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THE JERUSALEM TALMUD FIRST ORDER: ZERAÏM TRACTATE BERAKHOT

w G DE

STUDIA JUDAICA FORSCHUNGEN ZUR W I S S E N S C H A F T DES JUDENTUMS

H E R A U S G E G E B E N VON E. L. E H R L I C H

BAND X V I I I

W A L T E R DE G R U Y T E R · B E R L I N · N E W Y O R K 2000

THE JERUSALEM TALMUD Ή ^ Ι Τ TiD^n FIRST ORDER: ZERAÏM •^ΊΤ Π 0 TRACTATE BERAKHOT rro-Q rooo EDITION, TRANSLATION, AND COMMENTARY BY HEINRICH W. GUGGENHEIMER

WALTER DE G R U Y T E R · B E R L I N · NEW YORK 2000

© Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the ANSI to ensure permanence and durability.

Die Deutsche Bibliothek — CIP-Einheitsaufnahme The Jerusalem Talmud: first order Zeraïm ; tractate Berakhot / ed., transi., and commentary by Heinrich W Guggenheimer. - Berlin ; New York : de Gruyter, 2000 (Studia Judaica ; Bd. 18) Einheitssacht.: Talmud bavl'i {engl.) ISBN 3-11-016591-0

ISSN 0934-2575 © Copyright 1999 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in Germany Printing: Werner Hildebrand, Berlin Binding: Lüderitz & Bauer, Berlin

Preface

The Jerusalem Talmud is the precursor and basis of the Babylonian Talmud, the Midrash literature, and much of synagogal poetry.

It is no

exaggeration to say that a genuine understanding of all of rabbinic literature f r o m the first millennium C. E. requires k n o w l e d g e and understanding of the Jerusalem Talmud. The present edition is based on the editio

princeps

and manuscripts,

without any emendations. A close examination of the text shows that it is in good condition and the places where an emendation would be desirable are few, even for a Tractate as large as the first one, Berakhot.

For ease

of study, the text in the present edition has been subdivided

into

paragraphs and vocalized following the rules of rabbinic Hebrew.

An

extensive commentary is given. Since most of the existing commentaries rely heavily on emendations, the commentary is based on an independent new study, using the oldest available sources.

The relation of the

Jerusalem to the Babylonian Talmud is discussed in the Introduction. I wish to thank my wife, Dr. Eva Guggenheimer, w h o acted as critic, style editor, proof reader, and expert on the Latin and G r e e k vocabulary. Her o w n notes on some possible Latin and G r e e k e t y m o l o g i e s are identified by (E. G.).

Contents

Introductions Introduction t o T a l m u d i c L i t e r a t u r e Historical Background

1

Talmud, Midrash and Synagogal Poetry

11

Survey of Times of Tanna'im and Amoraïm

15

Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud

16

Introduction to the Talmud Yerushalmi Text of the Jerusalem Talmud

28

Order Zeraïm

32

This Edition of the Talmud Yerushalmi

33

Tractate Berakhot

38

Chapter 1, 'ΠΟ'κη Halakhah 1

39

Halakhah 2

86

Halakhah 3

92

Halakhah 4

95

Halakhah 5

97

Halakhah 6

109

Halakhah 7

111

Halakhah 8

117

Halakhah 9

146

Chapter 2, i m p mn

VIII

CONTENTS

Halakhah 1

156

Halakhah 2

174

Halakhah 3

175

Halakhah 4

196

Halakhah 5

217

Halakhah 6

224

Halakhah 7

231

Halakhah 8

238

Halakhah 9

251

Chapter 3, ina» 'a Halakhah 1

256

Halakhah 2

283

Halakhah 3

288

Halakhah 4

295

Halakhah 5

308

Halakhah 6

324

Chapter 4, ιπ®π nVsn Halakhah 1

327

Halakhah 2

361

Halakhah 3

366

Halakhah 4

382

Halakhah 5

389

Halakhah 6

396

Chapter 5, p a w f X Halakhah 1

403

Halakhah 2

423

Halakhah 3

438

Halakhah 4

440

Halakhah S

445

Halakhah 6

453

CONTENTS

IX

Chapter 6, p n a o τ ϊ ό Halakhah 1

455

Halakhah 2

481

Halakhah 3

485

Halakhah 4

486

Halakhah 5

490

Halakhah 6

495

Halakhah 7

502

Halakhah 8

503

Chapter 7, ltaKW

roto

Halakhah 1

507

Halakhah 2

521

Halakhah 3

529

Halakhah 4

536

Halakhah 5

539

Halakhah 6

542

Chapter 8, D ' i a i i t o Halakhah 1

550

Halakhah 2

559

Halakhah 3

571

Halakhah 4

572

Halakhah 5

576

Halakhah 6

579

Halakhah 7

583

Halakhah 8

592

Halakhah 9

594

Chapter 9, π κ η η Halakhah 1

599

Halakhah 2

620

χ

CONTENTS Halakhah 3

629

Halakhah 4

661

Halakhah 5

663

Halakhah 6

667

Halakhah 7

675

INDICES Index of Biographical Notes

689

Index of Biblical Quotations

692

Index of Greek and Latin Words

695

General Index

697

INTRODUCTIONS

Introduction to Talmudic Literature Historical Background We have very little detailed information on the religious life of the Jewish people between the conquest of the Land under Joshua and the Babylonian exile. From the complaints of the prophets, we see that Baal rituals were widely followed. These rituals were of a magical nature and their object was the prevention of crop failures that would imperil survival of individuals and communities. Since the prophets do not in general complain about neglect of Jewish ceremonial law, it is very likely that Jewish ritual was scrupulously followed even by Baal worshippers. The complete elimination of polytheistic tendencies f r o m the body of Jewish practices after the Babylonian exile may be attributed to the experience of the disaster of the destruction of Jerusalem but also to the fact that, both in Babylonia and in the resettled Persian province of Yehud (after 515 B.C.E.), the Jews were part of a great empire with government roads where in case of crop failure in one province, relief could be brought in from the outside, so crop failure was no longer a matter of life and death. The reports in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah on the organization of the new Jewish commonwealth stress the reestablishment of religious rituals, and the basic features of what today is called "rabbinic Judaism"

2

INTRODUCTIONS

stem f r o m this period.

For the first three hundred years of this

development, our sources are very scanty.

At that period also, the

majority of Jews were still living in Babylonia and of their history extremely little is known, nothing at all of their intellectual history besides the fact that a thriving Jewish community persisted there in the middle of a sea of Gentiles. The persecutions that preceded the Maccabean revolt were of relatively short duration and, since they had a happy outcome, did not create a need to record religious practices for future generations. Even in the times of the First Temple, there seems to have been a division between popular-prophetic religion, depending on the traditions of the Oral Law, and the organized established Temple cult, lead by King and High Priest who insisted that only the priests were the genuine authorities for teaching the Written Law. This division becomes explicit and deep at the Return from Babylonia 1 . It will be seen f r o m the Talmud text (9:7), that the split was already in evidence at the time of the Return. In books on Jewish history, the high-priestly party of the later Sadducees who rejected the Oral Law, is usually described as being more worldly than the representatives of the Oral Law, the later Pharisees. But the development of ultra-observant Sadducee sects, who avoided all contacts with Gentiles and the unobservant, is now known to precede the Hasmonean revolt 2 . Pharisee sects of the latter kind are known only f r o m the last generation preceding the destruction of the Second Temple.

1

Cf. H. Mantel, The Secession

of the Samaritans.

The Përushim

or

Bar Han Annual vii-viii

(5729-5730) 162-177. 2

Detailed arguments are given by BenZion Wacholder and Martin G. Abegg

in the Introduction to Fascicle 3 of A Preliminary

Edition of the Unpublished

Sea Scrolls, Biblical Archeological Society, Washington D.C., 1995.

Dead

TALMUDIC LITERATURE

1

Pharisees, the later rabbinic Jews, whose main tenet was the use of rules of interpretation of the Oral Law to adapt the commands of the Torah to changing circumstances, always represented the religious majority. (Another difference was that Sadducees only believed in the survival of the soul but not in bodily resurrection, as against the Pharisees.) In the more than 500 years of the existence of the Second Temple, a body of religious practice evolved in the implementation and extension of Torah commandments. It seems that a need for exact formulation and promulgation of accepted rules arose first in the times just preceding the Hasmonean revolt; in any case, the first such proclamation (Mishnah ldiut 8:4) dates from that time. In the century preceding the destruction of the Second Temple, the emerging necessity of codifying religious law put an end to the prior practice of promulgating only those rules that could be adopted unanimously. Of the emerging two schools, the one headed by the Babylonian Hillel and his descendents kept strictly to the old Pharisaic principles while the one headed by the Judean Shammai tended more towards sectarian interprétions and, in particular, stricter interpretation of rules of intercourse with Gentiles [as shown in the "eighteen rules" (Mishnah Sabbat 1:4), promulgated during the ascendancy of the House of Shammai, many of which were designed to make intercourse with Gentiles almost impossible.] The catastrophy of the first war with the Romans and the destruction of the Temple (in 71 C.E.) led, shortly thereafter, to the disappearance of sects. The only permanently surviving school was that of Hillel, whose head at that time, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, escaped from Jerusalem during the siege and requested permission from Vespasian, the commanding general of the Roman armies, to organize a Jewish place of study at Jabneh, in the plain. Jabneh had been the personal property of

4

INTRODUCTIONS

Miriam, the last Hasmonean and wife of Herod. In her will, she gave Jabneh to Livia, wife of Augustus. Herod, after murdering his wife, had no choice but to execute her will. Consequently, Jabneh became the personal property of the Emperor and not part of the province of Judea; hence, it was not under martial law. [Probably, Vespasian had no direct authority to dispose of Jabneh; Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai chose Jabneh because it was an oasis of peace in a country at war, and he asked for it since he considered Vespasian to be the next emperor.] Rabban Yohanan seems to have survived the war only for a few years. One of his great innovations was the introduction of the title "Rebbi" f o r a person authorized to render religious decisions. No titles are found earlier, except that for two or three generations the title "Rabban" was used for the head of the Synhedrion. In the next two generations his students, mainly R. Eliezer ben Hyrkanos and R. Joshua ben Hananiah and their students, were busy adapting Judaism to a permanent existence without a Temple and collecting all statements of interpretation of Biblical verses and proclamations of religious practice they could obtain. The bulk of this work must be credited to Rabbis Eliezer and Joshua. It is probable also that the opinions of the school of Shammai came to posterity through R. Eliezer. Hillel's great-grandson, Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel I, was president of the revolutionary government in the war with the Romans.

His son,

Gamliel II, could become president of the Synhedrion only after a change in the Roman government (probably accession of Nerva in 96 C.E.). Rabban Gamliel died before the revolt of Bar Kokhba, but he cannot have died too long before that revolt since his son, Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel II, notes that he himself was still a child at the time of the siege of Betar. After the death of Rabban Gamliel, the leadership of the Synhedrion was

TALMUDIC LITERATURE

1

in the hands of Rebbi Aqiba. Rebbi Aqiba and his older contemporary Rebbi Ismael are credited with introducing systematic and coherent methods of derivation of practical implications from Biblical verses. Rebbi Joshua was a strong supporter of submission to Rome under all circumstances. After his death and that of Rabban Gamliel, Rebbi Aqiba became a supporter of the messianic movement of Bar Kokhba. As a consequence, Rebbi Joshua's nephew, Hananiah, left Judea and founded a House of Study at Nahardea, modelled after that of Jabneh. This town in Babylonia, near the lower Euphrates, was the traditional place of exile of king Joiachin, and capital of the Jews of Babylonia. Two generations later, Hananiah's descendant Samuel (bar Abba) was the first to make his Babylonian academy a leading institution in world J e w r y .

When

Hananiah left, R. Ismael took his House of Study out of harm's way and established it at Kefar Darom, near Gaza in Philistia. The catastrophy of the war of Bar Kokhba, culminating in the fall of Betar in 138 C.E., destroyed all Jewish learning and most of the Jewish presence in Judea. Public Jewish learning was forbidden in all of the land of Israel, now renamed Palestine, for a period of unknown length, possibly until the accession of Septimius Severus in 193 C.E. (or, at the least, until Marcus Aurelius after 161 C.E.). All we know of the intellectual activity of Jews between the canonization of the Hebrew Bible and 138 C.E. comes to us from the reconstruction of the ancient material by the leaders of the generation following Bar Kokhba (with the exception of a few Sadducee materials f r o m the Geniza and Qumran, and f r o m books in Greek written by Jews, also mostly of Sadducee tendencies, preserved by Gentiles, such as Sirah and the writings of Philo and Josephus.) The circumstances of the transmission of all this material to the next generation are unclear. The Babylonian Talmud (Yebamot 62b) reports

6

INTRODUCTIONS

that all students of R. Aqiba, who numbered in the thousands, died and that "the world was empty of learning until R. Aqiba came to our teachers in the South: R. Meïr, R. Yehudah, R. Yose, R. Simeon, and R. Eleazar ben Shamua, and transmitted his knowledge to them." In one version of Seder Tannaim and Amoraim ascribed to R. Joseph Τον 'Elem, these teachers and R. Nehemiah are called "students of R. Aqiba who after the latter's death disagreed about the meaning of his sayings," but in another version preserved in Mahzor Vitry they are "students of R. Aqiba who never saw R. Aqiba and did not live in his generation. 3 " Since R. Aqiba was first imprisoned and then executed towards the end of the war of Bar Kokhba, it is unlikely that he ever went South 4 , outside of Judea proper, to the House of Study of R. Ismael. Also, the chronology noted above gives support in the main to the second version of Seder Tannaim

and

Amoraim, which is the reading of the school of Rashi. R. Meïr is the author of a collection of rules that one generation later became the foundation of the Mishnah,

the authoritative source of

statements proclaimed as valid by the Patriarch R. Yehudah the Prince (ben Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel II) and the basis of rabbinic Judaism to this very day. It is attested both in the Babylonian and the Jerusalem Talmudim (Yebamot, 12la, 12d) that R. Meïr was a personal student of R. Aqiba. Nothing is known of his ancestors. R. Yehudah (bar liai) is the author of a collection of laws derived from the verses of the book of Leviticus that in the following generations was

3

See Mahzor Vitry, ed. S. Horovitz, Nürnberg 1923, p. 486, note r.

4

In the Talmud Yerushalmi composed in Galilee, "South" usually means Judea,

or better the only part of Judea still inhabited by Jews, the region around Lod. But since R. Aqiba lived in that region, he cannot be said to have gone there.

7

TALMUDIC LITERATURE

edited as Sifra (or Torat Cohanim).

This book, while reputed to contain

the teachings of R. Aqiba, follows the method of R. Ismael. This fact gives credence to the second version of Seder Tannaim and Amoràim,

to

the effect that the other five sages were graduates of the school of R. Ismael versed in the teachings of R. Aqiba. R. Yose (bar Halaphta) is the author of a collection that became Seder Olam, a chronology of the world starting from Creation, which is the basis of our count of "years after Creation." He did not collect statements of law but his opinion is always considered the most authoritative one in this group. R. Simeon (bar Iohai) is the author of a collection that later became Sifry, the collection of laws derived from the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy. Sifry on Numbers follows the method of R. Ismael, that on Deuteronomy also the method of R. Aqiba. It is not impossible, given the preceding, that both books go back to collections of R. Simeon. R. Nehemiah is the reputed author of a collection of laws which later became the (or one) Tosephta.

(The current Tosephta

may be a much

later collection.) It is known that R. Nehemia's father was a scholar but his name is unknown.

His family is said to be that of the Biblical

Nehemiah. R. Eleazar ben Shamua' did not survive the persecutions following the war of Bar Kokhba.

With R. Aqiba, and R. Yehudah ben Bava who

ordained the six sages when ordination was a capital crime, he is counted among the Ten Martyrs. The Tannaïtic corpus, the collection of works having their roots in the works of the scholars between the destruction of the Temple and the edition of the Mishnah, also contains a few minor w o r k s and the Mekhilta,

the collection of laws (and homilies) attached to verses of

8

INTRODUCTIONS

Exodus, attributed to R. Ismael (ben Elisha) of the preceding generation. (A second Mekhilta, falsely attributed to R. Simeon, was edited in the first post-tannaïtic period in Galilee 5 . The other collections mentioned were probably edited for posterity in Babylonia.) This is almost all we have from earlier periods. Some scholars of the last generation of Tannaim are reported to have made collections similar to R. Meïr's; none of these have survived. It is clear from the preceding that statements attributed to any one of these sages do not usually originate with them but are earlier traditions accepted and transmitted by these teachers. For example, the opinion ascribed by the Tosephta (Terumot 2:12, H allah 2:11) to Rebbi Yehudah regarding the boundaries of the Land of Israel is already found in Josephus's Jewish Antiquities in his description of the boundaries of the land of Canaan6.

[A different subject are mystical themes that in later

Amoraic sources are adapted from earlier Sadducee Jewish sources. The sources of Philo and their influence on the development of Amoraic mysticism have not yet been sufficiently studied.] When the public study of Torah was again permitted through the influence of R. Yehudah bar liai with the Roman government, the Academies and Houses of Study were all in Galilee, with the exception of a small circle of students at Lod, in the plain East of Jerusalem. The population of Galilee took almost no part in either war and so came through almost unscathed, except for the severe economic circumstances.

5

Mekhilta

edited by H. S. Horovitz, I. A. Rabin, Berlin 1931 (reprint

Jerusalem 1960.) Mekhilta

deR. Simeon bar Yohai,

edited by J. N. Epstein, E. Z.

Melamed, Jerusalem 1955. 6

Jewish

Antiquities

1.130.

The editor of the Loeb edition erroneously

identified Okeanos not with the sea beyond the Straits of Gibraltar but with the Indian Ocean.

TALMUDIC LITERATURE

2

Historically and chronologically we are on safer ground starting with the edition of the Mishnah, since the history of Talmudic Babylonia was compiled, on the basis of documents, by the 10th Century C.E. Gaon, Sherira, in his famous "Letter". The first edition of the Mishnah was complete in 218 C.E. when Rav (Rav Abba bar Ayvo) left the Academy of R. Yehudah the Prince to return to his native Babylonia and to start his own Academy at Sura (Mata Mehassia) in friendly competition with Samuel's Academy at Nahardea. It seems that the entire time of the Severan (Pseudo-Antoninan) dynasty (193-235 C.E.) was a very good one for Jews in general and those of the Land of Israel in particular. The title "Rav" was coined expressly for Rav by Rebbi Yehudah the Prince (who usually is just called "Rebbi") to indicate an ordination that does not include authorization to judge matters pertaining to the laws of the Land of Israel. It became the title of all ordained rabbis outside the Land. As explained above, the Mishnah is a collection of religious traditions based on the prior collection of R. Meïr. It is authoritative but very short. Immediately after publication of the Mishnah, an intensive effort started to connect the rest of traditional rules to those of the Mishnah and to elucidate its elliptic, often cryptic, statements. That effort took place both in Galilee and in Babylonia and resulted in the "Jerusalem" (really, the Galilean) and the Babylonian Talmudim. Rebbi must have survived several years after 218, since the Jerusalem Talmud is based on a later version of the Mishnah (although the differences between the Jerusalem and the Babylonian texts are small.) He may well have seen the start of the reign of Alexander Severus in 222 C. E. (The latter might be the emperor Antoninus, friend of Rebbi, in Jewish tradition. All emperors of the Severan dynasty and most later ones in the third century called themselves Antoninus.)

10

INTRODUCTIONS

Rebbi is counted as the last of the Tannaim, the "proclaimers", who formulated Jewish law in the period starting with the establishment of the Synhedrion at Jabneh. A new period starts in Jewish intellectual history with the death of Rebbi. In his will, Rebbi had appointed his son Gamliel (III) as patriarch but the presidency of his Court of Law and the House of Study was given to the Babylonian-born R. Hanina (bar Hama). From that moment on, the house of Hillel retained the political patriarchate but never regained leadership in spiritual and intellectual matters.

The

Academy soon moved to Tiberias while the patriarch resided in Sepphoris; other centers of study sprang up, generating a great flowering of intellectual activity under very adverse economic circumstances.

A

parallel activity appeared at the same time in Babylonia. The great and varied activity of the time is all based on the Mishnah edited by Rebbi; the sages of the period are called Amoraim, "leaders of discussion." The exterior circumstances of the period in Palestine were not auspicious. Alexander Severus was murdered in Germany in 235 C.E.. After his death there followed a period known as the Military Anarchy, characterized by a quick succession of mostly unsuccessful pretenders to the throne who debased the currency and thereby caused rapid inflation and general decline of commerce and wealth. At that time, the oasis state of Palmyra gained a measure of independence; Odenathus, its ruler, attempted to occupy Babylonia and destroyed Nahardea, the Jewish center. When Palmyra was subdued by Aurelianus, the only Roman emperor of the period who managed to have a stable reign, the Yeshivah of Samuel relocated from the destroyed Nahardea to Pum Beditha, where it stayed until after the Arab conquest, when it removed to the newly created capital of Baghdad. The Military Anarchy came to an end with the accession of Diocletian in 284 C.E. He reorganized the Roman state in

TALMUDIC LITERATURE

11

the manner of despotic absolutism and introduced a new, stable currency based on honest gold coins. The rapid improvement of the economy was followed by the victory of the Christian church in Constantine's edict of 313 C.E.; under Constantine's sons and successors the church started an unceasing war against Jewish doctrine that b e c a m e vicious under Theodosius I (from 379 C.E.) and led to the end of the patriarchate around 425 C.E. and the emigration of the last House of Study to Damascus at about that time. The rulers of Babylonia after the destruction of the Seleucid empire by the Romans in the first century B.C.E. were the Parthians, an Afghan tribe not much interested in administration. The Parthians gave the peoples under their dominion great autonomy; Jewish courts in Parthia had full criminal jurisdiction and the Davidic Head of the Diaspora was recognized as local ruler. The Parthians were overthrown by the Persian Ardashir in 226 C.E. The Persians kings were Zoroastrians. Many were friendly to the Jews; others were Zoroastrian zealots. Troubles for the Jews were intermittent in the Talmudic period, but became permanent in the century preceding the Arab conquest in 642 C.E.

Talmud, Midrash, and Synagogal Poetry The Galilean sages of the third century C.E., living under the difficult economic conditions described above, invented three literary forms that dominated the intellectual life of Jewry for over 1500 years: Talmud, Midrash, and synagogal poetry. [Archeological evidence shows at the same time an extraordinary growth of Jewish activity in Galilee, best represented by the building of synagogues.]

12

INTRODUCTIONS

Synagogal poetry goes back at least to the last generations of Tannaïm; both Talmudim quote fragments of poetry f r o m that time. Also, Rav, returning to Babylonia from his studies in Galilee, introduced the use of poetic inserts ( p i y y u t i m ) into the liturgy of his academy of Surah. The autochthonous academy of Pum Beditha never accepted any poetic inserts, not even on the high holidays, as r e p o r t e d in Geonic responsa. Ashkenazic prayer traditions were originally modelled a f t e r those of Southern Italy, which in turn were patterned on Galilean usage. Southern Italy belonged to the Byzantine empire of Justinian.

That emperor

forbade the study of Jewish law but permitted Jewish prayer; hence, Byzantine authors used the vehicle of poetry to teach much of Talmudic and Midrashic information to the people. But the origin of this poetry goes back to Mishnaic times. [Ashkenazic liturgies were filled with poetry both of Palestinian/Syrian and Ashkenazic origin. Sephardic prayers were always patterned on the Babylonian model; while Spain produced great liturgical poets it never really accepted poetry as the body of prayer (except for penitential compositions admitted and composed also in Babylonia.) Most synagogal poetry was eliminated starting around 1800 C.E. f r o m Ashkenazic orthodox prayers by the combined influence of Hasidim, who tried to follow the Sephardic pattern, the Gaon of Wilna who did not tolerate any deviation f r o m Babylonian patterns, and Mendelssohnian reform.] The history of the Midrash covers more than 1000 years. The Midrash in most of its forms contains outlines of homilies on Biblical verses and is the main repository of Jewish ethical teachings. The oldest Midrashim, Bereshit Rabba and the old Tanhuma,

refer mainly to Amoraïm of the

last Galilean generations, R. Berekhiah and R. Tanhuma. However, both contain examples of people who spend hundreds of thousands of sesterces

TALMUDIC LITERATURE

12

for a garment, which illustrates the hyperinflation of the Military Anarchy. Rebbis Berekhiah and Tanhuma seem to have been the first systematic collectors of homilies that have come down to us; rabbis f r o m the time of the Military Anarchy are reported to have had their own books of sermons. The greatest flowering of Midrashic literature occured in the Byzantine empire, after the conclusion of the Talmud, but it would not exist without the collections of the Amoraim. The Talmud is the main creation of the last three quarters of the third century C.E. As reported earlier, after the promulgation of the Mishnah as official rule book of Jewish practice, an intense effort of clarification of its meaning began simultaneouly in Galilee and Babylonia. In the first century of this development, the two c o u n t r i e s m o v e d

together,

influenced by frequent travels of Galilean sages to Babylonia and the influx of Babylonian students to Galilean academies. The man who turned this effort into the creation of the Talmud was Rebbi Yohanan (bar Nappaha), the head of the academy of Tiberias, who died in 279 C.E. His method was to elucidate the Mishnah by referring it to related statements f r o m other collections of tannaitic statements, so-called

baraitot,

"external" pronouncements (i. e., external to the Mishnah) and to analyze the underlying principles. This naturally made it necessary to try to attach carefully to each statement the name of its author, to avoid comparing apples and oranges.

A natural consequence was that also in amoraic

reasonings it is necessary to record the name of the person who makes the statement and the chain of transmission.

It is assumed that a student

follows the reasoning of his teacher unless he explicitly disclaims it; this rule is valid for both tannaitic and amoraic statements in both Talmudim. That gives the Talmudim the possibility

to explore different chains of

reasoning simultaneously without getting self-contradictory. The basic

14

INTRODUCTIONS

method and the basic scope are identical in both Talmudim. However, the formalized, condensed language in which the discussions are conducted is much m o r e developed in the Babli than in the Yerushalmi; this again shows the priority in time of the Yerushalmi. Not all technical terms of the formalized language retain their exact meaning in the migration f r o m Galilee to Babylonia; the Y e r u s h a l m i c a n n o t be r e a d in t e r m s of Babylonian practice. In addition, both Talmudim contain much extra-legal and extra-logical material, called aggadic, included mostly to make some point of practice that depends more on a moral than on a legal/scriptural basis. The first written version of the Jerusalem Talmud that has come down to us is the compilation of civil law contained in the first three tractates of the order Neziqin, "torts". This is a short manual f o r lawyers and judges rather than a reasoned derivation of anything. It was probably collected in Caesarea (Philippi) at the end of the third c e n t u r y C.E.

It is not

characteristic for the other parts of the Talmud and has come to us only because the compilers of the Talmud, under pressure by a h o s t i l e government turned into an agent of the Christian church, did not have time to go over the material a second time. (R. Saul Lieberman, in miöVn ino'iT?, Complement to Tarbiz

4, 1931, gives a detailed analysis of the

d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n the redaction of Neziqin

and t h e rest of t h e

Yerushalmi in methodology, tradition, and language. He concludes that the tradition there is that of Caesarea because of the o v e r w h e l m i n g number of quotes from sages known to have lived, taught, or studied, at Caesarea.

Almost certainly, the r e m a i n d e r of the Y e r u s h a l m i was

composed in Tiberias.

The residence of R. A b b a h u , and p l a c e of

compilation of the oldest parts of the Yerushalmi, is usually placed at Caesarea-on-Sea. The reason for identifying Caesarea as Caesarea Philippi

TALMUDIC LITERATURE

11

(Banias) are given in the commentary to the Talmud.) We do not know when the Jerusalem Talmud was compiled in its present form. The work seems to have started at the same time that the rules of computation of the Jewish calender were published by the Academy led by R. Yose of the Fourth Generation of Galilean Amoraïm 7 , sometime between 325-350 C.E. The last Amorai'm mentioned in that Talmud lived in the third quarter of the fourth century; they probably were the final editors of the text b e f o r e us.

The Babylonian Talmud was compiled first in the

Academy of Rav Ashi, shortly after the work on the Yerushalmi had stopped. Its final edition was prepared by Rabina III and his school, almost a century later 8 .

Survey of the Times of Tannaim and Amoraim All dates given a r e of the Common Era. Tannaitic Era Dates C.E. 60-80

Generation First Rabban Yohanan ben Z a k k a i Destruction of the Temple in 71 Second Rebbis Eliezer and Joshua, Rabban Gamliel Third Rebbis Aqiba and Ismael

80-110 110-138

Bar Kokhba revolt crushed in 138, persecution of Jewish faith (138 )200 200-220 218-225

Fourth

Rebbis Meïr and Yehudah, Rabban Simeon ben

Gamliel Rebbi (Yehudah the Prince) Transition f r o m Tannaim to Amoraim Parthian rule in Babylonia overthrown by Persians Fifth

7

Yerushalmi 'Eruvin 3:11 (fol. 21c).

8

This does not exclude that some notes in that Talmud w e r e inserted later, in

Gaonic times.

INTRODUCTIONS

M

Amoraïtic Era Dates C.E. 220-250 250-290

290-320 320-350 350-375 375-425 425-460 460-500

Generation First

Babylon Rav and Samuel

Israel R. Hanina, R. Oshaya, R. Yannai Second Rav Huna, Rav Yehudah R. Yohanan, R. Simeon ben Laqish Military Anarchy in Roman Empire Third Rabba and Rav Joseph R. Zeïra, R. Hiyya bar Abba Roman Empire becomes Christian Fourth Abbaie and Rava R. Yose and R. Jonah Fifth Rav Papa R. Mana, R. Yose bar Abun End of Patriarchate, exile of the Galilean Yeshivah to Damascus Rav Ashi Sixth Seventh Mar bar Rav Ashi Eighth Ravina III and Rav Yose, editors of the Babli

Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud The Babylonian Talmud shows two distinct phases in its development. The first one, spanning the Amorale period in the third century, is strictly parallel to the activities in the Land of Israel: intensive research for collections of baraitot and systematization based on the Mishnah. The second period was started by the heads of the academy of Pum Beditha in the first quarter of the fourth century, Rabba (Rav Abba bar Nahmani) and Rav Joseph (bar Hiyya), who introduced the method of dialectical analysis to elucidate the underlying principles of chains of laws and whose goal was a unified understanding of all the vast branches of talmudic rules. This second phase is almost totally lacking in the Jerusalem Talmud. At the time of its compilation, the Galilean Amorai'm acted under enormous pressure from the Christian church and had no time to assimilate new methods. Dialectics is the distincly Babylonian contribution to Jewish thought and is the feature that brought the Babylonian Talmud to be studied exclusively in Northern, and almost exclusively in Southern, Europe. Dialectical hairsplitting, considered the trade-mark of talmudic

TALMUDIC LITERATURE

17

argument, is characteristic of Babylonian talmudics. As a consequence also, the Jerusalem Talmud is lacking the long arguments that extend over several pages, so characteristic of the Babylonian Talmud. The method of presentation in the present edition of the Jerusalem Talmud, to split the text into its natural paragraphs and to give the translation following the text, would lead to unwieldy, long sections in the Babylonian Talmud. The relationship between the Babylonian (Babli) and J e r u s a l e m (Yerushalmi) Talmudim is a complicated one. While there is a visible influence of Babylonian teaching on the teachings in the Land of Israel, there is no influence of the Babylonian Talmud on the Yerushalmi since the first edition of the Babli, under Rav Ashi, only started when the work on the Yerushalmi was forcibly ended. The Babli we have today, apart from distortions introduced by Gentile censors and generations upon generations of Jewish learned emendators, is the result of a second and third going over by the later Ravina and the group of editors known as Maranan

Savoraë

(about 475-550 C.E.).

Any investigation of the

influence of the Yerushalmi on the editorial process of the Babli must concentrate on those parts that are recognizeable as the first level of Talmudic activity or on actual decisions, not on the dialectical part. It must also be noted that the two Talmudim are not completely parallel. The tractates on agricultural laws peculiar to the Land of Israel, including the laws of giving and receiving charity, are developed only in the Yerushalmi.

The tractates on laws of sacrificing, including ritual

slaughtering, are developed only in the Babli. The influences of the Yerushalmi on the Babli have many aspects. We give examples of some of these aspects.

li

INTRODUCTIONS

Babli 'Avodah Zarah 38b: Statement of law: Shetitaäh

(a cereal made f r o m roasted flour), Ra ν

permits (to buy from unsupervised Gentile vendors) but Samuel's father 9 and Levi forbid it. Preliminary discussion: Everybody agrees that it is permitted if made from wheat or barley and that it is forbidden if it is made f r o m peas in vinegar. r i ψ π ι ρ M η ϊ ϊ η îiV^P

'S"! ^ ï i

-IW^T»?

^ ^

41

HALAKHAH1

ny^p

NjVN nyyp

i m

.V1V

.NID

I o n ? !

V?ï">i?

DV1 H i n Ηΐρφ

^Eì

ïrçv

v j J p v u ^ irei!? V P » ?

TIN"! . N I D Ν»>>> ' Τ Η Γ Ι ) Π ^ ψ

Ί ^ ? ÎJÎDÇl!?

nnpri

tçN

. Ν η ν η >K>i?p YÙ > - m HQW

cpírpny DIN

.ριψ NIDI

N¡?>ripn " p r p r n i í a

Halakhah 1. When does one start to read the Shema in the evening?. We have stated 7 : "From the time that the priests enter to eat their Terumah". Rebbi Hiyya stated 8 : "From the time that people enter their houses Friday evening to eat their meal." We have stated: "Their opinions are almost identical." Come and see: "From the time that the priests enter to eat their Terumah' is still daylight and the stars start to appear 9 , "from the time that people enter their houses Friday evening to eat their meal" is one or two hours into the night.

You want to say that the two opinions

are almost identical? Rebbi Yose 10 said: Explain it by people in hamlets who usually leave the roads when there still is some daylight because they are afraid of wild beasts. 7

'jn is t h e t r a n s l a t i o n of

Targum

Yerushalmi

f o r H e b r e w u n "to t e l l

formally".

It is a t e c h n i c a l term t h a t

vocalization 'in is t h e p r e v a l e n t o n e in the Yerushalmi 8

Targumim.

Rebbi Hiyya is R. Hiyya bar A b b a

implies a s t a t e m e n t of Tannai'm, t h e

bar A h a K a r s a l a f r o m K u f r a in Ba-

t e a c h e r s of t h e o r a l l a w w h o w e r e

bylonia, t h e g r e a t e s t of t h e s t u d e n t s

a c t i v e f r o m M a c c a b e a n t i m e s to t h e

and c o l l e a g u e s of Rebbi ( Y e h u d a , t h e

death of Rebbi Yehudah the Prince, the

editor of the Mishnah). Rebbi Hiyya is

compiler

The

c r e d i t e d with collecting t h e t a n n a i t i c

i n s i s t e n c e on t h i s b e i n g t a u g h t , or

m a t e r i a l t h a t R e b b i l e f t o u t of t h e

formulated, repeatedly, shows that a

Mishnah. The collection k n o w n as t h e

statement introduced by 'an is a f o r m a l

Tosephta

statement, carefully formulated for

m a t e r i a l e v e n t h o u g h in t h e c u r r e n t

oral repetition, and not just an ad hoc

form it is a Babylonian r e a r r a n g e m e n t .

statement

Now t h e T o s e p h t a ( B e r a k h o t 1,1) is

of

in

the

Mishnah.

a discussion.

The

is p r o b a b l y

b a s e d on his

42

CHAPTER ONE

quoted in the Babli (Berakhot 2b):

the earliest moment which can be

n'ansa ya© n ' i p niipV i'Vnna t d ' k ö

declared to be night. Hence, the other

'anya ins bisxV j ' d j s j m x 'ja® nswo

version of R. Mei'r, that people start to

nvwo ο'Ίβίκ o'sarn ν κ ο '3Τ n a n nina«?

eat Friday nights, must also mean an

1

•innnra Via« ? p«3T Donane "When may

early time. Since people return from

one start to read the Shema in the

work early on Fridays, being notified

evening?

of the approching Sabbath by the

From the time that people

enter to eat their meals on Friday

sounding of trumpets (Babli

Evening, says Rebbi Mei'r, but the Sages

35b), they will eat early. In particular

say from the moment that the Cohanim

in Babylonia, where synagogues were

are allowed to eat their Terumah."

out in t h e f i e l d s , Friday

seems that t h e T a l m u d d o e s

It

Sabbat

evening

not

services were held so that people could

indicate that R. Hiyya is reported here

return to town before the unlit roads

to quote the Tosephta but that there

became completely dark. In Israel, on

was a difference of opinion between

the other hand, synagogues were in

Rebbi and Rebbi Hiyya about which

towns and often the sermon was held

opinion of those mentioned in the

on Friday evening.

Tosephta should be accepted in the

rabba 9(9) that R. Mei'r was preaching

Mishnah as authoritative.

Friday evenings and even women came

There is a fundamental disagree-

It is told in Lev.

to hear the sermon at that time. Hence,

ment between the two Talmudim in the

the Sabbath meal was late. In Israel, R.

interpretation of R. Mei'r's opinion.

Mei'r's pronouncement was taken to

The Babli quotes a second version of R.

indicate a very late time.

