gemara asks: b What /b is added by the proof introduced with the phrase: b And it says? /b Why wasn’t the first proof sufficient? The Gemara answers: b And if you would say /b that in terms of what b he said, he said a great deal, /b with regard to b which, if he /b so b desired, it was written, and if he /b so b desired, it was not written; /b then that is why not all of his statements were preserved. Therefore, b come /b and b hear: Add you not unto his words. /b Apparently, the reason that it is prohibited to add to the proverbs is that the book of Ecclesiastes was divinely inspired., b It is taught /b in a i baraita /i that b Rabbi Eliezer says: /b The book of b Esther was said with /b the inspiration of b the Divine Spirit, as it is stated: “And Haman thought in his heart” /b (Esther 6:6). If the book of Esther was not divinely inspired, how was it known what Haman thought in his heart? b Rabbi Akiva says: /b The book of b Esther was said with /b the inspiration of b the Divine Spirit, as it is stated: “And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all those who looked upon her” /b (Esther 2:15); this could have been known only through divine inspiration., b Rabbi Meir says: /b The book of b Esther was said with /b the inspiration of b the Divine Spirit, as it is stated /b with regard to the conspiracy of Bigtan and Teresh against Ahasuerus: b “And the thing became known to Mordecai” /b (Esther 2:22). This too could have been known only through divine inspiration. b Rabbi Yosei ben Durmaskit says: /b The book of b Esther was said with /b the inspiration of b the Divine Spirit, as it is stated: “But they did not lay their hands on the plunder” /b (Esther 9:15). The only way that could have been stated with certainty is through divine inspiration., b Shmuel said: Had I been there /b among the i tanna’im /i , b I would have stated a matter that is superior to them all, as it is stated: “They confirmed, and took upon themselves” /b (Esther 9:27), which was interpreted to mean: b They confirmed above /b in heaven b what they took upon themselves below /b on earth. Clearly, it is only through divine inspiration that this could have been ascertained., b Rava said: There is a refutation for all /b of these proofs, b except for /b the proof cited by b Shmuel, for which there is no refutation. /b The Gemara elaborates. That b which Rabbi Eliezer /b said with regard to knowledge of what Haman was thinking in his heart can be refuted, as b it is /b based on b logical reasoning /b to conclude that this was his thinking. b There was no /b other b person as important to the king as he /b was; b and /b the fact is b that when he elaborated extensively and said: /b “Let the royal apparel be brought” (Esther 6:8), b he said /b it b with himself in mind. /b ,That b which Rabbi Akiva /b said with regard to the knowledge that Esther found favor in the eyes of all, b perhaps /b it can be understood and refuted b in accordance with /b the opinion of b Rabbi Elazar, who said: /b This b teaches that she appeared to each and every one as /b one of b his nation, /b and they expressed that sentiment aloud., b And that which Rabbi Meir /b said, i.e., that the divine inspiration of the book of Esther is clear from the fact that Mordecai exposed the conspiracy against Ahasuerus, b perhaps /b this can be explained and refuted b in accordance with /b the opinion of b Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, who said: Bigtan and Teresh were both /b members of the b Tarsi /b people and conversed in their own language. Mordecai, who was a member of the Sanhedrin and therefore fluent in many languages, understood what they were saying., b And that which Rabbi Yosei ben Durmaskit /b said with regard to the knowledge that no spoils were taken, b perhaps /b this can be explained and refuted by the fact that b they dispatched messengers /b who informed them of the situation. However, b with regard to Shmuel’s /b proof from the fact that they confirmed above what they took upon themselves below, b there is certainly no refutation. Ravina said: This /b explains the folk saying b that people say: One sharp pepper is better than a basketful of pumpkins, /b as the quality of the pepper’s taste is more significant than the quantity of the pumpkins., b Rav Yosef said: /b Proof that the book of Esther was divinely inspired may be cited b from here: “And these days of Purim shall not cease from among the Jews” /b (Esther 9:28), an assertion that could have been made only with divine inspiration. b Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak says: /b Proof may be cited b from here, /b at the end of that verse: b “Nor the memorial of them perish from their seed” /b (Esther 9:28).,The mishna mentions: b And gifts /b distributed b to the poor. Rav Yosef taught /b a i baraita /i that the verse states: b “And of sending portions one to another” /b (Esther 9:22), indicating b two portions to one person. /b The verse continues: b “And gifts to the poor” /b (Esther 9:22), indicating b two gifts to two people. /b ,The Gemara relates that, on Purim, b Rabbi Yehuda Nesia sent to Rabbi Oshaya the leg of a third- /b born b calf and a jug of wine. /b Rabbi Oshaya b sent him /b a message of gratitude: |