Meir, "from the time that the Cohanim

9

immerse themselves in order to eat

comment, the Cohanim start to eat

Terumah." Since the Cohanim have to

when it is no longer day, but before it

concentrate on their status of purity

is completely dark.

between immersion and eating, in order

finition of "day," "twilight," "night" will

not

be given later in the present section.

to

touch

unclean

matter

As noted in t h e p r e c e d i n g

The exact de-

inadvertently, it is clear that they will

10

immerse themselves at or shortly after

Amora R. Yose (probably, ben Zabida),

sunset, when it is still clearly day and

not the Tanna R. Yose ben Halaphta.

no stars are visible, and start to eat at

This R. Yose is the late Galilean

43

HALAKHAH 1 ji>33 n n w v i i p H* J I N ^

ρ

on

. i n n i n >-r> N$n N b p ^ o i i p

n p 5 ? n J i n ? nrçiN ΐ η ί ρ γ η

N-iipn

»pv

:mTin ï v j -»αϊ ^ i n n n ^ a i p a i S n f t It w a s stated: "He w h o r e c i t e s ( t h e Shema') f u l f i l l his duty."

tonin

b e f o r e that t i m e did not

If that is so, w h y d o e s o n e r e c i t e ( t h e Shema')

in t h e

s y n a g o g u e ? Rebbi Y o s e said: o n e d o e s not recite it t o fulfill one's duty but only t o stand in prayer a f t e r the study of Torah 1 1 . 11

This section is quoted by Rashi in

his commentary of the Mishnah in the Babylonian

Talmud.

The

old

hours.)

Hence, evening p r a y e r s with

Shema' are recited in full daylight. R. Yose d e c l a r e s t h a t a f t e r

nightfall

Ashkenazic ritual that has p r e s e r v e d

everybody has to recite the Shema' for

the Israeli usages, in c o n t r a s t to t h e

himself (without benedictions) to fulfill

S e p h a r d i c r i t u a l s c o m i n g f r o m Ba-

the duty of reciting the Shema' at its

bylonia, requires t h a t a f t e r n o o n and

proper time. In contrast to Shema', the

evening prayers be said consecutively

daily prayers are not bound rigidly to

in the synagogue any time a f t e r nnjn

their times, as will be explained later

5

njoj?, / 4 hours b e f o r e s u n d o w n (the

in the Talmud.

hour computed as '/12th of d a y l i g h t

ïï*"!*

P?P

tow?

Ï V ÏÏ13 P ? P

pap ^ a n n par 7\13b

O i » r r ! ? D D"TN

Nlipn Ninp

. r c n a i πνηψ")

>N1>Ì (fol. 2b) l i n i * >1") W H l "|ínV U T ? N*ip h ì

- i © n j^N·) n ì d p a o

p a o N-jp p a o oiipl

. r a p a i o rteaj?

i J i a i n >·ρ n s > n > p ^

, n i i p > r y n s M*)p n > p a o N - j p p a o r n > p N ν ι π Rebbi Z e ï r a

12

α>τρτ

13

in t h e n a m e of R a v J e r e m i a h :

γπψ o p p

.ni-ip>

O n e w h o is in d o u b t

w h e t h e r he said G r a c e a f t e r his m e a l or not, m u s t s a y G r a c e , s i n c e it is written ( D e a l . 8:10): "You will eat and be satiated, t h e n y o u m u s t praise the Eternal 1 4 , y o u r God 15 ".

O n e w h o w h o is in doubt w h e t h e r h e p r a y e d

or not, m a y not pray, against the opinion of Rebbi Y o h a n a n 1 6 w h o said: If

44

CHAPTER ONE

only one would pray the whole day long, why? Because prayer is never in vain 17 ! About one who is in doubt whether he recited (the Shema') or not w e may hear from this: He who recites (the Shema') before that time did not fulfill his duty. And before that time is it not doubtful 1 8 ? This means that one w h o is in doubt whether he recited (the Shema)

or not must

recite again 19 . 12

Rebbi Zeïra was a Babylonian

"scholarly" hif'il vocalization, yahweh

who appears in the Babylonian Talmud

"Creator," is certainly false since

as Rebbi Zera; he rose to be head of

theophorous names show that the first

the Yeshivah of Tiberias after Rebbi

syllable is vocalized either yä, yô, or

Yohanan.

yë, never yah, and, hence, as is to be

13

expected, the Name does not follow

Rav Jeremiah appears in the

Babylonian Talmud as Rav Jeremiah

any normative grammatical rule.]

bar Abba, one of the outstanding

15

students of Rav.

He should not be

saying Grace is a Biblical obligation (at

identified with Rebbi Jeremiah, a

least for people who ate to be satiated).

Babylonian and student of Rebbi Zeïra

For Biblical obligations, we always

in Galilee.

follow the rule that in doubt one has to

14

follow the most stringent alternative.

There is a problem how the

The verse quoted shows that

Divine Name YHWH should be trans-

16

lated. The traditional "Lord", taken

authority among the Galilean Amoraïm

from the Septuagint, is a translation not

of the second generation. It is rare to

of the Name but of its substitute

have a decision of later generations

ädönäi. The vocalization of the Name

going against him.

is unknown. The root is certainly πντ

17

"to exist".

Amidah three times a day is a rabbinic

The form of the name

Rebbi Yohanan is the greatest

Everybody agrees that praying the

indicates either qal or pi'el, with a

obligation.

meaning "Eternal" or a hif'il, meaning

reported

"Creator". Probably it means both but

anonymously in Babli Berakhot 21a, is

for purposes of t r a n s l a t i o n it is

that one may not recite this prayer

convenient to follow Mendelssohn and

more than three times a day (at least

use the first meaning. [The so-called

on weekdays) and that, therefore, when

The majority opinion, h e r e by R. Z e ï r a

and

HALAKHAH1

Λί

since

that he already had prayed, must stop

rabbinic ordinances are interpreted

in the middle even according to Rebbi

leniently

Yohanan, but in the Jerusalem Talmud

in d o u b t o n e m a y not p r a y

in c a s e of d o u b t .

The

contrary opinion of Rebbi Yohanan is

R. Y o h a n a n is e x p l i c i t l y on r e c o r d

also reported in the Babylonian Talmud

(Halakhah

(loc. cit.) but without the argument that

since prayer is never in vain.

prayer is never in vain. Rav Haï Gaon

18

(Oizar HaGeonim Berakhot, Responsa p.

sometime

SO, Commentaries p. 26) explains that

nightfall t h e r e is a t i m e of t w i l i g h t

Rebbi Yohanan thinks that prayer, as a

when it is doubtful w h e t h e r it belongs

4:3) that he goes on praying

Later it will be discussed t h a t between

sundown

and

supplication f o r Divine g r a c e and in

to day or night. Hence, someone who

imitation of sacrifices, can be o f f e r e d

r e c i t e s t h e Shema'

as fulfillment of a vow. It follows that,

c a n n o t be s a i d t o c e r t a i n l y

in his opinion, anyone who is in doubt

violated the rule that the

w h e t h e r he p r a y e d a l r e a d y , s h o u l d

Shema' must be recited in the night and

d e c l a r e t h a t his p r a y e r s h o u l d

be

his case is equivalent to the one w h e r e

counted as o b l i g a t o r y if he did not

the person is not sure w h e t h e r he had

during

twilight have

evening

pray but as a voluntary o f f e r i n g if he

recited the Shema' a l r e a d y during the

already had f u l f i l l e d his o b l i g a t i o n .

current evening.

This opinion is not a c c e p t a b l e to t h e

19

Yerushalmi; since p r a y e r is n e v e r in

indirectly that in reading t h e

vain

prior

one is s t r i n g e n t in c a s e of d o u b t it

T h e r e is a p r a c t i c a l

seems that it is implied that the reading

it

does

declaration.

not

need

a

Since the Talmud has to p r o v e Shema'

difference between the two Talmudim

of Shema'

since

H ai" s

(though it might l e a v e in d o u b t t h e

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , s o m e o n e who s t a r t e d

status of the first sentence or the first

praying and remembered in the middle

section.)

according

to

Rav

ί ι τ > - D t - α * τ > η η ο ρ κ ψ >? ϊ χ η κ η

is a r a b b i n i c

institution

. o ' r p i s n U N S -137!? ν ? > ρ

o>iDì3n j i n s t v -ιηψη η ^ ν » Ο Ό η - α o > p n n ç ο ^ ο ) t o n ^ s

o>\yiy

.DDN^n oi»m i ö w ö TÙ^TÌ ut?τ n>m a>roì τ ν : - : τ : - ττ: A sign for it (nightfall) is after stars have become visible 2 0 .

And

though there is no proof, at least there is a hint 21 in (Neh. 4:15): "We were

CHAPTER ONE

M

working; half of them were holding spears, from the beginning of dawn to the visibility of stars." And it is written (v. 16): "The night was for us for watch duty and daytime for work. 22 " 20

This is an extended quote from a

Yerushalmi Sheviit 9:2 (38d), Pesahim

parallel to the Tosephta (1:1) quoted in

1:1 (27a), Moëd

note 8.

Yebamot 4:11 (6a), Niddah 1:4 (49a).

It is not from our Tosephta

Qatan

1:4 (80c),

since the last sentence is missing there

22

and the first sentence reads in the

Nehemiah's people worked from dawn

Tosephta, and in the Babylonian

to dusk (in contrast to hired workers

Talmud (2b), D'aaian nxï laiV

.

who labor from sunrise to sunset; Baba

Levi Ginzberg already has pointed out

mezia' 7:1). The second verse, missing

that the Biblical noun construction ηκϊ

in the Tosephta, contains the proof:

D'aaian "the emergence of stars" is

Nehemiah declares that "day was for

never used in the Yerushalmi which

work" and, since he had defined his

prefers the verbal form. "It" referred

working day as dawn to dusk in the

to in this quote must be nightfall, the

preceding verse, his definition at least

common time both for the criterion of

for "day" is "dawn to dusk".

R. Meïr and that of the Sages (Note 8).

only a "hint", not a proof, since his

21

working day was irregular.

This expression is found also in

"TON 1DÌ3 N£>3 Ί 3~ N1N Π Ί DVÍ3 ΟΓΟ>3 >31 • ·.· Τ Τ — Τ " T S · u n s Ί)ί I ' l p m p a o ο>3ψ

The argument goes as follows:

Τ ! ·

This is

ΝΓΡ1 ÌN5P D>1DÍD 71Ö3 · Τ Τ •

> n i î η ψ ^ ψ ,η!?>> p a o

.ον >niî

.2\Wnriö tÒ N»ö"Tp , Ο ^ ψ OnDÌD V3ÌV>>? HÏy

.OUDÍ3D

H o w m a n y stars h a v e to appear that it should be night?

Rebbi

Phineas 2 3 in the name of Rebbi Abba bar Pappus: one star (visible) is certainly daylight. T w o are doubtful as night. Three is certainly night. Are t w o doubtful?

Is it not written (Neh. 4:15): "To the visibility of

stars?24" The minimum of "stars" are two! The first one does not count 2 5 . 23

R. Pinhas Hacohen bar Hama, an

Israeli Amora of the fourth generation.

His source R. Abba bar Pappus was a Babylonian of the second

Amora

47

HALAKHAH1 generation immigrating into Galilee. In

ing.

the Babli (Sabbat 35b), the criterion of

upper bound, the only d e f i n i t e number

three stars is attributed to Samuel, one

indicated by a plural is 2. Hence, the

of t h e t w o

p l u r a l must m e a n t w o u n l e s s it is

foremost

Babylonian

Since n u m b e r s d o not h a v e an

authorities of the first generation. This

a c c o m p a n i e d by a d e s c r i p t i o n

criterion is originally Babylonian since

"many", etc.

the criterion of Cohanim eating their

Babli is: xV n a n o noun noun ovia noon

Terumah

noen "If you g r a b t h e minimum you

was never applicable

in

like

T h e d e s c r i p t i o n in t h e

Babylonia.

have something in your hand; if you

24

grab more you have nothing in your

T h e a r g u m e n t h e r e is t h a t

Nehemiah uses a p l u r a l in his d e f i -

hand." It follows t h a t N e h e m i a h can

nition of nightfall. So he talks about at

t a l k o n l y a b o u t t w o s t a r s in

least

description of night.

two stars.

Now

Talmudic

his

interpretation of Scripture f o l l o w s a

25

principle that I have discussed repeat-

d a y l i g h t , it c a n n o t

edly ("Logical P r o b l e m s in J e w i s h

determination of nightfall. Later it is

T r a d i t i o n " in: Confrontations

s t a t e d t h a t no s t a r v i s i b l e

Judaism,

with

ed. P. L o n g w o r t h , London

Since Venus o f t e n is visible in count

in

the

during

daytime hours can be counted for the

1967, pp. 171-196; Seder Olam, North-

determination

vale NJ 1998, p. 6) that every Biblical

naturally seems to eliminate the count

statement must have a d e f i n i t e mean-

of stars as a practical procedure.

.»I!?« D ^ N

.ΎΙ03

This

n t y j / ì " m i * 1DÌD Π Ι Ο J i a v 3 1 V ?

ï O i p riDN^Jp η ψ ^ Ί 7 I W 3 3 Ì D Π Ν Ί ΓΙ3ψ .moa

of n i g h t f a l l .

.ΠΝΟΠ οψΝ N'in

.ηκυη

Friday night, if s o m e o n e saw o n e star and did w o r k ( f o r b i d d e n o n t h e Sabbath), he is f r e e f r o m punishment. 26

f o r a sin in d o u b t .

T w o , he brings a t r e s p a s s o f f e r i n g

T h r e e , he b r i n g s a sin o f f e r i n g .

S a t u r d a y night, if

s o m e o n e s a w o n e star and did (forbidden) w o r k , h e b r i n g s a sin o f f e r i n g . T w o , h e brings a trespass o f f e r i n g f o r a sin in d o u b t . f r o m punishment.

T h r e e , h e is f r e e

48 26

CHAPTER ONE The trespass offering described in

statement, at the time when exactly

Lev. 5:17-19 for somebody who without

two stars are visible it is impossible to

premeditation commits an act of which

know whether it is day or not. The sin

he later has doubts whether it was

offering for sins committed in error is

sinful or not.

described Lev. 4:27-35.

By the

preceding

r n y ? tPlDÌ3 '¿ψ Π Ι Ο

,p30 Ο ^ ψ " > 8 ^ V N

ntyyi in m n n i m i p >NSia? d u d ì d

ηκτ

Τ>3

'ΡΪ*

^

.hdn^p n ^ V l to

by i » n n t v i in o v o>3i-tqNn i n in o v d w n ^ o n rjwaj n o .nsNbp by* 3 »r n Nn>i . . .

τ : -

o o i w N i ·nτ «in ' -

τ : "

o > i i m N- nτ o n

ΐ ΐ η η ψ ? .JTìsi"»? >sn? -is^i π ι ψ a n y ? o u d í s a η Ν Ί rjytoí n « .Tiiiin? >sn? ï y oy π η η ψ ï y o>?iwN*)n i n

τοψ

o>a?i3

.o>iinnNn -s - τ .o>iiv/N-in

n i o .Jnjii? ^ n ?

i n oi> o>ír>nNn 5i->nNn o n

.o>3i*inNn by α » η νγρι γώ^

.o>3iv)N-)n by α » η Nn>i π ι ψ >b>b bw o y JinQV by Ή Ρ * ? ! Rebbi Yose bar Abun 27 investigateci: If you say that two (stars) present a doubt, if someone saw two stars on Friday night, was warned, and did forbidden work, he also saw two stars on Saturday night, was warned, and did forbidden work, then it is logical to assert that if the first period was daytime the last period was also daytime and he would be guilty for the later work; if the last period was nighttime then the first period was also nighttime and he would be guilty for the first work 2 8 . If someone saw two stars on Friday night and harvested about (the volume of) half a fig, in the morning he harvested about half a fig, and he saw two stars on Saturday night and harvested about half a fig, then it is logical to assert that if the first period was daytime the last period was also daytime and one would combine daytime with Saturday night and he would be guilty for his last work; if the last period was nighttime then the first period was

49

HALAKHAH1

also nighttime and one would combine daytime with Friday night and he would be guilty for his first work 29 . R. Yose b a r A b u n w a s t h e

conditional warnings, given in mutually

colleague of R. Yose bar Z a b i d a and

exclusive circumstances which together

one of t h e last e d i t o r s of t h e Yeru-

make a certainty of the transgression,

shalmi. The first conclusion of R. Yose

can be c o u n t e d as an u n c o n d i t i o n a l

bar A b u n is r e p o r t e d in t h e B a b l i

warning.

(Sabbat

29

27

35b) by R. Yose bar Z a b i d a .

Harvesting is f o r b i d d e n on t h e

The names Abun, A b b a a r e o f t e n

Sabbath.

c o n t r a c t e d to Bun, Ba in t h e Yeru-

minimal amount

shalmi.

punishable depends on the intention of

28

As Rashi points out in Sabbat 35b,

the person acting. If the harvest is to

one has to assume that the person did

clear the field for a new crop then the

work the e n t i r e period during which

most

exactly two stars were visible. Since it

punishable. If the harvest is for human

is not d e t e r m i n e d w h e n e x a c t l y t h e

consumption then the minimal harvest

changeover f r o m Sabbath to workday

punishable is the volume of a dried fig.

occurs during this period, one has to

If the harvest is for animal f e e d then

exclude the possibility that he did the

the minimal amount is to fill the mouth

work during daytime the first time and

of a l a m b ( T o s e p h t a Sabbat

during nighttime the second time.

Here it is understood that one uses the

The first case discussed by R. Yose

Like all such work, the

minute

of

work

amount

of

that

work

is

is

10:15).

e x a m p l e of o n e w h o h a r v e s t s

for

bar Abun deals with a criminal trial.

human consumption.

In Jewish law, the Biblical p e n a l t i e s

work on the Sabbath is sinful even in

cannot be imposed unless the accused

the tiniest of amounts; t h e minimal

was duly warned by witnesses not to

amounts determine only whether there

commit the crime that he was seen to

is a criminal liability or not.

start.

However, such a warning must

work was done i n a d v e r t e n t l y or t h e

be given unconditionally. Since nobody

person forgot that it was Sabbath, he

can assert categorically that work in

may bring a sin offering in the Temple

twilight is a Biblical p r o h i b i t i o n on

as soon as the Temple will be rebuilt.

Friday night and S a t u r d a y night, R.

However, a sin o f f e r i n g can only be

Yose

b r o u g h t if t h e s a m e a c t i o n ,

seems

to

assert

that

two

Any f o r b i d d e n

If t h e

done

50

CHAPTER ONE

intentionally, would have been a

the time in between will cause a

criminal act. Hence, no sin offering

s e p a r a t e sin with a s e p a r a t e sin

can be brought as atonement for doing

offering. Hence, it is assumed here

less than a minimal amount of work

that the person in question either was

which would qualify as criminal act.

not aware that the day was a Sabbath

For such an action there can be no

or that harvesting on the Sabbath is

warning and the formulation of the

forbidden, without any intermediate

problem also leaves out mention of due

awareness of either Sabbath or the

warning; one may speak here only

prohibition of harvesting.

about the obligation (or possibility) of

asserted by R. Yose bar Abun that all

bringing a sin-offering.

acts committed during one forgetting

It is then

do combine, since they will all be

It is spelled out in Leviticus (5:2-4)

covered by one sin-offering.

in respect to sin offerings for transgressions by speech (by oath, or non-

The c e r t a i n t y of guilt on the

speech, be refusing to be a witness)

Sabbath is then established by the same

that the sin offering is brought if "(he

argument as in the first case under the

did,) and it was forgotten by him, and

same conditions, viz., thai in both cases

he remembered and was guilty." It is

the action was p e r f o r m e d exactly

taken from here that in all cases there

during the entire time that exactly two

is one sin offering for all transgressions

stars were visible.

done in one forgetting; that any

determination of such an action is

realization of the forbidden action in

made questionable by the next action.

cn? •pa > a - t t >oi>

"pnjprrpN n>>7 ion

.pn?

.NmDiD N i n ρ

The practical

"ΐ©>τπ í - q n

n j ? » ^ WPDJ?» " p n n - p i q - a p r n i o Ν Γ Ι ^ yinnjpn τίη>αι

That means (we judge) by those stars that are not usually seen during the day. But by those stars that are usually seen during the day w e do not estimate. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said: There must be three stars not counting Venus 3 0 . 30

Here we take up the discussion

from the penultimate section.

The

interpretation and the text are a matter of some controversy. Rabbenu Hananel

HALAKHAH 1

11

(of Kairawan, 11th Century) in his

applies well.

In fact, R.

Zachariah

commentary to Sabbat 35b reads in the

Frankel in his commentary on the

statement of R. Yose bar Abun: unVai

Yerushalmi

KM3Ì3 in ρ Ί3 0'33i3 κη^η pomn, this

feminine ΚΠ3313 makes sense only if it

is close to our text. R. Eliezer ben Joel

refers to Venus. A "star" in general is

(Ravia, Rhineland, 12th-l 3th Cent., §

K33Í3; masculine, and it seems that the

199) reads paaia xnVn rannn iinVai

text of Hagahot

ΚΠ3313 in m m s "only that three stars

corrected by German Jewish attention

should look like one star" and explains

to grammatical correctness.

points out t h a t

Maimuniot

the

has been However,

in the name of Rebbi Yehuda (either

if we accept the reading Knssis the

the Pious of Regensburg or Sir Leon of

statement of R. Yose bar Abun is a

Paris) that three stars have to appear in

duplication of the earlier remark that

a group like feet of a tripod. The same

"the first star does not count."

text is quoted by the 14th cent. R.

explains that the earlier statement

Nissim Gerondi (Ran) as xinV

pan

determines the moment of nightfall

XT133Ì3 "which are similar to one star"

from Biblical sources but that the

and

Hagahot

requirement that three stars should be

Maimuniot (Hilkhot Sabbat, 5:4 Note 3)

seen close together is a rabbinic

that three stars should be seen in ]'03

ordinance "to add from weekday to the

X33Í3 "in the manner of one star", to

holy day" and, therefore, has a differ-

which reading the explanation of Ravia

ent status and is a legitimate addition.

his

contemporary

.Di> > N i !

Ran

i d ì s n o ·)? r m n > >3-1 o w ? η κ η ί τ τ npy> >?-> 1DÍD V 3 p a o Π>> J1»N

p ? D ΓΡ> TP} - !

Rebbi J a c o b the S o u t h e r n e r 3 1 in the name of R. Yehudah ben Pazi: One star (visible) certainly daytime. Two are night. Does he not allow for a period of doubt? He has a doubt between star and star 3 2 . 31

Amora of the fourth generation,

family Ben Pazi, is a Galilean source

from the region of Lod, contemporary

from the school of R. Yolianan.

of R. Phineas, who transmits a con-

32

flicting Babylonian statement.

His

when only one star is clearly visible

source, R. Yehudah ben Simon, of the

and when two stars are clearly visible

The interval between the moment

52

CHAPTER ONE

is his time of dusk, of which it is not

night,

known whether it belongs to day or to

ι-ρηψπ

. π ί ν η ψ η v ? in* la'ODn

. o v i n * π ί η π Ν » r n t o >33ψ

^

.vbp_ irrç l i n o n s ηΐ ν ψ p > y n Γΐψί|3 It w a s stated: daylight.

A l l t h e t i m e that t h e E a s t e r n s k y is red it is c e r t a i n l y

If it b e c a m e silver c o l o r e d t h e n it is dusk.

If it b e c a m e b l a c k ,

33

equally f r o m zenith t o horizon, then it is night .

33

T h e Babli ( S a b b a t 34b) has a

tannaitic s t a t e m e n t :

daytime. If the lower part turns silver

" W h a t is dusk?

colored (pale grey) but the zenith is not

From sundown all t h e t i m e t h a t t h e

yet silver colored, that is dusk. If the

Eastern sky is red.

If the lower part

zenith is silver c o l o r e d e q u a l to t h e

turns silver colored (pale grey) but the

horizon, then it is night.'' T h e text of

zenith is not yet silver colored, that is

t h e Y e r u s h a l m i is f r o m a t a n n a i t i c

dusk.

If t h e zenith is silver c o l o r e d

source and supports Samuel's reading.

equal to the horizon then it is night;

However, t h e Y e r u s h a l m i version is

these are the words of R. Yehudah (bar

clearer since when the color of the sky

liai')." This statement looks somewhat

at the horizon is equal to that at t h e

garbled and it is explained in the name

zenith and is d a r k e r than pale grey, it

of Samuel as: " From sundown all the

is close to being dark.

time that the Eastern sky is r e d it is

n n >

tnltt n ^ n j n

batra j i ^ n j p ì

r i » n ï&Î n>?n ^

^nnn

nnaìpjpa nnlpn

IOÌN

η ί ο ί ο υ η r n -»ON . Τ Ί ί ν η ψ π p i irrç

t C ? ) n y ¡ ? w n o n r w n y v ? n r n i t r m ! ? n v n 1? i w w v p >3ro . r i i ^

roa!?

.:nrni* η η η π ψ Rebbi says: ( W h e n ) the m o o n is at its turning point, and t h e s p h e r e o f the sun has started to disappear and the sphere of t h e m o o n t o rise, that is dusk. Rebbi H a n i n a said: W h e n the solar sphere finishes disappearing and t h e lunar s p h e r e starts t o rise.

S a m u e l has a t a n n a i t i c s t a t e m e n t :

The

i3

HALAKHAH 1

moon does not shine at the moment of the disappearance of the sun nor does it go down at the moment that the sun shines34. 34

R e b b i is R e b b i Y e h u d a h t h e

A r e a s o n a b l e e x p l a n a t i o n of this

Prince, t h e editor of the Mishnah.

R.

section must start with a discussion of

H a n i n a p r o b a b l y is t h e A m o r a

R.

"the t u r n i n g p o i n t of t h e

moon."

Usually this is taken as the moment of

Hanina, the student of Rebbi. T h e e x p l a n a t i o n of t h i s s e c t i o n depends on w h e t h e r one accepts that

the full moon, when the moon changes from increasing to decreasing.

How-

Rebbi and R. Hanina speak of the same

ever, this interpretation is impossible

tradition, only that R. Hanina insists

since the o r b i t of t h e moon usually

that the correct t r a d i t i o n of Rebbi's

deviates f r o m t h e e c l i p t i c and only

statement is that dusk starts only at the

about every 223 months the full moon

moment of the final d i s a p p e a r a n c e of

is in the ecliptic in opposition to t h e

the sun and not at the moment of the

sun. Hence, the "turning point of the

disappearance of the lower rim of the

moon" is the only time when t h e r e is a

solar disk as in the first tradition. This

possibility of a lunar eclipse and t h e

is the opinion of most commentators of

full moon is directly o p p o s i t e to t h e

the Yerushalmi; in the language of the

sun. R. Hanina and Samuel express the

Babli it means that two tradents, the

view of geometric astronomy, i.e., that

first one anonymous and the second R.

the full moon cannot rise as long as the

Hanina, give t h e i r v e r s i o n s of w h a t

sun is still visible. The anonymous first

Rebbi really said.

tradent notes that in r a r e cases t h e

ben

r e f r a c t i o n of the e a r t h ' s a t m o s p h e r e

ed. Chavel, Jerusalem 1964,

can lead to a situation w h e r e the full

(Writings Nahman,

[Nachmanides

of

Torat Haädam, R. H a n i n a

Rabbenu

Moshe

p. 154-251) insists that

only

explains

Rebbi's

moon s t a r t s to rise w h i l e t h e sun, geometrically below the horizon, is still

statement in popular terms. Since the

visible.

[In science, this phenomenon

Talmud quotes a teaching accepted by

was first studied by Ibn al Haytham in

Samuel the astronomer as confirmation

the tenth Cent.; cf. R. Rashed,

of R. Hanina's position, it is difficult to

et mathématiques,

accept t h a t t h e f i r s t t r a d e n t and R.

Pubi. Co., B r o o k f i e l d Vt, 1992]

Hanina should have completely parallel

practical purposes, both teachers seem

statements.]

to agree that in the consideration of

Optique

Variorum: A s h g a t e For

54

CHAPTER ONE

"sundown" for Sabbath observance, the

sphere should be disregarded,

influence of r e f r a c t i o n in the atmo-

07N

ΓΜ3Π

^njpn Ki^n

o v ? r i l i n g 1 3 N>>n ->3 b N i n y j > 3 1

ri(7^n ί ι ι ο η η ι i ? : m · ) η"?ίίη f i l a r i o > 3 i n i o ) r i t y ΓΡ>

Nìnn DI?

. i o i ^ i a ^ n>>

n n ν ι ό 3 TOÌV

N ì n n ? i o > r n N-JO

Ì>3\? D i n

. N Tτ l: N bτ Ν \r Πτ Ο: > Ν 3 Rebbi S a m u e l bar H i y y a bar Y e h u d a h in the n a m e of Rebbi Hanina: W h e n the solar disk starts to sink and a m a n is standing o n t o p of M o u n t Carmel, he descends and i m m e r s e s himself in the o c e a n , a s c e n d s and eats his Terumah,

o n e m a y assume that he immersed himself during d a y t i m e 3 5 .

Than is, if he used a shortcut 3 6 but w h e n he w e n t o n the r o a d 3 7 this d o e s not apply. Therefore, he was cleansed from

In the Babylonian Talmud (Sabbat

impurity at nightfall and is justified in

35a) the statement of R. Hanina is

eating Terumah.

given as illustration of the notion of

35

36

(scil. iter)

dusk of R. Nehemiah mentioned here in

T h e text cannot really

the next section. In the interpretation

Latin compendiarium

"short cut".

mean "the top of mount Carmel" since

of T o s a p h o t (/. c., s. v. i v i ) ,

even running down in a straight line

statement means that just when the

from today's Haifa University to the

Cohen emerges from the sea then dusk

shore would take about an hour. The

starts.

"top of Mount Carmel" h e r e is more

37

likely to be at today's "Elijah's cave".

road, pavement".

>3i

r m n ? Ν > η ψ 0 7 ΪΨ

V 3 Nint>N

Latin strata (scil. via), "paved

N o i r p r i >3*1 ΊΚ>Η . J i w n y m i > 3

. J i l v á n V3

>31 .rppçi? >31 n . 3 7

the

IN?!? na>\?n n i ? > m «π>υ ϊ ψ >>0 0 7 N

. 0 > 0 3 η v!?y - T i ö i £ ÌÌ7D>

H ? ϊΐηηπ »ΡψηψΡ « n o ? n i w n v ^ n i>3

irpn

Γήνηψη

HALAKHAH 1

51

What is dusk? Rebbi Tanhuma 3 8 said (it is comparable) to a drop of blood on the tip of a sword. The drop splits here and there, that is dusk. What is dusk? 39 From after sundown the time a man needs to walk half a mil, the words of Rebbi Nehemiah.

Rebbi Yose said: dusk is a moment

and the sages could not determine it. 38

O n e of t h e l a t e s t a u t h o r i t i e s

m e n t i o n e d in t h e Y e r u s h a l m i ,

re-

Hai), followed by the statements of R. Nehemiah and R. Yose h e r e , m a k i n g

nowned as a p r e a c h e r , and author of

the

the basic Yelammedenu

disagreement.

Midrash.

His

definition

of

dusk

a

triple

By c o n t r a s t , it seems

simile h e r e is also of the nature of a

that the Yerushalmi

accepts

the

sermon, illustrating the opinion of R.

criterion of the color of t h e E a s t e r n

Yose that t h e r e is no r e a l e x t e n d e d

sky as u n i v e r s a l l y v a l i d , o n l y t h a t

dusk but only day and night with a

Rebbi Nehemiah q u a l i f i e s it in time.

fleeting moment

the

The r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e s t a t e -

blinking of an eye in the terminology

ments of R. Nehemiah and R. Yose is

of R. Yose and the splitting of a d r o p

discussed in the next section. Since the

of blood on the tip of a sword for R.

standard for a normal person is to walk

Tanhuma.

10 parasangs

39

of 12 hours, the time allocated to a mil

in b e t w e e n ,

While the first statement h e r e

i2

[= 40 miles (mil)] in a day

was a homily by a late Amora , now we

is

are dealing with a legal statement by

minutes.

[Maimonides c o u n t s t h e 10

two of t h e o u t s t a n d i n g s t u d e n t s of

parasangs

f r o m beginning of dawn to

Rebbi Akiba, of the fourth generation

the end of dusk; his time for walking a

of Tannaim. Rebbi Yose here is Rebbi

mil is 24 minutes.] This r e f e r s to a day

Yose

of 12 hours between sunrise and sunset,

bar

Halaphta,

the

highest

i.e., for the equinoxes if constant hours

authority in his generation. In t h e B a b l i ( S a b b a t 34b),

/ 4 0 h o u r s or ( 1 2 x 6 0 ) / 4 0 = 18

the

are

used.

In

addition,

the

previous statement describing dusk as

determination of time is valid only f o r

the time between the end of a reddish

the Land of Israel or other countries of

glow in t h e East t o u n i f o r m

the same latitude. For other latitudes,

dark

greyness from Eastern horizon to zenith

the

length

of

dusk

has

to

be

is attributed to Rebbi Y e h u d a h (bar

determined by the angle of depression

CHAPTER ONE of the sun at the end of 9 or 12 minutes

replaces the time of V 2 (Roman?) mil

after sunset in Israel on March 21. The

in Galilee by 2 / 3 Babylonian?) mil in

Babylonian Talmud (Sabbat 34b)

Babylonia on the lower Euphrates.

«1ÎX7 Ν"1?ΓΙ?α H1? ΝΠΝ >3*)!? >OÍ> >3"» DON ."|>3J1> ÌV) ΝΠΝ >3"η >OÍ> >3") HÏ

>31 . ρ "QO N i N ^IN Π>> ΙΟΝ ^

pao

(fol. 2c) >3-n b>)p

Π>Ρ05 >377

"TV I l D l Ì?J/

n'jis ρ

ion

OÌ»3 Ϊ1ΓΙΝ ΓΙΝΊ i e r i ·)3>3ΓΙ T? ÌVptn >3*1 >OÌp Γ)>ΓΙ>>\ρΐ? N M >3"1 ΙΟΝ .ΝίΠ oi>NP

JNI' ON *INO> JINNÌ NWJP^RI V5 NNN

NIWO^N PA ΠΠΝΙ

oi»NN N»N">N NSPÖY PAO ONT I3*IP>:) TINÍDIO!? >NÜ *INÇ> RMSPOI >Bip NV3 «ipi> i ? N>>n >3-i . ρ η ρ ! ? p a o i dn>?io> > n i ï -ino> n r a p n i

IJJVI ïy π π ψ ρ n>> i o n

>oi> >3-1 ο>3ψ> np>0} ΓΙ>ΝΙ ΝΪΓΙ INO ^ni> >an

no"? .Nin p a o n>po? >3*17 !?>o >*η3ψ "|>V U D Ì

"VW W f

. π ί ν ο ψ π ι>3 in* ->&Νη ìn>!?N Νί3»ψ?> ii>n>wp >> -ION

Rebbi Yose and Rebbi Aha 40 were sitting together. Rebbi Yose said to Rebbi Aha: Is it not reasonable that the end of the half a mil of Rebbi Nehemiah is the moment (of Rebbi Yose) 41 ? He answered: I also am of that opinion. Rebbi Hizqiah 42 does not say so but every single moment in the half a mil of Rebbi Nehemiah is in doubt. Rebbi Mana said: I pointed out the difficulty before Rebbi Hizqiah from what we have taught (Zabim 1,6): "He saw one emission during daytime and one at dusk or one at dusk and the next one the next day; if he knows that the emission at dusk was partially during daytime and partially during nighttime, he certainly is impure and needs a sacrifice but if it is questionable whether the emission occured partially during daytime and partially during nighttime he certainly is impure but it is questionable whether he owes a sacrifice. 43 " Rebbi Hiyya bar Josef 44 asked before Rebbi Yohanan: Who is the Tanna who will split an emission into two? Rebbi Yose!45 I said to him: Here is

57

HALAKHAH 1

your problem since you say that every single moment in the half a mil of Rebbi Nehemiah is in doubt. 46 What is his question good for? For the time when Elijah will come and say: that is dusk 47 . 40

Rebbi Aha was an Amora of the

fourth generation, older than

the

had

three

episodes

(again,

not

separated by a full day f r o m dusk to

Amora Rebbi Yose.

dusk without incident) then he not only

41

R. Yose considers all of Rebbi

has to i m m e r s e himself in r u n n i n g

N e h e m i a h ' s "dusk" as being part of

water after seven days but he also has

daytime and that the c h a n g e - o v e r to

to bring a purifying s a c r i f i c e (if t h e r e

night comes instantly at an undefined

is a T e m p l e . )

t i m e s h o r t l y a f t e r t h e e n d of

R.

duration that is counted as an episode

Rebbi

and a continuous emission d u r i n g a

Yehudah instead of Rebbi Nehemiah,

longer period is c o u n t e d as two (or

this is t h e o p i n i o n of S a m u e l , t h e

more, depending on length) emissions.

a s t r o n o m i c a l a u t h o r i t y of t h e f i r s t

The Mishnah here states that

Amoraic generation in Babylonia, in

episode during dusk will be counted as

the Babylonian Talmud (Sabbat 35a).

two even if it is relatively short if part

42

of the episode h a p p e n e d d u r i n g t h e

Nehemiah's

"dusk".

With

Amora of the fourth generation in

T h e r e is a s t a n d a r d

an

Galilee. R. Mana (II) is his only known

previous day and part during

student.

f o l l o w i n g night.

43

determination of the boundary between

T r a c t a t e Zabim deals with men

the

Hence, t h e e x a c t

suffering from gonorrhea or any other

day and night is essential.

sexually related effluent (Lev. 15:1-15).

44

In the interpretation of the school of

Samuel at t h e start of t h e A m o r a i c

Hillel t h e r e a r e t h r e e s t a g e s in t h e

p e r i o d , w h o at an a d v a n c e d

uncleanness of a zab.

If he had one

e m i g r a t e d to I s r a e l a n d b e c a m e a

episode, he is unclean but may cleanse

m e m b e r of t h e A c a d e m y of R. Yo-

himself by immersion in water as with

hanan.

any other defilement.