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6. Babylonian Talmud, Niddah, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •sokoloff, michael Found in books: Herman, Rubenstein (2018), The Aggada of the Bavli and Its Cultural World. 126| 20a. בקילור ורבי תלה בשרף שקמה מאי לאו אאדום,לא אשאר דמים,אמימר ומר זוטרא ורב אשי הוו יתבי קמיה אומנא שקלי ליה קרנא קמייתא לאמימר חזייה אמר להו אדום דתנן כי האי שקלי ליה אחריתי אמר להו אשתני אמר רב אשי כגון אנא דלא ידענא בין האי להאי לא מבעי לי למחזי דמא,שחור כחרת אמר רבה בר רב הונא חרת שאמרו דיו תניא נמי הכי שחור כחרת ושחור שאמרו דיו ולימא דיו אי אמר דיו הוה אמינא כי פכחותא דדיותא קמ"ל כי חרותא דדיותא,איבעיא להו בלחה או ביבשתא תא שמע דרבי אמי פלי קורטא דדיותא ובדיק בה,אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל כקיר כדיו וכענב טמאה וזוהי ששנינו עמוק מכן טמאה אמר רבי אלעזר כזית כזפת וכעורב טהור וזוהי ששנינו דיהה מכן טהור,עולא אמר כלבושא סיואה עולא אקלע לפומבדיתא חזייה לההוא טייעא דלבוש לבושא אוכמא אמר להו שחור דתנן כי האי מרטו מיניה פורתא פורתא יהבו ביה ארבע מאה זוזי,רבי יוחנן אמר אלו כלים האוליירין הבאים ממדינת הים למימרא דאוכמי נינהו והאמר להו רבי ינאי לבניו בני אל תקברוני לא בכלים שחורים ולא בכלים לבנים שחורים שמא אזכה ואהיה כאבל בין החתנים לבנים שמא לא אזכה ואהיה כחתן בין האבלים אלא בכלים האוליירין הבאים ממדינת הים,אלמא לאו אוכמי נינהו לא קשיא הא בגלימא הא בפתורא,אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל וכולם אין בודקין אלא על גבי מטלית לבנה אמר רב יצחק בר אבודימי ושחור על גבי אדום,אמר רב ירמיה מדפתי ולא פליגי הא בשחור הא בשאר דמים מתקיף לה רב אשי אי הכי לימא שמואל חוץ משחור אלא אמר רב אשי בשחור גופיה קמיפלגי,אמר עולא כולן עמוק מכן טמא דיהה מכן טהור כשחור,ואלא מאי שנא שחור דנקט סד"א הואיל ואמר רבי חנינא שחור אדום הוא אלא שלקה הילכך אפילו דיהה מכן נמי ליטמא קמשמע לן,רבי אמי בר אבא אמר וכולן עמוק מכן טמא דיהה מכן נמי טמא חוץ משחור אלא מאי אהני שיעוריה דרבנן לאפוקי דיהה דדיהה,ואיכא דאמרי רמי בר אבא אמר וכולן עמוק מכן טהור דיהה מכן טהור חוץ משחור ולהכי מהני שיעוריה דרבנן,בר קפרא אמר וכולן עמוק מכן טמא דיהה מכן טהור חוץ ממזג שעמוק מכן טהור דיהה מכן טהור בר קפרא אדיהו ליה ודכי אעמיקו ליה ודכי אמר רבי חנינא כמה נפיש גברא דלביה כמשמעתיה,וכקרן כרכום תנא לח ולא יבש,תני חדא כתחתון ולא כעליון ותניא אידך כעליון ולא כתחתון ותניא אידך כעליון וכל שכן כתחתון ותניא אידך כתחתון וכל שכן כעליון,אמר אביי תלתא דרי ותלתא טרפן הויין,נקוט דרא מציעאה וטרפא מציעתא בידך,כי אתו לקמיה דרבי אבהו אמר להו בגושייהו שנינו,וכמימי אדמה תנו רבנן כמימי אדמה מביא אדמה שמנה מבקעת בית כרם ומציף עליה מים דברי רבי מאיר רבי עקיבא אומר מבקעת יודפת רבי יוסי אומר מבקעת סכני רבי שמעון אומר אף מבקעת גנוסר וכיוצא בהן,תניא אידך וכמימי אדמה מביא אדמה שמנה מבקעת בית כרם ומציף עליה מים כקליפת השום ואין שיעור למים משום דאין שיעור לעפר ואין בודקין אותן צלולין אלא עכורין צללו חוזר ועוכרן וכשהוא עוכרן אין עוכרן ביד אלא בכלי,איבעיא להו אין עוכרין אותן ביד אלא בכלי דלא לרמיה בידיה ולעכרינהו אבל במנא כי עכר ליה בידיה שפיר דמי או דלמא דלא לעכרינהו בידיה אלא במנא,ת"ש כשהוא בודקן אין בודקן אלא בכוס ועדיין תבעי לך בדיקה בכוס עכירה במאי תיקו,כי אתו לקמיה דרבה בר אבוה אמר להו במקומה שנינו רבי חנינא פלי קורטא דגרגשתא ובדיק ביה לייט עליה רבי ישמעאל ברבי יוסי באסכרה | 20a. it b to an eye salve [ i bekilor /i ], /b which the woman had previously handled. b And /b likewise, b Rabbi /b Yehuda HaNasi b attributed /b a stain b to the sap of a sycamore /b tree the woman had touched. The Gemara explains the objection: b What, is it not /b the case that Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi attributed red bloodstains b to /b these causes because they are b red, /b albeit not as red as blood? Evidently, the color of impure blood can be similar to such shades of red as well, which means that all these distinctions mentioned by the i amora’im /i above are irrelevant.,The Gemara answers: b No; /b Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi attributed stains b to /b an eye salve and the sap of a sycamore tree because those stains were like the b other /b types of b blood /b mentioned in the mishna.,The Gemara relates that b Ameimar and Mar Zutra and Rav Ashi were sitting before a bloodletter, /b to receive treatment. The bloodletter b removed /b blood in a bloodletter’s b horn from Ameimar /b for his b first /b treatment. Ameimar b saw /b the blood and b said to /b his colleagues: The b red /b color b that we learned /b about in the mishna is b like this /b blood in the horn. The bloodletter again b removed /b blood from Ameimar, this time using b another /b horn. Upon seeing the blood in this horn, Ameimar b said to them: /b The color of this blood b has changed /b compared to the blood in the first horn. b Rav Ashi, /b who saw both types of blood, b said: /b Any Sage b such as myself, as I do not know /b how to distinguish b between this /b blood b and that /b blood, b should not see, /b i.e., examine, different types of b blood /b to issue a ruling as to whether they are pure or impure.,§ The mishna teaches: What is the b black /b color that is impure? It is blood as black b as i ḥeret /i . Rabba bar Rav Huna says: /b This b i ḥeret /i of which /b the Sages b spoke /b is b ink. /b The Gemara notes that b this /b opinion b is also taught /b in a i baraita /i : This b black /b color is b like i ḥeret /i , and /b the b black of which /b the Sages b spoke /b is b ink. /b The Gemara asks: b But /b if so, why does the i tanna /i of this i baraita /i mention both terms? b Let him say /b simply: b Ink. /b The Gemara explains: b If /b the i tanna /i had b said /b only: b Ink, I would say /b that he means that it is b like the clear part of the ink, /b i.e., the upper portion of ink in an inkwell, which is very bright. Therefore, the i tanna /i of the i baraita /i b teaches us /b that it is b like the blackness [ i ḥaruta /i ] of the ink, /b the lower part of the inkwell, which is darker., b A dilemma was raised before /b the Sages: To which type of i ḥeret /i were the Sages referring? Were they referring b to moist or dry /b i ḥeret /i ? b Come /b and b hear /b a resolution from a practical ruling, b as /b when black blood was brought before b Rabbi Ami /b he would b break up pieces of /b dried b ink and examine /b blood b with it. /b ,§ The mishna states that if the blackness of the blood is deeper than ink, it is impure, whereas if it is lighter it is pure. In this regard, b Rav Yehuda says /b that b Shmuel says: /b If a woman saw blood whose color was b like /b black b wax [ i kekir /i ] /b or b like /b black b ink or like /b a black b grape, she is ritually impure. And this is /b the meaning of b that which we learned /b in the mishna: If the black is b deeper than that, /b it is b ritually impure. Rabbi Elazar says: /b If a woman saw blood whose color was b like /b a black b olive, /b or b like /b black b tar, or like /b a black b raven, /b this blood is b pure. And this is /b the meaning of that b which we learned /b in the mishna: If the black is b lighter than that, /b it is b ritually pure. /b , b Ulla says: /b When the mishna states that black blood is impure, it means b like /b the garments of the inhabitants of b Siva’a, /b which were extremely black. The Gemara relates that when b Ulla happened /b to go b to Pumbedita, he saw a certain Arab [ i tayya’a /i ] who was dressed in a black garment. /b Ulla b said to /b the Sages of Pumbedita: The b black /b color b that we learned /b about in the mishna is b like this /b color. Since people wanted a sample of the shade of blood mentioned in the mishna, b they tore /b the Arab’s garment b from him bit by bit, /b and in recompense b they gave him four hundred dinars. /b , b Rabbi Yoḥa says: /b The black blood that the mishna says is impure is like b these cloths of the bath attendants [ i haolyarin /i ] who come from overseas. /b The Gemara asks: b Is that to say that these are black /b cloths? b But didn’t Rabbi Yannai say to his sons: My sons, do not bury me in black cloths nor in white cloths. /b Not in b black, lest I be acquitted /b in judgment b and I will be /b among the righteous b like a mourner among the grooms. /b And not in b white, lest I not be acquitted /b in judgment b and I will be /b among the wicked b like a groom among the mourners. Rather, /b bury me b in the cloths of the bath attendants who come from overseas, /b which are neither black nor white. b Apparently, /b these cloths of the bath attendants b are not black. /b ,The Gemara answers: This is b not difficult, /b as a distinction can be made. When Rabbi Yannai indicates that they are not black, b that /b is referring b to /b a regular b garment, /b whereas with regard to the statement of Rabbi Yoḥa that indicates that they are black, b that /b is referring b to /b a cloth placed on an item such as b a table /b or a bed.,§ With regard to the examination of the five types of blood mentioned in the mishna, b Rav Yehuda says /b that b Shmuel says: And /b with regard to b all of them, /b in their various shades, b one examines them only /b when they are placed b on a white /b linen b cloth, /b as only in this fashion can one properly discern the precise color of the blood. b Rav Yitzḥak bar Avudimi says: And /b in the case of b black /b blood, one must place it b on a red /b linen cloth., b Rav Yirmeya of Difti says: And /b Shmuel and Rav Yitzḥak bar Avudimi b do not disagree, /b as b this /b statement of Rav Yitzḥak bar Avudimi is referring specifically b to black /b blood, whereas b that /b ruling of Shmuel that one must use a white cloth is referring b to /b the b other /b four types of b blood /b listed in the mishna. b Rav Ashi objects to this /b interpretation: b If so, let Shmuel say: /b With regard to all of them b except for black, /b one examines them only when they are placed on a white linen cloth. b Rather, Rav Ashi says: /b Shmuel and Rav Yitzḥak bar Avudimi b disagree with regard to black /b blood b itself, /b whether it should be examined against the background of a white or a red cloth., b Ulla says: /b With regard to b all of /b these five types of blood enumerated in the mishna, if the color is b deeper than /b that which is described in the mishna the blood is b ritually impure; /b if it is b lighter than it, /b the blood is b ritually pure, as /b explicitly stated in the mishna with regard to b black. /b ,The Gemara asks: b But /b if so, b what is different /b about b black, that /b the mishna b mentions /b this i halakha /i only with regard to that color? The Gemara answers: The reason is that it might b enter your mind to say /b that b since Rabbi Ḥanina says: /b The b black /b blood mentioned in the mishna b is /b actually b red but /b its color b has faded, therefore, even /b if it is b lighter than /b that which is described in the mishna, b it should also be impure. /b Consequently, the mishna b teaches us /b that even with regard to black blood, if the color is lighter than the shade mentioned in the mishna, it is pure., b Rabbi Ami bar Abba says: And /b with regard to b all of /b these five types of blood, if the color is b deeper than /b that which is described in the mishna, the blood is b ritually impure; /b if it is b lighter than /b that which is described in the mishna, it is also b ritually impure, except for black, /b which is pure if it is lighter. The Gemara asks: b But /b if these types of blood, except for black, are impure whether they are deeper or lighter than the specific shade described in the mishna, b what purpose do the measures /b specified b by the Sages /b in the mishna b serve? /b The Gemara answers that these descriptions are b to the exclusion of /b a color that is b lighter than lighter, /b i.e., the color is so faint that it does not qualify as impure blood., b And there are /b those b who say /b a different version of the above statement. b Rami bar Abba says: And /b with regard to b all of /b these five types of blood, if the color is b deeper than that /b which is described in the mishna, it is b ritually pure; /b if it is b lighter than that, /b it is also b ritually pure, except for black, /b which is impure if it is deeper. b And for this /b reason b the measures, /b i.e., descriptions, b of the Sages are effective, /b as any discrepancy from these descriptions means that the blood is pure., b Bar Kappara says: And /b with regard to b all of them, /b if the color is b deeper than that, /b the blood is b impure; /b if it is b lighter than that, /b it is b pure, except /b for blood the color of b diluted /b wine, with regard to b which /b if the color is b deeper than that, /b the blood is b pure, /b and if it is b lighter than that, /b it is also b pure. /b The Gemara relates that in an effort to test b bar Kappara, /b the Sages brought before him blood that had the appearance of diluted wine and b they lightened it, and /b bar Kappara b deemed it pure. /b On another occasion b they deepened /b the color of blood that looked like diluted wine, b and /b again bar Kappara b deemed it pure. Rabbi Ḥanina says /b in astonishment: b How great /b is this b man whose heart, /b which is so sensitive it can distinguish between such similar