45

If he had two

A Babylonian, student of Rab and

age

Rebbi Yose mentioned here is the

episodes not separated by a full day, he

Tanna, ben Halaphta.

can cleanse himself only by immersion

given based on an e x p l i c i t

in running water a f t e r being f r e e of

Zabim

symptoms f o r a full seven days. If he

emission such that he would have had

1,12-13:

His opinion is Tosefta

"If he had one long

CHAPTER ONE

Si

time to immerse himself in a ritual

Tosephta c l e a r l y s t a t e s t h a t

the

bath and dry himself then it is counted

Mishnah quoted is R. Yose's opinion, if

as two episodes; shorter than that it is

every moment of R. N e h e m i a h ' s

only counted as one. Rebbi Yose says

twilight is questionable for R. Yose

it is always counted as only one

then the statement of the Mishnah: "if

episode. However, Rebbi Yose agrees

he knows that the emission at dusk was

that if he had an emission during dusk,

partially during daytime and partially

even though its duration was not long

during nighttime" is meaningless since

enough f o r immersion and drying

it is never k n o w a b l e by anybody

himself, it is counted for two since it

whether anything occurred partially

happened on different days.

during daytime and partially during

In this

sense did R. Yose say: If he had an

nighttime.

emission during twilight he is possibly

47

defiled (unclean for seven days) but

authority to change religious rulings he

not obliged to bring a sacrifice. If he

has transcendental knowledge of the

While the prophet Elijah has no

had two emissions during twilight he is

t r u e s t a t e of things.

possibly defiled and possibly obligated

someone instructed by Elijah the doubt

to a sacrifice. If he had one emission

of R. Yose does not apply and the

at another ( c e r t a i n ) time and one

Mishnah, while unlikely to be practical,

during twilight or one during twilight

is neither impossible nor void.

Hence, f o r

and one at another time he is certainly

This is the end of the discussion in

defiled (for seven days) and question-

the Yerushalmi, seemingly accepting R.

able for a sacrifice.

If he had two

Hizqiah's position. In the Babylonian

emissions at other times and one at

Talmud the decision is left explicitly

twilight or two at twilight and one at

open so that in any case one has to go

another time he is certainly defiled and

with the more stringent rule (earlier

certainly must bring a sacrifice."

start of Sabbath, later nightfall for

46

Terumah and end of Sabbath.)

Up to here, everything is R.

Mana's question to R. Hizqiah: Since the

"V?N jpN*r r o o ? -iç)

.MID n ^

i ^ a r r " p r m n ni>?p

.>>>9

v o

ν>ρΊΓΐ v ^ p ^ n n y i n ? η η η π ψ ->Ù ϊ χ «IN O-UDÌD r r ç ù w

. r n v i s N a ο ί ί η \yta-t

.)? n n n i ¿ i a

i9

HALAKHAH1

ρ

iJiN>3 n p

.-ÓN - i ^ ì a n

NIN

. ì j i n u > ÌJIN>Ì»> ν ό ρ ρ

,-ιποί ν)ρψη κ α ι

npx

IN

.imnan

Dìnjp ìri>> >7D - > 0 3 3 1 0 3 3 i w y p v p >3*1 >3ΓΙ . - 1 0 3 1ÌN> D l O p ΓΠίΓΐη . 1 0 3 b y i->pia> Who disagrees?

48

Rebbi Hanina the Colleague of the Rabbis 49 asked:

Just as you say in the evening that it is night if three stars are visible even though the sun is in the middle of the sky it is night, so you must say the same thing in the morning. Rebbi Abba 50 said: It is written (Gen. 19:23): "The sun went out over the earth and Lot came to Zoar." And it is written (Lev. 22:7): "The sun will come and he shall be pure." He brackets going out and coming. Since coming means that it is hidden from the creatures so also its coming out when it will be ascertained by the creatures. Rebbi Abba 51 said, it is written (Gen. 43:3): "In the morning it was light." The Torah called the light morning. 52 Rebbi Ismael 53 stated: (Ex. 12:10) "In the morning, in the morning," to give a domain to the very early morning. 48

With the criterion of three stars

three stars contradicts the Mishnah it

for the start of night.

must be invalid.

49

50

He usually goes by the name of R.

R. Abba also was a Babylonian, a

Hananiah the Colleague of the Rabbis,

student of Rav Huna and Rav Yehudah

a Babylonian w h o was an i m p o r t a n t

in Babylonia, who went to Israel and

teacher of the l e a d e r s of t h e f o u r t h

b e c a m e a r i c h silk m e r c h a n t

generation of Amoraim but who never

talmudic authority of the third gener-

headed a talmudic academy. He insists

ation of Amoraim, a contemporary of

that it is logical to assert that as long

R. Hanina the Colleague of the Rabbis.

as three stars can still be seen at dawn

His argument parallels the previous one

it is night even though it is relatively

but, since it is based on Biblical verses,

light and (Mishnah 5) one may well

it seems to be an attack on the Mishnah

distinguish b e t w e e n d a r k b l u e and

which gives d i f f e r e n t t r e a t m e n t s to

white, or between d a r k blue and dark

dawn and dusk.

green. Hence, since the theory of the

and

The first verse asserts that Lot came

60

CHAPTER ONE

to Zoar at sunrise. The second verse

brothers leaving Egypt to return to

asserts t h a t t h e C o h e n w h o

had

Canaan. Hence, it means the first dawn

cleansed himself f r o m impurity is

which was the first possible time for

purified at n i g h t f a l l as explained

their leaving, and the Biblical verse

earlier. The argument seems to center

connects the technical meaning of

on the ambiguous statement "the sun

"morning" with the first light of dawn.

will come and he will be pure."

Hence, the asymmetry of treating dawn

Everywhere, the "coming" of the sun is

and dusk is Biblical and Rebbi Hanina's

its going, sundown or nightfall. In the

and Rebbi A b b a ' s a r g u m e n t s

first verse, the coming of Lot to Zoar is

unjustified.

real coming, parallel to the going out

53

of the sun. Hence, in the first verse

temporary of Rebbi Akiba and head of

coming and going out are the same. It

his own school.

would follow that, in the second verse

quote from an anonymous statement in

also, coming must have the same status

Mekhilta

as going out since it is one of the

"'They shall eat the meat during that

principles of Rabbinic interpretation

night'; from here I understand during

that Biblical expressions have the same

the entire night. The verse says 'do not

meaning at e v e r y o c c u r r e n c e

(a

leave any leftovers until morning; but

säwäh.)

anything left over until morning you

principle known as gëzèrâh

are

He is a Tanna, an older con-

dëRibbi

The sentence is a

Ishmaël,

Bo, 6):

Hence, the different treatment of dawn

shall burn in fire.' Why does the verse

and dusk in the Mishnah seems to

repeat 'until morning'?

contradict the principles of Rabbinic

domain to the earliest part of morning.

Bible interpretation.

From here they said (Mishnah 3-4):

51

It is not known if this Rebbi

'The consumption of t h e Passover

Abba, solving the puzzle, is the same as

sacrifice and all other sacrifices, the

the author of the preceding question or

burning of their parts on the altar can

another sage of the same name.

The

be done until the start of dawn and all

editorial principle of the Babli, to

sacrifices that must be eaten within one

'JiVd

day can be eaten until the start of

tok and the following times as ί Λ β toh

dawn.' Why did the Sages decree (that

quote an authority the first time as

or

'JiVb m m does not apply to the

To give a

all must be done) until midnight?

To

Yerushalmi.

remove people from transgression and

52

to make a fence around the Torah."

The Biblical text tells of Joseph's

HALAKHAH 1 This is an additional indication that

61

Biblical start of a new day.

the earliest possible sign of dawn is the

V ' P L TY i n i y ")ri>> - i n i N O N

V3 ίου ngiprn η ρ tyl

>3r»l

>3-) > 3 >pi>

Î W

Jinnv?

I ? 1 ? ! ? ? N j i n r n -»©Ν .γηψ π ^ τ η o i » n n w

m > ? N HÏ

HV*

- P 9 5 7 V"V?N p a ? Ηϊη

->ÇN

iisp^a

V?

ìn^iì

aa i y η κ paa Î O > Ç n v i ,i>iy>7 N J j v v TV

R e b b i Y o s e bar A b u n said: If y o u say t o g i v e t h e t h i c k n e s s o f t h e s k y 5 4 t o t h e night b o t h in t h e e v e n i n g a n d in t h e m o r n i n g t h e n y o u m u s t s a y that d a y a n d n i g h t a r e n o t o f e q u a l l e n g t h ; b u t w e h a v e s t a t e d : O n t h e days o f the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, day and night h a v e e q u a l length.

R e b b i H u n a 5 5 said: W e m a y l e a r n f r o m t h e w a y s o f t h e w o r l d

s i n c e if t h e k i n g l e a v e s [his p a l a c e ] o n e a l r e a d y s t a t e s t h a t h e l e f t b e f o r e h e left b u t w h e n h e r e t u r n s o n e d o e s n o t s a y t h a t h e did r e t u r n until h e a c t u a l l y e n t e r e d [ t h e palace]. 54

T h e "thickness of the sky" is

55

A Babylonian who in most other

twilight, the time that the sun is no

tractates of the Yerushalmi appears as

longer seen over the earth before it has

Rebbi Huna (πηπ ,κιιπ 'ai), a student of

disappeared behind the gates of heaven

Rav Yosef in Babylonia, who emigrated

that are closed for the night.

to Israel. His argument is from popular

R. Y o s e bar Abun argues that if

usage, that as the king is said to be

twilight is treated the same way for

leaving b e f o r e he l e f t , so the sun is

dawn and dusk then at the equinox the

said to be setting although three stars

days are not evenly split between day

can still be seen; but the king is not

and night. Since it is accepted that at

reported to have returned until he

the equinox day and night are equal it

actually did.

follows that any part of twilight given

before the sun has disappeared beyond

to the night at dusk must be given to

the heavenly gates and three stars are

the day at dawn.

visible. [ T h e

Hence, day cannot end

Babylonian

Talmud

62

CHAPTER ONE

(Pesahim 53b) is strictly of the opinion

of equal length.]

that the twilights of dawn and dusk are

l i n > p " η η > '-> m i o N i n i p

.v^n W

o>?nb? n ^ N i ^ n ç 1NJ31

m

i p w

. o > i n b 3 ί ο ν "in") o p N l p o ?

is?

-15 t w n v p "1 ov^?

-13 ί ο υ η - ι

.Njo^i?

i m p

yo τ η

τιίιψη> - j n y

V?!?n>? Viiy»

rrç το

ï y Jii^o?

o î p > r n D'DN>O? -10N7 njç» v s n a î ? i r f r ")>n o > ? N > » n n o t o

H e w h o prepares to pray must equalize his f e e t 5 6 .

Two Amoraim,

Rebbi Levi 5 7 and Rebbi Simon 5 8 ; one of them says like angels 5 9 and one of them says like priests. He who says like priests, (Ex. 20:26): "You shall not ascend my alter by stairs;" that means that they were walking with their heel next to the great toe and great toe next to the heel.

He who

says like angels (Ez. 1:7)" "Their feet were a straight foot." Rebbi Hanina bar Andrei in the name of R. Samuel ben Sotar 60 : angels have no m o v i n g joints.

What is the reason? (Dan.

7:16) "I approached o n e of those

standing," the fixed ones 6 1 . The Babli (Berakhot 10b) brings

would look like one foot, from the

only the opinion that in praying the

verse quoted: "their feet were one

"Amidah prayer one has to equalize

s t r a i g h t foot."

one's feet like the angels; and this is

Haëshkol (part 1, p. 17) quotes an

the name of R. Yose bar Hanina in the

opinion, possibly of Rav Hai Gaon, that

name of R. Eliezer ben Jacob.

the heels should be together but the

57

toes separated to form a semicircle

56

A preacher in the Academy of R.

However,

Sefer

Yohanan.

since the verse quoted from Ezechiel

58

continues "the sole of their feet was

An older preacher, R. Simon ben

Pazi, student of R. Joshua ben Levi.

like the foot sole of a calf."

59

60

It is usually explained that this

Rebbi Hanina bar Andrei seems to

means that both legs have to be

have been a contemporary of R. Levi

parallel and together so that they

and R. Yose bar Hanina; he is

HALAKHAH1 mentioned only two times in Talmudic

those standing n'sxp," the f i x e d ones

literature. R. Samuel bar Sotar seems

K'n"p. It also says (Is. 6:2): "Seraphim

to be i d e n t i c a l w i t h R. Samuel b a r

are standing over Him;" (2Chr. 18:18):

Sosarta, a n o t h e r contemporary of t h e

"All

preceding. The entire discussion in the

standing," and here it says "when they

Yerushalmi is b e t w e e n sages of t h e

are standing"; this is astonishing.

same generation.

really means "when they are standing" (

61

In Midrash Bereshit rabba 65(17),

Disss), it m e a n s "the p e o p l e c o m e ,

the lexical n o t e is a t t r i b u t e d to t h e

silence" ( o í ny xa), i.e., when Israel a r e

slightly o l d e r a u t h o r i t y R. R e u b e n :

saying "Hear o Israel" the angels a r e

Rebbi Reuben said: It is w r i t t e n ( E z .

silent and then their wings drop.

1:25) "When they w e r e standing their wings b e c a m e limp."

Is t h e r e any

the

hosts

Midrash

of

Bereshit

Yerushalmi

Heaven

rabba

source

and

were

What

is an old one

may

sitting in heaven (that standing should

speculate that the Midrash p r e c e d e s

be r e m a r k a b l e ) ?

Does not R. Samuel

the editing of the Talmud; otherwise it

say: there is no sitting in heaven since

would be i n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e w h y a

it says (Ez.

s t a t e m e n t on t h e A m i d a h

1:7) "their f e e t w e r e a

prayer

straight foot." They have no moving

intrudes on the discussion of the rules

joints: (Dan. 7:16) "I approached one of

of Shema'.

tp-u r o m o

r i D - p n η ρ ^ π n u s D o r p n TIN

UN? i o n: ιiτ r p w t o v a

. v nτ iτ îs t ï oτ *> JIN ÌD-O nτ ·o v: ·a :ιτ

τι^ι ì : m m n n i ^ n n . ν π ρ ο?>*τ> .ΝΓΙΝ^η?

rrç N ì i n >3-1 ->ON .VDN^O •>·>? JIN ID-Q -»nit? » τ : :ιτ

-into r j n s 7Ui\wa r o * m i p ì o a rwyà

.vtyvo-^

. n t o t o i •>·> τ π α o n p i y n *

* *

ΝΓΙ>>?7(?? Ν3ΊΝ>>Γ1 Ί Π Π V3-|N 1>Π O N I V ì f O *

Rebbi H u n a said: H e w h o s e e s the priests in the s y n a g o g u e , at t h e first blessing h e must say ( Ρ s. 1 0 3 : 2 0 ) "praise t h e L o r d , His m e s s e n g e r s . " the s e c o n d b l e s s i n g (v. 2 1 ) "praise t h e L o r d all H i s hosts." blessing (v. 2 2 ) "praise t h e Lord all His creatures."

A t Musaf

blessing he m u s t s a y ( Ρ s. 134:1) "A s o n g of a s c e n t .

At

A t t h e third at t h e first

P r a i s e t h e L o r d all

servants of the Lord, w h o are standing in the Lord's H o u s e in t h e nights."

64

CHAPTER ONE

At the second blessing (v. 2) "lift your hands in holiness." At the third blessing (v. 3) "May the Lord bless you from Zion." When there are four blessings then for the third he repeats the first, for the fourth the second 62 . 62

Since the priestly blessing is

regular part of the morning

Amidah,

Babli (Sota 39b) gives separate verses also for days of t h r e e and

four

the instruction on how to behave

blessings and rejects the last selection

during the blessing is added here. The

of the Yerushalmi.

7|>n>? o"TN r n ^ n - ύ ϊ ο ψ l y -irrçin TV m j p n - ή Ν ί ψ ρ p o p i

ïy

N w n >?-»

η » η η νηφ

*τν n i d o r i - ΐ ί Ν > ψ η

vypv'D i ' n D i ."m n ^ ι η ^ π i n ? ì α>τρ7 ^ t ? i i ü i i n n ç n r i ^ π ψ

>3"! - i ç n

. y n n -mi> > > ? ru>a*w

*TJ? η η φ η

pjpì

DÍ*TÜ p i

Rebbi Hinnena

o i b i ^"wn

.rj-vjn o r i ^ a ! ? -n¡?)? ΓΡΠ î | N > ç n

.nrrurte 63

r n y i * ni

n£>»

ios

nva-jx

said: From the appearance of the "morning hind 64 "

until the first rays of light in the East a man can walk four mil65. the first rays of light in the East until sunrise four mil66.

From

From where do

we know that from the first rays of light in the East until sunrise there are four mil? Since it is written (Gen. 19:15) "about when the morning came etc. 67 " And it is written (v. 23) "the sun rose over the land and Lot arrived at Zoär." From Sodom to Zoär there are four mil.

It is farther than

that. 68 Rebbi Zeira said: the angel was flattening 69 the road before them. And from where do we know that from the appearance of "the morning hind" until the first rays of light at the East there are four mill

"About

when", "when", compares one thing to another 70 . The prints and the Leyden

reading chosen is that of the Rome

manuscript have Ίϊπ 'τ, referring to an

manuscript. The bearer of that name

o t h e r w i s e unknown scholar.

was a Galilean Amora of the third

63

The

HALAKHAH 1 generation.

Hence, in Mishnaic times the location

64

of Zoar was still known.

This Biblical allusion (Psalm 22)

In the Babli

denotes the zodiacal light; see the next

(Pesahim

section.

that he checked out the distance and

65

found it to be five mil. The Babli finds

For the determination of the time

implied

by t h e d i s t a n c e , s e e

the

93b), Rebbi Hanina testifies

that t h e t i m e of an a v e r a g e p e r s o n

paragraph a f t e r the next.

walking f i v e mil is too long for dawn

66

This statement is found also in the

but he does not try to harmonize t h e

Babylonian Talmud ( P e s a h i m 9 4 a ) ,

interpretation of the verses with t h e

t h e r e one s p e a k s of m w n niVv, "the

current observations of twilight.

coming up of the morning", mwn nV"K

69

is not a t e c h n i c a l t e r m used in t h e

Eruvin

Babli.

"levelling" by surveyors who f o r exact

The verb π ρ ο is used in t r a c t a t e in t h e t e c h n i c a l

sense

of

T h e verse d e s c r i b e s t h e time

measurements use only yardsticks that

when the angels pushed Lot to leave

are exactly horizontal. R. Zeira wants

Sodom.

to say that they walked only absolutely

68

flat roads w h e r e t h e usual s p e e d is

67

In absence of a reliable tradition

about the locations of Zoar and Sodom,

higher.

it is d i f f i c u l t t o k n o w

70

the

real

One can apply the principle of

distances. In the documents found with

mw πίτα, t h a t in g e n e r a l a c e r t a i n

the Bar Kochba letters in the desert of

expression has the same meaning in all

Judea, a locality Z o a r is m e n t i o n e d .

contexts.

Ν > η N3T1DÌD V">3p

INO

"ρτ?

Ν Γ Ι > » Ν Ν"ΤΠ 113 >3") >3 >DV >3"! I O N

íO T QN>P

> 3 - η N a n Ν>>η > 3 Ί

N J O I P P N'ÌTJ

. i n n j j p ì Nni>7E y? Vî?>tn N*ìinrr

w o i N n i i n ì ? ? î n - i N n y p o Ν*ΤΓ)3 >3-p3

")3 p v p w

n i i ν»π r n

w n N n p ^ n 13 p v p w . r n i N yj?3\y - » η ψ η

r a n Ν > η η ? > ί π Ν > η ψ n n ^ D π κ ρ ρ ΠΝ>ρρ n ^ r u ^

ïï? ί π ν " !

own

n w

v m > n ni* lian nj??!

l ^ i p i

ϊ ψ ιπ'ρκι

ΙΠΝ")

wn

"ϊϋΨ?

. η η ρ γ η π ί ι ν r m > n ο>τ>绣 η ? Ί Π Ν Ί

66

CHAPTER ONE

Rebbi Yose bar Abun said: Anybody who identifies the "morning hind" with the planet Venus is in error; that planet sometimes is too early and sometimes too late71. What is it? It is like two double horns of light that arise from the East and give light. Explanation72: The great Rebbi Hiyya and Rebbi Simeon ben Halaphta 73 were walking in the valley of Arbela before morning and saw "the morning hind" that started radiating. The great Rebbi Hiyya said to Rebbi Simeon ben Halaphta, the great man: so will be the deliverance of Israel; it starts out very little and grows and longer as it goes on. What is the reason (Micha 7:8): "When I shall dwell in darkness, the Lord is my light." So also at the start (Esther 2:21): "Mordocai was sitting at the king's gate." After that (6:11): "Haman took the garment and the horse." After that (6.12): "Mordocai returned to the king's gate." After that (8:15): "Mordocai left the king's presence in royal garb." After that (8.16): "The Jews had light and joy." 71

That means, sometimes Venus sets

spelling

KoVn is f o u n d . )

Briill's

still during the night and s o m e t i m e s it

explanation is more d i f f i c u l t to a c c e p t

is still seen after sunrise.

since substitutions of the liquids l,r for

72

This

is t h e

explanation

of

o n e a n o t h e r are e x t r e m e l y r a r e in

F r a n k e l in his "Introduction to t h e

G r e e k w o r d s c o m i n g into

Yerushalmi", f r o m G r e e k

Also, no action is reported here.

δήλωμα.

Aramaic.

Levy in his dictionary r e f e r s to Greek

73

δίλημμα,

only

Hiyya, the s t u d e n t and c o l l e a g u e of

difficult

Rebbi, the collector of the Tosephtah.

which

"proposition alternatives."

of

means two

Brüll in his critique of

Rebbi

Simeon

ben

Halaphta

is a

Greek

contemporary w h o l i k e R e b b i H i y y a

Frankel's c h o i c e is

does not appear in the Mishnah (except

Levy's dictionary δ ρ ά μ α "action".

Rebbi Hiyya the Great is Rebbi

proposes

difficult since both long v o w e l s should be expressed, K»iVn (In Midrashim, the

for the aggadic very last Mishnah.)

HALAKHAH 1

î t è î » ? JPP")

ty

ι η , υ ύ ruanny IV ty

Γ φ > >3-» o w 3 >3117 r m > > 3 1 ? n j o n >n*n . o v a ' y n o > v ? l í < l > r » p >3ú>a o i n

ί > 3 ί ν ψ "IOÍN J1N3)?? !?>» ΤφζηΗ

NJY D>WON RJBNE V>P") Jin ï y n w v n o v o π ρ ι sin « η

. o i r m >ia

SI

Î J O W

TY

.my

ΓΟψ D>W»0

o>wpn ^Pl?

ΟΓ):?Ί ,DÍ»3 RNYYN "ÎÇII$ V'PL

o ' w n n rj^np o i r r n Jin i p n ? i>ripi

v i i y i >pNn ï y

.n^nfl?

lini

nuiy

l'rpi .niijimnl?

The statement of Rebbi Hanina

74

is parallel to that of Rebbi Yehudah

since it was stated in the name of Rebbi Yehudah: the thickness of the sky is a walk of 50 years 75 . An average person walks 40 mil during a day 7 6 . Until the sun breaks through in the sky it passes the distance of 50 years; during that time a man can walk four mil. If follows that the thickness of the sky is one tenth [of the path of the sun] in one day. And just as the thickness of the sky is a walk of 50 years so the thickness of the earth and that of the abyss is a walk of 50 years 7 7 . What is the reason?

(Is.

40:22) "He Who thrones over the circle of the earth," and it is written (Job 22:14): "He passes by the circle of the sky." And it is written (Prov. 8:27) "When He carved out a circle on the face of the abyss." "Circle" (JOT) always has the same meaning. 74

Here the argument returns to the

is quoted only as saying that the

prior statement of R. Hanina, that the

thickness of the sky, the distance the

twilight at dawn is the time to walk

sun covers between the start and the

four mil.

In the Leyden ms. and the

end of dawn, is one-tenth of the entire

prints, the r e f e r e n c e here is to R.

day (from beginning of dawn to end of

Hiyya; the correct reading is in the

dusk).

Rome ms. and the commentary of R.

parallel Bereshit

Eleazar Askari.

asserted that the entire sky represents

75

In the parallel version of this

a distance of 500 years and that

argument in the Babli, Rebbi Yehudah

between each sky and the next there is

In the next section and in the rabba

6(9), it is

6£

CHAPTER ONE

a distance measured by S00 years. It is

Babli Pesahim

not clear how the "distance of 500

tradition that the circumference of the

years" is meant to be computed.

earth is 6000 parasangs or 24Ό00 mil.

76

A mil is 2000 cubits. Therefore,

It is not clear at which latitude this

the exact length of a mil depends on

length is computed. Based on a Greek

the length of a cubit.

Based on a

παρασάγγης of 5.523 km, the com-

length of 55 cm for a cubit, the mil

puted 33Ό78 km would fit well with

would be 1100 meters.

the circumference of the earth at about

The Roman

94a, Rava quotes a

mile was 1473.2 m. A mil of 1100 m

the latitude of Jerusalem or Southern

would give a daily trip of 27.34 English

Babylonia.

miles.

would be 1380 m.

Determination of the mil by

modern Rabbinic authorities vary from

77

960m (Rav Naeh) to 1152m (Hazon Ish)

of Earth.

and 1296m (Hatam Sopher).

«1ÌO

The abyss being below the mantle

In the

^ T ? Γ φ > >3"» DON ,ΓΟψ J1ÌNO ΨΟΠ

niçn v n o r i n ΐζΟΊ

J v y j i o a >p

Λ1ΝΠ

ty

t i í n o w n r ) - ^ i p n w^b

.iato - α · } >(VP n>n"j OÜ^

o?1¥>?

ü ^ l l>a

i o n an

n a i ? (TTV >a*i - i ç n ."m a m n >n?

.wipi

.^>pnn rmn>

.nriw

V"V?N

i m o won q^rjo

^ΊΝΓΙ

. m y i m p w n ç îtèïW? v^iV"! r o y

.rjiíia ϋ > ρ ι >ιη . o ^ n n n i n a p p * i >η> v a ' a n -mon

ptn> y p - j

nM^pj

' O ' ? D>3WN-)n J1Í3N

î t ë o ç ϋ ' Ρ Ι ï y i r j i y -in>o n > n n n » i

>3ΓΙ

rpiHpri ."|în γ ι ν π ί ρ ψ π > i 7 v n n * V

.Tivi o > ) y y a y π ^ ί ΐ ο WD·) . o V o>ya-¡N Oypl

O"0 ^

.irrp

o^wwiP ΤΠΝ ο»»ο "XV >3τι . o ? n >ΐ>3 ϊν

d?*îî»p w i s rpiHpn . r m w i p n r i

an

The corresponding mil

ν^ΝΊπ ova .V'Pin "to?

ì v p l » ì I O N J^NI nip

niNn won vn o v ó

^ P i n vy-ιρ?

-im

.pp-jn

. p p " ) n n>>v?n V P ?

Is has been stated: The Tree of Life is wide a parcourse of 5 0 0 years. Rebbi Yehudah ben Rebbi Hai 78 said: not only its crown but even its stem.

m

HALAKHAH1

All the splitting of primeval waters splits under it since (Ρ s. 1:3) "He shall be like a tree planted on split waters 79 ." It has been stated: The Tree of Life is one sixtieth of the Garden. (Gen. 2:10) "And a river originated in Eden to irrigate the Garden." The remainder of a kur is a triple qab, a sixtieth 80 . The remainder of Africa is Egypt, a sixtieth. We find that it is said that Egypt can be traversed in 40 days 8 1 .

Black Africa can be

traversed in slightly more than seven years 82 . But the teachers say [the sky is determined] by the days of the patriarchs (Deut. 11:21) "like the days of the sky over the earth." 83 And just as the sky over the earth is at a distance of a way of 500 years so between one sky and the next is a way of 500 years and its thickness is a way of 500 years. Why did you see fit to say the thickness of the sky is a way of 500 years? 8 4

Rebbi

Abun said 85 (Gen. 1:6): "There shall exist a spread-sky within the water." The spread-sky shall be in the middle. Rav said: the sky was wet on the first day and jelled on the second day.

Rav said: "There shall exist a

spread-sky": the sky shall strengthen, the sky shall jell, the sky shall solidify, the sky shall be spread. Rebbi Yehudah ben Pazi said: The sky (»'¡y"1) shall be made like a piece of cloth, just as it is said (Ex. 39:3) "They stretched (w¡vm) out the gold sheets." 78

He is Rebbi Yehudah quoted in

vessels used for a kur of grain one can

both T a l m u d i m w i t h o u t his f a t h e r ' s

still irrigate three qab.

name.

qab.)

79

Taken as an allusion to paradise.

It is c l e a r f r o m t h e t e x t that

81

(A kur is 180

Egypt is d e f i n e d as the country

the

between the Mediterranean and A s w a n

Garden of Eden and the Tree of L i f e

(Syene). The distance was determined

are not earthly creations.

by the Alexandrian a s t r o n o m e r Era-

80

tosthenes to be a p p r o x i m a t e l y

From here on there is a parallel in

Babli Taänit

10a. Rashi explains there

that with w h a t r e m a i n s in w a t e r i n g

stadia.

T h e l e n g t h of

the

5000 Greek

Stadion is no better d e f i n e d than t h e

m

CHAPTER ONE

Jewish mil. The distance is in the order

84

of magnitude of 1000 km or about 650

against the anonymous Sages who had

miles.

earlier defined the thickness of the sky

82

All commentators are at a loss

I.e., to take the part of R. Yehudah

as the equivalent of 50 years.

The

here since it should say "slightly less

question remains unanswered.

than seven years" (2400 days) but there

85

is no manuscript evidence for such a

detail in Bereshit rabba 4(1). There we

reading.

read: "The rabbis say in the names of R.

83

The full verse reads: "that your

Hanina, R. Pinhas, R. Jacob bar Abun,

days and the days of your descendants

in the name of R. Shemuel bar Nahman:

This section is given in greater

should increase on the Land that the

When the Holy One, praise to Him,

Eternal had sworn to your forefathers

said: 'there should be a spread', the

to give to them, like the days of the

middle drop jelled and separated upper

sky over the earth." The days of the

and lower waters."

forefathers were 175 years for Abra-

opinion of Rav is quoted.

ham, 180 for Isaac, and 147 for Jacob, together 502 years.

After that the

The opinion of R. Yehudah ben Pazi

The time when

is given there by R. Yehudah bar Simon

Abraham recognized God as the

(the full name is R. Yehudah ben R.

Creator is a matter of controversy in

Simon ben Pazi where either "ben Pazi"

midrashic sources; our source here

is a family name or Pazi is one of R.

seems to side with the opinion that

Hiyya's twin daughters, Pazi and

Abraham recognized the futility of idol

Martha). So possibly R. Abun here is

worship at age 3; then his years as the

the father of R. Jacob bar Abun in the

Lord's servant were 173 and the sum is

second generation of Amoraïm and not

500.

the late R. Abun.

> N - p o ' v t t r i o > p n y ! ? i » y ^ ρ η τ » N3>?n > 3 i -»oto n o ! p r i V N n ? 1>N-)i n y v ì η ^ ψ ' ^ ι

ν π ν >2-> - i & n t

. 0 0 ? l V ^ u ΙΠψ TOty J P P T S >N-p i n t o Ίίφη

v ? " } ^ im»

.o>p$r> xpptfin

It has been stated in the name of Rebbi Joshua 8 6 : the thickness of the sky is two fingers wide. The words of Rebbi Hanina 8 7 disagree, as Rebbi

71

HALAKHAH 1

Aha said in the name of Rebbi Hanina ( J o b 3 7 : 1 8 ) "Go to spread the skies with Him; they are strong like a cast mirror." "Go to spread", that shows that they are made like sheet metal. I could think that they are not sturdy but the verse says "strong". I could think that they might w e a k e n 8 8 , the verse says "like a cast mirror;" at every moment they appear recast. 86

Rebbi Joshua ben Hananiah, one

by late Amoraïm.

of the two foremost students of Rabban

87

Even though his words are

Yohanan ben Zakkai, of the first

reported by Rebbi Aha of the fourth

generation after the destruction of the

generation of Amorai'm, R. Hanina here

Second Temple. He is known for his

is R. Hanina bar Hama of the first

cosmological opinion, explained in the

generation.

first chapters of Seder Olam, that the

ambiguous as are most verses of that

world was created in Nisan. Here he

book. The verb vpin is usually taken

disagrees with the opinion of the later

to mean "to reach the sky"; here it is

rabbis, discussed up to now, that the

taken in the sense "to work metal into

width of the sky is a parcourse of

thin sheets" indicated in the previous

several years.

In the Babylonian

section by R. Yehudah ben Pazi.

Talmud Hagigah

15a, R. Joshua seems

88

The verse from Job is

At some time in the future. The

to oppose the opinion of Simeon ben

Targum to Job

Zoma who defines the spread between

refined metal". The implication here

the lower (terrestrian) and the upper

seems to be from the passive participle

(heavenly) waters to be three digits;

pxin "being cast" (or "refined") in a

smaller measures there are only given

timeless manner.

CHN

(fol. 2d) I O N ·)3ην >3-) , ύ ψ ϊ

a>rpì >·ρ

οηηρη ion tn? 0 > > ? ÎJÇi) O-JN

>ρ ν Νΐη ο ' ο ψ η

νιρϊ

o í ? ? ο ν ηϊη

.τη

12 ή ν » ? ^

D>P\n

. ρ ^ ο >Ν*ρ NDn o n ? r m b o n ^ ç

ι ? ή ν ρ ψ >:η7

Π)0 . ψ η ^ Ό OV ΠΝ CPÎI^Nl

ÌÌV)?W >3*y! ·)3πν

.na*) mrrçi >·ρ ì y t?niN nrito

1ÇN

η ν ψ ? 1>ΝΊ3 i n n y v ì n y ^ ' t o a

translates "mirror of

^

η η ΐ ν >3-» .·|ΓΙΪ?>3>

Λ ν ^ ν η Oi»3

ì>3V n o p " !

ηιηψ

Î7D»!

ró-r^ìn π ^ ν n n r i i

72

CHAPTER ONE 03D3

. N S V Υ φ η ΐ OID) VHÎn

Γύψ")

,N2ÍÍ> ο ί η

-

D>n>hf * n w y oi>? ΟΝ-Ι3Π1 "ΌΝη ) ο>»ψη r m > t a

τα&ν VW

89

Rebbi Yohanan and Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish . Rebbi Yohanan said: Usually when someone stretches the ropes of a tent, in time the ropes will loosen. But here (Is. 40:22) "He stretched them like a tent to sit in," and it said (Job 37:18): "they are strong."

Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said:

"Usually if someone casts a vessel, in time it will rust. But here "like a cast mirror," all the time they look like newly cast. Rebbi Azariah 9 0 comments on the remark of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish (Gen. 2:1-3) "The sky and the earth and all their hosts were completed. God finished on the Seventh Day . . . and God blessed the Seventh Day." What is written after that? (Gen. 2:4) "These are the generations of the skies." What has one to do with the other? Only that a day comes and goes, a week comes and goes, a month comes and goes, a year comes and goes 91 . And it is written (Gen. 2:4) "These are the generations of the skies and the earth when they were created, on the day that the Eternal, God, created earth and heaven." The brother-in-law and, according

including sky and earth. His statement

to Babylonian tradition, student of R.

here seems to say that the generations

Yohanan. They both elaborate on the

of the sky are the astronomical periods

verse from Job treated by R. Yohanan's

and that nevertheless everything is as

teacher R. Hanina.

on the day when sky and earth were

90

created.

89

One of the teachers of the fifth

generation of Galilean Amoraüm.

In

91

The use of masculine forms for

Bereshit rabba 12, R. Azariah explicitly

both masculine and feminine is not

objects to the opinion that everything

uncommon in the Yerushalmi.

that has generations will wilt and die,

71

HALAKHAH 1

•τη* D3ÌV9 τηκ v n n

n i n a y * * 1>31ίö

πνη

,nyv> n ^ - i N i

0 ^ 3 n > ; n a >3-) . ν η η N i n n>a? .riy'? n v 3 " | i < i

N i a n η ψ ί ρ ρ ο *ΤΠΝ v n n t w ì o y j >?ri .·)?*> T ) 0 ? witrç» i i o i N

ony/^o

V"!>?N 1531)

iipw!?

>3-1 . n y v > Γ φ α ψ ι D>V31Í£fc>f n y w i .r»iD>nn m i-.· n v :m- nτ ν ι ο τ · -

R e b b i 9 2 said: T h e r e are f o u r w a t c h e s d u r i n g d a y t i m e a n d f o u r at nighttime.

T h e period is o n e t w e n t y - f o u r t h of an hour. T h e t i m e is o n e

twenty-fourth of a period.

The m o m e n t is o n e t w e n t y - f o u r t h of a time.

H o w m u c h is a m o m e n t ?

Rebbi B e r e k h i a h in the n a m e of Rebbi H e l b o

said: as long as o n e needs to p r o n o u n c e it. T h e S a g e s say the m o m e n t is like the blink of an eyelash. Samuel did formulate: the m o m e n t is o n e in 5 6 , 8 4 8 of an hour 9 3 .

Rebbi Nathan said three: (Jud. 7:19) "at the start of

the middle watch." 92

Since Rebbi E l i e z e r in t h e

practice.

Rebbi

Nathan,

a

Mishnah had defined the time of the

contemporary of Rebbi known as "the

recital of Shema' as the first watch in

Babylonian", f o l l o w s a B a b y l o n i a n

the night, the discussion of the Mishnah

tradition that also seems to have been

now turns to the legal determination of

the old Israelite p r a c t i c e since the

the length of a nightwatch.

The text

v e r s e f r o m J u d g e s s p e a k s of

one

here is composed of two sources. The

"middle watch" which is possible only

statement about the number of watches

if there are an odd number of watches

in a night according to Rebbi and

in the night.

Rebbi Nathan is a Tosephta (Berakhot

watch is three hours and it has been

1:1).

According to Rebbi, a

This T o s e p h t a a l s o has the

noted that R. Joshua, w h o a l l o w s

division of the hour and its subdivisions

Shema' to be recited during the first

by 24 parts each. This seems to belong

three hours of daylight, follows Rebbi

to R e b b i ' s

in the division of the day

statement

since

this

subdivision and the division of the

93

night (and possibly the day) is Roman

Yerushalmi sources [the Talmud here.