shades of blood, b is in accordance with his /b ruling of b i halakha /i . /b ,§ The mishna teaches, with regard to the colors of impure blood: b And /b what is the color that is b like the bright /b color of the b crocus /b flower that is impure? It is like the brightest part of the flower, which is used to produce the orange-colored spice saffron. The Sages b taught: /b This is referring to the appearance of b moist /b saffron that is still fresh b and not /b to its b dry /b counterpart.,With regard to this color, it b is taught /b in b one /b i baraita /i that it is b like /b the b lower /b part of the crocus flower, b not like /b its b upper /b part; b and /b it b is taught /b in b another /b i baraita /i that it is b like /b the b upper /b part of the flower b and not like /b its b lower /b part; b and /b it b is taught /b in b another /b i baraita /i that it is b like /b its b upper /b part, b and all the more so /b blood whose color is b like /b its b lower /b part is impure; b and /b it b is taught /b in yet b another /b i baraita /i that it is b like /b its b lower /b part, b and all the more so /b blood whose color is b like /b its b upper /b part is impure., b Abaye says /b that these i baraitot /i do not contradict one another, as the crocus has b three layers /b of the brightly colored parts of the crocus flower harvested for saffron, one above the other, b and /b in each layer b there are three leaves, /b i.e., styles or stigmata.,In order to examine blood whose color is similar to saffron, you should b grasp /b the b middle leaf /b of the b middle layer in your hand /b and compare it to the blood. If they are similar, the blood is impure. Consequently, the four i baraitot /i do not contradict one another: The first two i baraitot /i are referring to the layer of leaves that must be examined. The first i baraita /i says that it is the lower one, as the middle layer is lower than the upper one, while the second i baraita /i states the reverse because the middle layer is higher than the lower one. Meanwhile, the last two i baraitot /i are dealing with the leaves within the middle layer. The i baraita /i that states: Like its lower part, and all the more so like its upper part, means: Like the lowest of the three leaves and all the more so like the middle leaf, which is above that leaf, while the other i baraita /i states a similar idea with regard to the upper and middle leaves. In any event, all four i baraitot /i are referring to the part of the crocus flower that is called by the mishna its brightest part.,The Gemara relates: b When /b people b would come before Rabbi Abbahu /b for him to examine blood whose color was similar to saffron, b he /b would b say to them: We learned /b that the mishna is referring specifically to crocus flowers that are still b in their clumps /b of earth in which they grew, as once they are detached from that earth their color changes.,§ The mishna states: b And /b what is the color that is b like water /b that inundates red b earth /b that is impure? In this regard b the Sages taught /b in a i baraita /i : In order to examine blood that is b like water /b that inundates red b earth, one brings fertile earth from the Beit Kerem Valley and one inundates /b the earth with enough b water /b until it pools on the surface; this is b the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Akiva says: /b One brings earth b from the Yodfat Valley. Rabbi Yosei says: From the Sikhnei Valley. Rabbi Shimon says: /b One can b even /b bring earth b from the Genosar Valley or /b from b similar /b places.,It b is taught /b in b another /b i baraita /i : b And /b to test whether blood is b like water /b that inundates red b earth, one brings fertile earth from the Beit Kerem Valley and one inundates /b the earth with an amount of b water /b that rises above the earth by the thickness b of the husk of garlic. And there is no /b required b measure for the water, because there is no /b required b measure for /b the b earth /b with which the examination must be performed; it is sufficient to use a small amount of earth with a small amount of water. b And one does not examine it /b when the water is b clear, /b as it does not have the color of the earth, but b rather /b when it is b muddy /b from the earth. And if the water b became clear /b because the earth settled, b one must muddy it again. And when one muddies it he does not muddy it by hand /b but b rather with a vessel. /b , b A dilemma was raised before /b the Sages: Does the statement that b one does not muddy it by hand /b but b rather with a vessel /b mean b that one should not put /b the dirt b into his hand and muddy /b the water with dirt in his hand, b but /b in a case where the earth is b in a vessel, when one muddies it /b by mixing the earth and water b with his hand /b one may b well /b do so? b Or perhaps /b the i baraita /i means b that /b even when the earth is in a vessel b one should not muddy /b the water by mixing it with earth b with his hand, /b but b rather with a vessel? /b ,The Gemara suggests: b Come /b and b hear /b a i baraita /i : b When one examines /b this water, b he examines it only with a cup. /b Evidently, it is necessary to use a vessel. The Gemara rejects this proof: b But you still have a dilemma. /b This i baraita /i merely states that the b examination /b must be performed while the water is b in a cup, /b but b with what /b is the b muddying /b performed? Must this be done by means of a vessel alone, or may one use his hand as well? The Gemara concludes: The dilemma b shall stand /b unresolved.,§ The Gemara relates: b When /b people would b come before Rabba bar Avuh /b to examine blood that is similar to water that inundates red earth, b he /b would b say to them: We learned /b that the examination must be conducted b in its place, /b i.e., the location the earth was taken from. But if the earth was transported elsewhere, the examination is no longer effective. The Gemara further relates that b Rabbi Ḥanina /b would b break up a clump of earth and examine with it, /b without mixing it in water. b Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, /b would b curse /b anyone who used this method that they should be punished b with diphtheria. /b |
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7. Babylonian Talmud, Taanit, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Herman, Rubenstein (2018), The Aggada of the Bavli and Its Cultural World. 142| 21a. משום דנפישי בני חילא דמחוזא,אילפא ור' יוחנן הוו גרסי באורייתא דחיקא להו מילתא טובא אמרי ניקום וניזיל וניעבד עיסקא ונקיים בנפשין (דברים טו, ד) אפס כי לא יהיה בך אביון אזלו אותבי תותי גודא רעיעא הוו קא כרכי ריפתא אתו תרי מלאכי השרת,שמעיה רבי יוחנן דאמר חד לחבריה נישדי עלייהו האי גודא ונקטלינהו שמניחין חיי עולם הבא ועוסקין בחיי שעה אמר ליה אידך שבקינהו דאיכא בהו חד דקיימא ליה שעתא רבי יוחנן שמע אילפא לא שמע אמר ליה ר' יוחנן לאילפא שמע מר מידי אמר ליה לא אמר מדשמעי אנא ואילפא לא שמע ש"מ לדידי קיימא לי שעתא,אמר ליה רבי יוחנן איהדר ואוקי בנפשאי (דברים טו, יא) כי לא יחדל אביון מקרב הארץ ר' יוחנן הדר אילפא לא הדר עד דאתא אילפא מליך רבי יוחנן,אמרו לו אי אתיב מר וגריס לא הוה מליך מר אזל תלא נפשיה באסקריא דספינתא אמר אי איכא דשאיל לי במתניתא דר' חייא ורבי אושעיא ולא פשטינא ליה ממתני' נפילנא מאסקריא דספינתא וטבענא,אתא ההוא סבא תנא ליה האומר תנו שקל לבניי בשבת והן ראויין לתת להם סלע נותנין להם סלע ואם אמר אל תתנו להם אלא שקל אין נותנין להם אלא שקל,אם אמר מתו ירשו אחרים תחתיהם בין שאמר תנו בין שאמר אל תתנו אין נותנין להם אלא שקל א"ל הא מני ר"מ היא דאמר מצוה לקיים דברי המת,אמרו עליו על נחום איש גם זו שהיה סומא משתי עיניו גידם משתי ידיו קיטע משתי רגליו וכל גופו מלא שחין והיה מוטל בבית רעוע ורגלי מטתו מונחין בספלין של מים כדי שלא יעלו עליו נמלים פעם אחת [היתה מטתו מונחת בבית רעוע] בקשו תלמידיו לפנות מטתו ואח"כ לפנות את הכלים אמר להם בניי פנו את הכלים ואח"כ פנו את מטתי שמובטח לכם כל זמן שאני בבית אין הבית נופל פינו את הכלים ואחר כך פינו את מטתו ונפל הבית,אמרו לו תלמידיו רבי וכי מאחר שצדיק גמור אתה למה עלתה לך כך אמר להם בניי אני גרמתי לעצמי שפעם אחת הייתי מהלך בדרך לבית חמי והיה עמי משוי ג' חמורים אחד של מאכל ואחד של משתה ואחד של מיני מגדים בא עני אחד ועמד לי בדרך ואמר לי רבי פרנסני אמרתי לו המתן עד שאפרוק מן החמור לא הספקתי לפרוק מן החמור עד שיצתה נשמתו,הלכתי ונפלתי על פניו ואמרתי עיני שלא חסו על עיניך יסומו ידיי שלא חסו על ידיך יתגדמו רגליי שלא חסו על רגליך יתקטעו ולא נתקררה דעתי עד שאמרתי כל גופי יהא מלא שחין אמרו לו אוי לנו שראינוך בכך אמר להם אוי לי אם לא ראיתוני בכך,ואמאי קרו ליה נחום איש גם זו דכל מילתא דהוה סלקא ליה אמר גם זו לטובה זימנא חדא בעו לשדורי ישראל דורון לבי קיסר אמרו מאן ייזיל ייזיל נחום איש גם זו דמלומד בניסין הוא שדרו בידיה מלא סיפטא דאבנים טובות ומרגליות אזל בת בההוא דירה בליליא קמו הנך דיוראי ושקלינהו לסיפטיה ומלונהו עפרא (למחר כי חזנהו אמר גם זו לטובה),כי מטא התם [שרינהו לסיפטא חזנהו דמלו עפרא] בעא מלכא למקטלינהו לכולהו אמר קא מחייכו בי יהודאי [אמר גם זו לטובה] אתא אליהו אדמי ליה כחד מינייהו א"ל דלמא הא עפרא מעפרא דאברהם אבוהון הוא דכי הוה שדי עפרא הוו סייפיה גילי הוו גירי דכתיב (ישעיהו מא, ב) יתן כעפר חרבו כקש נדף קשתו,הויא חדא מדינתא דלא מצו למיכבשה בדקו מיניה וכבשוה עיילו לבי גנזיה ומלוהו לסיפטיה אבנים טובות ומרגליות ושדרוהו ביקרא רבה,כי אתו ביתו בההוא דיורא אמרו ליה מאי אייתית בהדך דעבדי לך יקרא כולי האי אמר להו מאי דשקלי מהכא אמטי להתם סתרו לדירייהו ואמטינהו לבי מלכא אמרו ליה האי עפרא דאייתי הכא מדידן הוא בדקוה ולא אשכחוה וקטלינהו להנך דיוראי:,אי זו היא דבר עיר המוציאה חמש מאות רגלי כו': ת"ר עיר המוציאה חמש מאות ואלף רגלי כגון כפר עכו ויצאו הימנה תשעה מתים בשלשה ימים זה אחר זה הרי זה דבר,ביום אחד או בד' ימים אין זה דבר ועיר המוציאה חמש מאות רגלי כגון כפר עמיקו ויצאו ממנה שלשה מתים בג' ימים זה אחר זה הרי זה דבר | 21a. b due to /b the fact that b there are many soldiers in /b the city of b Meḥoza, /b and if I let them all eat, they will take all the food I own.,§ The Gemara relates another story that involves an unstable wall. b Ilfa and Rabbi Yoḥa studied Torah /b together, and as a result b they became very hard-pressed /b for money. b They said: Let us get up and go and engage in commerce, and we will fulfill, with regard to ourselves, /b the verse: b “Although there should be no needy among you” /b (Deuteronomy 15:4), as we will no longer be complete paupers. b They went and sat under a dilapidated wall /b and b were eating bread, /b when b two ministering angels arrived. /b , b Rabbi Yoḥa heard that one /b angel b said to the other: Let us knock this wall down upon them and kill them, as they abandon eternal life /b of Torah study b and engage in temporal life /b for their own sustece. b The other /b angel b said to him: Leave them, as there is one of them whose time /b of achievement b stands before him, /b i.e., his time has yet to come. b Rabbi Yoḥa heard /b all this, but b Ilfa did not hear /b the angels’ conversation. b Rabbi Yoḥa said to Ilfa: Did the Master hear anything? /b Ilfa b said to him: No. /b Rabbi Yoḥa b said /b to himself: b Since I heard /b the angels b and Ilfa did not hear, /b I can b learn from this /b that it is b I whose time /b of achievement b stands before me. /b , b Rabbi Yoḥa said to Ilfa: I will return /b home and b fulfill with regard to myself /b the contrary verse: b “For the poor shall never cease out of the land” /b (Deuteronomy 15:11). b Rabbi Yoḥa returned /b to the study hall, and b Ilfa did not return, /b but went to engage in business instead. b By /b the time b that Ilfa came /b back from his business travels, b Rabbi Yoḥa /b had been b appointed /b head of the academy, and his ficial situation had improved.,His colleagues b said to /b Ilfa: b If the Master had sat and studied, /b instead of going off to his business ventures, b wouldn’t the Master have /b been b appointed /b head of the academy? Ilfa b went and suspended himself from the mast [ i askariya /i ] of a ship, saying: If there is anyone who can ask me /b a question b concerning a i baraita /i of Rabbi Ḥiyya and Rabbi Oshaya, and I do not resolve his /b problem b from a mishna, I will fall from the mast of this ship and be drowned. /b Ilfa sought to demonstrate that despite the time he had spent in business, he still retained his extensive Torah knowledge., b A certain old man came and taught /b a i baraita /i before b him: /b If there is a man b who, /b upon his deathbed, b says /b in his will: b Give a shekel to my sons /b every b week, but /b this is a situation b where, /b based on their needs, b they are fit /b for the b court to give them a i sela /i , /b i.e., double the amount, b they give them a i sela /i . /b When the dying man mentioned a shekel, he presumably meant that they should be given a sum in accordance with their actual requirements, not that specific amount. b But if he said: Give them only a shekel, /b the court b gives them only a shekel /b and no more.,The i baraita /i further states that b if one said: If /b my sons b die, others should inherit /b their portion b in their stead, /b regardless of b whether he said: Give them /b a shekel, or b whether he said: Give them only /b a shekel, then the court b gives /b his sons b only a shekel /b per week, as their father clearly stated that he wishes to give his sons only a specific stipend and that he intends to leave the bulk of his property to others. Ilfa b said to /b the old man: In accordance with b whose /b opinion b is this /b ruling? b It is /b in accordance with the opinion of b Rabbi Meir, who said: It is a mitzva to fulfill the statement of the dead. /b This entire i baraita /i can be explained based on a principle that appears in a mishna: In all cases, one should try to execute the wishes of the deceased.,§ The Gemara relates another story about a rundown building. b They said about Naḥum of Gam Zu that he was blind in both eyes, both his arms were amputated, both his legs were amputated, and his entire body was covered in boils. And he was lying in a dilapidated house, and legs of his bed were placed in buckets of water so that ants should not climb onto him, /b as he was unable to keep them off in any other manner. b Once his students sought to remove his bed /b from the house b and afterward remove /b his other b vessels. He said to them: My sons, remove the vessels first, and afterward remove my bed, as I can guarantee you that as long as I am in the house, the house will not fall. /b Indeed b they removed the vessels and afterward they removed his bed, and /b immediately b the house collapsed. /b , b His students said to him: Rabbi, since you are /b evidently b a wholly righteous man, /b as we have just seen that as long as you were in your house it did not fall, b why has this /b suffering b befallen you? He said to them: My sons, I brought it upon myself. /b Naḥum of Gam Zu related to them the following: b As once I was traveling along the road to my father-in-law’s house, and I had with me a load /b distributed among b three donkeys, one of food, one of drink, and one of delicacies. A poor person came and stood /b before me b in the road, saying: My rabbi, sustain me. I said to him: Wait until I unload the donkey, /b after which I will give you something to eat. However, b I had not managed to unload the donkey before his soul left /b his body., b I went and fell upon his face and said: May my eyes, which had no compassion on your eyes, be blinded; may my hands, which had no compassion on your hands, be amputated; may my legs, which had no compassion on your legs, be amputated. And my mind did not rest until I said: May my whole body be covered in boils. /b Naḥum of Gam Zu prayed that his suffering might atone for his failure. His students b said to him: /b Even so, b woe to us that we have seen you in this /b state. b He said to them: Woe is me if you had not seen me in this /b state, as this suffering atones for me.,The Gemara inquires: b And why did they call him Naḥum of Gam Zu? /b The reason is b that /b with regard to b any matter that occurred to him, he /b would b say: This too is for the good [ i gam zu letova /i ]. Once, the Jews wished to send a gift [ i doron /i ] to the house of the emperor. They said: Who should go /b and present this gift? b Let Naḥum of Gam Zu go, as he is accustomed to miracles. They sent with him a chest [ i sifta /i ] full of jewels and pearls, /b and b he went and spent the night in a certain inn. During the night, these residents /b of the inn arose and b took all of /b the precious jewels and pearls from b the chest, and filled it with earth. /b The next day, when he saw what had happened, Naḥum of Gam Zu said: This too is for the good., b When he arrived there, /b at the ruler’s palace, b they opened the chest /b and b saw that it was filled with earth. The king wished to put all /b the Jewish emissaries b to death. He said: The Jews are mocking me. /b Naḥum of Gam Zu b said: This too is for the good. Elijah /b the Prophet b came and appeared before /b the ruler b as one of /b his ministers. He b said to /b the ruler: b Perhaps this earth is from the earth of their father Abraham. As when he threw earth, it turned into swords, /b and when he threw b stubble, it turned into arrows, as it is written /b in a prophecy that the Sages interpreted this verse as a reference to Abraham: b “His sword makes them as the dust, his bow as the driven stubble” /b (Isaiah 41:2)., b There was one province that /b the Romans b were unable to conquer. /b They took some of this earth, b tested it /b by throwing it at their enemies, b and conquered /b that province. When the ruler saw that this earth indeed had miraculous powers, his servants b entered his treasury and filled /b Naḥum of Gam Zu’s b chest with precious jewels and pearls and sent him off with great honor. /b , b When /b Naḥum of Gam Zu b came to spend the night at that /b same b inn, /b the residents b said to him: What did you bring with you /b to the emperor b that he bestowed upon you such great honor? He said to them: That which I took from here, I brought there. /b When they heard this, the residents of the inn thought that the soil upon which their house stood had miraculous powers. b They tore down their inn and brought /b the soil underneath b to the king’s palace. They said to him: That earth that was brought here was from our /b property. The miracle had been performed only in the merit of Naḥum of Gam Zu. The emperor b