Of this part t h e r e exist t h r e e

74

CHAPTER ONE

M idrasti Ekha r abbati on Threni

2:19.

Midrash

Samuel

3(1)], all of w h i c h

scribal errors) a r e close to Samuel's number.

One may, t h e r e f o r e , assume

have an i d e n t i c a l text and t h e d e f -

that the original number in all Talmud

inition of the number of moments in an

texts was 56848.

3

hour by R e b b i as 2 4 = 13824, by

In t h e B a b y l o n i a n T a l m u d ,

the

Samuel as 56848, and by others either

number given is f r o m an a n o n y m o u s

as the time needed to say the word or

Tannaïtic source which also adds:

as the blinking of an eye.

In Baby-

"Nobody can d e t e r m i n e t h e m o m e n t

lonian sources (Berakhot 7a,

Abodah

exactly; only Bileam the sorcerer could

quoted

do that." In Antiquity (and the Middle

anonymously and a r e given as 58888

Ages), all astronomical c o m p u t a t i o n s

(printed editions), 56880

(Munich

were done in the technique of the old

manuscript), 56800 (Koronel manu-

Babylonians, in a number system based

script) in Berakhot

on s u b d i v i s i o n s by 60.

zarah

4a) t h e n u m b e r s a r e

and 53848 (printed

In g e n e r a l ,

editions), 56884 (R. Hananel), 56888

divisions were executed only

(Munich ms.) in Abodah zarah.

In Sefer

numbers that have an easy reciprocal

the reading is 5845.

in the sexagesimal system, i.e., they a r e

T h e o p i n i o n t h a t a m o m e n t is t h e

composed by factors of 60 (2, 3, 5, and

length of time needed to pronounce the

their multiples).

word is attributed in the Babli to Rebbi

people looked up the r e c i p r o c a i in a

A b i n ( w h o might be i d e n t i c a l with

table and then multiplied.

Rabin, a Galilean

the astronomer of most authority in the

Agadot H at almud

authority

who

for

Instead of dividing,

Samuel is

escaped persecution by an emperor and

Talmud.

b e c a m e an a u t h o r i t y in Babylonia.)

assume that his number, which is not

Only the numbers given in the Yeru-

invertible by the Babylonian method, is

shalmi t r a d i t i o n a r e c o m p o s i t e s of

a good e x a m p l e t h a t " n o b o d y

simple numbers; Samuel's number is 16

exactly determine the moment" because

XI1X17X19, w h e r e a s t h e B a b y l o n i a n

1/56848 is an i n f i n i t e s e x a g e s i m a l

Hence, it is r e a s o n a b l e to

can

numbers have no decomposition into

fraction. Hence, the comment of t h e

small factors.

the

Tanna, that "nobody can d e t e r m i n e the

n u m b e r s in t h e B a b y l o n i a n s o u r c e s

moment exactly," is i m p l i e d in t h e

(who have b e e e n c o p i e d and e d i t e d

number of Samuel and t h e Babylonian

much more than the Yerushalmi and,

text is a derivative of the Yerushalmi

t h e r e f o r e , a r e more likely to contain

text here.

N o w most of

HALAKHAH 1

21

ο ί ρ κ rfr»^ n t a q '3-1-7 r p o y o w p ï 13 T»V>?Y> »31 ->©N n » p t n >3-1 . T m o y j N »)»y 1 0 7 p I>TI?Ì

»\?£>v>p

t > Jivrin>

n ' p y o -»on n j n n - ) >317 n»py\? - i o n τ η N a »31 ι ρ ' ΐ ΐ ' 3 i

IK® ηιίοψκη .rù^

» o n »311 lp»i^ u n

i n î »317 n»py\? ">P7 i n ç i

rmn o'py?

. n ^ n i s q >3-17 ' p y \ ? i i r r

n i s q >317 n»ny\? i n j ' 3 i o»»pp 10 .nji3>rin

m i v p "Wis τ π n»ny n y ^ ? ™

'N3 u n

.Jii-im>N »3»y 1 0 7 p o » p y ? i

. j m n y w »3»y 1 0 7 p i o s y r m y p -Tyic n»m> n ^ V ? 1 r n i y DON "ΤΝΤΨ NID . η ' 0 7 * M > Η?ΨΡΙ N>Î)N NJTIN n i q N^ O P N ' ^ S N ,'N-|37 n n p ' N » n i p i n n p > -i»yjiN .-ιηψ n y y N niap-j :733η r m y n i a ? N5>)n N W

,-ιηψ r v v y N

I N ^ "»oiN"! I N O P P ty

n n p » N 0 7 p i n Dit?? 3>yin n"? >ip»N RPM .'> - n i y p ΝΙΠ t ö ΝΊΟΨ . n y w - n i y p

"|3*ì7 .-»ηψ n y y N ->pn JW") . " n i i y p "ΐηψπ n i » p > -

-IOÌN NÌD) . o i p N r ù ^ r i t e n ->pΝ TIN ) .riiyy

l y ·)»?#?

' 3 i DW? o n ? » ? »31 .nv>iy * m n»n n ç i » s n s -Tpiy) v j i w n i ö i3jpi3") -ώ? - )

0 ^ 3 lîopi poiy

isni o»?!?p

. q p i * »y>?yn !?y ï v i ) η»π o n i p

τ η ON n o i

m r i n n u n i»n n o i . r n i n »i»3Q iypv>?y

VJIISIIM 7J33 »TON Η»Π τ 77: τ ττ

»TO »3*1 ION .DODI DÖS ΠΠΝ I?Y UNτ Mτ I N I· - τ τ - ; τ - *

. ì ' bτ ' N· ·O· · · 13130 TVm Ì 3 11333301 n!7»Ì>3 JUVÓO Ι1»3Ί33: m i Π»Π1 "ΤVT · · - j τ τ : ν ν : · : τ : - 7 7 " : τ τ : · τ OWpn

Ν^Ν I N ? 3W1D Ì»N

τ

.·)»ρη 1Î33 Π'ΓΙ) 3'T1?7 N i n n , ν ^ ' Ν Ο i w p π»η

Rebbi Zeriqan and Rebbi A m m i 9 4 in the n a m e of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish:

The reason of Rebbi is ( Ρ s. 119:62): "At midnight I get up to

thank You for Your just laws." And it is written (Ps. 119:148): "My eyes preceded night watches." Rebbi Hizqiah said: Rebbi Zeriqan and Rebbi Abba, one explained the reason of Rebbi, the other the reason of Rebbi Nathan. He who explained the reason of Rebbi: "at midnight".

He who

explained the reason of Rebbi Nathan ( J u d . 7:19): "at t h e s t a r t of t h e middle watch." 9 5

H o w does Rebbi Nathan uphold the basis of Rebbi's

76

CHAPTER ONE

reason, "at midnight"? Sometimes "at midnight," sometimes "my eyes preceded night watches." How is that? When David had a state dinner, "at midnight." When he ate by himself, "my eyes preceded night watches." In no case did dawn come and found David asleep. That is what David said (Ps. 57:9): "Wake up, my honor, wake up, o harp and lute, I shall awake dawn." My honor has to be awake because of the honor of my Creator. My honor counts for nothing before the honor of my Creator. I shall awake dawn, dawn will not awake me. His evil instinct was trying to seduce him and told him: David, usually dawn awakes kings and you say "I shall awake dawn!" Usually kings sleep until three hours into the day and you say "at midnight I get up!" But he answers, "for Your just laws." What did David do? Rebbi Phineas in the name of Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Menahem 96 : He took a harp, put it on his headboard, got up at midnight and started playing on it so that his companions in the study of Torah should hear it. What were his companions in the study of Torah saying? When king David studies Torah, certainly we have to do it also! Rebbi Levi 97 said: a lute was hanging in David's window and in the night the North wind was blowing and moving it and it was playing by itself. This refers to what is written ( 2 K i n g s 3:15): "It happened when the musical instrument was playing." It does not say "when he played on the musical instrument" but "when the instrument was playing"; it was playing by itself.

Rebbi Ammi (or Immi) was the

follows: King David declares that he is

successor of Rebbi Yohanan as head of

used to get up at midnight and also that

the academy of Tiberias.

Rebbi

he gets up at the start of some night

Zeriqan was another student of Rebbi

watch. But if midnight is the start of a

Yohanan.

watch then the number of watches has

94

Their argument g o e s as

77

HALAKHAH1 to be even. [The parallel in the Babli

97

The preacher in the academy of

(Berakhot 3b) is a shortened version of

R. Y o h a n a n .

the Yerushalmi (in p a r t i c u l a r , in t h e

without the r e f e r e n c e to the story of

A shortened

version,

Ashkenazic manuscript tradition.)]

Elisha, is a Babylonian t r a d i t i o n , by

95

contemporary Babylonian teachers, in

96

See the preceding paragraph. Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Mena-

Babli Berakhot

3b. T h e verse quoted

hem was an Aggadist of the generation

talks a b o u t t h e p r o p h e t i c e x t a s y of

of Rebbi Ammi; Rebbi Phineas belongs

Elisha b e f o r e king J e h o s h a p h a t .

to the following generation. A parallel

Elazar Azkari explains that the verse

Babylonian tradition is given in Babli

from Kings can be taken to be parallel

Berakhot 4a. T h e Yerushalmi version

to Psalms 57:9 since in the latter verse

is also found in Pesiqta

Kahana,

the harp is also adressed directly, as a

Midrash

living being.

n W n '*na

dRav

13 a n d in

R.

Tehillim 119.

Ν31Π > 3 1 Ί 0 Ν Ν3>ρ >3-ι Ι Ο Ν

.rUÌD>Jin ϊ η ί ϋ ψ Ν Π W Ï O

>3*Π ΝΙΟ^Ο

. π ^ η n * n ì D ^ r i p i n n>yp>y> ϊψ

l i t ? -TV1 Ν3ψΓ)Γ1)3 N b N T P p i j ?

Π3ί3>31

0»j?)p ΠΙΟ

η ψ ι ό ι ΓΡ3ψ

n Í J Í 3 > n 3>T1D >0

naw .nÌN>"!

H o w d o e s Rebbi uphold t h e basis of Rebbi Nathan's reason, "at t h e start of the m i d d l e watch"? 9 8

Rebbi H u n a said: t h e e n d o f t h e s e c o n d and t h e

start of t h e third split the night i n t o t w o .

R e b b i M a n a said: Is this true?

D o e s it say "watches"? N o , it says "watch"! T h e first w a t c h d o e s n o t c o u n t since there the creatures are still a w a k e . 98

This is the logical end of t h e

Rebbi.

Both Rebbi Huna and R e b b i

p r e v i o u s discussion t h a t was i n t e r -

Mana belong to the f o u r t h generation

rupted by t h e aggadic interpretations

of Galilean Amorai'm, rather later than

of the verses sustaining the opinion of

the authors of the previous section.

78

CHAPTER ONE

,D>0Dr)3 nD^n u n i » >3-1 0 ^ 3 no» >31 .ritan "ry o n p i N o > » ? o i vovp n>>-¡(? iiriN κ π η ί Ν ^ Ν ^ τ ρ ^ ο y m ^ y>H mT)3N n>ri>>>? D>)?Dri5 riD^r)^ π ί ρ ν n>ri>>o -ιηψ? τ ι ν ? ? η Ji>3? vm

-»oín γηψ

i p s i a ηό·> .vptpìWni Jitan o f i p

JII* í o i p n >ari .3>s>·) Jipïf nnht D n y j -ι^Νψ

V3 n o i . n n n ^ i ? ί ο ί ρ η p n n n . i n i i n h > Jli-»i?> "J1"!* D"|N

κροβ

h"? n ^ v i .iriiin v p Hy>r

DVO n n ipi> 3*1 oy¿3 Ν31Π >3")

N~ópd

nn»3N n>ri>>n ."ppnçri nt< n n ? n > ^>3^3 n-iya i n m ν ο ψ

.ρ 3 > 3 1

*ì3 t w i n y »3*vt n>ri!p>»p

nçN ιηΝ ο η χ ι

>3î Î73î?o n i n n*yo>y> n > w m n *T3 >?»P3 -»3

Ti? H i ? ! l i n i ' I R nir) rpn ìoyoy>o

nini

>i»n N3ifl>>ori >3-11 Ν η κ >3*·» N n y o >NÇI .ΓΡΓΙΡΥ) 15 η>3>» ν ρ ψ N i n i D33?yi)p ì y Dp33!?3 η ρ κ WOOT ^N)

1903 -»3 ^ W n y '3"! 0 ^ 3 .rùv

i»i7i

New Section." "But the sages say until midnight." Rebbi Yasa 1 0 0 in the name of Rebbi Yohanan:

Practice follows the Sages. Rebbi Yasa

commanded his colleagues: if you want to study Torah then you should recite the Shema' before midnight and then study 1 0 1 . His words imply that the practice follows the Sages. His words imply that one may speak after Emet Weyaziv102.

It was stated: He who reads the Shema' in the

synagogue during the morning service has fulfilled his duty; during the evening service he did not fulfill his duty 1 0 3 .

What is the difference

between him who reads in the morning and him who reads in the evening? 104 Rebbi Huna in the name of Rav Joseph: 105 Why did they say, a man has to read the Shema' in his house in the evening? In order to make evil spirits flee. His words imply that one may not speak a f t e r Emet Weyaziv.

The words of Rebbi Samuel ben Nahmani say the same.

When R. Samuel ben Nahmani descended for the intercalation 1 0 6 , he was received by Rebbi Jacob the groats miller. Rebbi Zeira was hiding among

79

HALAKHAH 1

the crates to hear how he read [the Shema']·, he read it over and over again until he drifted away in sleep. What is the reason? Rebbi Aha and his father-in-law Rebbi Tahlifa in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Nahmani (Ps. 4:5): "Tremble, do not sin, talk in your hearts on your couches and be silent, Selah."107 99

Quote f r o m the next part of the

t h e night.

It is s t a t e d in M i s h n a h

Mishnah that is going to be discussed.

Sabbat

100

thing he is doing to recite Shema' at its

Rebbi Yasa in the Yerushalmi is

1:2 that one interrupts e v e r y -

Rabbi Assi in the Babli, the head of the

proper time.

Academy at Tiberias after the death of

that all these scholars did recite Shema'

R. Y o h a n a n .

in the synagogue. It was stated at the

It s e e m s

that

p r o c e d u r e s w h i c h R. Y a s a

the

recom-

Hence, wc may assume

start t h a t one r e a d s Shema'

in t h e

m e n d e d to his c o l l e a g u e s w e r e not

synagogue, w h e n Minhu and M a ä r i v

explicitly given by Rebbi Yohanan but

services a r e held together while it is

r e f l e c t e d the general tradition of the

still before sundown, to stand in prayer

Academy of T i b e r i a s .

a f t e r studying words of Torah.

In t h e Babli

[This

(Berakhot 8b), Rav Yehudah says in the

Israeli practice was followed by Ash-

name of Samuel that practice follows

kenazic Jewry, whose ritual basically

Rabban Gamliël who allows the recital

was Galilean, until the

of Shema' after midnight in emergency

Century as can be seen from Rashi to

sixteenth

cases. From the next "New Section" in

the first Mishnah, Tur Orah

the Yerushalmi it is clear that this is

235 and the glosses of R. Moshe Isserls

not the Israeli position; they forbid the

Orah Otayyim

recitation of the Shema' after midnight.

disapproval of the main commentators

T h e o p i n i o n of S a m u e l

of Shulhan Arukh, Magen Abraham

represents

either the autochthonous Babylonian practice

or

the

teaching

of

the

A c a d e m y of N a h a r d e a f o u n d e d by Hananiah ben Hananiah, the nephew of Rebbi Joshua, at the time of the revolt of Bar Kokhba. 101

One talks here about studying in

235.

Otayyim

Bccause of t h e

and

TaZ, the practice has disappeared in all Ashkenazic congregations except those of the old German rite.] The question h e r e is w h e t h e r t h e r e c i t a t i o n Shema'

of

a f t e r n i g h t f a l l is n e e d e d in

order to fulfill the obligation of Shema' or whether it is needed to protect one's

80

CHAPTER ONE

sleep from evil influences. In the first

were recited in the synagogue and that,

case, one recites Shema' as soon as

therefore, they had to be recited at

possible and then continues one's

home and could be combined with

normal activities; in the second case

other prayers. It follows that "one may

one may say Shema' only when one

speak after S'Vi ηβκ" can mean that

actually goes to sleep and then cannot

one does not have to mention the

say anything anymore before actually

praise of God for the redemption of

sleeping.

Israel from Egypt immediately before

102

starting the Amidah prayer. This inter-

In the Babylonian ritual followed

today, the benediction after Shema' in

pretation

is g i v e n

by

several

the morning is 3**ί nsK but in the

commentators of the Yerushalmi,

evening n»»xi nan ; in Israel the same

foremost among them R. E l e a z a r

, ,

version, 3 x i nax, was recited morning

Askari. However, since the obligation

and evening.

to "connect the redemption to the

We find a disagreement between

Amidah" in evening prayers is given in

Rashi and his grandson Rabbenu Tam

the name of R. Yohanan in the

about the practice of praying Maäriv

Babylonian Talmud (Berakhot 9b) it is

immediately a f t e r Minhah, b e f o r e

difficult to state the opposite opinion

sundown. According to Rashi on the

here in the name of R. Yohanan.

Mishnah, the practice of reciting the

103

Shema' is exclusively to start the

However, Raviah, the foremost Ash-

Amidah prayer after words of Torah.

kenazic authority of the early thir-

This supports Rashi's opinion.

Hence, the only valid recitation is in

teenth century, writes that "I have

the night. According to Rabbenu Tam

received in tradition from Rabbenu

(Tosafot Berakhot 2a), the prayers are

Tam that practice does not follow any

held after plag haminhah,

of these statements but R. Yehudah in

not more

than 1.25 variable hours before sun-

Mishnah Berakhot 4:1."

down, and according to an opinion of

104

R. Yehudah mentioned later in the

the text and seems to be a marginal

Mishnah, both Amidah and Shema' are

gloss copied into the text since the

valid prayers. According to Rashi, it is

quotes of this section in Raviah (#1,

possible that the original minhag of the

vol. 1, p.5) and in Midrash

Jews in Israel did not imply that the

(4[91) do not contain the sentence.

benedictions before and after Shema'

105

This question has no answer in

Tehillim

Rebbi Huna is a younger Ga-

HALAKHAH1

M

lilean Amora and is not to be confused

assembly of the l e a d e r s of

with Rav Huna, the student of Rav and

generation at a place called Callirrhoe

leader of the second generation of

(Hamat Gader). Rebbi Zeïra probably

Babylonian Amorai'm. Rav Joseph is

was too young at that time to be

the Babylonian (bar Hiyya), leader of

invited to the procedings but came to

the third generation in Babylonia.

attend the gathering of the Sages, in

Rebbi Huna often quotes Babylonian

order to learn from their ways.

authorities and, therefore, possibly was

the

While in the Babylonian Talmud nm

a Babylonian immigrant to Israel.

means "to leave the Land of Israel", in

106

Rebbi Shemuël bar Nahmani (or

the Yerushalmi it can mean simply "to

Nahman) was a student of the early

descend", in this case into the Jordan

Israeli Amora Rebbi Jonathan and one

valley from his residence in Lod.

of the creators of the Midrash.

107

The

This paragraph is the basis of

declaration of the addition of a month

Rema's notes in Shulhan Arukh

to the twelve month lunar year before

H ay y im 239,1, as noted by the Gaon of

the publication of the computed

Wilna.

Orah

calendar was always made by an . Η Η Η Η N I O ^ O N P >I> ΗΗΗΨ

YWIRP

>Ì> •)? YYNN> R N ? RPRI>>N

TÖ IRÍA .3>S>"!

Ί Π Ν O N } " 7 I O Í N Ι>Κ >?RI N M

DD>PP!? *)DJI

,·)Η NTEOJP

N>»P*Ì> -»5 Ν 3 Ν 3 I O W ? N * V Y \ >3"> 1 ) 9 1

ηο>ρτρ> «ÎDJI

.nb>3jp

">

on>

r m ? oh?

ny

«pri .οηψ·ι i p o " ) np>ny)

n n n a 3>rç? n o .>3 n>?N · ρ : η > vp> n ^ a r i n £ i N ì > 31 DON NÌN n o Y P >

. D V D-

TNFL ^ > A I O .VP^S

ì y I N ^ S ϊ χ ρ>Η-ιηι N A Y I > o ty I I N I N > ,j>>?n Nìn TÌV

INW?

,ηρίι

î n s ç i vip30

CHAPTER ONE

82

The behavior of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi 1 0 8 disagrees since Rebbi Joshua ben Levi read psalms afterwards. But have we not stated: One does not say words a f t e r Emet Weyazivl

He explains that as relating to

Emet

Weyaziv of the morning prayers 1 0 9 , since Rebbi Zeira said in the name of Rav Abba bar Jeremiah 1 1 0 : There are three immediacies: immediately after leaning comes slaughtering 1 1 1 , immediately a f t e r hand-washing comes benediction 1 1 2 , immediately after redemption c o m e s p r a y e r 1 1 3 . Immediately after leaning comes slaughtering: "He shall lean . . . he shall slaughter" (Lev.

l:4-5) 1 1 4 .

Immediately a f t e r h a n d - w a s h i n g c o m e s

benediction, (Ps. 134:2) "Lift your hands in holiness and bless the Lord. 1 1 5 " Immediately after redemption comes prayer, (Ps. 19:15) "May the words of my mouth be for goodwill" and it is written a f t e r that (Ps. 20:2) "May the Lord answer you on the day of worry." 1 1 6

Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi

Abun said: For anyone who immediately slaughters a f t e r leaning, no disqualification will appear regarding his sacrifice.

For a n y o n e w h o

immediately pronounces the benediction after washing his hands, Satan will not find anything to accuse about at that meal.

For a n y o n e w h o

immediately prays a f t e r m e n t i o n i n g r e d e m p t i o n , Satan will not find anything to accuse him of the entire day 1 1 7 . Rebbi Zeira said, I am used to immediately pray after mentioning redemption and I was conscripted to forced labor, to bring myrrh to the Palace. They said to him: our teacher, that is an honor. There are people who pay money to see the inside of the Palace. Rebbi Immi 1 1 8 said: Anyone who does not immediately pray after mentioning redemption, whom is he to be likened to? To an acquaintance of the king who comes f r o m afar to the king's door.

W h e n the king

comes to see what he wants, he finds that the person left. Hence, the king also leaves.

HALAKHAH 1 108

One of the great sages of t h e

SI

(Berakhot 42a) in the name of Rav.

first generation of Amorai'm. He lived

111

in the valley of Beth Shean ( D e m a y

sacrifice in the temple, the votary has

2:1). It follows that his way of reading

to press with his hand on t h e head of

the nightly Shema', which is t h e one

the sacrifice before the slaughter.

followed today, is the oldest.

112

In t h e

In the usual process of bringing a

It is clear f r o m the f o l l o w i n g

Babylonian Talmud (Berakhot 4b) he is

that t h e m e a n i n g h e r e is t h a t

only r e p o r t e d to have stated the duty

mediately a f t e r washing one's hands,

to read t h e Shema'

while d r y i n g them, o n e has to pro-

b e f o r e sleeping,

with t h e r e a s o n of R. S a m u e l

ben

im-

nounce the a p p r o p r i a t e b e n e d i c t i o n .

Nahmani given by a Galilean Amora by

[ P o s s i b l y , it c o u l d m e a n t h a t

the name of R. Yose or R. Assi.

The

mediately after washing the hands one

psalms read by R. Joshua ben Levi a r e

has to pronounce the benediction over

detailed in Babli Shevuöt

bread that starts the meal.

15b where it

im-

The

is noted that, while it is f o r b i d d d e n to

urgency of starting the meal directly

use B i b l i c a l

after washing one's hands is ascribed in

v e r s e s as c h a r m s

in

healing, it is admissible to recite them

Babli Berakhot

for protection.

Shammai; this i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e

109

Y e r u s h a l m i is implied by R. A q i b a

Here it is obvious that "words

52b to I he School of

m e a n any in-

Eiger in his notes to Babli

Berakhot

sertion b e t w e e n t h e b e n e d i c t i o n ^KJ

42a.] In the Babli, Berakhot

42a, t h e

Vm»' and the Amidah

same

a f t e r Emet

Weyaziv"

prayer. It does

expression

means

that

not follow t h a t t h e e x p r e s s i o n must

immediately after washing one's hands

have t h e s a m e m e a n i n g in t h e p r e -

after

ceding section.

and is not allowed to eat anymore.

110

113

R. Abba bar Jeremiah seems to

the meal one has to say G r a c e

This means that i m m e d i a t e l y

have been a Babylonian whose f a t h e r

after reciting the benediction: "Praise

(or uncle) was a contemporary of Rav

to You, o Lord, Who redeemed Israel,"

and w h o was t h e t e a c h e r of R e b b i

one has to start t h e Amidah

prayer.

Zeïra (Rebbi Zera in the Babli) when

T h i s c r e a t e s no p r o b l e m s

in

the latter was still in Babylonia.

The

morning prayers but is impossible in

parallel teaching is mentioned, in the

the evening since after the benediction

same w o r d i n g but with a d i f f e r e n t

( s t a r t i n g Emet

meaning, in t h e Babylonian Talmud

Weyaziv)

Weëmunah

or

the

Emet

t h e r e f o l l o w s at least one

84

CHAPTER ONE

more benediction and a Qaddish

to

in order to recall the entire sentence.

separate the recital of Shema' and its

The last sentence of Psalm 19 reads in

benedictions, an unconditional obli-

its entirety: "May the words of my

gation at least from the institutions of

mouth be for goodwill before You, o

the Men of the Great Assembly, and

Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer".

the Amidah prayer that in the night is

next psalm, disregarding the title "For

of conditional Rabbinical character.

the director, a psalm of David," stans:

When the principle "immediately after

"May the Lord answer you on the day

The

redemption comes prayer" was adopted

of worry."

also for the evening prayers (see

manuscripts were written without para-

preceding section), the intermediate

graph divisions, the description of God

pieces were declared to be "extensions

as redeemer and the mention of help

of the thanksgiving for redemption."

through prayer are consecutive.

The benediction immediately preceding

117

the Qaddish

was fixed by Babylonian

the Babli (Berakhot 9b), in the name of

Gaonim to be a benediction for future

the holy congregation of Jerusalem, i.e.,

Since psalms in ancient

This third statement is quoted in

redemption. The Qaddish itself may be

the Tanna R. Yose ben Hammeshullam.

a Gaonic institution.

To it is appended the story about Rebbi

114

Leaning and slaughtering are

Zera (Zeïra)'s complaint, only there he

two obligations of the votary given in

had to bring myrrh to the king himself.

two consecutive verses.

(However,

Since R. Zeïra was a Babylonian

leaning must be performed by the

immigrant to Israel, it is not c l e a r

votary himself but slaughtering can be

whether his forced labor occured in

delegated to a third party.)

Babylonia, on the occasion of a visit of

115

the Persian king, or in Galilee where

Hands lifted in holiness are An allusion to this is

he only had the opportunity to see the

found in the benediction that does not

interior of the governor's residence.

read "to wash the hands" but "to lift the

The language of the story in the

hands."

Yerushalmi points to its happening in

washed hands.

This derivation is a good

Israel, while the language of the Babli

example for the tendency of the

points to the Persian empire. It cannot

Talmud to assume that everybody

be

knows his Bible by heart and that it is

happened.

enough to quote the start of a sentence

118

116

decided

where

the

incident

In the Babylonian Talmud, he

appears as Rebbi Ammi, colleague of

his name usually is Immi. His simile is

Rebbi Assi/Yasa.

quoted by Rashi, Berakhot 4b.

>3-1?

In the Yerushalmi,

131ÏÏ N ^ N

- n o y >?$> n n N v m ty)

n o v Π > ν ? ψ TV i n i N !w>>)?î 1 3 1

η * ΝΊ.Ψ επΝψ o>ny?

(fol. 3a) D V ty ÌJ13Ìn

iç-t » 3 πα κη> ί κ

r n

>ίτττ "pypv>

Η Χ φ ) Ί Γ Ι ^ Π T i ö ^ *T»N> ΠΠΝΙ "ΐη^ΓΙ

."ρ η η η ψ 3 η * r i n - j y ? "py>?v> >3*1?

OV K n . ì p n Π3Π -»3 N 3 N 2 1 1 1

HpM

131 ν π

"»3 N » n i n i >V)N >Ν3ΓΙ l O > J t t >3"» .Vil

>3 Ν SP

Ι Ο ψ Ο *>y)H

New Section. "Rabban Gamliel says until the first sign of dawn." The statement of Rabban Gamliel is parallel to that of Rebbi Simeon, as we have stated in the name of Rebbi Simeon 119 : "Sometimes a person reads the Shema' [twice], once before dawn and once at dawn, and has fulfilled his obligation for day and night." Hence Rabban Gamliel is like Rebbi Simeon for evening prayers, is he also like him in the morning?

His

position might be that expressed 1 2 0 by Rebbi Zeira the Tanna 1 2 1 , the brother of Rav Hiyya bar Ashi 122 , and of Rav Abba bar Hana 123 : He who reads with the men of the Mishmar did not fulfill his duty because they were too early 124 . 119

He is Rebbi Simeon bar Yohay,

up or that the first minutes of dawn are

one of the students of R. Aqiba. In the

counted as night becausc most people

Babli ( B e r a k h o t 8b), t h e s t a t e m e n t

still a r e asleep.

occurs

Babylonian form is also in the Tosephta

in

two

versions,

either

The statement in its

"sometimes a person reads the Shema'

(Berakhot

twice during the night", or "sometimes

seems to be a Babylonian version. T h e

a person reads the Shema' twice during

Yerushalmi

the day" and there they have to explain

ambiguity but in parallel to the Babli

that either the few minutes b e f o r e the

one has to a s s u m e t h a t R. S i m e o n

start of dawn are already counted as

accepts that one may read Shema' twice

day because some people already get

within the span of a f e w minutes and

1:1); in general, our Tosephta

version

avoids

the

86

CHAPTER ONE

f u l f i l l two distinct obligations by the

laymen

accompanying

readings.

Maämad],

had to finish

120

The A r a m a i c / H e b r e w i m

should be read

as e q u i v a l e n t

the

their p r a y e r s

"3

before the start of service, i. e., b e f o r e

of

the first sign of dawn.

Babylonian: -i»»rc 'ΚΠ3. 121

them,

T h e Y e r u s h a l m i d o c s not t r y to

Meaning a person specializing in

the memorizing and recitation

of

answer the question r a i s e d , w h e t h e r Rabban Gamliel and Rebbi Simeon a r e

tannai'tic s t a t e m e n t s in t h e a m o r a ï c

of t h e s a m e o p i n i o n f o r

period.

prayers, since it already had decided in

A T a n n a of t h e

tannai'tic

morning

period never has the title "Tanna".

the preceding section that t h e practice

122

follows the Sages and, t h e r e f o r e , one

One of the foremost students of

Rav in Babylonia.

may not r e c i t e

123

First cousin and c o l l e a g u e of

midnight. Hence, the opinions of both

Rav and student of their common uncle

Rebbi Simeon and Rabban Gamliel a r e

Rebbi Hiyya. Their statement, slightly

of purely theoretical i n t e r e s t and no

e n l a r g e d , a p p e a r s as an a n o n y m o u s

answer is required.

baratta in the Babli Yoma 37b. It seems

quote from Rebbi Simeon is given as a

to be a Tosephta from the collection of

support to their decision that p r a c t i c e

the Academy of Rav.

follows Rabban Gamliel. It seems to be

124

T h e Mishmar

w e r e the priests

who kept watch during the night at the Temple service.

Since t h e T e m p l e

service s t a r t e d at t h e f i r s t signs of

t h e Shema'

after

In the Babli, t h e

the position of the Yerushalmi that in Temple

times

practice

followed

Rabban Gamliel in the Temple precinct and the Sages everywhere else.

dawn, the men of the Mishmar [and the

•van ,νοψ rus

n i i? ì*im π π ψ ο η

via

nwpo -a r\vtm

.nr»)?> ΟΓΙΝ ι>:ι»η -ιηψη "noy rùy ÍO o n ι φ Mishnah 2: It happened that his (Rabban Gamliel's) sons returned from a wedding feast and told him: We did not recite the Shema'. He said to them: If dawn has not yet come then you are obligated to recite.

31

HALAKHAH 2

"VKO

νγϊ) .n>rn?

ubi p i a i ^

invi

N a > p y >3-) N n i

ϊχ

·)ΐτ) :a

.ìwn?

N * ) p i a n ty >>>9 : n > n p N*Ì?ìv T3V

Halakhah 2. Rabban Gamliel disagrees with the Sages and acts upon his opinion? 125 Did not Rebbi Meïr disagree with the Sages and not act upon his opinion, did not Rebbi Aqiba disagree with the Sages and not act upon his opinion? 125

Since it is written (Ex. 23:2) "to

remark.

[The position of t h e Babli

yield to t h e m a j o r i t y " , a r e l i g i o u s

here is quite different: Since the action

authority is not allowed to act upon his

of Rabban Gamliel is mentioned in the

personal opinion if it d i s a g r e e s with

Mishnah

the majority.

remark, it follows that general practice

This p r i n c i p l e is then

i l l u s t r a t e d by s e v e r a l e x a m p l e s .

It

without

a

disapproving

follows Rabban Gamliel since

therefore is a big question why Rabban

p r a c t i c e of a r e l i g i o u s

Gamliel's action is m e n t i o n e d in t h e

overrides theoretical arguments.]

Mishnah

without

V?V ' Μ Η

a

rP™?

ιΌ on in«

Î7j?p

authority

disapproving

"T3V

^

" » ' W ' 3 T F 1ÇPW* IDI

, π ι ψ i n y n Ì>>3Ì ι ρ ψ η ifnvrç» >rin>N . r n ^ a n > n > n > r o i i > N

T N » ' i - i n>n - ν π »

ρ

the

ft

il

>a*>

>333 . - v » w π ι ψ : n y n i 3 * i p

« ψ ί ^ η n b n - a p i . n a ^ a n>n!? ^ ί ο ^ ι içrçr)1»

>3 ï y I N

I O N ) , ; p » n 3 ïy>a>? Π Η ^ Τ

.nan

^m

^

"-»ON·)

ηυη

' » f "»vpoo ο η η Ν ύ

So we find that Rebbi Meïr disagreed with the Sages and did not act upon his opinion. We have stated: One rubs olentia126 on a sick person on the Sabbath; but only if it was mixed with oil and wine bef ore Sabbath eve. But if he did not mix it before Sabbath eve it is forbidden. We have stated: Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar said: Rebbi Meïr did allow to mix wine and oil and to rub it onto a sick persion on Sabbath. When he fell sick,

88

CHAPTER ONE

we wanted to prepare the same for him but he did not let us do it. We said to him: Our teacher, are you going to invalidate your words when your life is in danger? He said to us: even though I am lenient for others, I am stringent for myself because my colleagues disagree with me. 126

Latin olentia "sweet smelling

Sabbat

13 w h e r e it b e l o n g s to a

things" (E. G.). There are at least two

sequence of statements that one may

kinds, one mixture used for medical

not use edibles for medicinal purposes

purposes, and one, m e n t i o n e d

in

on the Sabbath except if used also as

H a l a k h a h 6:6, to be used as air

food. For example, for a toothache it

f r e s h e n e r in a house.

The Babli

is possible to rinse the tooth with

(,Sabbat 140a) defines medical rrniibK

vinegar on condition that the vinegar

as a mixture of wine, olive oil, and

then be swallowed; it is not admissible

balsamum, used to reduce fever. [Brill

to spit out t h e vinegar a f t e r use.

derives the Hebrew word from Latin

Hence, it is not allowed to mix wine

(unguent um) oleamentum, an ointment

and oil with balsamum on the Sabbath

made with a base of olive oil. Jastrow

since that would make it inedible. The

(followed

and

parallel quote in the Babli is Sabbat

Lieberman) derives the word f r o m

134a; the only difference in the texts is

Greek

that the Babli and Tosephta have a

by K r a u s s ,

Low,

οίνάνθη, οίνανθίς,

Latin

oenanthe, which however means only

purely

"bloom of the wild grape" and clearly

Yerushalmi has the connccting remarks

is inapplicable here.]

in Aramaic.

Hebrew

text

while

the

The entire quote is from Tosephta ΊΓ^ϊΠ »nn ρ

.ΓΡΓΠ:? -on

- n y N ^ Ì p i a n ï y iV?a nt>Ì?ÌI r n i i r a v f w ν η

. D ' î i p ο ψ ο r i n n yo -qn

naip w n r i i ny^ç o n N?i-in o r q i n ϋ ΐ ο η

.cpjio

o w n Jibttpiarr) r m w n yari

. p i n o p o>>»ni noo>? í u ' p í » tiwdh t w î

r n n i n i > a o -i?3>? n i o ^ j » n N > p

*rnt< n n n m/TV) i n ? v n N a i n n c i n c i n .VNíporp I N ?

V")D\?>? I N ? *>>i

.iny ο>Ν?ννν;?3 mpN

n ç v » ? Ji>?ni ^ N i n iî? n>pN .-»npi l o ' p y >3-10

.inj*

ίορη

n^iilpii .i>?an ï v *tìoì»3 . n i n oτ m n>\n » ι -

89

HALAKHAH 2

So we find that Rebbi Aqiba disagreed with the Sages and did not act upon his opinion.