tested /b the inn’s soil in battle, b and it was not found /b to have miraculous powers, b and he /b had b these residents /b of the inn b put to death. /b ,§ The mishna taught: b What is /b considered a plague of b pestilence? /b If it is b a city that sends out five hundred infantrymen, /b and three dead are removed from it on three consecutive days, one dead per day, this is a plague of pestilence. b The Sages taught: /b If b a city that sends out fifteen hundred infantrymen, /b i.e., one that has a population of at least fifteen hundred men, e.g., b the village of Akko, and nine dead are removed from it on three consecutive days, /b i.e., three dead per day, b this is /b considered a plague of b pestilence. /b ,If all nine died b on a single day, /b while none died on the other days, b or /b if the nine died b over /b a period of b four days, this is not /b a plague of b pestilence. And a city that sends out five hundred infantrymen, for example, the village of Amiko, and three dead are removed from it on three consecutive days, this is /b a plague of b pestilence. /b |
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8. Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah, None Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Herman, Rubenstein (2018), The Aggada of the Bavli and Its Cultural World. 226| 65a. לאבידרנא ביום אידם אמר ידענא ביה דלא פלח לעבודת כוכבים א"ל רב יוסף והתניא איזהו גר תושב כל שקיבל עליו בפני ג' חברים שלא לעבוד עבודת כוכבים כי תניא ההיא להחיותו,והאמר רבה בר בר חנה א"ר יוחנן גר תושב שעברו עליו י"ב חדש ולא מל הרי הוא כמין שבעובדי כוכבים התם כגון שקיבל עליו למול ולא מל,רבא אמטי ליה קורבנא לבר שישך ביום אידם אמר ידענא ביה דלא פלח לעבודת כוכבים אזל אשכחיה דיתיב עד צואריה בוורדא וקיימן זונות ערומות קמיה א"ל אית לכו כה"ג לעלמא דאתי א"ל דידן עדיפא טפי מהאי א"ל טפי מהאי מי הוה א"ל אתון איכא עלייכו אימתא דמלכותא אנן לא תיהוי עלן אימתא דמלכותא א"ל אנא מיהא מאי אימתא דמלכותא איכא עלי,עד דיתבי אתא ההוא פריסתקא דמלכא א"ל קום דקבעי לך מלכא כי נפיק ואזיל א"ל עינא דבעי למיחזי לכו בישותא תיפקע א"ל רבא אמן פקע עיניה דבר שישך,אמר רב פפי איבעי ליה למימרא ליה מהאי קרא (תהלים מה, י) בנות מלכים ביקרותיך נצבה שגל לימינך בכתם אופיר אמר ר"נ בר יצחק איבעי ליה למימרא ליה מהכא (ישעיהו סד, ג) עין לא ראתה אלהים זולתך יעשה למחכה לו:,שכרו לעשות עמו מלאכה אחרת: ואע"ג דלא א"ל לעיתותי ערב,ורמינהי השוכר את הפועל ולעיתותי ערב אמר לו העבר חבית של יין נסך ממקום למקום שכרו מותר טעמא דא"ל לעיתותי ערב אין כולי יומא לא,אמר אביי כי תנן נמי מתניתין דאמר לעיתותי ערב תנן רבא אמר ל"ק הא דאמר ליה העבר לי מאה חביות במאה פרוטות הא דא"ל העבר לי חבית חבית בפרוטה,והתניא השוכר את הפועל ואמר לו העבר לי מאה חביות במאה פרוטות ונמצאת חבית של יין נסך ביניהן שכרו אסור חבית חבית בפרוטה ונמצאת חבית של יין נסך ביניהן שכרו מותר:,השוכר את החמור להביא עליה יין נסך שכרו אסור: הא תו ל"ל היינו רישא סיפא איצטריכא ליה שכרה לישב עליה אע"פ שהניח עובד כוכבים לגינו עליה שכרו מותר,למימרא דלגין לאו דינא הוא לאותוביה,ורמינהי השוכר את החמור שוכר מניח עליה כסותו ולגינתו ומזונותיו של אותו הדרך מכאן ואילך חמר מעכב עליו חמר מניח עליה שעורים ותבן ומזונותיו של אותו היום מכאן ואילך שוכר מעכב עליו,אמר אביי נהי דלגין דינא הוא לאותובי מיהא אי לא מותיב ליה מי אמרינן ליה נכי ליה אגרא דלגינתו,ה"ד אי דשכיח למזבן חמר נמי לעכב ואי דלא שכיח למזבן שוכר נמי לא לעכב,אמר רב פפא לא צריכא דשכיח למיטרח ולמזבן מאונא לאונא חמר דרכיה למיטרח ולמזבן שוכר לאו דרכיה למיטרח ולמזבן,אבוה דרב אחא בריה דרב איקא | 65a. b to /b a gentile named b Avidarna on their festival day. /b Rav Yehuda b said: I know of him that he does not worship idols, /b so he is not considered a gentile with regard to the prohibition against giving a gift to a gentile on their festival. b Rav Yosef said to him: But isn’t it taught /b in a i baraita /i : b Who is a i ger toshav /i ? /b It is b anyone who has accepted upon himself before three i ḥaverim /i to not worship idols. /b Avidarna had not accepted this upon himself before three Jews. Rav Yehuda replied to him: b When that /b i baraita /i b is taught, /b it is with regard to the mitzva b to sustain him. /b ,Rav Yosef further objected: b But doesn’t Rabba bar bar Ḥana say /b that b Rabbi Yoḥa says: A i ger toshav /i /b for b whom twelve months passed without /b him b circumcising /b himself b is considered as a heretic of the gentiles, /b and certainly this Avidarna is not circumcised. Rav Yehuda replied: b There, /b Rabbi Yoḥa is referring to a case b where /b the gentile who desired to become a i ger toshav /i b took it upon himself to become circumcised, but /b he recanted and b did not circumcise /b himself, and in such a case it is assumed that he did not circumcise himself due to apostasy. Generally, in the case of a i ger toshav /i who did not take this upon himself, this is not required of him.,The Gemara relates: b Rava brought a gift to /b a minister named b bar Sheshakh on their festival day. /b Rava b said: I know of him that he does not worship idols. /b Rava b went /b to him and b found him sitting up to his neck in rose /b water, b and naked prostitutes were standing before him. /b Bar Sheshakh b said to him: Do you have /b anything as fine b as this in the World-to-Come? /b Rava b said to him: Ours is better than this. /b Bar Sheshakh b said to him: Is there /b anything b finer than this? /b Rava b said to him: You have the fear of the government upon you; we will not have the fear of the government upon us /b in the World-to-Come. Bar Sheshakh b said to him: /b As for b me, in any event, what fear of the government is there upon me? /b I am a powerful man., b While they were sitting, a certain royal officer [ i peristaka /i ] came /b and b said to /b bar Sheshakh: b Rise, as the king requires you /b to appear before him. b As he was going out, he said to /b Rava: May any b eye that wishes to see evil upon you burst, /b as it is clear that you were correct. b Rava said to him: Amen. /b And then b bar Sheshakh’s eye burst. /b , b Rav Pappi said: /b Rava b should have said /b a response b to him from this verse: “Kings’ daughters are among your favorites; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir” /b (Psalms 45:10), indicating that in the World-to-Come, the daughters of kings will serve the Jewish people. b Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: He should have said /b a response b to him from here: /b The reward of the Jewish people will be such that b “no eye has seen it, God, aside from You, Who will do for those who await Him” /b (Isaiah 64:3).,§ The mishna teaches: If the gentile b hired him to do other work with him, /b even if he said to him while he was working with him: Transport the barrel of wine used for a libation for me from this place to that place, his wage is permitted, i.e., it is permitted for the Jew to derive benefit from the money. The Gemara notes that this formulation of the mishna indicates that this wage is permitted b even if /b the gentile b did not say to him /b to transport the barrel of wine b toward evening, /b i.e., toward the end of his workday., b And /b the Gemara b raises a contradiction /b from a i baraita /i : In the case of b one who hires a laborer, and toward evening /b the employer b said to him: Transport /b this b barrel of wine /b used for b a libation from /b this b place to /b that b place, his wage /b is b permitted. /b By inference, b the reason /b for this ruling is b that /b the employer b said /b it b to him toward evening, /b and therefore b yes, /b it is permitted, as it is clear that he has completed the labor for which he is being paid and the wage is not for moving the barrel. But if this happened during b the entire day, /b not toward evening, this would b not /b be permitted., b Abaye said: When we learned /b this in b the mishna as well, we learned /b this with regard to the case b where /b the employer b said /b this b toward evening. Rava said: /b This is b not difficult. This /b case, where the wage is forbidden if it was not toward evening, is a case b where /b the employer b said to him: Transport one hundred barrels for me for one hundred i perutot /i , /b in which case moving all of the barrels is considered a single task, and if one of the barrels was wine used for a libation, the entire wage is forbidden. b That /b case, in which the wage is permitted in any event, is a case b where /b the employer b said to him: Transport each barrel for me for one i peruta /i , /b such that each barrel is its own task., b And /b so b it is taught /b in a i baraita /i : In the case of b one who hires a laborer and said to him: Transport one hundred barrels for me for one hundred i perutot /i , and a barrel of wine /b used for b a libation was found among them, his wage /b is b forbidden. /b But if the employer said to him: Transport b each barrel for one i peruta /i , and there was a barrel of wine /b used for b a libation among them, his wage /b is b permitted. /b ,§ The mishna teaches: With regard to a gentile b who rents /b a Jew’s b donkey to carry wine /b used for b a libation on it, its /b rental b fee /b is b forbidden. /b The Gemara asks: b Why do I /b need b this additional /b clause? b This is /b the same as b the first clause, /b as the principle is the same; only the example is different. The Gemara answers: b It was necessary to /b teach b the latter clause /b in order to teach that if the gentile b rented /b the donkey b to sit upon it, even if the gentile placed his jug /b of wine used for a libation b on it, its /b rental b fee /b is b permitted. /b ,The Gemara asks: b Is this to say that it is not the legal right /b of the renter b to place a jug /b upon the donkey, and therefore placing the jug on the donkey was not included in the rental?, b And /b the Gemara b raises a contradiction /b to this from a i baraita /i : With regard to b one who rents a donkey /b to ride on, the b renter may place on it his garment, his water jug, and his food for that journey. Beyond those /b items, the b donkey driver, /b who would take the renter on the journey, b may prevent him /b from placing anything on the animal by saying that he does not wish to further burden the donkey. The b donkey driver may place on it barley and hay /b for the donkey b and his food for that /b first b day /b alone. b Beyond those /b items, the b renter may prevent him /b from placing anything on the animal, on the grounds that it will inhibit its progress., b Abaye said: Granted that it is the legal right /b of the renter b to place a jug /b upon the donkey, but b in any event, if he does not place it /b on the donkey, b can we say to /b the driver: b Deduct the fee of his jug /b from the rental? Since the donkey driver will not deduct any amount from the rental fee if he does not place the jug on the donkey, therefore, even if he does place it, the rental fee is not forbidden.,With regard to the main point of the i baraita /i , the Gemara asks: b What are the circumstances? If /b locations in which one is able b to purchase /b provisions on the way b are common, /b the b donkey driver can also prevent /b the renter from putting provisions on the donkey for the entire journey, b and if /b locations in which one is able b to purchase /b provisions along the way b are uncommon, /b the b renter cannot prevent /b the driver from taking his provisions for the journey b either. /b , b Rav Pappa said: No, /b it is b necessary /b to teach this i halakha /i with regard to a case b where /b locations in which one is able b to go to the trouble of purchasing /b provisions b are common between station and station, /b i.e., one can find locations to purchase provisions along the way, but only with difficulty. b A donkey driver is accustomed to troubling himself to purchase /b provisions along the way, so it is not permitted for him to pack provisions for the entire journey on the donkey. b A renter is not accustomed to troubling himself to purchase /b provisions along the way, so he is allowed to pack all of his provisions.,The Gemara relates: b The father of Rav Aḥa, son of Rav Ika, /b |
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| 9. Mara Bar Sarapion, Letter, 18, 2 Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Merz and Tieleman (2012), Ambrosiaster's Political Theology, 210 |