As we have stated there (Mishnah Ahilot 2:6): "Spine

and skull from two dead bodies, a limb composed of limbs of two dead bodies, limbs taken from two living persons, Rebbi Aqiba declares them to be impure and the Sages declare them to be pure."127 We have stated: 128 "It happened that they brought a chest full of bones from Kefar Tabi 129 to Lod and deposited it in the open air [the courtyard] of the synagogue. Theodoros the physician entered and with him all physicians. Theodoros declared that there was no complete spine from one dead person and no complete skull from one dead person. They said: Since we have here some who declare this pure and others who declare it impure, let us vote upon it. They started with Rebbi Aqiba and he declared it to be pure. They said: Since you had declared it impure, but now you vote for it to be pure, it is pure." 127

Purity and impurity mentioned

"skull

or

spine"

is

discussed

here refer to transmission of impurity

inconclusively in Babli Nazir 52b ff.]

by a " t e n t " , s i n c e

128

automatically

Tosephta Ahilot 4:2; t h e r e t h e

everybody under the same roof with a

full name Theodoros is given to t h e

corpse becomes impure; the "pure"

chief surgeon.

bones mentioned here will still transmit

"Rebbi Y e h u d a h said: Six cases did

impurity by touch. The conditions of

Rebbi Aqiba d e c l a r e i m p u r e and he

impurity a r e spelled out in Ahilot 2:1.

changed his opinion; it happened . . .",

Flesh is causing impurity down to the

and ends: "Rebbi Simeon said: Until the

volume of an olive but b o n e s do so

t i m e of his d e a t h did R e b b i A q i b a

only if they are either the volume of a

m a i n t a i n t h a t it should be i m p u r e ;

quarter qab (about .55 liter), most of

whether he changed his opinion when

the bones composing t h e s k e l e t o n in

dying I do not know." This means that

n u m b e r or in i m p o r t a n c e , or s k u l l

according to Rebbi Yehudah, the vote

T h e T o s e p h t a starts:

and/or spine. [Whether one has to read

at Lod s h o w e d t h a t R e b b i

nVuVji n n ® as "skull and spine" or

changed his opinion but, according to

Aqiba

90

CHAPTER ONE

Rebbi Simeon, Rebbi Aqiba did not

proof here. It follows that also when

change his opinion, only he did not

the Yerushalmi quotes the Tosephta,

want openly to defy the opinion of the

sometimes the proof comes from the

majority.

omitted parts.

We assume t h a t

the

Yerushalmi here accepts the opinion of

129

Rebbi Simeon, otherwise there is no

East of Lod.

1Ρ3ΓΗ » 3 γπφ

.n>rii? h n i i y - n y N ^ y j i i ï y j>>3 "pyjpv >a->7 i r p v w in") a n ? > n > 3 p n >pn v i r i l o V O ' S P D " ^

> n v i l "ρν>?ν> '"i

l i y p w > r i ÌJQTI

V"!ìt?N V O ' P P D - ^ o n p i N o p p o n i

.-»ION γρ>ι γρ> VN]

Former Arab village Kafr Tab

.τπψ n i p - p i iri?

.n>v>iy> 'O*?© o ^ p τ η N)?n ΝΓίνρ'ηψα n i ^ ì v "Tiy -ion

^ Ν ψ NID TIN I N ^

,n>> h i d p i ,vin3 ν ο ψ - n a ^ n b i

"«ON OWN n > s p IN*) ηβ·)

yp>in

So w e find that Rebbi Simeon disagreed with the Sages and did not act upon his opinion.

As we have stated there ( M i s h n a h Seviit

9:1) "Rebbi

Simeon says: all aftergrowth is allowed except the aftergrowth of cabbage b e c a u s e n o t h i n g similar g r o w s w i l d 1 3 0 .

But the Sages say that all

aftergrowth is forbidden." Rebbi Simeon bar Yohai acted on this in a Sabbatical year. He saw a man harvesting aftergrowth. He said to him: Is that not forbidden, is that not aftergrowth? The man answered him back: Are you not the one who allows it? H e retorted: D o not m y colleagues disagree with me? He recited over him (Eccl. 10:6): "He w h o breaches a fence may be bitten by a snake", and this is what happened to that man. The Mishnah deals with produce

year but also (Lev. 32:5): "Do not

of the Seventh year offered for sale by

harvest the aftergrowth of your har-

an Am Haärez, a Jew who cannot be

vest," i. e., it is f o r b i d d e n

130

to

trusted with the careful fulfillment of

commercially exploit the produce

all his religious obligations. The Torah

growing on one's field from the seeds

says not only that it is forbidden to

of the preceding year. It is, however,

plant and sow during the Sabbatical

acceptable to collect from one's fields

91

HALAKHAH 2 Our e x a m p l e s h o w s t h a t

small amounts f o r one's daily needs

Rebbi

(and even for storage as long as wild

Simeon refrained from disagreeing in

animals can find similar food on the

practice f r o m the rest of the Sages

fields.) Rebbi Simeon is of the opinion

even in purely Rabbinical ordinances.

that a poor person may o f f e r anything

The man cursed by him probably did

for sale since he might (or probably

collect wild aftergrowth, or maybe was

did) collect them from wild growing

known to Rebbi Simeon as a landless

plants which do not f a l l under t h e

person who, therefore, collected from

prohibition.

The only exception is

growth on other people's land that was

produce which is never found growing

declared ownerless (προπ), o t h e r w i s e

wild; such vegetables are forbidden for

his opponent could not have invoked R.

commerce in the production of one's

Simeon's own ruling. [This explanation

own field. The Sages, while agreeing

follows Maimonides on the Mishnah.

that Rebbi Simeon's position is the one

Babli Pesahim 51b has a different text,

which f o l l o w s the Biblical p r e c e p t

see the discussion in Mishnah Seviït 9:1,

closely, n e v e r t h e l e s s as a R a b b i n i c

and Kilaim, Halakhah 1:9, and the notes

ordinance forbid any such buying from

to the Mishnah edition of the Institute

untrustworthy p e o p l e since it is too

for the Complete Israeli Talmud, Seviït

difficult to enforce the fine distinction

9:1.

made by Rebbi Simeon.

."P3>\y>

NDn

The

Rome

ms.

has

here

"forbidden," influenced by the Babli.]

. n > r n ? i m i y - n y ) p i a n ty >>>3 i7N>>>?i IST}

o»j?> v>i3> i>n i n n -iç>>n M i H D>OD0 η ? ?

n>N) ~ιηφη i m y ì'v· N ^ ì

«in rmyo

" U y " 0 3 Ι Ο Π Ο*!? .n>rn? 1 3 iy

.0>03Π ito

And Rabban Gamliel disagreed with the Sages and did act on his own opinion! There is a difference here since the recitiation of the Shema' is for study 131 . dawn 132 .

But then they could have read also after the start of

Some want to say that in the other cases it was possible to

uphold the words of the Sages. But here it was after midnight and they could no longer fulfill the precept of the Sages; so he told his sons to act according to his opinion133.

92

CHAPTER ONE

131

As explained at the end of

read the Shema' twice if one forgot to

Mishnah 5.

recite it in the preceding period.] The

132

question remains unanswered but this

And why did he tell them only to

read before dawn?

[Naturally, a f t e r

cannot be taken as rejection of the

dawn there already is an obligation to

explanation.

read the morning Shema'\ the question

133

seems to be whether it is preferable to

situation.

Since the Sages will agree in this

W i s » ? j i í ü o t v o>>?3n n p g i r ç r i r ç n ^

ia>a w n>ì

n ^ V » t v ι π ^ η [ o > n c ? Π ^ Ο Ν Ί ] ο>-α>κ·) ο > ι £ η η ο ρ ο

.> rove

"»η^ίπ τ ι ο ν ->ηφη - n o y

Mishnah 3: Not only that, but everywhere the Sages said "until midnight", the obligation is to the start of dawn.

The obligation of

burning fats and limbs on the altar [and eating of the Passover sacrifice] is until the start of dawn. 134 134

This entire Mishnah, and the

(Berakhot 2a, s. v.

' i s writes:

following one, are still the words of

"Concerning burning of the fats, the

Rabban Gamliel. In the Venice print

Sages did not restrici it to 'until

and the Leyden manuscript, the Pass-

midnight' at all and it is mentioned

over sacrifice is not mentioned in the

here only to emphasize that everything

Mishnah preceding the chapter but it is

that has to be done in the night is

in the Mishnah repeated b e f o r e the

kasher the entire night." Maimonides,

Halakhah. The Biblical precept is to

in his commentary on the Mishnah,

the

writes: "They said about all of these

sacrifices on the altar "the entire night

activities 'until midnight', even though

until morning" (Lev. 6:1).

there would be time until the first signs

burn the r e m a i n i n g p a r t s of

In the interpretation of the Mishnah,

of dawn, as a 'fence' that no one should

there is a fundamental disagreement

come to act under pressure and prolong

between Rashi and Maimonides. Rashi

his actions until after the start of dawn;

HALAKHAH 3

SI

that is w h a t t h e y said 'In o r d e r to

discussion in t h e M i s h n a h is a b o u t

r e m o v e p e o p l e f r o m sin.'"

Rabbinic precepts, rather than Biblical

And he

f o r m u l a t e s this in his c o d e haqorbanot

commandments.

(Maäse

only w i t h

4:2): "In o r d e r to a v o i d

This is c o m p a t i b l e

the point

of

view

It is a w e l l

of

wilful transgression, t h e Sages said to

Maimonides.

known

bring to the altar the parts that have to

principle that Maimonides follows the

be burned only until midnight."

Yerushalmi in all points in which t h e r e

Neither the Yerushalmi nor the

is no contrary opinion indicated in the

Babli discuss t h e burning of sacrifices

Babli; he will take the silence of t h e

during the night.

Babli in this matter as an endorsement

However, as Rebbi

Huna p o i n t s out in t h e

of the interpretation of the Yerushalmi.

following

p a r a g r a p h , in his opinion t h e e n t i r e

Ν3ΓΙ ytiii

.o>no?

>Njpi

t o r i N ^ JI»N

>3*) o ' n o p n£

.rö^

O'OV?

» o r i κϊη "Ì&N?!

o>noa r ö ^ y i n ?

ií>?ri i ì n

IN&Ì

I N ? -IÇNJ

.ijan

Λ ÍW>ÍI

ο>ηφ? >3-17 N j p y o

r o i n ->%-) -»ÇK .nisr) v o *\h .rii*n . O H > n n i s NQO>? n i ü n I H N n p ? n i 3 > ? i n 1 3 3 * 1 3

Halakhah 3: We have stated "the eating of the Passover sacrifice". Some people do not formulate "the eating of the Passover sacrifice". Who formulates "the eating of the Passover sacrifice"? The Sages. Who does not formulate "the eating of the Passover sacrifice"? Rebbi Eliezer. 135 What is the reason of Rebbi Eliezer? It is written here (Ex. 12:8) "in the night", and it is written there (Ex. 12:29) "in the night". Just as there it means midnight, so also here it means midnight. Rebbi Huna 1 3 6 says: "The eating of the Passover sacrifice" cannot be here even for the Sages since we have stated (Pesahim

10:9)

midnight makes one's hands impure." 135

For the Sages, the obligation of

e a t i n g t h e P a s s o v e r s a c r i f i c e s lasts

"the

Passover sacrifice after

139

d u r i n g t h e e n t i r e Seder night;

the

limitation to the first half of the night

94

CHAPTER ONE

is a Rabbinical ordinance.

According

appears most f r e q u e n t l y in the Yeru-

to Rebbi Eliezer [and R e b b i E l e a z a r

shalmi.

ben Azariah in the Babli, Berakhot

9a],

Babylonian Amora Rav Huna (kjvj) also

of

originally was called κηπ "the gracious

celebrating the Exodus a f t e r midnight.

one", but in Babylonia e v e r y η was

(Cf. the discussion in the author's The

pronounced as η

t h e r e is a B i b l i c a l p r o h i b i t i o n

Scholar's

Haggadah,

N o r t h v a l e NJ

1995, pp. 263-264.)

It is p r o b a b l e

that

the

Rebbi Huna points out that, since we a r e agreed that this Mishnah and the

Rebbi E l i e z e r ' s a r g u m e n t goes as

following

one

deal

only

with

follows: The Bible prescribes that the

Rabbinical ordinances, the mention of

Passover s a c r i f i c e should be eaten "in

the Passover s a c r i f i c e is i m p o s s i b l e

that night."

It also r e p o r t s t h a t t h e

since, by R a b b i n i c a l o r d i n a n c e , t h e

death of the Egyptian firstborn was "in

Passover s a c r i f i c e is r i l u a l l y i m p u r e

the middle of the night".

a f t e r midnight, f o r t h e s a m e r e a s o n

second

occurrence

of

Since t h e "night"

is

that v o l u n t a r y o f f e r i n g s c a n n o t b e

qualified by "middle" but the f i r s t is

eaten a f t e r midnight as e x p l a i n e d in

left indeterminate, and we subscribe to

the next Halakhah.

the opinion that, unless explicitly given

fundamental difference between the

o t h e r w i s e , w o r d s in t h e P e n t a t e u c h

Yerushalmi and t h e Babli.

have an invariable meaning, t h e first

to the Yerushalmi both in Berakhot

occurrence must also mean "midnight."

in Pesahim

T h e Sages f o l l o w R e b b i A q i b a in

mentioned in t h e Mishnah a r e Rab-

pointing out that the first Passover had

binical.

to be eaten "in a hurry", the hurry of

(Berakhot

t h e Exodus t h a t h a p p e n e d only the

only to the opinions of Rebbis Eliezer

following day.

and E l e a z a r b e n A z a r i a h t h a t

Hence, t h e notion of

H e r e is a n o t h e r

(37d), t h e

According and

prohibitions

But the Babli in b o t h cases 9a, Pesahim

120b) r e f e r s

the

"night" here is opposed to "day" and not

prohibition is Biblical.

restricted to the first half.

138

136

one given f o r s a c r i f i c e s in t h e next

This is the form in which t h e

name of t h e Galilean Amora R. Huna

T h e reason is the same as t h e

Mishnah.

9i

HALAKHAH 4

·)? O N

.-»ηψη - n n y

"Vi VjVrço?

Λ

ovî?

. r r v i y n y o Ο ^ Ν Π TIN p > n i n > >*r? j m n m o ^ p

VU?N

Mishnah 4: Ail sacrifices that can be eaten during one full day only could be eaten until the first dawn. In that case, why did the Sages say, only until midnight? In order to remove people from sin.

o>n?n n p N

rvfò

· ρ ON

.O»V>7E ' V H R t i w

,*ιηφη T i n v r ò y

π ι ο ΝΙΠ n r r ç i n * n n y

Ί Π Ν Î7DÎN N Ì D

. Τ ΐ ί ϋ η "Ti?

10ÍN

·"» "TV

O N "IDI

^ΪΠΟ

Κ φ ) .η»ηη>ρ

rmn

Halakhah 4: "All sacrifices that can be eaten during one full day only," these are the holiest of holies. 139 "In that case, why did the Sages say, etc.?" If you would say until the start of dawn, one might think that dawn did not yet start and it would turn out that he eats in sin. 140 When you say to him: "only until midnight," even if he does eat after midnight he will not incur guilt. 139

,

thb

burnt), was all burnt on the altar.

The

usual sacrifices of atonement had to be

Leyden m a n u s c r i p t and t h e p r i n t e d

eaten by male Cohanim in t h e Temple

editions have

D'Vp Ο'ΒΠρ " s i m p l e

precinct, except t h a t blood, f a t , and

Zachariah Frankel already

certain organs had to be burnt on the

' d W

This is the reading of the f r o m the Cairo Genizah.

sacrifices".

The

conjectured that the c o r r e c t r e a d i n g

altar.

must be the one b e f o r e us, as will be

"holiest of h o l i e s " and h a d to be

explained now.

consumed during the day of sacrifice

T h e r e w e r e f o u r k i n d s of animal sacrifices in the Temple.

or t h e

These sacrifices are called

following

night.

Family

Of c e r t a i n

sacrifices, doVb, "peace", or "payment",

sacrifices of atonement, only the blood

or "wholeness" sacrifices, were e a t e n

was sprinkled on the altar; the rest was

by the family of the votary (except for

burnt outside the Temple precinct. The

the blood and fat, which was burnt on

flesh of the nVis, "holocaust" (totally

the altar, and certain parts which were

96

CHAPTER ONE

to be eaten by priestly families.) These

a t e "holiest of holies"; but t h e n n o

family s a c r i f i c e s w e r e called "simple

special

sacrifices"; most of t h e m had to be

necessary.

eaten

140

during

two

intervening night.

days

and

the

T h e only "simple

determination

would

be

The determination of dawn was

possible

only

for

professional

sacrifices" to be eaten during one day

astronomers.

w e r e thanksgiving s a c r i f i c e s and t h e

would think that is was night when it

sacrifice of the Nazir at the end of his

was already dawn and then incur guilt

votary period w h e n he cut his hair.

by eating the sacrifices. In mid-month,

Hence, all "holiest of holies" sacrifices

with a large moon, the determination

are covered by our Mishnah but only a

of t h e s t a r t of d a w n is p r a c t i c a l l y

minority of "simple sacrifices".

There

impossible for a non-professional.

might be some j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r t h e

Midnight is no better d e f i n e d than t h e

reading "simple sacrifices" r e f e r r i n g to

start of dawn but a deviation f r o m the

the obligation of laity only who never

true midnight would be harmless.

.·)!£> -iniN

pa

In many cases, p e o p l e

J i n n ^ a ν η ψ xiis

>ri»>N» .n row»

,ποηπ p n t v ( r n p w ) .ijvio>

1N5P N l i p o

.JiiVV

Tiöifc

->piN Π Ι

, Π Ί ί η α Ν - ή ρ Ν ΐ η ψ DTNS " η ρ ρ η

Mishnah 5: From when on does one read the Shema' in the morning? From when one can distinguish between dark blue 141 and white; Rebbi Eliezer says, between dark blue and the color of leeks; (he may read it) 142 until sunrise. Rebbi Yehoshua says, until three hours of the day since it is the rule of (sons of) 143 kings to rise at three hours. He who reads after that did not lose, he is like a man reading in the Torah. 141

T h e t r a n s l a t i o n of nVan is

problematic.

It is d e f i n e d in Babli

Menahot as a color obtained by dying

with the blood of some m a r i n e snail but since the snail has not been clearly identified,

the

color

cannot

be

97

HALAKHAH 5 established by experimentation.

From

the second paragraph in the Halakhah,

142

The word in parentheses is found

in the Mishnah preceding the chapter

it would seem that nVsn could also be

but is missing in the Mishnah here in

green, like color of the sea or like

the Halakhah. The word is also missing

grasses. Since both in Babli (Sota 17a,

in most manuscripts of the Babli and in

Menahot 35b, Hullin 89a, Si fri 115) and

all early authorities, f r o m

in Yerushalmi (here, Bemidbar

rabba

Gedolot to Rosh. For its meaning, I am

14) sources the final comparison is with

following here Rabbenu Saadiah Gaon

the sky, in modern Hebrew nVsn means

and Rabbenu Tam who admit ηκ iìbjV

"sky-blue" in contrast to Vina "dark blue,

VVnn, " t o

color of kohl".

benediction of the Hazan even if only

T h e old G r e e k Septuagint trans-

read

the

Halakhot

Hallel",

as

half the Hallel is recited.

lation gives υάκινθος "hyacinth, a blue

143

stone, perhaps aquamarine; also a blue

parentheses is found in the Mishnah

flower." Ashkenazic tradition has the

preceding the chapter but is missing in

color of nton as almost black since the

the Mishnah here in the Halakhah, as

s t r i p e s of our p r a y e r s h a w l s

H e r e a g a i n , the w o r d

in

that

well as in the Mishnah in the Babli.

symbolize the unavailable rrtsn stripes

The story of the discussion of David

of the tzitzit,

are traditionally dyed

with his inn Ί5Γ, fol. 2d, proves that the

black. Hence the chosen translation of

correct text does not contain the words

"dark blue".

"sons of".

1 3 3 1 7 l i O V \ ? ΓΙ&ί > ! ? i n w 03}>N-p " r ç v >ni

V 3 NJV3J1& >33 n>pv\? n ç i

.Î1

.iì? ^ » V S y ? i i m

flSïfl

ornen

. " p j m y r i p i i d o ΝΓΡΨ

Halakhah 5: So is the Mishnah: Between its 144 dark blue and its white. What is the reason of the Rabbis? (Num. 15:39) "You shall see it"145, from what is close to it. What is the reason of Rebbi Eliezer? "You shall see it", that it should be recognizable among colors 146 . 144

"It" is the η'**, the fringes of the

garment.

We shall see later that the

third section of the Shema',

dealing

with the obligation of tzitzit,

was in

Israel recited in abridged form during evening prayers.

Hence, the

tzitzit

CHAPTER ONE

28.

characterized the morning prayers.

white threads of the tzitzit.

Each tzitzit contained t h r e e strands of

146

white thread with one of

not only as a color, but as its specific

145

tëkhêlet.

I. e., the η"?3Π thread among the

That nVsn should be recognized

color.

•PJIÇ .ÌJ1ÌN Ο Γ Ρ Ν - p N ^ N I N ? 1^313 ^ Ν ΠΠΙΝ OJ?>N*i1 "PN*? ' a " ) O W } r o p W >53 ÏIQQ

,o>> n i p i i ι ι > ? τ ι η ψ . • m a n N t p > n>pvr

W

WNT ï y Λ ψ Ν

^

ü

rii^n D i ,

vpvr o^VVÌ nan"} m o w

n>rp-T

ï -1

n p v t Ntpn")

. N O ? ΠίΟ'Τ Π Ν Ί 0 3

111*3

W e h a v e stated in the n a m e of R e b b i Meïr: It d o e s n o t s a y "you shall s e e it" 147 but "you shall s e e Him". t h e obligation of tzitzit

This tells y o u that a n y o n e w h o k e e p s

is as if he w e r e admitted t o t h e p r e s e n c e o f G o d ' s

glory. This tells that tëkhelet

is similar t o the sea. But the sea is similar t o

grasses, grasses are similar t o the s k y , the s k y is similar t o t h e T h r o n e o f Glory, and t h e T h r o n e is similar to sapphire 1 4 8 , as it is written (Ez. 10:1): "I saw, and here b y the spread that w a s o n top of the C h e r u b i m like sapphire stone, t h e l o o k s of the f o r m of the Throne." 147

In Rabbinic H e b r e w , n'X'·* is

hence the suffix in "and you shall see"

clearly feminine, plural nvï'X . Rebbi

cannot refer to the tzitzit.

Meïr notes that the verb r e f e r r i n g to

148

,

The extended list is found only

n ' ' ï ï in this verse is in the masculine

here; the other sources (quoted in the

form.

discussion of nVsn) o n l y h a v e

Usually, this is taken to mean

t h a t in B i b l i c a l H e b r e w , n*s*ï is masculine (parallel to masculine η^ηρ

the

comparison of sea and sky. The Gaon of Wilna has noted that

"the preacher"); but many dictionaries

the last two items in t h e list a r e in

of B i b l i c a l

inverted order; one should read:

Hebrew

refrain

from

the

assigning a gender to the word. Rebbi

sky is similar to sapphire, s a p p h i r e is

Meïr votes for taking n'jnr as feminine;

similar to the Throne of Glory. We are interested in connecting tëkhêlet

to the

99

HALAKHAH 5 Throne of Glory, and the verse f r o m

as similar to sapphire.

Ezechiel provides the characterization

JIIBN y a - ) N I V A N O p i r n 0 7 N ΝΠ»Ψ H ? ÌJIÌN O J V N - p O N P I N O N N N Í7>nT3 O N V P î î ?

rip

,n>> o > ? n t ò n>> a i - t p ΛΓΙΝΊ

. O N N N I N"jrp -IÇN N I P N a*i !?>n ù > N y a O N )

.n>> o > ? n 1 9 5 p i r n

RP> T7>W7 Ν1ΠΠ? > V 1 ΊΊ>ΝΨ1 ! ? R M VP*Î? 13N P

distant f r o m a n o t h e r m a n and r e c o g n i z e him."

N^N

ammotlA9

O t h e r s say: "'You shall s e e it', that a m a n s h o u l d be f o u r

R a v H i s d a 1 5 0 says: ( t h e

practice f o l l o w s ) 1 5 1 the s t a t e m e n t of O t h e r s " . about?

.i-paoi

W h a t are w e t a l k i n g

If h e k n o w s the other person, e v e n at a great distance he will

r e c o g n i z e him.

If he d o e s not k n o w h i m , e v e n c l o s e b y h e w i l l n o t

r e c o g n i z e him.

W e m u s t talk a b o u t an o c c a s i o n a l a c q u a i n t a n c e , like a

man w h o visits a hostelry at intervals. 149

The size of the Talmudic ammah

(cubit)

has

not

been

generation of Amorai'm in Babylonia.

definitely

151 TOH in the Yerushalmi often can

established; it is b e t w e e n 18 and 24

mean " e s t a b l i s h e s p r a c t i c e to be

inches.

It is uncertain w h e t h e r the

followed", parallel to the statement of

Galilean and Babylonian ammot were

Rav Huna, contemporary of Rav Hisda,

the same measurements.

in the Babli:

150

Others'".

One of the g r e a t e s t of the

"The p r a c t i c e follows

students of Rab, a leader of the second Ό Ί Η ΝΓΙ»Ψ H D >3ΓΙ >>3J|) JVNL ."TÌ*H£ ">ÌON V ? pa

aN^ p a w

in

N v y ^ >a-> "don

T1>N

>ya ΝΙΓ) . i - p a o i JIÌON ya->N i v a n p

P I N · ) O "TN ΝΗ»Ψ H ? "I&T 1»Ì >ρπ o y n n i i ^ n n r ? N ì n N

V3

">07 1 » ? n>oj} V 3

pirn ">Ί»0

.Vvaoi Jii»N v a n N i - v a q »

, o i » a ^ a j p p Ν ^ ρ η n>>3jp> n ^ i N ?

H?

nonn

D>»>?WQ Τ Η V P J i ì n N a p ì y - i n -ION .viçyj o y RJWV N j a y o NN>pN NSNÌ >

, η η η π >pri o y

tù Ό ρ ρ » ψ h d r m i N v~»ipì

100

CHAPTER ONE

S o m e Tannaïm f o r m u l a t e : " B e t w e e n w o l f and d o g , domesticated and wild donkey."

152

between

But some Tannaïm formulate: "That a

man should be four ammot distant from another man and recognize him". That is what we have 1 5 3 to say that he who says between wolf and dog, between domesticated and wild donkey is parallel to him w h o says between dark blue and the color of leeks; he who says that a man should be four ammot distant from another man and recognize him is parallel to him who says between dark blue and white.

But they said that its

preferred obligation is at sunrise so that one may join the mention of redemption to prayer and pray at daytime 1 5 4 . Rebbi Zeïra said: I found the reason (Ps. 72:5): "They will fear You with the sun." 155 Mar Uqba 1 5 6 said: The very religious were getting up early and reading the Shema' so that they could follow it directly at sunrise with the Amidah prayer. 152

Meaning the earliest time f o r

reading the Shema'.

In the Babli (9b),

Eliezer's criterion in the Mishnah, and "to r e c o g n i z e at 4 ammot"

the same

the first criterion is given by Rebbi

authority's restatement of t h e criterion

Meïr, the second one by Rebbi Aqiba,

of the First Tanna in the Mishnah.

and both a r e given i n d e p e n d e n t l y of

153

the Mishnah.

In the Y e r u s h a l m i , no

r e a d s i ö ' B '»3 »«>» "he ( R a v H i s d a ,

names are attached since both opinions

mentioned earlier) wants to say." Then

are identified as alternatives "between

the entire statement is tentative, and 31

dark blue and leek colored", which is

TOH «ion will simply mean "Rav Hisda

not the practice anyway.

said", not as an authoritative statement.

"Others" ( ο ' ΐ π κ ) u s u a l l y

denotes

Pne Mosheh (R. Moshe Margalit)

However, the commentary Pne

Moshe

Rebbi Meïr. In the Babli, the problem

(R. Moshe ben H a b i b ) r e a d s ' v s i n n

remains that the statement attributed to

iö'ö "they (or we) want to say."

"Others" cannot belong to Rebbi Meïr.

154

This is f r o m the Tosephta (1:2)

H o w e v e r , in t h e Y e r u s h a l m i it may

and is the end of the statement that in

well be that "between wolf and dog" is

the morning one may say the Shema' as

R e b b i Me'ir's r e s t a t e m e n t of

soon as one recognizes a person at a

Rebbi

HALAKHAH 5

101

distance of 4 ammot. Hence, "they said"

generation of Amoraïm.

refers to those who adopt the criterion

esting to note that this statement of the

mentioned last.

If one recites the

Babylonian Mar Uqba is reported in

Shema' slowly at sunrise and then says

the Babli (9b) in the name of the later

the benediction of Emet weyaziv,

he

Rebbi Yohanan. Maybe each Talmud

will just say the Amidah prayer when

wanted to ascribe the deeds of I'p'ni to

the sun is clearly above the horizon

an external source, not to be held to

and it is visibly day.

their standards, as explained in the

155

next section.

The same explanation is given in

It is inter-

his name in the Babli, hence he is

The explanation of |?*m has been

really the author and not only the

given by A. Kohut in his nVwn ηπ»,

tradent.

Since the first section of

from the Arabic ρήι "to have con-

Shema' is "acceptance of the yoke of

fidence, faith". As explained by the

the kingdom of Heaven", this is in

Babylonian Talmud, they had faith in

essence fear of God, and, hence, the

God that all the time spent in His

verse refers to the reading of Shema'

service would not detract from their

and not the prayer. It is clear that the

ability to earn a livelihood, and so they

prayer to be performed preferably at

were rewarded with earning enough

sunrise is the recitation of Shema'.

money for their needs in the time left

156

over after religious services and deeds.

Resh Galuta, the Davidic ruler of

the Jews in Babylonia, in the first

N Q N Ì NNTÌI Ί3

H Q * 1>Ό>? >Τΐ"ΠΨ ΗΨ^Β ΓΦ> R N I O N

Ν)3\ί> - ì l i o ' W i n y&W η η ρ r o i y

n i s n ? V p i o y v n ) r a > p y >?->

n n n n rm>n n a s i . o n ι ϊ » η η η - ρ *in>o >JI>?vì ^ " ì R ì ν η ψ n n ¡ ? o

W e have stated 1 5 7 : Rebbi Yehudah said: It h a p p e n e d that o n c e I w a s walking behind Rebbi Eleazar ben Azariah and Rebbi A q i b a w h e n t h e y were occupied with duties and t i m e c a m e to recite the Shema'

and I got

the opinion that m a y b e they had given up on reciting the Shema',

so I

recited it and went over my studies 1 5 8 ; but a f t e r that t h e y s t a r t e d and the sun was already over the mountain tops.

102 157

CHAPTER ONE Tosephta Berakhot

1:3; there R.

recitation in full force until the end of

Aqiba (who was the greater scholar) is

the third hour and that, therefore, their

mentioned before R. Eleazar ben

prior occupation did not reduce the

Azariah (the vice president of the

later obligation.

Synhedrion), and it is spelled out that

more thoroughly in the next section.

This is explained

they were occupied to attend to some

It seems that the text of the Yeru-

public needs. We have a principle that

shalmi is superior to the Tosephta since

he who is fulfilling a religious duty is

the vice president has precedence over

free from engaging in any conflicting

a simple member and the mention of

religious duty. The two sages therefore

their being engaged in

would have had the possibility of not

obligations is more to the point.

reciting Shema' at all. The fact that

158

they recited the Shema' shows that they

material he had learned earlier from

considered the obligation of this

his teachers.

H ? r o v >31

na αρνί

ΐ ) ί n o í N ywirp >an

Reciting from memory the

nna n m ï

.οηηη

>31

. π ο η η >pn

ï y n a o p ç j p (foi. 3b) n » n n Νητιψ

vvnn> > a * p n o ^ r j a i . o y ó ν ι π ν i ? n w a n i ί ο υ ρ η a n i >?Ì π η . 3 η

ιηη

.npiwa

*τπ V Í O Í O N Ή Α

n ··t τn: o * Tt Tn Nn»w n . s. . . r. .o. i w a. ì i o. n n oτ iτn: ·· : r ir

religious

>a*i . η ί ν ψ

n a i n >a-i

. r oτ iτj n· : N»n· ιra . -r ··o w a r oτ ^τ n· : w> . n r a i v a njjV»]?!? ί ο ^ ν

"Until sunrise." Rebbi Zabida the son of Rebbi J a c o b bar Zabdi in the name of Rebbi Jonah 1 5 9 : until the sun starts to appear 1 6 0 at the mountain tops.

"Rebbi Joshua says, until three hours of the day."

Rebbi Idi, Rav

Hamnuna, and Rav Ada bar A h a v a 1 6 1 in the name of Rav: follows Rebbi Joshua for one who forgets.

Rebbi Huna told of t w o

A m o r a i m o f w h o m one said 'for one who f o r g o t . '

His c o l l e a g u e

responded: Do you ever fix practice for one who f o r g e t s 1 6 2 ? the practice.

The practice

W h y did they say, for one who forgot?

should make an effort and read it at its best time.

In fact, it is

That everybody

103

HALAKHAH 5 159

A h a v a h in t h e B a b l i ; a l l

Of the l e a d e r s of t h e f o u r t h

teachers

generation of Amorai'm in Galilee. The

quoted here are students of Rav. In the

first tradent was his student.

Babli (10b), Rav Yehudah says in the

160

Literally: "drips", meaning that

name of Samuel: the p r a c t i c e follows

the first rays of the sun start to appear

Rebbi Joshua, without qualifications. It

at t h e l o w e r p a r t s of t h e mountain

seems that in Israel one was reluctant

silhouette.

to give up the recitation of the Shema'

161

at sunrise but in Babylonia the practice

Seridé

T h e last n a m e is c o r r e c t in Yerushalmi.

of v e r y e a r l y p r a y e r s w a s

T h e n a m e men-

never

established.

tioned in the printed editions, 13 m x κπκ , is not m e n t i o n e d again in any

162

Talmudic source. Rav Ada bar Ahawa

followed, not to be forgotten.

Since rules a r e m a d e to be

(Yerushalmi) is c a l l e d Rav Ada bar

νπν

V î ? > p ? ç VjSl

Π Η ϊ Φ V P ' P S S ΊΓΜ3 Ί 9 Ε

yçvp η > η ρ n 3 > 3 - 1 - i ç n

. r n i n -»37 γ ο > ν n ^ a n

r o n ? n3>N

n n p >t»i> > 3 1 i o n

ικργι

r n > n i p r u v w p ^ n >3-1 - i m

to'aNi lì i o

.njì?

. n n i n - Ì 3 7 yoy> η>-»ρ

. y n p nan* VN n ^ a j p

v3iv)N-in v p w ?

.inip

.nap r o n ^ n^ajp

.rm?

n a i D r o n ? DÌ>N ν η ψ n ? " i p -in?*

There ( S a b b a t 1:2) w e h a v e stated: "One interrupts f o r the recitation of Shema'

but o n e d o e s n o t interrupt f o r prayer." 1 6 3

r e c i t a t i o n of Shema' obligation164.

is a B i b l i c a l o b l i g a t i o n ; p r a y e r is n o t a B i b l i c a l

Rebbi A b b a said: T h e t i m e f o r the recitation of t h e

is f i x e d , t h e t i m e f o r p r a y e r is n o t f i x e d . 1 6 5 recitation of

Rebbi A h a said: T h e

Shema'

concentration.165

does

not

need

R e b b i Y o s e said:

concentration,

prayer

Shema' The needs

Rebbi Mana said: I objected b e f o r e Rebbi Y o s e : E v e n if

y o u say that the recitation of the Shema'

d o e s not need c o n c e n t r a t i o n , t h e

first t h r e e v e r s e s n e e d c o n c e n t r a t i o n .

S i n c e t h e y are s o f e w , o n e w i l l

c o n c e n t r a t e upon their meaning.

104 163

CHAPTER ONE It is implied by the following

The clearest statement of that position

discussion that one talks about groups

is given by Maimonides

of people engaged in the study of

Tefillah

Torah. This situation is made explicit

positive commandment that one should

in Babli Sabbat 9b. Of those who give

pray every day as it is said: 'you shall

the reasons for the difference in the

serve the Eternal, your God.' Tradition

t r e a t m e n t of Shema'

Amidah,

teaches us that this service is prayer, as

Rebbis Aha and Yose belong to the

it is said: 'to serve Him with all your

and

1:1) who wriies:

(Hilkhot "It is a

fourth generation of Amoraïm in Israel,

heart'; the sages explain that the

hence Rebbi Abba will also belong to

service of the heart is prayer. But the

that group.

[There were too many

number of prayers is not f r o m the

Amoraïm by the name of Rebbi Abba

Torah, neither is the formulation of the

to clearly distinguish between them.]

prayer from the Torah. Prayer has no

The entire section here and the

fixed time from the Torah." [Everybody

following one also appear in Yeru-

agrees that the obligation of offering

shalmi Sabbat 1:2.

prayer three times a day is historical

164

Everybody in this discussion

(Daniel 6:11) and the form of prayer is

seems to agree that the basis of the

an institution of the Men of the Great

recitation of Shema' is Biblical, at least

Assembly.] This interpretation of the

for the first verse [following the Babli

disagreement between Rebbis Aha and

(Teshuvot ha Rashba, #320)] or the first

Abba is given by the great Sephardic

three verses [following the Yerushalmi,

commentators, Rabbis Eleazar Azkari

as seen here]. There is disagreement

and Moshe ben Habib.

on t h e s t a t u s

of

prayer.

The

There is a different interpretation

Yerushalmi at the beginning of Chapter

possible, namely that Rebbi A b b a

4 follows the Sifri in the interpretation

wants to state that the time of Shema' is

of the "service of the heart" mentioned

narrowly fixed, as we have seen, and

in Deul. 10:12, 11:13 as prayer, which,

once that time is passed, the omission

therefore, is Biblical.

cannot be r e p a i r e d .

Rebbi Aha does

For

prayer,

not accept this derivation; similarly, the

however, the rules arc much more

Babli (Berakhot 21a) declares prayer to

elastic. First, there is much more time

be a Rabbinical obligation.

given for the recitation; then it is

165

Rebbi Abba is among those who

possible to pray in advance of the time

accept prayer as a Biblical obligation.

(as in the evening prayers held before

HALAKHAH 5

IM

sundown), and a missed prayer can be

(or verses), containing the "acceptance

compensated for by praying the next

of t h e y o k e of

time twice.

Heaven", should be well understood

Hence, in a real sense,

the

Kingdom

of

even prayer in the Rabbinical sense has

d u r i n g t h e r e c i t a t i o n , t h e rest of

no fixed time compared to Shema'.

Shema', which also counts f o r Torah

166

greatest

study, is acceptable even if it is recited

authority among the participants in this

in mechanical r e p e t i t i o n since this

discussion, notes that one may make a

helps in memorizing the Torah text, an

distinction between Shema' and prayer

essential part of study. On the other

that does not depend on whether the

h a n d , m e c h a n i c a l and

obligations are Biblical or Rabbinical.

prayer is a contradiction in terms and

While it is essential that the first verse

intrinsically invalid.

R e b b i Yose, t h e

ι!?>£>ΝΙ τη,ίτι t i ö ! ? r i 3 v p p i y y U N iín

un

Ή !

«Trivi? V I

.ovrrb? 07N

>ni> 15 l i y p y >37 0 ^ 3 ΐ ^ η ν >31

r n j p N i j n v >37 - i > p > p ? ç υ κ I>N v o y VP'P?» «Ν

tjhpmv > n i > i

π ι τ ί η ·ΤΙ»>ΓΙ3 V P p i V

~>ow i j n i > >377 n>riV73 l}ni> >37

>ni> i ? l i y p v > 3 1 7 n>rii>7? >ni> 13 liypvy >37

î i i ï H i n v p i a V">.í> N y j

ο > κ ρ N3>I.D

DON

>7.?n>7 N i n n i > i o i p >y3JV? N V l ï !

1

HRP ?)) N>> NIN i n Γ>Ν NÇI -»»DÌ don

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n i o s n n £ > o n i > n v no!?

!?ϊον>?> m T 1 n ra>n>J?>N7 NB>rç>3 > ^ 0 7 Ν Ί Ι Ο ^

unthinking

.N'DNI^-^D N>>

.nn?·) n n ? τ ι π ν !?y ν ι ^ u n

"ΤΗΙ Ν Π Η Ί Ν Η

,η>>>7 n n i \ ^ 7 Ρ

>3117 π > 3 ρ ν ι ? Ν3>?η > 3 7 ? Ι3ηί> > 3 7 7 W ? *

n > a o > n ¡ ? t»?> ^ » Ψ >PV ' 3 7

i > p > p ? e i>N"¡ y n y i n > 7 p > y p > p ? o m n t p i !>>>ari D n a p > η η ί 3 i>p>p3ç 73 v m

i > p > p ? n y o w p ->ÇÎN n > 3 p y 13 N3>în >37

l>p>o?>3\5> >ni> 13 l i y p y j >3"! n i » N ^ i . π ί ί β ï y n > n i i ? n ΐ Ν ψ > · ι i>>>?^>i ni»?

τ ρ ^ η >ni> 13 l i y p w

. N 7 3 3 N>V> i>ia

nú

n>> n>>i

Ν>ψ τ ρ > η ψ I^N

,ι^-ù n w v ^ l

.Jii'wjfc

in^n

naio riivyy^

n ú r r i w y ^ Νί?ψ T p V n i>ni> >37 λ © Ν Ι

t > 0 3 P i > n i ii3>w n n ii3>w i n * >ni> 13 l i y p w > 3 7 7 n>)pi|\?

.còiy^ ns>

106

CHAPTER ONE

Ν ΐ η ψ ο "τ i o T>p$n H^ r j b w ì ? p N")ipn ΐ ί ' ΐ π n h ì yn> >31 -inN ,ν'γι N>n .rniJi -iriv n i n n ny>N

rnin

ì«^

n i n n n n a i v ? νγι . r n i r n Nnip ι π π τνπψ n > ^

.m Y irn ν - l i p Νΐηψ c n i o Η^Η i j ^ r i >nv i ?

.·ρ3>\!>

>ni> i ? "ρνιρνμ »an

nip Nay

.m T in n i i n

>a-n n>rivi? ^nv 13 yiypW >3-) ,N>n n w i p ? n n j i v ? κ η .ηίψηρ N n p o m y } ά ύ \ .717»

m » Ν Ί ρ η ? p p i y n ->»ν

Rebbi Yohanan in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Yohai: "For example we, who are engaged in the study of Torah, we do not interrupt even for the recitation of Shema'." Rebbi Yohanan used to say about himself: "For example we, who are not engaged in the study of Torah 1 6 7 , we do interrupt even for prayer." This one follows his own opinion and that one follows his own opinion. Rebbi Yohanan follows his own opinion since Rebbi Yohanan says: "if only a man would pray the entire day. Why? Because prayer is never in vain!"168 Rebbi Simeon ben Yohai follows his own opinion since Rebbi Simeon ben Yohai said: "If I had stood at Mount Sinai at the moment that the Torah was given to Israel, I would have implored the All-Merciful that he should create two mouths for man; one for him to exert himself in Torah and the other one for his other needs." But he changed his mind and said: "With one mouth already the world almost cannot exist because of its denunciations 169 ; if there were two how much more would there be? Rebbi Yose said b e f o r e Rebbi Jeremiah:

The position of Rebbi

Yohanan is identical with that of Rebbi Hanina ben Aqabiah, as we have stated: "The scribes of Torah scrolls, Tefillin, for the recitation of Shema'

and Mezuzot,

do interrupt

but do not interrupt for prayer.

Hanina ben Aqabiah said: just as they interrupt for Shema',

Rebbi so they

107

HALAKHAH 5

interrupt f o r prayer, tefillin,

and all other c o m m a n d m e n t s of the

Torah". 170 Would not Rebbi Simeon ben Yohai agree that one interrupts to make a sukkah

or a lulavl

Does not Rebbi Simeon ben Yohai m a k e the

distinction between one who studies in order to do 171 and one who studies in order not to do? Because he who studies in order not to do would have been better off had he not been born. And did not Rebbi Yohanan say, he who studies in order not to do would have been better off if the afterbirth he was in was twisted around and he never would have entered the world? The reason of Rebbi Simeon ben Yohai is that this one is repeated study and that one is repeated study and he does not push aside one study for the other study. 172 But did we not formulate: 173 "He is like a man reading in the Torah." Hence, at the right time it is preferred to Torah. One is like the other. 174 Rebbi Yudan said that Rebbi Simeon ben Yohai, since he was permanently studying Torah, did not prefer Shema' to the study of Torah. Rebbi Abba Mari said, did we not formulate: "He who reads (Shema') after that did not lose, he is only like a man reading in the Torah"? Hence, at the right time it is like Mishnah. Rebbi Simeon ben Yohai follows his own opinion since Rebbi Simeon ben Yohai said: He who studies the written Torah does himself good that is not so good. But the rabbis equate the study of the Bible with that of the oral law. 175 167

Since w e spend some time e v e r y

day not studying. 168 169 delatio,

See Note

17

informer."

B e c a u s e of an i n f o r m e r

about his anti-Roman f e e l i n g s , Rebbi .

Latin delatorius,

Simeon ben Yohai and Iiis son had to a, um, adj. to

in l a t e Latin delatura

"ac-

spend 12 years hidden in a c a v e (Babli Sabbat

33b, Yerushalmi Seviït

9:1, fol.

cusation, i n f o r m a t i o n , denunciation,"

38d). When he left the cave, he was so

t h e a c t of

upset that p e o p l e w o u l d e n g a g e in

a delator,"government

108

CHAPTER ONE

f a r m i n g and commerce and not study

question here is, how can Rebbi Simeon

Torah all d a y long t h a t a h e a v e n l y

ben Yohai t a k e a position that f o r all

voice ordered him back to his cave for

practical purposes identifies the actions

another 12 months in order to get used

of the most holy man with that of the

to the world again.

deliberate sinner?

Both T a l m u d i m

consider his position a p p r o p r i a t e only

172

for exceedingly holy people.

for all other obligations.

170

While we have the principle that

story of his stay in the cave notes that

"he who is engaged in the f u l f i l l m e n t

he and his son took off their clothes

of a commandment does not h a v e to

and sat covered with sand up to their

But he certainly will interrupt In fact, the

worry about other commandments," this

necks in o r d e r not to w e a r out t h e

does not apply to people whose entire

clothes, and used them only f o r t h e

o c c u p a t i o n is t h e f u l f i l l m e n t of a

times of prayer. This means that Rebbi

commandment.

Simeon did not recite Shema' since its

The source is Tosephta Berakhot 2:6, c f . a l s o B a b l i Sukkah

26a.

The

recitation was replaced by his studies, but he did

pray, even though

the

Tosephta also b r i n g s t h e o p i n i o n of

Mishnah seems to i n d i c a t e t h a t one

Rebbi, that they do not i n t e r r u p t f o r

omits prayer more easily than Shema'.

Shema', and a testimony that R a b b a n

173

Gamliel and the Synhedrion at Yavneh

174

did not interrupt sessions dealing with

Rebbi Yudan (Amora, colleague of R.

communal matters.

Yose) tries to relativize the answer that

171

it applies only to someone like Rebbi

He who does is one who f u l f i l l s

the commandments of the Torah.

In our Mishnah here in

Berakhot.

This is a preliminary a n s w e r .

He

Simeon ben Y o h a i w h o s p e n d s his

w h o does not is one w h o d o e s not

entire life studying and m e m o r i z i n g

fulfill the commandments of the Torah.

Torah.

Someone who studies Torah with t h e

a f t e r R. Yudan, points out t h a t this

i n t e n t of

interpretation

not f u l f i l l i n g i t s

com-

R. Abba Mari, one generation

of

the Mishnah

is

mandments certainly has no part in the

impossible but that one must t a k e the

future world since he does not have the

statement of R. Simeon as an indication

excuse of e v e r y b o d y else that he did

of his attitude in general.

not

175

know

enough

to

fulfill

all

Studying Scripture is e q u a l to

commandments. This is clearly spelled

studying the Oral Law in merit. Hence,

o u t in t h e f o l l o w i n g l i n e s .

reciting the Shema' in its proper time

The

109

HALAKHAH 6 transcends

both

for

was called Mishnah in the time of

everybody

including scholars of the rank of Rebbi

Rebbi Simeon bar Yohai.

Simeon ben Yohai.

parallel in Babli Baba mezia' 33a.)

Mishnah here

(See the

stands for the entire Oral Law, which

n

nini»?

i??ì

o n p w !?>n η>αι

t3!*'^? aiV? oHPiN

n>3

Λ mv»

.q^ipii ^iij^rn

- l O í f j no!? i ? ON

.^13 q ^ a i

•IHípiV 0 7 N

"VJNíy

írpw

Τ?"!"!? ÏÏP1P?1

n^v?

Mishnah 6: The school of Shammai say: In the evening, everyone must bend down 1 7 6 and recite and in the morning they should stand up since it is said (Deut. 6:7): "when you sit in your house or go on the road, when you are lying down and when you are getting up." But the school of Hillel say: everyone should recite in the position he is in, since it says "or go on the road." In that case, why does it say: "when you are lying down and when you are getting up;" this means the time when people go to sleep and the time when they are getting up. 176

Means to lie down on a couch, or

as on a couch. "Reciting" always refers

it is used only for formal recitation of Biblical texts.

to the Shema' since, as a technical term,

Π^ηψ? :Π13 q j p ^ t

n > 5 7 VP?*!?»? π ® Η·ηρ τ

"PO'PP

Jiiiîin? cp¡?piy> v n ? q j v i a

n n i κπ

.1 n a S n

qj^toi

D e• l •i r« s ò- o->a τ : Halakhah 6: They of the school of Hillel are able to explain both parts of the verse. How do those of the school of Shammai explain "when you sit in your house or go on the road"?

"When you sit in your house", to

110

CHAPTER ONE

exclude those who are occupied with other religious commandments, "or go on the road" to exlude bridegrooms. 177 177

An almost exact parallel is found

in the Babli, Berakhot

that fulfillment is really restricted to

11a. The bride

is exempt from reciting the s i n c e w o m e n are f r e e d

the short act of actual marriage and

Shema'

from

then to the first married intercourse;

all

the exemption of the bridegroom from

positive commandments which have to

saying Shema'

be p e r f o r m e d at set times.

wedding feast when he is unable to

The

bridegroom himself f u l f i l l s a divine

refers to the e n t i r e

concentrate even on the first verses.

commandment by getting married, but

•τηκ o i p j p a ν η ψ n n p naiv

vny b

N

ϊ η ^ Ψ

n o í N NÌTT) i n « » ? .jv\?n 1î?p

ί Ο ψ - » π ν -ιΐ"τ

- n i n n t i » •)?

,ηιρ* i w y n v ç p

>3-ι!ρ "HVÎw

to -ȂN

>

'3Ί3

n o w nnti» i s

.mm

va-ι η>ττ)

>3"! r i o n i n n ì V 13 pwa

'3")

*rnis> ">>pw

π ? ? * ! ^ s j ? ^ π υ ι ο 'JV?·™ η>α

ηψνρ

.ο>τρηψ0θ

λ ν ώ ψ n>? n . 1 7 ? n>3

y i p robr?

ηt\h

o>*no>r»n >?IN-|?

We have stated 178 : It happened that Rebbi Eleazar ben Azariah and Rebbi Ismael stayed at the same place and Rebbi Eleazar ben Azariah was reclining while Rebbi Ismael was standing. When the time for the recital of the Shema' arrived did Rebbi Eleazar ben Azariah stand and Rebbi Ismael reclined. Rebbi Eleazar said to Rebbi Ismael, this is as when one says to someone in the market place, your beard is overgrown, and he says, that is against those who shave 1 7 9 . I, who was reclining, stood up and you, who were standing, went on to recline. He answered him: You stood up following the school of Shammai, I reclined following the school of Hillel. Another explanation: That the students should not see me and make it the permanent practice to follow the school of Shammai. 180

111

HALAKHAH 7 178

In t h e B a b y l o n i a n

(Berakhot

11a, Tosephta

parallels

Berakhot

1:4,

dawn, when it still was possible to eat before praying.

It is impossible to

Sifri Deut. 34), R. Elea zar ben Azariah

decide which of the two versions is the

at first is sitting up and R. Ismael is

original.

reclining.

179

T h i s m e a n s t h a t in t h e

I do it deliberately.

Why did

Babylonian version, the discussion was

you d o t h e o p p o s i t e of w h a t I am

in the evening (also i n d i c a t e d in t h e

doing?

Babylonian T a l m u d by a c h a n g e in

180

language, not "that they stayed at the

R. Ismael did recline, not b e c a u s e it

same place" but that "they had dinner

was required by the school of Hillel,

together.")

In o u r

version,

the

discussion takes place in the morning.

Both explanations are necessary.

but to spite the followers of the school of Shammai.

He had to do this, even

While R. Ismael, a f t e r R. Aqiba the

though the school of Hillel would have

greatest scholar of his generation, did

allowed him to continue standing, to

certainly exceed R. Eleazar ben Aza-

give an example to the students.

riah in scholarship, the latter was the

shows that in all cases where t h e r e is a

vice president of the Synhedrion; it is

disagreement over practice, the actions

more likely that R. Ismael was sitting

of the leading T o r a h s c h o l a r s count

upright at the start. They might have

more than all theoretical arguments.

This

got up very early, b e f o r e the start of

JI>3

J i v i ( ? > >η>οη·) τ ρ ι ? i o > j i » n >JN p i n o l i n } π » η » i ? it? η ρ κ

vv>i?>>n >5$n

">οκ

»η??»©·!

. ^ n J i n >157

Mishnah 7: Rebbi Tarphon

181

:» m w e

Γηΐ)Μ

said: I was on the road and reclined to

recite the Shema' following the school of Shammai. There I put myself in danger because of the robbers. They told him: It would have served you right to be in mortal danger since you transgressed the words of the school of Hillel.

112 181

CHAPTER ONE The oldest of the Tannaim of the

practices he had learned as a child to

second generation, who started his

those of the school of R. Yohanan ben

studies still before the destruction of

Zakkai of the school of Hillel which

the T e m p l e ,

was the only one to survive the war

at t h e t i m e of

the

ascendency of the school of Shammai.

against the Romans.

It seems that he was slow to adapt the

p n n n i r n i n n n i ! p ο η ? ί υ > - m o n v r p n v >1*1 ο ν ή onaio niT o n n

i i n v >a-> o w ? n v i -13 py>?\y

l i p 1 3 N } >3"! .l?»n

ïï'l^

d^ìvj o

.rniri η : π » p a n n i

>-ι.Γ)ψ r n i n n : n n a n s i o η ι τ ρ η η η ψ ΓΡΙ » i l i

-α^ψ n>

.aion 1»? : p n

.mrin

rniJi

v i r i n s l i η τ ρ >31 ο ψ ι

. n w v n N ^ N - u i y n>n .«/ni

rein

HÎ

I̻N

- m · χ ΐ ί 3 ΐ ο ψ ï y nn>>?

Halakhah 7: In the name of Rebbi Yohanan 1 8 2 : The words of the scribes are related to the words of Scripture and are pleasant like the words of Scripture. (Song of Songs 7:10) "Your throat is like the good wine"; Simeon ben Abba in the name of R. Yohanan 183 :

The words of the

scribes are related to the words of Scripture and are more pleasant than the words of Scripture. (Song of Songs 1:2) "Since your f riendship is better than wine"; Rebbi Abba bar Cohen in the name of Rebbi Judah ben Pazi: You can know that the words of the scribes are more pleasant than those of Scripture because if Rebbi Tarphon did not recite at all he would have transgressed only a positive commandment.

But because he

transgressed the words of the school of Hillel he should have suffered death since it says: (Proverbs 10:8) "He who breaches a fence will be bitten by a snake." 182

This entire Halakhah, until the

Songs

1:2, "May he kiss me with the

next Mishnah, really belongs to Avodah

kisses of his mouth since your friend-

zarah

ship is better than wine", is discussed.

2:5 (fol. 41c) where Song

of

113

HALAKHAH 7 In the transcription here, the first word

are of the second (colleagues of R.

fell out. It should read: The fellows

Yohanan) or the third (his students)

(of the Yeshivah) in the name of R.

generations of Amoraïm.

Yohanan.

bar Abba is one of the outstanding

R. Simeon

students of R. Y o h a n a n .

In t r a d i t i o n a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , t h e

The two

Song of Songs is a dialogue between

Amoraïm who e x p l a i n t h e l e t t e r ' s

God

words a r e of the f o u r t h a n d f i f t h

and

the

people

of

Israel

generations, respectively.

(represented by the girl); the question of the Mishnah was whether one reads

The "throat" of the Jewish people

η η π (feminine) or q ' l i i (masculine) for

are the sayings of its sages; wine in

"your friendship, your relations."

both verses are the words of the Torah.

183

The members of the Yeshivah

v>ip ina IJ'JJH

ρ

.-m>n i r a

N i n y if? v i r i

1>pin> n i f l o i u w o n >a-pa οιπ3Γΐ

n t w

rooio

rnin n ; n

.10 i n i n n i ^ i a i n p i o v m

n o s mTin n a ? ^

twyι?φ inN

.inpin ina

v>>33? v n ι η ί κ η l i a n

D w a n i n >a"H n n . a n>?3n >an

t O iia>v>? n a p r i VpVr m

ira

,a»n o n p i o n a n

o>N>a? n a i n

onion

ty

N»n

i i ? n N > a i i ."DV^l Vï? ïï> 1V>N a>3iDi .Jiio>>3 >0? Hi ij>N o n a r o i n n τ η κ ï y

>3 ï y «in a n a i n n - τ η κ

ï?

.npip> iby in\?o>a à η^ψψ ϊη

i r m a > r p N > : m 1 ? . ι η \ ? ? ο ρ ι ο π ί η Nì?a i n w > o # n .qnv

in\??çtn

οπίη

o n i n ap1? ni^-in

n n i n n >3 ï y i o n o í a

.ηξήηι jiìn

Rebbi Ismael did formulate: In the Torah there are f o r b i d d e n m a t t e r s and permitted matters. There are easy parts and s e v e r e parts. But in the words of the Sages all are s e v e r e 1 8 4 .

You can realize that this is s o since

w e h a v e stated (Mishnah Sanhédrin

11:5): "If h e 1 8 5 s a y s t h e r e is n o

obligation of Tefillin

against the words of the Torah he is not criminally

liable. If he says that Tefillin

h a v e f i v e sections, to add t o the w o r d s of

the Sages, he is guilty." Rebbi Hananiah, the s o n of Rebbi A d a 1 8 6 , in the

114

CHAPTER ONE

name of Rebbi Tanhum the son of Rebbi Hiyya: The words of the Sages carry more weight than those of the prophets, since it is written (Micah 2:6): "Do not preach, they preach; Do not preach to those, that shame does not reach you. 187 " And it is written (Micah 2:11) "I shall preach to you for wine and liquor."188

The relation of prophet and scholar can be

compared to the case of a king who sent two of his palmatars189

to a

province. About one of them he wrote, if he does not show you my seal and σημαντήριον 1 9 0 , do not believe him. About the other one he wrote, even if he does not show you my seal, believe him without seal and σημαντήριον. So about a prophet is written (Deut. 13:2) "He gives you a sign or miracle." But here it is written (Deut. 17:11): "According to the teachings that they will teach you"191. 184

Since their essential duty is to

build "a fence around the Law", it is in the n a t u r e of t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s of t h e Sopherim,

t h e m e n of

the

Great

asserted by the Synhedrion, then he has committed a capital crime. In t h e Babli, t h e r e f e r e n c e is to Mishnah Sanhédrin

10:5.

T h e inter-

Assembly h e a d e d by Ezra and t h e i r

p r e t a t i o n of t h e law is much m o r e

successors b e f o r e t h e p e r i o d of t h e

r e s t r i c t i v e in t h e Babli t h a n in t h e

Rabbis, to be more restrictive than the

Yerushalmi.

original precepts of the Torah.

186

185

generation of Galilean Amoraïm whose

The Mishnah speaks about the

A p r e a c h e r of t h e f o u r t h

m n n |pi, the rebellious religious leader,

n a m e is q u o t e d a l s o as H a n i n a or

who does not accept the rulings of the

Hinnena.

supreme court sitting in t h e T e m p l e

Hiyya was f r o m K e f a r A g i n (Umm

court. If he asserts something that goes

Junia) South of the Sea ol Galilee.

against the text of the Torah, he is not

187

dangerous and not c r i m i n a l l y l i a b l e

to such a generation, w h e r e a s the true

since every child that has learned to

prophet gets his orders from God not to

r e a d r e a l i z e s his e r r o r .

But if he

preach. According to Rashi, η'υ means

asserts something in contradiction to an

"speak about your visions", r a t h e r than

authoritative teaching of the oral law

the commonly used "preach".

His teacher R. Tanhum bar

Only false prophets will preach

HALAKHAH 7 188

The real i n f e r e n c e is f r o m the

IH

right to use t h e i m p e r i a l mails f o r

rest of the verse that is not quoted but

transportation.

T h e two

diplomatarii

assumed to be known to every student:

arrive in the province by imperial mail

"You shall p r e a c h to this people."

It

but this does not imply that they a r e

follows that the prophet sometimes is

plenipotentiaries (since, sometimes, the

ordered to be silent and sometimes to

privilege of using the mails was given

speak but the sage is ordered to teach

to private citizens.)

at all times.

190

189

Greek equivalent given as parallels.

T h e Arukh notes the word but

gives no explanation. Mussaphia, in his Notes

to

Arukh,

proposes

191

Hebrew word (onin) "seal" and its

The reference is to the tradition

the

attached to v. 9, t h a t o b l i g e s one in

impossible Greco-Latin hybrid πόλεμο-

cases of doubt to go the t h e T e m p l e

notarius, "secretary of war." The best

and ask "the j u d g e w h o shall be in

e x p l a n a t i o n seems to be t h a t of A.

those days". Since it is impossible to

Kohut, diplomatarius\

the first syllable

ask a judge who does not live in one's

di was interpreted as Aramaic relative

days, this is taken to mean t h a t any

pronoun ( H e b r e w ©) and, t h e r e f o r e ,

chief j u d g e , e v e n if not t h e

dropped.

competent one, has the same status as

Diplomatarius

is a l a t e

(Byzantine) f o r m of diplomarius,

the

most

any other living in another time. (Babli

h o l d e r of an i m p e r i a l diploma,

a

Rosh

"doubly f o l d e d " i m p e r i a l o r d e r

or

153).

Hashanah

25b, Sifri

Devarim

privilege w h i c h g a v e its h o l d e r t h e

•vnnnb n^i-iirbD bip n a

*ry b n N

.bip n a n i w w o ι κ ρ ι π ν-τη

b > p ? n -IONJ n ? b y b b n n > a n p i n p ì > n o v n > a n p i r p >inib"j i n ^ y b y . V i i n p i r i D i > b ì p D >N N b î s yrçh « I P ? i b w n a ηκ*»\5>>3 b a N

.bip n a

ìb>N » b i p s

l y - i k p j h V 1 Ç -VTT ' I P V P I > b i p ?

, n nτ > n a »τ n b b n• n > a

b y - a i yr rτr b Dτ i: b b·· n· n > a m i s

r oτ bτ ·n: D bτ i ^y bτ b i» p

n a i D n a b n b aτ u- : o > »· n- o > n b Nν: n a i i b w ib>N m nτ :M i s b i 'p n a·· τ T T - :

.bip n a η H W nja>a

IT

>a")

>a>a >a-i . b i p n a n N * > p > N

That means 1 9 2 after the divine voice 1 9 3 was heard. divine voice was heard,

.*jb;> r j ^ h a

194

τ τ

>an · -

.bbn n>a

But before the

it was said of anyone who wanted to restrict

116

CHAPTER ONE

himself and follow the restrictions both of the school of Shammai and that of Hillel: (Eccl. 2:14) "the fool walks in darkness;" anyone who followed the leniencies of both of them 195 was called an evildoer. But one had to follow either the leniencies and restrictions of one school or the leniencies and restrictions of the other. That was before the divine voice was heard. But after the divine voice was heard 196 , practice always follows the school of Hillel and everyone who transgresses the rulings of the school of Hillel merits death. We have stated: "A divine voice came and said: Both of them are the words of the Living God but practice follows the school of Hillel".197 Where was the divine voice heard? Rebbi Bibi 198 in the name of Rebbi Yohanan: The divine voice came in Jabneh 199 . 192

Referring to the statement in the

the school of Hillel in practice.

The

Mishnah, that Rebbi Tarphon was told

man who rebuilt Jewish learning a f t e r

that he incurred guilt by following the

t h e d e s t r u c t i o n of t h e T e m p l e , R.

teachings of t h e school of Shammai

Yohanan ben Zakkai, was a student of

(with which he probably grew up).

Hillel.

193

A Vip na, "daughter of a voice", is

a sound

carrying

information

of

195

In the opinion of the Babli, only

in the case of two l e n i e n c i e s whose

indeterminate origin.

theoretical

194

another. Similarly, the fool is one who

Tosephta Idiut 2:3 (in a different

version

Sukkah

2:3).

The

discussion in the Babli is Eruvin

main 6b.

bases

contradict

one

follows contradictory rigidities. 196

This is an e x p l a n a t i o n of t h e

The 24 instances of restrictions of the

Tosephta, rather than a duplication of

school of Hillel w h e r e t h e school of

the earlier note on the Mishnah.

Shammai

197

is

more

lenient

are

The same statement is in Babli

enumerated in Tosephta Idiut 2. It is

Eruvin 6b. T h e language is tannaïtic,

r e p o r t e d t h e r e t h a t t h e most con-

but

s c i e n t i o u s one of t h e f o l l o w e r s of

unknown.

S h a m m a i in t h e y e a r s b e f o r e

198

the

the origin

of

the

phrase

is

Since in Talmudic times every 3

destruction of the Temple, R. Yohanan

or 3 was p r o n o u n c e d / v / in G a l i l e e

ben Hahoranit, followed the rulings of

u n d e r t h e i n f l u e n c e of

Byzantine

117

HALAKHAH 8 Greek, his name p r o b a b l y is a shor-

d u c e e s in his t i m e f o l l o w R a b b i n i c

tening of Latin Vivianus, ο·»?ι R. Bibi

practice.

was one of the notable students of R.

Qumran were Sadducees and

Yohanan.

Tefillin

199

characteristically,

T h e Synhedrion was at Jabneh

b e t w e e n t h e two w a r s a g a i n s t

the

We know t h a t t h e sect at

follow

their

Sadducee

rules;

t h e y h a v e many

more Biblical quotes in addition to the

Romans and held there its first meeting

required verses (cf. Y. Yadin,

when it was r e c o n s t i t u t e d a f t e r t h e

from Qumran, Jerusalem, 1978).

persecutions that followed the war of

Tefillin

Bar Kokhba. A f t e r w a r d s , it moved to

l e t t e r s in t h e c a v e s of t h e J u d e a n

Galilee permanently.

desert a r e of the same type.

terminus

This g i v e s a

ad quern f o r the adoption of

Tefillin The

f o u n d with t h e Bar K o k h b a

Hence,

Sadducee practice did not completely

the rules of the school of Hillel by all

stop until the war of Bar Kokhba.

of Judaism.

It seems t h a t t h e e x a c t

f a r as S a d d u c e e i s m g o e s , its d i s -

point in time was the reconstitution of

appearance in practice can be dated to

the Synhedrion a f t e r t h e w a r of Bar

t h e a f t e r m a t h of t h e w a r of

Kokhba.

Kokhba.

While Talmudic literature is full of

As

Bar

It is not believable that a man of the

disagreements on p r a c t i c a l points of

s t a t u r e of

Rebbi T a r p h o n

Jewish practice, there is unanimity that

transgress

a generally

the principles underlying all discussions

practice

are those fixed by the school of Hillel

pronouncement and by popular consent.

in Rabbinic (Pharisaic) Judaism. A f t e r

Hence, the episode of Rebbi Tarphon

supported

by

would

accepted a

divine

the war of Bar Kokhba, we do not hear

must be dated in time b e f o r e the bat

of any f o l l o w e r s of t h e s c h o o l of

qol. It is generally accepted that Rebbi

Shammai in practice, nor of Jews that

Tarphon did not live to see the war of

a r e S a d d u c e e s in p r a c t i c e .

Bar Kokhba. This narrows the time of

Talmud (Babli Nidda

In t h e

33b), R. Yose

the bat qol to close to that war.

(ben H a l a p h t a ) states t h a t the Sad-

Π})?

n n N ) n>)a> o^nyj

.η

rows

(foi. 3c)

ηρίΝΐψ oipç rnsi? noto rovttf ϊιπν .·ν*ΐΓ)Ν> o>rrçn n>3S> cpnyj

118

CHAPTER ONE

ύ > κ DiJin^

>Νψ-> ÍÍ>N nap!? .Ίχφ

>Νψ-ι

.Oiling 'Νψ-Ι Ù>N OÍJir£

,οίτιπ^ ί Ο ψ

Mishnah 8: In the morning he offers two blessings before [the Shema'] and one after. In the evening he offers two blessings before and two after, one long and one short. At a place where they 2 0 0 said to make it long he is not allowed to make it short, short he is not allowed to make it long. To seal 201 he is not allowed not to seal, not to seal he is not allowed to seal. 200

The men of the Great Assembly.

sentence of the benediction with the

201

"To seal" means to start the last

words "Praise to You, o Eternal,...".

n ^ i ooi> i s jvin") ow ϊ χ upn? i ? Iwinyj >1> i ? üwin» >21 DW? v ? n >3->3 >oi> >i)p >31 o w ? l ) ? n j >3"i

VWV

π ηοϊη

."ρίψ γ ι ^ π ι oi>n n ^ n Νη»ψ ï y v t â Ï O oi»3

oy?

o«i> 13 n>ini o»p ì!?>jo q>Ti>^n oi»3 V3y o»¡?>?rrio Halakhah 8: Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Nahman: Because of 2 0 2 (Jos. 1:8): "You should think about it day and night", that the thinking of day and night should be equal. Rebbi Yose bar Rebbi Abin in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: Because of (Ρ s. 119:164): "Seven times a day I praise You for Your just laws." Rebbi Nachman in the name of Rebbi Mani 203 : Everybody who keeps "seven times a day I praise you" is as if he kept also "you should think about it day and night" 204 . The reason is sought for

be parallel and why each one has to

benedictions b e f o r e and a f t e r the

include a benediction of thanks for the

recitation of Shema'.

Torah, since the r e c i t a t i o n of the

202

The first opinion,

ascribed to an early Amora, gives the

Shema'

a l s o h e l p s to f u l f i l l

the

reason why the two recitations should

obligation of Torah-study in a minimal

119

HALAKHAH 8 T h e second opinion, by a l a t e

an Amora of t h e last g e n e r a t i o n in

Amora in the name of one of the first

Galilee, a student of Rebbi Mana the

ones, explains t h e a s y m m e t r y in t h e

second.

numbers since they must add up to the

assume that R. Mani h e r e is R. Mana

odd number of 7.

the second. However, since the late R.

way.

Hence, it is r e a s o n a b l e t o

Yose bar Abin transmits in the name of

Since in Halakhah 9 (and in the 14b) it is reported that

the very early R. Joshua ben Levi, it is

in Israel one did not recite the entire

not impossible t h a t t h e n a m e of R.

last section of Shema' in the evening,

Mani is transmitted correctly.

Babli, Berakhot

Rebbi Simon also gives a reason for the

T h e statement of R. Mani implies

asymmetry: In the evening one recites

that anybody who recites Shema'

with

4 benedictions and 2 sections, in t h e

its b e n e d i c t i o n s

morning 3 benedictions and 3 sections,

evening and every morning, cannot be

for a total of 6 morning and evening.

considered transgressing the obligation

regularly,

every

In the next section it is clear that Rebbi

of Torah study even if he d o e s not

Simon makes a distinction between the

study otherwise. In contrast to the first

first t w o and t h e t h i r d s e c t i o n s of

two statements, this one has practical

Shema', a distinction rejected by Rebbi

consequences.

Levi from the circle of Rebbi Yohanan.

204

203

Usually, R e b b i Mani in t h e

Y o h a n a n r e p o r t s in t h e n a m e of R.

Yerushalmi is R. Mana t h e first, an

Simeon bar Yohai thai r e a d i n g t h e

Amora of the first generation.

Shema' alone is enough; no mention of

How-

ever, Rebbi Nahman, the preacher, is

the necessary benedictions.

> 3 3 0 -IÇN " P O ' P >3T * pJN *

^ Γ » Γ Π > γ ή $ >J1V> V " P P TO

i m ^ n r i ι η ψ ^ ψ > j ? o -ION η } >a-i , η κ ρ ρ - ! η ι > ? ψ i n i

o^a

,·>33 ϊ χ ο η η Ν

q > η>η? ·>'·> n i s

. η -rçji

r i a p r i ο ν ΓΙΝ - t o t n ^ i i s o ' ^

rnnNi

ì^D^if *

ο>η*Η INO

a^jp? rnin

In the Babli, Menahot 99b, Rebbi

.Kiyï

ÏÏ^n

* °γ> ηι< Ν ψ π

-TD^ï* ,ΙΠΝ

, ι ρ ν ο ι r p o y á variy)>> t O Í O > D

η ^ ι ρ ψ Ν > η ψ π ι ψ n i * o η - i d î n >a-»

Ν ^ π ψ q ¥ H i n > ί > ί jvìsì mTin"| ο>ΐ?ίΐη n i e r a i D?>O> ia-)>

VOV

. q o N n ^ i : p a N n^c t a ?

π ν ί ί η qvqj? n a v nisi

. r n i n ϊ ψ n ^ i i s o *TÌ33 η ^ ι ρ ψ

120

CHAPTER ONE

N>

IN© .ΠΊΠΡ OJH3NÎ .Π$ηη HÏ

•jn.ri

>2*1 ->ÇN

>J0»1

n n N i DM?!? n n N i-nrm N>

,Π5")21Γ1 Ο "Π q>3>V¡ >>

DÎT1

; ρ > 7 3?3t>Nì

n>

.>> J I N I y - p « w r p r M

iprpi

*

TV

.Q^iy Ì J ^ Ì

o ^ í f

ΠΝ^ΟΙ >*).ÌO"|P n i n » >N w n

n ^ r i N> .q-iin

ί « ϊ < >3-) DON J i ç t f i n o

rjra

ύντ Ν^Ί niPtf

»3N n>yn ->¡?w r m y T i r i t e r i i v o d n nid îp-α w r ^ n -mon η> >n-t i o n n>a l i n o r i ni

.^-JKI

ι τ ι ν ί ι n 1 ?^

.íp^nn n n N^Í qjV3

ty

^NS

n i n t p ïy Dniirpì

Why does one read these two sections every day? Rebbi Simon says because they mention lying down and getting up.

Rebbi Levi said,

because the Ten Commandments are contained in them 205 . "I am the Eternal, your God." - "Hear 206 , o Israel, The Eternal, our God." "You should not have any other gods before me." - "The Eternal is One." "Do not take the name of the Eternal, your God, in vain." - "You must love the Eternal, your God." He who loves the king will not swear in his name and lie. "Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it." - "So that you shall remember;" Rebbi said: that is the commandment of Sabbath which is as important as all other commandments of the Torah together, as it is written (Neh.

9:14): "You informed them about Y o u r

Sabbath,

commandments, laws, and Torah you commanded t h e m , . . . " to show that it is as important as the other commandments of the Torah 207 . "Honor your father and mother" - "So that your days and the days of your children should increase. 208 " "Do not murder" - "You will soon be lost." He who kills will be killed. "Do not commit adultery" - "Do not stray after your hearts and after your eyes." Rebbi Levi said: heart and eye are the two agents of sin. It is

121

HALAKHAH 8

w r i t t e n ( P r o v . 2 3 : 2 6 ) "My son, g i v e M e y o u r heart; y o u r e y e s s h o u l d w a t c h M y ways." T h e H o l y One, Praise t o Him, says: If y o u g i v e m e y o u r heart and e y e s I k n o w that y o u are m i n e 2 0 9 . "Do n o t steal" - "You shall h a r v e s t y o u r grain, " not y o u r n e i g h b o r ' s grain 2 1 0 " "Do not t e s t i f y against y o u r n e i g h b o r as a f a l s e witness," - "I a m t h e Lord, y o u r God." A n d it is written {Jer.

10:10) "But t h e L o r d is the G o d

of truth." W h a t is truth? Rebbi A b u n said: that (Jer.

10:10) "He is G o d of

life and king of the world." Rebbi L e v i said: T h e H o l y One, praise t o H i m , said, if y o u g a v e f a l s e t e s t i m o n y a g a i n s t y o u r n e i g h b o r , I c o u n t t h a t against y o u as if y o u g a v e t e s t i m o n y against M e that I did n o t c r e a t e h e a v e n and earth 2 1 1 . "Do not c o v e t your n e i g h b o r ' s house" - "You shall w r i t e t h e m o n t h e doorposts of your house," your h o u s e and not your neighbor's house. 205

Since R e b b i L e v i

depends

heavily on the third section of

Shema',

Commandments of Deuteronomy. 209

The connection seems to be from

he cannot agree that in the evening one

the following verse: "Because a dark

should recite only two sections. In the

ditch is the harlot and a source of

Babli (Berakhot 12b), the third section

trouble the strange woman."

of Shema'

210

is s i n g l e d

out for

its

importance b e c a u s e f i v e of the Ten

This contradicts the opinion of

the Babli, Sanhédrin

86a, that the Ten

Commandments are alluded to in it.

commandments forbid kidknapping, a

206

Adrat

capital crime like murder and adultery.

(Rashba) points out, y»w can m e a n

The Babli's opinion is f o u n d also in

"hear, understand, or accept."

Mekhilta deR. Ismael (Jilhro 5), which

207

Since the Sabbath alone is given

possibly was edited in the Academy of

a p a r a l l e l status to "Torah" in this

Rav in Babylonia. The same attitude as

verse.

here, that all stealing is prohibited, is

208

As R. S h e l o m o ben

This promise is connected with

honoring father and mother in the Ten

found in Mekhilta Yohai, p. 153.

deR. Simeon

bar

122 211

CHAPTER ONE This argument is the base of

Rashi's commentary on Berakhot

Eternal is the God of truth."

14b,

Rabbi

Abun (Rabin) was a younger contem-

on the statement that one is required to

porary of R. Levi.

end the recitation of Shema' with "the

3*1 .1D")3 Π 8

ΟΓΙΊ TIO* Γ Ο Ί ?

η>ζΐι v o y i j i i n ^ T n τ η ψ ν wit?")

.rnin

VN\j>

>3"» o v n > £ N > 3 1

Jim

i?

ι η ψ ν ψ o i b ? Π Ρ Ο ν η ψ η>> Ν ί π ρ lìn>n^i 1903

it

V N N I >37 i o n

' 3 7 1 naarijo 3*17

.yçyj W

o v _ ^ d 3 n i - m n rinvìi m i p

i n i p i>n n o >3>P3 η ψ β >

>

D3ÌO)pD

13!? ìj>N V7>?ÌN in?

?ï) l £ £ l

ογ>3 -mon narnp .*u?N»i

,ϋίηψ

on

.ivhDi»)? niD-jari ID IT) n v m n m n V 7 3 i>i>?n r o y o ^ ^ n ìrilN

There it was stated (Tamid Mishnah 5:1): "The official in charge told them 212 : recite one benediction! and they recited one benediction." What benediction did they recite? Rav Mattanah in the name of Samuel 213 : that is the benediction f o r the Torah.

"Then they r e c i t e d t h e Ten

Commandments and the three sections of Shema'." Rebbi Ammi in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish: that means that the benedictions are no obstacle 2 1 4 .

Rebbi Abba said:

From here you cannot draw any

inference because the Ten Commandments contain the essence of Shema'215.

Rav Mattanah and Rebbi Samuel ben Nahman both say that it

would have been logical to require that the Ten Commandments should be recited every day. Why does one not recite them? Because of the arguments of the Christians 216 , that they should not say that only these were given to Moses at Sinai. This Mishnah deals with the

of services. The official in charge was

details of the T e m p l e s e r v i c e , in

one of the small permanent staff of the

particular the prayers of the priests

Temple; the priests themselves were

before the start of dawn and beginning

divided into 24 "watches", one of which

212

HALAKHAH 8

121

served in the Temple from the placing

last benediction before Shema', which

of new show-bread on the Sabbath to

is praise for the Torah and its study,

its removal the next week.

may take the place of the explicit

These

"watches" are remembered in several

benediction for the Torah (e. g., for

kinnot for the Ninth of Av.

somebody who c a m e l a t e to

213

Synagogue

Rav Mattanah was a student of

and

is

reciting

the that

Samuel, the head of the Academy of

benediction before he had a chance to

Nahardea and representative of the

recite the benediction for the Torah),

Babylonian tradition in Talmudic

whereas the Yerushalmi requires two

studies.

benedictions unless one starts studying

214

after the recitation of the

Since it is implied that the

Shema'

priests fulfilled their duty of reciting

without interruption; see below and

the Shema',

Tosa phot Berakhot

it follows that the non-

recitation

of

the

benedictions

preceding and following the

215

l i b , s. v. naa®.

Since the benedictions for the

Shema'

Shema' were instituted for Shema' only,

does not invalidate the recitation of

they are not applicable to the Ten

Shema' itself.

Commandments;

The Babli ( l i b )

hence,

the

Ten

has a t o t a l l y

Commandments, if recitcd at the start

First, they note

of the service, require the benediction

that Rav Mattanah did not know what

for the Torah. On the other hand, in

benediction was recited in the Temple

the preceding section is was shown that

and then they report that Rav Yehudah

Shema' contains allusions to all of the

said in the name of Samuel that the

Ten Commandments. Hence, Shema' is

different approach.

second of the daily

benedictions

in a sense a duplication of the Ten

preceding the Shema'

was recited.

Commandments

and

a

separate

Rebbi Arami in the name of R. Simeon

benediction would be out of place.

ben Laqish is quoted that "benedictions

216

do not invalidate one another", i. e., the

Christian. In the Babli (12a) it is said

recitation of the second before the first

that "the reading of the Ten Com-

is not an obstacle.

mandments was stopped because of the

difference

is that for the Babli, the

ηψ-ja v i i p .-na^n

The essential

I'D always denotes a Jewish

propaganda of the (Jewish) Christians."

n>n v i ? N * ! ^ ">3 r m r p r n o w ? i n o ? -»3 t w o y j >i-> η η ρ η ! ? ν ! ? ^ OJIÏN

·)>*< n ç >3901 o v - î r ç ? oy>:r>

124

CHAPTER ONE v a >an >a ·>νν

>a->

rnTiri3 Π3ίη·>ψ

. n n > p i n a > a y rrç a i n a ^

"rçjJîpi* >3-1 "IÇN

n j i n >3-1

. m a > ç i nN>*> irta 3 i J i a y >D«H3 .ouiriDai o>N>:m

Rebbi Samuel bar Nahman in the name of Rebbi Y e h u d a h bar Zebida 217 : It would have been logical that one also would have to recite the chapter of Balaq and Balaam every day 218 . Why does one not recite it? Not to incommodate the public too much. Rebbi Huna said, because it mentions lying down and standing up 2 1 9 .

Rebbi Yose bar Abun said,

because it contains the Exodus and God's kingdom 220 . Rebbi Eleazar said, because it is w r i t t e n in the Torah, in the Prophets, and in the Hagiographs. 221 217

A Galilean Amora of the second

The quotes in the Babli are all in the

generation, possibly a student of Rav in

name of Galilean authorities.

Babylonia. He is also the author of the

218

parallel statement in the Babli (12b).

23:7 - 24:25.

The statement of Rebbi Huna is given

219

Num. 23:24, 24:9.

in the Babli in the name of Rebbi Yose

220

Num. 24:8, 23:21.

bar Abun. The reasons of Rebbi Yose

221

bar Abun and Rebbi Eleazar in the

Prophets Michah

Yerushalmi are missing in the Babli.

graphs Nehemiah 13:2

r o n » a n .iana n n ! ? Ν ΐ ο ψ >a-|

The blessings of Balaam, Num.

In the Torah as indicated; in the

. i d - p i on") η η κ n a n ? l a n j j η ί ί η φ π irfr *V3N

.Jii-mçn

id-»? η ϊ ν ^ π ί

.rnin nana w i m w

.ni*m>?ri " « ν ->o>rn n v m p n ì n ì p 222

6:5, in the Hagio-

oy>a

Ι>Π¥ n o n a > 3 7 7 ν η κ

"The official in charge told them: recite one benediction! and they

recited one benediction."

What benediction did they recite?

Rav

Mattanah in the name of Samuel: that is the benediction for the Torah. But they did not yet recite "Creator of the Lights! 223 " Rebbi Samuel, brother of Rebbi Berekhiah, said: there is no light yet and you want to recite "Creator of the Lights"?

HALAKHAH 8 222

In the Babli, this piece would be

m

Berekhiah, is one of the authors of the

introduced by KD« "let us return to our

oldest sections of Midrash Rabba.

main theme."

223

Such a r e f e r e n c e is

The first benediction before the

always missing in the Yerushalmi. In

Shema', a celebration of God's creation

the

of the sun.

Babli, this a r g u m e n t

is

an

The

corresponding

anonymous tentative statement (12a).

b e n e d i c t i o n in t h e e v e n i n g is a

Rebbi Samuel, b r o t h e r of

Rebbi

celebration of God's making the world

Berekhiah, is an Israeli Amora of the

revolve alternatingly into darkness and

fourth generation. His brother, Rebbi

light.

η i3>o

ion

,n?*u imp . N s v n

.min.!

π π ν nana v s ' p i »

Π2Γ)Ν"! τηηκ dd>?>? y\?> rrçn Ji>33 piwri ν>π

(Tamid Mishnah 5:1) On the Sabbath they add one benediction for the departing watch. What kind of benediction? Rebbi Helbo 224 said, that is it: May He Who resides in the Temple plant among you brotherliness and love, peace and neighborliness. 224

A Babylonian, student of Rav Huna and colleague of Rav Sheshet, who

emigrated to Galilee and became student of Rebbi Samuel bar Nahman and Rebbi Ammi. He was the main teacher of Rebbi Berekhiah. His statement appears in the Babli in identical form (12a).

vçyj Tinp -»πν> •pio? -Ϊ&Ν N3in

t j n s vny) n n p o i i p τιύψ> ο>?ψη - i ç n twiov» .Ί31Ν ^

Nini N3 >3Ί "V?N .îp}!?

>3"! ο γ ή "pn>p >3-1 .:p.3> rjns 1>N ™:>!?l! V?n3

\>H

«>17»? o ' - o i n

1 3 N » n 3 i -«ON .-pn> rjns jiiD^n p i vsh.in γ* η> . r o - a n } Ί^ρρ* ni:>£n v ? v-nrs i>3 m. >ioip

Samuel said: If one got up early to study before he recited the Shema' he has to recite the benediction. After the recitation of Shema' he does not have to recite the benediction. Rebbi Abba 225 said, that is only if he studied immediately. Rebbi Huna 226 said: It is reasonable to say that for

126

C H A P T E R ONE

e x e g e s i s 2 2 7 o n e has t o r e c i t e t h e b e n e d i c t i o n , f o r p r a c t i c a l r u l e s 2 2 8 does not h a v e to recite the benediction.

one

R e b b i S i m o n in t h e n a m e

of

R e b b i Joshua b e n L e v i : B o t h f o r e x e g e s i s a n d f o r p r a c t i c a l r u l e s o n e has to recite the benediction.

R a v H i y y a b a r A s h i said:

When we

were

sitting b e f o r e R a v , h e a l w a y s r e q u i r e d us t o r e c i t e t h e b e n e d i c t i o n

both

f o r e x e g e s i s and f o r practical rules 2 2 9 .

225

The opinion of the Yerushalmi

227

It seems that here © π » includes

is that the benediction before Shema' is

both exegesis of the T o r a h and e x e -

no substitute f o r the benediction on the

gesis of the Oral Law, anything that is

Torah. The statement of Rebbi Abba,

not obvious either from a biblical verse

Babylonian immigrant to Israel, former

or from a Mishnaic statement.

student of Rav Yehudah, the student of

228

Samuel,

the memorization of f i x e d statements

harmonizes

Babylonian

Practical rules, n^n, r e f e r s to

practice, e x p r e s s e d by Samuel, with

which are i m m e d i a t e l y

Israeli

whether a Mishnah, Tosephta, or a

theory

by

accepting

Babylonian p r a c t i c e but m a k i n g impracticable, Babylonian

ιηκ

the it

is the same as

inVitV "on the spot, im-

applicable,

deciding statement of an Amora. 229

In the Babli ( l i b ) , Rav Hiyya bar

Ashi, the student of Rav, notes that f o r

mediately."

his early morning class, Rav washed his

226

hands, recited the benedictions, and

From the parallel in the Babli

( l i b ) and the order of statements it

proceded

seems that "Rebbi" here in the Y e r u -

Halakha on the Torah, thus combining

shalmi is a scribal error f o r Rav; the

all aspects of T o r a h study.

author of the statement is Rav Huna,

version of the Babli, the statement of

the student of Rav f r o m the family of

Rav Hiyya bar Ashi is separate f r o m

the Resh Galuta. The discussion in the

the preceding discussion and seems to

Babli is much more detailed, starting

indicate that the d i f f e r e n t aspects of

with the study of Scripture and going

Torah study should not be separated, in

into the details of the sections of the

contrast to the Yerushalmi version.

Oral Law.

to

teach

the

Midrash

In the

127

HALAKHAH 8

>3-1 O W 3 N V J ^ >3*1 .Vri V 1 H N P >3 1>νψ

- m s ν)?ψ >ì"iipl

O y ΝΊ.ίρΓΙ >3ΓΙ VPÎ>5 Ί ^ ΐ η i j n i > >3-11 > i o i > 5 > ö n

N*ÌÌ3>Ì» NJ1N N J V ^ J l ! ? ì(7?3 Ν Π Ν >311 >t>Ì> >3") n o i > >3*1 n>>

,i7>3 » i r » ? ν π ν n i

n*>flj}3 l i o i » ^ H ? N ^ N r m i N i>"ÓP o t o ? i n DI13ÌV3

-llî? Ό Ρ Ο

WV

N^l

-m? yçyi n p i n i

r m j i y n η η ί κ w i p ->3? Ν>ΓΠ

m » k ^ V J i i o i n n n v a p n>>

.rnin 137 .rmiN m i p

It w a s stated 2 3 0 : H e w h o r e c i t e s w i t h t h e m e n of Maämad231

has n o t

d o n e his duty since they w e r e t o o late. Rebbi Zeira in the n a m e of R e b b i Ammi:

In t h e d a y s of Rebbi Y o h a n a n w e w e n t o u t f o r a fast-day and

recited Shema'

after three hours and he did not o p p o s e u s 2 3 2 . R e b b i Y o s e

and R e b b i A h a w e n t o u t f o r a f a s t - d a y . Shema'

a f t e r three hours.

T h e public c a m e and r e c i t e d

Rebbi233 Aha wanted to oppose them.

Rebbi

Y o s e said t o him: D i d t h e y n o t recite at its d u e t i m e 2 3 4 , n o w t h e y o n l y recite it in o r d e r t o s t a n d in p r a y e r a f t e r w o r d s of t h e T o r a h .

He

answered back: It is because of the u n e d u c a t e d , w h o s h o u l d not s a y that the recitation w a s in its correct t i m e 2 3 5 . 230

A somewhat different version of

delegation, the Men of Maämad,

this baratta is in Babli Yoma 37b.

the r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of t h e

231

people at the daily sacrifices.

The land of Israel was divided

were Jewish Since

into 24 districts, corresponding to the

these sacrifices started very early, the

24 families of priests, and every week

men of Maämad

a select g r o u p of laymen f r o m t h e

b e f o r e they could hold their prayers.

district in charge of the week came to

Therefore, they started their morning

Jerusalem

the

prayers only a f t e r the daily morning

sacrifices. Since public sacrifices were

sacrifice was completed. By that time,

brought on behalf of the entire people,

it was later than t h r e e h o u r s i n t o

a sacrifice must be b r o u g h t with its

daylight and anyone else would be too

owners

late in their recitation.

t o be

being

present

present.

at

The

lay

had to p a r t i c i p a t e

128 232

CHAPTER ONE In Israel, a fast day usually

meant a day of fasting for rain.

variable hours (one quarter of the time

The

between sunrise and sundown).

services for these fast days were

233

always held in the public square,

all printed editions and manuscripts is

therefore one had "to go out". Also, the

clearly a copyist's error; the entire

sermon was given before the start of

discussion is about rain fasts in Israel

prayers since a sermon after prayers

and only Israeli scholars are involved.

would not do much good and on

234

fastdays the regular service, with an

benedictions that were said at home,

extended Amidah,

not in the synagogue.

was said.

By the

The reading 31 that is found in

At the time of the morning

time that a great many people were

235

assembled and the sermon was given, it

Rebbis Yose and Aha is not resolved in

was rather late, later than

the Yerushalmi.

three

The disagreement between

JV3VÏI n i 3 " p ì o n ì £ p n ο ί η r o y n WÍÓ η ΐ η ? I D ? VpnNwyy n i : m r n z m lim

. N i n - n a o k n ì d o s n i>D>ri o n - d o o w

r o r i D N n o - n i i w n n η ? - μ ι n i - p a n ^ " î jiiiîwan TVp^n

- P I N O D*TN

vniD-ian

^-ιηφπ i o ?

Ν ΓΙ .")Ν)3ΓΙ 1ΠΝ ptKSn T1?"|3

γ π φ r n p N ν "τ Γ) n a w j p τ η n r j -imponi ri3iî>? rrç n n T i n a ó n w t «Vpio Νίπψ .Π3

ΝΠ . n ^ V E ? ΐ>ΐΠ\ί>>

Ni? ñ> VVO NÌD)

Ί β Ν Γ Ι ΗΪψ ΪΗ'ΪΨ

ì!w

no

I1"!* TIÜV >31 I O N

^Nii?

ty ρ nt

.îjnNO

Ί Ο ' ) ? i n ^ 13 0 1 3 >

These are the benedictions that one makes long 2 3 6 : the benedictions for Rosh Hashanah

and Yom Kippur,

and the benedictions for a public fast

day. F r o m his benedictions one can tell whether s o m e o n e is a scholar or is uneducated. These are the benedictions that one m a k e s short: H e w h o makes a benediction o v e r a commandment and on fruits, the introductory paragraph of G r a c e 2 3 7 , and the last benediction in Grace after the m e a l 2 3 8 . H e n c e , all o t h e r benedictions one should m a k e long.

H i z q i a h 2 3 9 said:

F r o m what w e have stated: H e who m a k e s it long is despicable, he who

129

HALAKHAH 8

makes is short is praiseworthy, which means that this is not a principle 240 . We have stated: One has to make long the benediction "Who saves Israel" on a fast day 241 . Hence 242 , the six additional benedictions he should not make long. Rebbi Yose said: You should not say: because this is part243 of Shemoneh Esreh one should not make it long, therefore it is necessary to say: One has to make long the benediction "Who saves Israel" on a fast day. In a different order (short, long,

Seventh benediction f o l l o w e d by six

recognize) t h e s t a t e m e n t is f o u n d in

additional ones, d e t a i l e d in Mishnah

Tosephta Berakhot 1:6. In Tosephta 1:7,

Taänit 2:4) which were not those of the

the list of t h e short b e n e d i c t i o n s is

congregation, but of the cantor who in

repeated as that of benedictions which

Israel at t h a t t i m e was supposed to

236

do not have a separate ending (where,

present his own compositions, and those

however. Rebbi Yose Hagalili disagrees

of the list had to be long. Then there

about the fourth benediction of Grace.)

exists a short list of short benedictions

Towards the end of the Halakhah here.

that may not be lengthened by poetic

R e b b i Y u d a n will e x p l a i n t h a t To-

insertion. And finally, t h e r e exist the

sephta

1:7 g i v e s t h e d e f i n i t i o n of

benedictions not mentioned here at all,

"short" in the Mishnah and T o s e p h t a

like the benedictions b e f o r e and a f t e r

1:6; h e n c e , it f o l l o w s t h a t "long" is

the recitation of Shema', where it seems

identical with "having a separate

the c a n t o r may p r o d u c e p o e t i c in-

ending: Praise to You, o Eternal, . . ."

sertions without being c h a r a c t e r i z e d

That identification has been accepted

either as scholar or as uneducated.

by most Medieval authorities.

237

However, originally the d e f i n i t i o n

Some Medieval a u t h o r s (e. g.

Se fer Hamanhig, Hilkhoi Seudah, #16)

seems to have been the one given here

read "the benediction over food (fila)"

and in Tosephta 1:6, viz., t h a t t h e r e

instead of zimmun

exist benedictions, those of Musaph of

ductory paragraph. This reading would

Rosh Hashanah, all prayers of Yom

explain

Kippur

with the Confessions, and the

"Grace a f t e r a m e a l " but is it not

additional benedictions in the prayer of

supported by any manuscript either of

a public fast f o r rain (a l e n g t h e n e d

the Yerushalmi or the Tosephta.

(ρη··!), t h e intro-

the seemingly

redundant

Sefer

130

CHAPTER ONE

Hamanhig explains this "benediction

Hiyya, collaborator of Rebbi Yehudah

over food (lira)' as the benediction

the Prince.

before the meal.

240

238

may be enlarged by poctic insertions

The last benediction was

The benedictions not mentioned

originally only "Praise to You, o Lord,

but do not have to be long.

King of the Universe, Who is good and

241

does good"

sertions.

(Talmid Rabbenu

Yonah,

With poetic or Biblical in-

Alf assi Berakhot 36a). The extensions

242

that today make the benediction short

are not mentioned in this baraita.

in form but long in text are mainly of

243

Babylonian origin; cf. the discussion in

has to assume that Rebbi Yose would

the author's The Scholar's

classify the ρ η ρ insertions on Purim as

Haggadah,

pp. 358-359. 239

Since the next six benedictions

Of the everyday prayers. One

short.

One of the twin sons of Rebbi

.«lito n ^ n r i o n i n r n 3 1 3 p n ? > >an ν«ό

.«in?·)

,nw>

nD-53i

i w i ó a i n a vnoivrç» r i t a n ?

totf

ÌJIÌN γ ΐ φ ν r o ^ u i r o ñ a b a ï y n n i w n «ιίυ ï y n o i w

η > 13 yyihn> >31 0 W 3 ή η > ρ > 3 i

i n s >i> 13 y v i n » >3") o w 3

.Γοη τ 3ΐ

«po') r o * u ì

>n>ï NOVO >NO .iji£>3jr!?3 o>!?wç κ ι η ψ

r q y r ^

ύ>Ν ü i t e Ν ΐ η ψ η

o p τ ΐ Ν * η Π3>Π3ΐΠ"^3 UNÌ n ^ a n r r i ? ? ΠΝ *

^>3τιπ> n b > w r i t o ? ?

,V3-¡3 ^ These are the benedictions for which one bows down

* Π 3 ρ >}?>)? 244

: The first 2 4 5 ,

beginning and end; "thanks", beginning and end. One w h o b o w s down for every benediction is taught that he should not bow d o w n 2 4 6 . Rebbi Isaac bar Nahman 2 4 7 in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: The High Priest bows down at the end of every benediction; the king at the start and the end of every benediction. Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi:

Once the king bows down deeply he d o e s not get up until he

finishes his entire prayer 2 4 9 .

What is the reason? ( I K i n g s 8:54) "It was

131

HALAKHAH 8

w h e n S o l o m o n finished all this prayer and s u p p l i c a t i o n t o t h e Eternal, h e g o t u p b e f o r e t h e Eternal's altar and did n o l o n g e r b o w d o w n o n h i s knees." 244

Here one does not talk about the

r e c i t a t i o n of

t h e Shema'

"Shield of Abraham."

and

its

b e n e d i c t i o n s at a l l b u t a b o u t

the

behavior reserved f o r t h e High Priest

Amidah,

or because he is o s t e n t a t i o u s in his

eighteen benedictions of t h e

246

E i t h e r b e c a u s e he i m i t a t e s

the subject of Chapters 3 and 4. In the

religiosity, an objectionable behavior.

Babli, the place of this discussion is in

247

Chap. 4, p. 34a.

ben Levi in the early Talmudic period.

T h e reason that t h e

One of the students of R. Joshua

subject is taken up in this context in

248

the Yerushalmi is that in the Tosephta

Rebbis Simon and Isaac ben N a h m a n

(Berakhot

1:8) it is d e a l t w i t h im-

refer to two different statements of R.

mediately after the discussion of short

Joshua ben Levi: The first one is about

and long benedictions.

It seems that the statements of

(In T o s e p h t a

bowing down like e v e r y b o d y else, t h e

and Babli, the verb "to bow down" is

second one is about kneeling, as in the

ππφ, not nn® as in the Yerushalmi. This

Musaph

is another indication that the Tosephta

when everybody can get up except f o r

in our h a n d s t o d a y is a Babylonian

the king ( a c c o r d i n g to Rashi in t h e

edition of an originally Israeli text.)

Babli, 34a,

245

earthly power comes the need f o r

Esre

At the very start of and b e f o r e the

»31

benediction

Π Ν Ί ζ Ι N i l . N>>0

. N a i n ? Ν ί η η ρ ρ η >3") 249

Shemone

p r a y e r of Rosh

Hashanah,

because with i n c r e a s i n g

increasing submission to God.)

D D n ? ΝVI I t >N"| D ^ n p N ' i l Η >N

n y n ? η κ η ο » P ' P ">3

.NS"ÌW) η ο ρ η

W h a t is b o w i n g d o w n t o o n e ' s k n e e s and w h a t is k n e e l i n g ?

The

great Rebbi H i y y a d e m o n s t r a t e d k n e e l i n g b e f o r e R e b b i , h e g o t up l a m e and w a s healed.

R e b b i L e v i b e n Sisi d e m o n s t r a t e d b o w i n g d o w n t o his

k n e e s b e f o r e Rebbi, he got up l a m e and w a s not healed.

249

The origin of this short insertion

Rabban Gamliel, on occasion of t h e

is Sukkah 5:4 where it is reported that

joyous dance for the drawing of water

132

CHAPTER ONE

on Sukkot not only had a fire dance

introduction has fallen out here and the

with eight different torches swirling in

two terms n a n a ,nvna have been

the air but also showed "bowing down

switched. What the Yerushalmi calls

to one's knees" as making a push-up by

nana, the p a r a l l e l

supporting oneself not on two hands

(Megillah 22b, also Berakhot 34b) calls

but only on two f i n g e r s .

m'p, "falling on one's face".

*V?N .-Tjaiy r v n

250

ν ή ρ ο η n>a

This

o n i ? i p-f^i -pjr,

in t h e

>3-,

Babli

niovu?

iao3> κ ^ ψ ì ^ n ο ? 9 ? 3

JO>3N ">3

>3"> .DÙ3

(1 Kings

8:54) "His hands raised to Heaven."

251

Rebbi A y vu said: He

was standing as if inanimate. Rebbi Eleazar bar Avina said: He made clear that these palms did not get at all dirty during the building of the Temple 2 5 2 . 250

Reading

of

the

Rome

As Levy recognized, ηοι is the same as

manuscript; Leyden and Venice: D'npi

•pu.

The word is Greek νεκρός "inanimate"

252

(adj.).

Solomon raised his "open hands", not

He seems to emphasize that

This is the end of the verse

his "hands", to show that from all the

quoted earlier for Solomon's prayer.

riches that David had assembled for

The text of the Venice edition here is

the building of the Temple (JChr. 29:1-

inferior to that of the Rome manuscript

9) not a penny was sticking to his own

that has been followed. (In the Venice

palms.

251

print: vnrn is missing, iboj for lBor.)

>3*i . r i N i i n a

n>>y) o y p n n i w ϊ ό η

13 Nria^D >3Ί n j j i

.«po"! n!?>nj? i o y n w > >7? n n i i p > "130 i o > y ^ >3"! . O H Ì 0 3 s a l p a i i o n (foi. 3d) v i i n n γό ι ώ ν

" Ρ ψ η ^ i>dto "pripn hotù

n > n i > >3*1 DW3 i j n v >3*1 DW? pv>pv> >3"i i 3 > o ' 3 Ί N n n n i n P f c H n>N"| >N»>P >3·) 0W3 N>»n >3-»

p^v7 W V

i ? πψ

>a->

N^I

>3"! ογ>3 » o v o »3"»

122

HALAKHAH 8

->w π ί η 3 γ ή π η nibif n i n a r r î r ç γ η π iÇy wjjop

>si ο γ ή

O>TM? η>η>ρ JI>wni3 " « ν o^iyn >n

Ί 3 N3

.Jiiiqinn bN * n j w i n a 79ψ> imin!? « m n p ì « r i y r P I

>3 >Γΐΰψ u n J ? ,

-13 !?íoov> 3 Ί >η>

onio

J m i n > ν?>>η « N y 7^ «OJN D>7ÌO 3Ί_ ο ψ 3 NI?Î . n i h n i n n ì w * π π ν 7 m n>79 ιψΝΐ D-J133I

t > 7>?ψ>

Π Π ^ ΝΠΝ >3Ί ΟΥή Ν>5>Ν

l i O j p p n y «>Γΐί3Ν >Γ0Ν1 Tiv VN") CPOm N>)p1 0>?Ì33

71? ηηφίΝ

* Impipo lian

0>>?Ì3 70W NÌD ΠΓΙΝ >3 W>J)3>fl30

Tfc Π9>3? 71? n j j n ? -χ? *içn l o s p ->3 .niN7inn ΪΗ * n j w i n s 773!?» n-inîDl

*

l i w ^ D V3^ri 77?"^? y - p n 7> n?>-o 7^ n>inny)n

!?b> Nvonpn") nD^pon v>

>o^3 bb

Tinnì n ^ n ) i r i d a n o )

!?7Ì> 77^31 n7i3?i r ó 77^31 t o j bwin n m i 7>?a>o l i a s n ) -t^vni Wiób 3>"!?33 7Γ17Ν9Γ)

^P 0 ? ·>η * η η ο Ν τ ι

lîçjp V?37

0>>>ηρΐ 7^ 13Π3Ν OHIO W l ^ N nnyi tt p*.n>ì

l l ^ '37

.niNiinn Î7N * nriN 7 n s

οηηΓίνη frçto»

^Vì

.N771 i n Ν7Γ1 ÌN V">W7 Γ>>ΚΊ "prfr1» V7>?N Rebbi Halaphta ben Shaül 253 stated: Everybody bows down with the cantor for the benediction of thanksgiving. Rebbi Zeira said: But only for the word modim. Rebbi Zeira was attentive to the Qeroba 254 to bow his head at the beginning and at the end. Rebbi Yose when he came up here 255 saw them bowing down and whispering. He said to them: What is this whispering? He had not heard what Rebbi Helbo, Rebbi Simeon said in the name of Rebbi Yohanan, in the name of Rebbi Jeremiah 256 , Rebbi Hanina in the name of Rebbi Miasha 257 , Rebbi Hiyya in the name of Rebbi Simai, and some say, the colleagues258 in the name of Rebbi Simai: We thank You, Master of all creatures, God of praises, eternal Rock, Life of the Universe, Creator, Who resurrects the dead, that You have made us alive, kept us, gave us merit, supported us, and brought us near to give

134

CHAPTER ONE

thanks to Your name; praised be You, o Eternal, God of thanksgiving. Rebbi Abba bar Zavda 2 5 9 in the name of Rav: W e thank You since we are obliged to give thanks; may my lips sing, for I shall sing to You with my soul that You have redeemed; thanksgiving.

praised are You, o Eternal, God of

Rebbi Samuel bar I n i a 2 6 0 in the name of Rebbi Aha:

Thanksgiving and praise to Your name, Yours is greatness, Yours is strength, Yours is glory! May it please You, o Eternal, our God and God of our fathers, that You may support us in our fall, straighten us up from our bent state, because You support the falling and straighten up the bent ones, You are full of mercy and nothing exists except You; praised are You, o Eternal, God of thanksgiving. Bar Qappara 2 6 1 said: For You we fall down, for You we bend down, for You we prostrate ourselves, for You we kneel, to You every knee should fall down and every tongue swears. (IChr. 29:11-13): Yours, o Eternal, is greatness, strength, glory, victory, and majesty, truly all that is in heaven and on earth; Yours, o Eternal, is the kingdom, and You lift Yourself over all as head. Riches and honor are before You, You rule over all; in Your hand is power and strength, it is in Your hand to make great and strengthen everything. And now, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name; with all our heart and soul we prostrate ourselves before You. (Ps. 35:10) My entire self shall say: O Eternal, who is like You, Who saves the destitute from one who is stronger than he is, the destitute and poor from the one who robs him. Praised are You, o Eternal, God of thanksgiving. Rebbi Yudan said: the rabbis used to say all of these 2 6 2 . But some say, either one or the other. 253

An Amora of the first gcner-

ation in Israel who occasionally is

quoted as a Tanna.

His opinion is the

only one given here, to the effect that

HALAKHAH 8 one has to bow down at modim.

135

The

and Amorai'm) and a s l i g h t l y l o n g e r

Babli (Berakhot 34b) quotes that Rava,

one by Rav Aha bar Jacob (a student of

Rav Nahman and Rav Sheshet actually

Rav Huna, the student of Rav). Most of

fell down on their knees f o r

modim;

these texts are so short that they do not

the T a l m u d q u o t e s a baraita

which

lead to the congregation whispering for

explicitly forbids falling down on one's

any length of time.

knees. Louis Ginzberg assumes that in

256

Israel, f a l l i n g on o n e ' s k n e e s

student of R. Yehudah ben Batyra.

was

A Tanna of the last generation,

always strictly f o r b i d d e n since t h e i r

257

synagogues w e r e built of stone with

the title of "Rebbi", from the last times

stone floors and falling on one's knees

of the Second Temple.

on a stone floor outside the Temple is

258

forbidden.

Yeshivah.

In B a b y l o n i a ,

where

One of the first Tannai'm with

The collective of scholars in the

synagogues w e r e brick with hardened

259

dirt floors, falling on one's knees was

his training in the Babylonian academy

permitted.

of Rav.

254

260

Qeroba is the cantor, the n'Vw

nia'x, w h o p r e s e n t s his own p o e t i c offering

of t h e p r a y e r , t h e

An Israeli Amora who received

A student of Rebbi Aha, Israeli

Amora of the fourth generation.

The

qerovut,

name of his f a t h e r c a n n o t be d e t e r -

m a n p or f a n p , to the congregation for

mined with certainty; the form given

the repetition of the Amidah,

here is from the Rome manuscript.

by L. G i n z b e r g .

as noted

nao h e r e seems to

m e a n "to b e a t t e n t i v e " , as in exclamation b e f o r e t h e qiddush

the

In

the Venice print it appears as Mina, at o t h e r p l a c e s in t h e Y e r u s h a l m i

it

nao

appears as Ina, Idi, Bina, Yonah, Yanna,

It seems that Rebbi Zeïra timed his

G a l i l e a n Amorai'm s a w t h e R o m a n

thanksgiving, one of the longer texts

e m p i r e b e c o m e C h r i s t i a n and lived

given

through the first persecutions

"please pay attention".

h e r e , so he c o u l d

Yannai.

end

his

T h e f o u r t h g e n e r a t i o n of

that

benediction in unison with the cantor.

finally forced the following generation

255

" C o m i n g up" m e a n s

to abandon the work on the Jerusalem

aliyah

f r o m Babylonia to Israel.

making The

Talmud.

Babli (Sota 40a) also reports very short

261

texts by Rav, Samuel, Rebbi Simai (also

also m a d e his own c o m p i l a t i o n of

of the g e n e r a t i o n b e t w e e n Tannai'm

Mishnayot.

A contemporary of Rebbi who

His f u l l n a m e w a s R.

136

CHAPTER ONE

Eleazar, son of R. Eleazar the Qappar.

in all Yerushalmi versions this is a

Since his name is identical to that of

formal benediction.)

his father it is clear that he was a

262

posthumous child; cf. E. and H. Gug-

Sota 40a. It appears from here that

genheimer, Jewish Family Names and

Rav Papa (fifth generation in Baby-

Their Origins,

Etymolo-

lonia) had good precedent for his

Fami-

ruling f r o m Rebbi Yudan ( f o u r t h

liennamen, München 1996, both p. xviii.

generation in Israel). The method of

Ktav 1992,

gisches Lexikon der jüdischen

Statement of Rav Papa in Babli

While the previous texts were

Rebbi Y u d a n / R a v P a p a is more

quoted in historical order, the text of

adequate to a collection of short

Bar Qappara should have been the

statements as given in the Babli than to

first. The reason may be his extensive

the very long pieces quoted here in the

use of Biblical verses that were a

Yerushalmi.

matter of controversy, see below (and

V1ÎJ3 "P2V? N>T TIN!??1) TV)?*)? >3") "MON .WTO *ÌJ1Ì> N W | Ν>Ψ Ϊ3>:Η >333 N P > ? N I -»3 " ) i m •pay

.qioD >>?

•>·>

JVP07 N3

. n p i w Π3ΠΝ rp-ia

nnpNri

ba N ^

navnn

N n _ 3 r £ -»ON N S - U i j i r r .>niû b y p ^ ) ) op·) b i o o y > η ί ρ r m n m i

>3"! DON .CPFLLFL? IPIT >'> NOVO IIN)?N ION *V3N BÍOOYJ .TD NIN I!?N I H N >31 Ι Ώ Ν ,ΝΙΠ πη>3 η^Ψ

m Dlip

Ν£Ν Ν-ΑΠΥΑ NB >ΟΝ

. Ν ΐ η π η ο >οψ υ ρ η Ν^Ν α > τ ρ ΓΡ> ,ΤΠΝ? ΝΙΠ ηη>3 ,ΝΙΠ ηη>3 "»as o w n η^ι

W e have stated: Only that one should not bow down too m u c h 2 6 3 . Rebbi Jeremiah said: On condition that one should not behave like that large lizard 264 , but (Ρ s. 35:10) "All my bones should say, o Eternal, w h o is like You?" The word of Hanan bar A b b a 2 6 5 disagrees since Hanan bar Abba said to the colleagues: I shall tell you one of the good things that I saw Rav do and, when I told it before Samuel, he got up and kissed m e on my mouth.

At "praised are You", he b o w s down.

When he c o m e s to

122

HALAKHAH 8

mention Hashem, he straightens up. Samuel said: I shall give the reason (Ps. 35:10): "The Eternal straightens the bent ones." Rebbi A m m i 2 6 6 said: It is not reasonable, but (Mai. 2:5): "Before My Name he is low." 267 Rebbi Abun said: If it were written "at My Name he is low" then you would be right, but it is written "before My Name he is low", before he mentions Hashem he is low. 263

A f t e r t h e digression about the

text of t h e p r i v a t e p r a y e r modim,

during

the discussion now returns to

should bow down enough so t h a t all bones of one's s p i n e a r e m o v e d in God's praise.

t h e s t a t e m e n t t h a t one has to b o w

265

twice at the beginning and the end of

Babli as Rav Hanan bar Rava, son-in-

the

law of Rav and father-in-law of Rav

Amidah.

264

Arabic lirin ,]rnn "large lizard".

Tosafot Berakhot

Hisda.

Hanan bar Abba a p p e a r s in the

He disagrees with those w h o

12b in t h e V e n i c e

bow down at modim and remain bowed

print q u o t e this Yerushalmi as XJivn

to the end of their private supplication,

and declares it to be the Yerushalmi

even though he f o r m u l a t e s his s t a t e -

translation of a* (Lev. 11:29).

ment in terms of the first benediction

In t h e

Wilna T a l m u d Babli, t h e word was

of Shemone

changed to x a i n n following our text.

ends with "Praised a r e You,

In t h e Targum Jonathan), Kii-nn.

Yerushalmi

Esreh

w h i c h s t a r t s and Hashem",

(Pseudo-

but his statement is a p p l i c a b l e to all

t h e t r a n s l a t i o n of ax is

other situations, that one never should

It s e e m s t h a t t h e

Targum

be bowed when mentioning the Name.

Yerushalmi takes Hebrew a* as parallel

266

to Arabic a i "lizard" (of all sizes), not

Abun t h e f i r s t ( R a v i n ) w e r e

as "turtle" as in l a t e B i b l i c a l

temporaries, R. Abun h e r e is the first,

and

modern Hebrew.

Since Rebbi Ammi and R e b b i con-

not his posthumous son of t h e same

Rebbi Jeremiah means that, w h i l e

name.

Rebbi

Ammi

a l s o is

the

one should not bow down too much, on

contemporary of R. Hiyya bar A b b a

the other hand one should not behave

mentioned in the next section and, as

like a lizard which keeps its body quiet

successor of R. Yohanan as head of the

and moves only t h e h e a d when it is

Yeshivah of Tiberias, he is the higher

catching flies.

authority.

He r e q u i r e s that one

CHAPTER ONE

138 267

The verse in Maleachi refers to

root nnn "to tremble" but the Amorai'm

Levi, son of Jacob, or Aharon, the High

take it as derived from (Aramaic) nm

Priest. Most commentators of Psalms,

"to descend".

including Rashi, derive nm from the

> N 7 0 i r i i > η η ψ ψ - r n y a n w y o N3>3n n a N o n >a-> o w a i n a n a -»a N » n > a i n>> - i ç n

.-i>ai»5 n i n i j n v >an i o n >)3N >3-» ,-iyi

>ai

.'an

" v a p o n>n

iO

Rebbi Samuel bar N a t h a n 2 6 8 in the n a m e of Rebbi H a m a bar Hanina: It happened that one bowed down t o o much and Rebbi r e m o v e d him. Rebbi A m m i said, Rebbi Y o h a n a n did r e m o v e .

Rebbi H i y y a bar Abba

said, he did not r e m o v e but scold. 268

A student of R. Hama bar

be allowed to bow down too much,

Hanina, the son of R. Hanina ben Hama

only that he cannot be removed.

of the generation of Rebbi.

is the interpretation ol Maimonides

Since

9:4, see

Rebbi Yohanan did know Rebbi Samuel

(Hilkhot

Tefillah

bar Nathan in his old age, it follows

Mishneh on that text).

This

Kesef

that the two stories are complementary,

It is difficult to decide the opinion

not that there is a d i f f e r e n c e of

of the Yerushalmi about whether in

opinion on who removed the cantor

practice one removes or simply scolds

because of his excessive bowing. It is

such a cantor since Rebbi Ammi is in

clear that we are talking about a

general the higher authority but Rebbi

cantor because only he can be removed

Hiyya bar Abba is quoted in the last,

from office by the Rabbi.

preferred, position.

This does

not imply that any congregant would

m v n on") : p * m i n a "ρηιήΑ n t o - r a r r ì o

i r a v n j p i a y J i t o n a tin*

. r p - a a i n a "propia ν « n ^ s ^ ì ν η ψ n n p "pi? r m v a n ^ r o i o p r o - n These are the benedictions one begins with "Praised".

All benedictions

one begins with "Praised", but a benediction following another one, e. g., the recitation of Shema'

and Amidah,

one does not begin with "Praised". 2 6 9

139

HALAKHAH 8 269

form otherwise is taken f o r g r a n t e d .

This s t a t e m e n t e x i s t s in t w o

additional versions.

In t h e

Babli

(Berakhot

reads:

T h e main d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n

the

All

Babli/Tosephta and t h e Yerushalmi is

benedictions one begins with "Praised"

that the last benediction for the Shema',

except f o r b e n e d i c t i o n s o v e r f r u i t s ,

the one recited

obligations, benedictions f o l l o w i n g

considered by the Yerushalmi to be the

another one and the last benediction of

continuation of the second benediction

t h e r e c i t a t i o n of Shema'.

b e f o r e Shema'

46a)

it

In t h e

a f t e r Shema',

is

but f o r t h e B a b l i it

Tosephta (Berakhot 1:9) it reads: All

needs

benedictions one begins with "Praised"

consequence is that for the Yerushalmi

except for benedictions

following

all prayer benedictions s e p a r a t e d by

another one and the last benediction of

Scriptural readings f r o m a p r e c e d i n g

the recitation of Shema'.

benediction are considered consecutive

mention.

The

(the b e n e d i c t i o n s a f t e r t h e m o r n i n g

The versions of the T o s e p h t a and t h e Babli a r e e s s e n t i a l l y

special

Psalms and Hallel)

identical,

whereas for the

except that the Babli for completeness

Babli each one needs special treatment.

includes the short benedictions of one

The first objection to the rule given in

sentence

the next

mitzwah

for the execution

of

a

. n a i o nrp_ n p v

·)3ην

t m

,Ν>η

>pip n o v

is

therefore

impossible for the Babli.

and f o r e a t i n g f o o d , w h o s e

ny>?!{» O N

paragraph

rfriN? n m

>5

n>n-p r n

n>nn

3>rin , n s > n p p n n > a a

n n * · ) Nin!? η η κ n a n o>rrç> R e b b i J e r e m i a h o b j e c t e d : But t h e r e is " r e d e m p t i o n " 2 7 0 .

-ION

T h e r e is a

d i f f e r e n c e s i n c e R e b b i Y o h a n a n s a i d 2 7 1 : If h e h e a r d Hallel

in

the

s y n a g o g u e h e has fulfilled his obligation. Rebbi Eleazar, t h e s o n of R e b b i Y o s e , o b j e c t e d b e f o r e R e b b i Y o s e , but t h e r e is its e n d i n g . 2 7 2

H e said t o

him: there are t w o , o n e f o r the f u t u r e and o n e f o r the past. 2 7 3 270

The answer shows that the

Eternal, our God, King oi the Universe,

question is about the benediction at the

Who

end of the recitation of the Haggadah

redeemed our f o r e f a t h e r s f r o m Egypt

has

redeemed

us

and

has

in the Seder night: "Praised are You, o

and let us a t t a i n this n i g h t to e a t

140

CHAPTER ONE

mazzah and bitter herbs. May it please

benedictions before and after); then the

You, o Eternal, our God and God of our

people could go home and just recite

fathers, to let us attain in peace more

the benediction for redemption, drink

festive seasons and holidays, when we

four cups and go to bed.

shall rejoice in the rebuilding of Your

there seems to imply that the required

city and enjoy Your service. There we

recital of the Exodus likewise was read

shall eat from the family offerings and

to them in t h e s y n a g o g u e .

the pesah sacrifice whose blood shall

generally accepted implication of this

reach t h e wall of Your a l t a r f o r

and the following arguments is that any

goodwill.

benediction

Then we shall thank You

which

The text

under

The

some

with a new song for our redemption

circumstances could be rccited by itself

and the liberation of our persons.

has the status of a benediction that is

Praise be to You, o Eternal, Who did

not following another one (Rashba on

save Israel."

Babli Berakhot 36a).

This

benediction

follows

the

272

T h e r e is much

controversy

recitation of the first two Psalms of

about the meaning of this question;

Hallel. It is clear from here, and from

every commentator has another inter-

the parallel in the last Chapter of

pretation. In the author's opinion, this

Yerushalmi Pesahim that in Israel in

is a complete parallel to the identical

Talmudic times one p r e c e d e d the

question asked later for Qiddush and

recitation of Hallel by a benediction

refers simply to the concluding state-

(the d e t a i l s a r e discussed in t h e

ment "Praise be to You, o Eternal, Who

pp.

did save Israel." Since this follows the

317-318). Hence, by the principle of

entire text, it certainly is a benediction

the Yerushalmi, this benediction should

following another one, so why does it

not start with "Praised".

repeat "Praise be to You, o Eternal"?

271

273

author's The Scholar's Haggadah,

Pesahim 9:1, fol. 37c. In Galilee

A statement of Rava in Babli

there existed congregations which were

Pesahim

illiterate except for the cantor, where

diction for redemption a f t e r Shema'

no one could recite the Hallel or the

and in the Haggadah

entire Haggadah

that in the Amidah prayer is blow''

at home. For these

117b notes that the bene-

is Vx-iur· Vxj but

Hallel

The same formulation, Vm®' Vkj, is

should be recited in the synagogue

found in the Mishnah Pesahim and is

after evening

followed by the Haggadah

people it was instituted that

prayers

(with

its

texts with

141

HALAKHAH 8 the exception of the Yemenite ones.

tradition, strictly based on the Babli,

The unvocalized text of Mishnah and

cannot be expected to disregard a

Talmud is read Vk-jw' Vkj in the past

prescription of that Talmud. Hence, it

tense. Then Rebbi Yose's statement

is possible that Rava did read Vtu

makes sense.

tonto?, a pa'el form of the present [cf. S.

Since the text con-

centrates on the future after a per-

Morag, Vxenj p a i Vkb via, Tarbiz 26

functory mention of the past, the

(1957), 349-356 and the m a t e r i a l

conclusion by a benediction for the

quoted in the author's The

past is a change of theme and, there-

Haggadah, p. 322.] The Yerushalmi

fore, the concluding phrase has to be

here shows that the Israeli reading was

considered a separate benediction.

Vktw·· νκλ -• τ : • - »

[Rebbi Yose belongs to those author-

sonantal) wording in Babli and Yeru-

ities who require that the topic of the

shalmi does not necessarily imply same

final benediction should be repeated

text and same meaning. Since Italian

immediately before the final sentence.

and Northern European Jewry obtained

Scholar's

Hence,* identical (con-

His opinion is superseded here by that

their prayer texts from Israel, probably

of Rebbi Mana later in the discussion

in the Mishnaic period, it is the rule

but is taken up again by Rebbi Aha.]

that

The very conservative Yemenite

lin-) ï n a p

>

?Ί

">3 N I

their

prayer

texts

follow

Yerushalmi sources.

Ί Ο Ι ,N>n

n r ) "P^rin

n>n Ν 3 Ί Ν»Π >3") .Ό13ΓΙ "?)> I^ÍD - ) They objected: There is Havdalah,274

There is a difference since Rebbi

Abba bar Zavda said that Rebbi was dispersing them and collecting them on the cup. The great Rebbi Hiyya was collecting them 2 7 5 . 274

The Havdalah

benediction at

follows the other ones. The answer is

the end of the Sabbath is preceded by

that the benedictions over spices and

benedictions over wine, spices, and

fire are recited in order only for

light. These are all short sentences and

convenience, not out of necessity, and

it is universally agreed that they should

that Rebbi did recite them separately.

start with "praise". The only problem is

Hence, Havdalah is a potentially free-

the Havdalah benediction itself, which

standing benediction, but it follows

142

CHAPTER ONE

always the benediction f o r wine.

The

benedictions on the cup lor his family,

objection based on this is not raised,

not for himself.

but it will be raised for Qiddush

275

and

Being a Babylonian, he n e v e r

the answer given t h e r e also a p p l i e s

g a v e up B a b y l o n i a n p r a c t i c e s e v e n

here. It is explained in Babli

though he spent his life in Galilee.

Pesahim

54a that Rebbi was collecting the other

onpiN

I»!??ÌNI " ρ α ψ ν ο υ ψ ι>π

.Ν>η Ν ^ ψ , : ρ α ) n r j y n ' i i n .173Π T12S Ί ξΠ η Γ]

216

T h e y objected: There is Nevarekh.

There is a d i f f e r e n c e , b e c a u s e if

there w e r e t w o sitting t o g e t h e r and eating they w o u l d n o t s a y

Nevarekh.

T h e r e is "He W h o f e e d s all" 277 ; that is difficult. 276

T h e i n t r o d u c t o r y s e c t i o n of

277

This is t h e c o n c l u d i n g

bene-

Grace after meals, known as ·ρη*τίΐ nana,

diction of the first paragraph of Grace;

"the benediction of preparation".

the question is parallel to that asked

This

introductory p a r a g r a p h is recited only

for the concluding paragraphs

when at least t h r e e people a r e eating

"redemption" and Qiddush.

t o g e t h e r w h o a r e o b l i g e d to r e c i t e

an answer here is provisional; the final

Grace in the same degree of obligation.

answer of t h e A m o r a ï m of t h e last

Hence, G r a c e itself must s t a r t with

Galilean g e n e r a t i o n c o v e r s all t h e s e

"Praised".

cases.

r r m p > ΛΓ)>3 > v n r t U J ^ W ϊ ο ι π η . - ι η κ ι .N>n .Γηιηρ>

2>ρηΓη , ι η η ο η

T h e r e is "He W h o is g o o d and d o e s g o o d " 2 7 8 .

of

The lack of

.i'unni ηίυη

n n

.rpvpnn·) n i o n n ^ p D T h e r e is a d i f f e r e n c e

since Rav H u n a said: W h e n permission w a s r e c e i v e d t o bury t h e slain of Bethar, "He W h o is g o o d and d o e s g o o d " w a s f i x e d , "He W h o is g o o d " b e c a u s e t h e y did n o t rot, "He W h o d o e s g o o d " b e c a u s e p e r m i s s i o n w a s r e c e i v e d to bury t h e m . 278

The fourth section of Grace that

clearly follows t h e t h i r d but n e v e r -

theless s t a r t s with " P r a i s e d " .

The

answer is that the first three sections

142

HALAKHAH 8 The fourth section of Grace that

constitute G r a c e as r e q u i r e d by the

clearly follows the third but never-

Torah, while the fourth starts Rabbinic

theless starts with "Praised".

Grace.

278

The

answer is that the first three sections

oi»n v ^ v

""V3P π π ί ν ή a\¿n> n>n ο κ ψ

3 3 J T b - o o o i o N j n >a-> -»ON .*jroa

. r í a l o ΝΠ)

oriin ύ η ο n r t a ? 10a Oí)ís

,ιόπ

,n\jmp κ η

.laari n a » a i a t n w üa\?p

,νιπ

. t p - α ? ·)ζΐ3 oriin - } ^ n a a i n a n r i i a There is Qiddush279.

ί3>κψ

nao®

There is a difference s i n c e if o n e w a s sitting and

drinking w h e n it still w a s day and the holy day c a m e u p o n him, he d o e s not say "Creator of the fruit of the vine." But there is its final s e n t e n c e ? Rebbi Mana said, the t y p e 2 8 0 of b e n e d i c t i o n s is like that.

Rebbi Yudan

said: A short f o r m starts with "Praised" and does not end w i t h "Praised", a long f o r m starts with "Praised" and ends with "Praised". 279

The main benediction follows

the b e n e d i c t i o n over wine (or over

sentence again starts with "praised." 280

Greek τύπος, "pattern, model,

bread) and, nevertheless, starts with

prescribed form". Rebbi Mana was a

"Praised". The answer is that

student of Rebbi Yudan who uses the

Qiddush

during a meal does not r e q u i r e the

Hebrew vaoo "coin" for "form".

benediction over wine even though

students of Rebbi Mana w e r e t h e

there is an interruption in the meal

collectors of the Yerushalmi in the

since one is forbidden to eat and drink

form it came down to us. Hence, his

a f t e r sundown Friday night b e f o r e

answer is final: All long benedictions

making Qiddush.

The Babli does not

end with "Praise to You, o Eternal, . . ."

take up this question, hence practice

as a matter of principle (going back to

follows this Yerushalmi, Shulhan

the Men of t h e G r e a t

Arukh

The

Assembly).

Orah Hayyim 271, Sec. 4. The Qiddush

Between this sentence and the next, a

starts with " p r a i s e d " and its f i n a l

"since" should be mentally interpolated.

144

CHAPTER ONE

> a - a p n > ? >5*1

. p í o s 713-13 p i p i N ν « l D ^ i ^ n η η κ i r è n a r r ! ? ?

. p í o s no*}}

VN l i p n i n > n *ιπν i o > m n ? » n p i > >3*1 > i o i p

•Tioiv N i n ο κ ψ ìri>nwi>n i n * i n e >3-1 DON li»*

Jinn^i

IH»?

Drim l ì m n u - i y ì y " ν ^ ί η

>>ns V V P N 1

. ^ r i i n r i i n p y ? n i D - i s r r ! » ΝΠΝ . p í o s 713*13 o w n i l

All benedictions after their seals

Jinn^a

281

iniii

; o n e d o e s not say a v e r s e as

benediction. Rebbi Isaac ben Rebbi Eleazar objected before Rebbi Yose: B e c a u s e y o u s a y a f t e r their seals, o n e d o e s n o t s a y a v e r s e as benediction 2 8 2 ? They said, that young man is intelligent because he thinks! What is the meaning of "after their seals"? It is that when he was standing in the morning prayer and forgot and mentioned the text of e v e n i n g prayers but he caught himself and finished with the text of m o r n i n g prayers, then he did his duty 2 8 3 . Rebbi Aha said, all benedictions in the kind of their seals. 2 8 4

But those w h o say (Is. 12:6): "Jubilate and sing,

inhabitant of Zion . . . " do not violate the rule that no benediction is a verse 2 8 5 . This is a continuing discussion

Rebbi Yose's Yeshivah. They do not

of the statement of Rebbi Yudan. The

disagree with the rule which they state,

"seal" of a longer benediction is the last

but they note that the baraita does not

sentence "Praise to You, o Eternal,

deal with it; its correct interpretation is

It is stated that this "seal" is what

by Rebbi Aha.

281

makes the benediction valid and it

About the rule itself, t h e r e is

cannot be a Biblical verse.

disagreement between the Yerushalmi

282

Since the two statements appear

and the parallel Babli, Berakhot 12a,

together in one baratta, there should be

where it is stated: "If in the morning

a logical connection between them but

one started with 'Creator of light' and

there seems to be none.

ended with 'Making evenings dark', he

283

did not do his duty. If in the evening

"They" are the members of

HALAKHAH 8

141

he starts with 'He Who makes evenings

Aha insists that only the "seal" counts

dark' and ends with 'Creator of light',

and, t h e r e f o r e , the text preceding the

he did not d o his duty.

"seal" is unimportant; the text of t h e

But if h e

s t a r t e d w i t h ' C r e a t o r of l i g h t ' a n d

"seal" cannot be a verse.

R. Shelomo

ended with 'Making evenings dark', he

C i r i l l o a n d R. M o s h e

did his duty. T h e principle is: Every-

explain, on the contrary, that the "seal"

thing is determined by the seal."

The

must fit the text of the bénédiction just

Babli asserts that if in evening prayers

preceding and that this text cannot be a

ben

Habib

one started out wrongly with the text

verse. In the Babli (Pesahim 104a) this

a p p r o p r i a t e f o r morning prayers then

p r i n c i p l e is s p e l l e d o u t o n l y

e v e r y t h i n g is O.K. if only t h e f i n a l

Havdalah

doxology is c o r r e c t .

treatment

But t h e Yeru-

for

[and in t h e Yerushalmi the given

for

Havdalah,

shalmi speaks of one "who is standing

(Berakhot

5:2, fol. 9 b ) s u p p o r t s R.

in morning prayers and forgot", i. e.,

Eleazar

that he started out c o r r e c t l y , f o r g o t

authorities extend the principle of the

Askari.]

Most

Medieval

himself in the middle, and remembered

Babli to all longer benedictions.

in time to close with the correct text.

285

The principles of p r a y e r texts w e r e

has published a Yerushalmi prayer text

i n s t i t u t e d by t h e Men of t h e G r e a t

from the Cairo Genizah which uses this

Assembly.

the

verse in the third benediction of t h e

c o n t e n t s of t h e p r a y e r s but not, in

'Amidah, own rump. From what is l e f t

general, their texts. (For the

of t h e o r i g i n a l G a l i l e a n minhag

They determined

Amidah,

Ezra Fleischer (Tarbiz 41, p. 450)

it

the Mishnah even reports that R e b b i

seems clear that the standard text of

Eliezer says that one who repeats the

longer benedictions always ended with

same text for more than 30 days cannot

a Biblical v e r s e just p r e c e d i n g t h e

really be an honest supplicant).

"seal".

The

question is whether, in addition to the contents,

the

M e n of

the

Great

For e x a m p l e , in G r a c e , t h e

verses were Ps. 145:16, Deut. 8:10, Ps. 147:2.

In t h e m o r n i n g p r a y e r s , t h e

Assembly only determined the "seals"

verses have survived

( f o l l o w i n g t h e B a b l i ) or a l s o

benediction for Shema' in all

the

in t h e

first

minhagim

introductory sentences (following the

and for the benediction after Shema' in

Yerushalmi).

most of them. The text states that the

284

T h e language is d i f f i c u l t .

R.

E l e a z a r A s k a r i e x p l a i n s that Rebbi

only a c c e p t a b l e p l a c e l o r a Biblical verse is before

the "seal".

Even t h e

146

CHAPTER ONE

Mishnah prescribes benedictions whose

what is prohibited here is using a verse

text is a Biblical verse (Taäniot 2:2);

in the final doxology.

in 1 ? "»ON .rvö^

>*)Γ) n n î v l a Ì 2 π ψ - π ψ "TV ^IP?

te

o?*!*» On*)?

on*»?

»

rove

-»οντιΨ CJjpNS D V

, τ η π o ^ i y n : p » n >io> o n p i N o ^ r n

. n i ^ n q>»n

ì?ì> ,o>>?»n

. r v w ö o jiio>> N > i n > q « n

w

M i s h n a h 9: O n e must m e n t i o n the Exodus in the night. Rebbi E l e a z a r b e n A z a r i a h 2 8 6 said to t h e m 2 8 7 : H e r e I a m about 7 0 years old and I c o u l d not succed in p r o v i n g that the Exodus must b e m e n t i o n e d e v e r y n i g h t 2 8 8 until Ben Z o m a 2 8 9 d e r i v e d it f r o m t h e v e r s e ( D e u t . 16:3): ". . . that y o u should r e m e m b e r the day of y o u r l e a v i n g E g y p t t h e e n t i r e d a y s of y o u r life." T h e days of y o u r life - the days. The entire d a y s of y o u r l i f e - t h e nights.

But the Sages say, t h e d a y s of y o u r l i f e - this world; T h e e n t i r e

days of y o u r life - this includes the times of the Messiah.

286

A descendant of Ezra in the

Bne Beraq reported in the

Haggadah.

tenth generation who was a p p o i n t e d

As R. Saul Lieberman points out, the

vice president of the Synhedrion at age

Y e r u s h a l m i t a k e s R. E l e a z a r

ben

18 ( a c c o r d i n g t o t h e B a b l i ) or 13

Azariah at his word that he made his

(Yerushalmi).

statement w h e n he was close to 70

287

Neither the Mishnah in the Babli

years old and it is quite impossible that

nor manuscripts of the Mishnah have

R. Eliezer should still have been alive

"to t h e m " ; in t h e

the

at least 50 years after the deposition of

Yerushalmi text is preserved only in

Rabban Gamliel and the elevation of

t h e t e x t of

the

Rebbi Eleazar ben Azariah. The most

Nevertheless, the

likely interpretation is that the Israeli

Haggadah

Maimonides and

Yemenite Haggadot.

phrase cannot refer to the discussion at

Haggadah,

but not the Mishnah, read

147

HALAKHAH 9 "to them" and that the copyist of the

as an institution of the Men of the

Yerushalmi followed his memory from

Great Assembly. T h e only question is

the Haggadah

whether the benediction was instituted

instead of the

text

before him. For a similar occurrence

as a R a b b i n i c

in the Septuagint, s e e The

formulated in fulfillment of a Biblical

Haggadah, 288

Scholar's

p. 257-258.

ordinance

or

was

commandment.

Everybody agrees that the third

benediction of the Shema'

and t h e

289

A mystic of the first generation

of Tannaïm who died young.

mention of the Exodus are obligatory

Γ π ρ κ ν "τ Γ)

,ο>ρ> π η ν ?

© 3 ? 5 ψ >9

ηκ

ν

nsïft

Halakha 9: Even though he entered high office he lived long. This means that high office shortens one's life.

jon-y "inri ο?"!*» unnpì o n s p p

. i n i ì !?>ηιρπ o n i "»?N»Ì ΐ ^ η η ? Ν!? 290

ι^π

N D m i j a n b u N i » > 3 ρ η > ) τ ι η .-»pia ύ > Ν Ί

ΐ ΐ ΐ ΐ κ ΐ ΐ ί η ψ ft « n a i f o H i n a * i o y n π ι ι γ ρ a n

ι η ύ ύ > Ν ι ^ Ν η i n r i i l i a n ïy N Î > > ? N r i o r i n

•OV3 t Ù y >ni3 Í3>N "l)pN»ì There 2 9 1 they say one should not start wayyomer292

N3

nnin> on^y

n>io

θί»1 Ν ^ but if one did start

he has to finish. The rabbis here 2 9 3 say one starts but does not finish. The Mishnah disagrees with the rabbis here 294 : "One must mention the Exodus in the night." Rebbi Abba, Rav Yehudah in the name of Rav: We thank You that You took us out of Egypt and redeemed us from the house of slavery to give thanks to Your Name. 2 9 5 rabbis there: Wayyomer of wayyomer

A baraita

disagrees with the

is used only during daytime. The entire section

is used only during daytime 296 .

148 290

CHAPTER ONE «am is the reading of the Rome

section and the next, "here" and "there"

manuscript and also the reading of the

should be switched since the first

prints in the next paragraph. The word

question is against those who say that

Dnni of the printed editions and the

one does not have to recite the third

Leyden ms. is impossible; it is the

section at all, against the Babylonian

Babylonian Aramaic equivalent of

practice, and the bardita

Galilean jon

section seems to imply that one does

291

not mention the third section at all,

"There"always means Babylonia;

"here" is the Land of Israel.

against Israeli practice.

292

295

The third section of the Shema',

in the next

This is the proposed text of the

Num. 15:37-41. This is the only part of

evening benediction after the recitation

Shema' that mentions the Exodus. The

of Shema'.

statement of "there" is reported in the

objection raised in the first sentence.

Babli by Rav Cahana in the name of

The obligation of mentioning the

Rav (Berakhot 14b).

Exodus does not refer to the recitation

293

The Israeli practice is reported

of the third section of Shema' but to

in the Babli (loc. cit.) as reciting only

the benediction after the Shema' and,

the first and last sentences of the

therefore, would be fulfilled even if

section; our text also requires one to

the third section were to be omitted

start, i.e., to recite the first verse, and

completely.

to mention the Exodus, the last words

longer.

of the last verse.

296

294

first and last verses.

Both R. David Oppenheim and

It is the answer to the

The text in the Babli is

But in the night one recites only

R. Moshe ben Habib note that in this

Ή Ρ Ν içïPf w y

h ï ) i n p i J · ) ν>>ηη>? ή η ' η η ·)Ώγι> γ ρ γ ο ν π ν - α κ ι >?-)

.-»nia iJ'M - ) ^ η η η p n m i o n ? I M I Ì .-»nia ^ η ι ρ π ONÌ

!?>nji> Hi

Rebbi Abba bar Aha 2 9 7 descended there and saw them start and finish; he had not heard that there they say one does not have to start but if he started he has to finish. The rabbis here 2 9 8 say one starts and does not finish.

149

HALAKHAH 9 297

An early Israeli Amora who

298

This sentence is s u p e r f l u o u s

went to study in Babylonia, probably in

here, it is inserted only in parallel to

the Yeshivah of Rav. Hence, he did not

the previous section. This is frequent

know of the rule established by Rav

in the Yerushalmi and not a sign of

before he arrived at the Yeshivah.

dittography.

ÌN l O m 1 3 3 1 ? "PI}) ΜΓΟ î l l l f f ΠίΓ) *ΡΠ ι ο > ) Κ >1")1 Ν ? ™ ? .οπϊττ ι ^ ?

n o i ' > 5 1 . i o n i l ^ l ? DON

^ Ρ

>?ι

cmm

IMI?

N i n i ι>ι>οη& ι « > ι " v o n « n - v v ï > 1 1 1 n o i > >517 N i a n p n n j > j d >51 i o n •linniD v n i TÎV T h e y a s k e d b e f o r e Rebbi A h i y y a b e n R e b b i Zeïra:

H o w did y o u r

father d o in practice, like the teachers here or the teachers there 2 9 9 .

Rebbi

Hizqiah said, like the teachers here. Rebbi Y o s e 3 0 0 said, like the t e a c h e r s there.

Rebbi H a n i n a said, it is r e a s o n a b l e like R. Y o s e , s i n c e R. Z e i r a

always c h o s e the harder w a y 3 0 1 and they chose the harder w a y , s o he did what he was used to, like them. 299

Since R e b b i Z e ï r a was a

who in turn were students of Rebbi

Babylonian immigrant to Galilee. Note

Zeïra. The answer of Rebbi Zei'ra's son

that

has not been recorded.

they

speak

to

his

son

in

Babylonian Aramaic.

301

300

Babylonian rules, cf. later

Both Rebbis Hizqiah and Yose

are from the fourth

generation,

He tended to follow the stricter Halakhah

8:7, fol. 12c.

students of Rebbis Jeremiah and Haï

>?1

.a>s>i Ji)?N3 o n s n γιν>3>

OÍ J i ü > 1 í ?

rjns

p i * οηρίΝ onnN

-J>1^1 1^13 JII* i > ? ? n > r p i * ">!?ÍN

y ç y η κ N i i p n >μί

, j v d > £ n a n > ^ n > - p i * -»OÍN

1? v w i r t ? > ? i

. o n l : » ? r o ç i *)it?

ÌÌ7NÌ11 ^ Ν 1 ψ > 113 Ijoi!? W e have stated302:

"He w h o r e c i t e s Shema'

m e n t i o n the E x o d u s in Emet

veyaziv.

in t h e m o r n i n g m u s t

Rebbi says, he must

mention

150

CHAPTER ONE

[God's] kingdom. Others say, he has to mention the splitting of the Reed Sea and the slaying of the firstborn." Rebbi Joshua ben Levi says, he has to mention all these and has to say "Rock of Israel and its Redeemer". 303 302

This section is composed of a

conclusion of the b e n e d i c t i o n of

Tosephta (Berakhot 2:1) containing the

redemption, in contrast to the Baby-

statements of the anonymous first

lonian "He Who redeemed Israel"

Tanna, Rebbi, and "Others" (usually:

(Babli Pesahim 117b). This formula

Rebbi Mei'r), and then the comment by

has survived in the poetic forms of

the Amora R. Joshua ben Levi.

In

Ashkenazic evening prayers for the

practice, the ruling of R. Joshua ben

holidays, while in ordinary prayers the

Levi applies to both morning and

form prescribed by the authoritative

evening prayers.

Babylonian Talmud has prevailed.

303

The formula was the Israeli

VTttjo νηί-ήιη

rnin -ps^i

>a-i ο γ ) ? p o > p r a n

η>ρψ> - m y a n o o a o o?ia j m * ) N o o ^ lïi»i o y \ ? n o

t O y \ h >qit>

r a n n&N

o n >3-1 o v a ν π ν .ìniN "inno*? - r n

Na

.iriiN snSxv

ο ^ ψ ν ν roías "vap o > ^ m > D r o p -ION

Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi says: If s o m e o n e did not mention Torah in the benediction on the Land 3 0 4 one tells him to repeat.

What is the reason?

( Ρ s. 105:44) "He gave them the lands of

peoples"; why? "That they should k e e p His d e c r e e s and p r e s e r v e His teachings." Rebbi Abba ben Rebbi Aha in the name of Rebbi: If o n e did not mention the covenant in the benediction on the Land or the kingdom of David's dynasty in "Builder of Jerusalem" 305 , one tells him to repeat. Rebbi Hai said: if he said "He Who consoles Jerusalem" 306 , he did his duty. 304

Since the Talmud started dis-

personal texts, they continue with a

cussing required topics of otherwise

discussion of the relevant parts of

HALAKHAH 9

151

Grace. The benediction of the Land is

Halaphta) but without t h e verse t h a t

the second b e n e d i c t i o n , and that on

gives the reason. The Yerushalmi gives

Jerusalem the third. The parallel in the

a statement of Amoraïm, not to claim

Babli (Berakhot 48b) is a Tannaitic text

that

in d i f f e r e n t order. The Amorai'c text

introduced by Amoraïm (that is quite

of

strict

obvious f r o m the mention of Rebbi),

chronological order: R. Joshua ben Levi

but in order to point out the Scriptural

of the very early second generation, R.

basis and to fix the exact place w h e r e

Abba bar Aha of the second, and Rebbi

Torah has to be mentioned in Grace.

Haï of t h e t h i r d g e n e r a t i o n s .

305

the

Yerushalmi

is

in

The

the

required

topics

were

The old doxology of the t h i r d

second statement of R. Abba bar Aha is

benediction was: "Praised be You, o

attributed by the printed editions and

Eternal, Builder of Jerusalem."

most Medieval authors of the Babli to

final adoption of the text "He Who in

Rebbi Eliezer but in the Munich ms. to

His mercy builds Jerusalem" is on the

Rebbi, as in the Yerushalmi.

a u t h o r i t y of Shulhan

The first

statement is attributed to an otherwise

Scholar's Haggadah,

unknown Tanna Nahum the elder. The

306

s t a t e m e n t of R. Joshua ben Levi is

sentence.

attributed

to

Rebbi

n w v ? "VPN >i> > - n γργπ

.n^vîi

Yose

In t h e text, not in t h e f i n a l

(ben

.rwii?

C H I N on*UN> i o i p n I O N »095?

n^VT2tn n p ? ?

Ο Ί 3 Ν Nirrç; i v y

cf. The

p. 357-358.

n . D c n n N q p v ) n * -riy í o ¡ ? > (foi. 4a)

. D ' u n iniN

Arukh,

The

nj

.nwyri n V )

n r j η η ' Γ ΐ π . n w y a n r ? D n * U N qnrçj

-en?*?

-ιψΝ o > n ^ n

* ion

rmN

.in τm : n~ nτ Bar Q a p p a r a 3 0 7 said: positive c o m m a n d m e n t . commandment.

(Gen.

H e w h o calls A b r a h a m A b r a m t r a n s g r e s s e s a R e b b i L e v i said, a p o s i t i v e and a n e g a t i v e

17:4) "Your n a m e shall not in t h e f u t u r e b e called

Abram", that is t h e n e g a t i v e c o m m a n d m e n t , "But y o u r n a m e s h a l l b e Abraham", that is t h e p o s i t i v e c o m m a n d m e n t .

T h e y o b j e c t e d : But t h e

M e n o f t h e G r e a t A s s e m b l y c a l l e d h i m A b r a m , (Neh.

9:7) "You a r e , o

152

CHAPTER ONE

Eternal, the God Who selected Abram". There is a difference, while he was still Abram You selected him.

307

Bar Qappara belongs to the

generation

of t r a n s f e r

reads »nop na w n "Bar

Qappara

between

preached", an Amoraïc statement. (It

In the

also seems that Rebbi Eliezer, who

Yerushalmi his words are presented as

completes the statement of Bar Qap-

those of an Amora.

para in the Babli in parallel to Rebbi

Tannaïm and A m o r a ï m .

The place was

chosen here because we discussed

Levi in the Yerushalmi, is "Rebbi

required language for benedictions

Eleazar, the son of Bar Qappara's

(Shema' and Grace); now we turn to

sister".) The people who object are

required language in general speech.

determined in the Babli to be Rebbi

In the Babli, the parallel (13a) appears

Yose bar Abin or Rebbi Yose bar

also at the end of the first Chapter,

Zabida, of the later generation of

somewhat disconnected.

One may

Galilean Amoraïm. The statements of

assume that it is mentioned in parallel

Bar Qappara and Rebbi Levi/Rebbi

to the Yerushalmi.

Eleazar are not mentioned in any of the

In the printed editions of the Babli,

Medieval codes, Halakhot

Gedolot,

the text is: "Bar Qappara stated", a

Alfasi, Mishneh Torah\ their authors

Tannaitic statement. However, in the

took also the text in the Babli as

Munich ms. and the Pisqe RYD the text

Amoraïc sermon.

ν - ό ρ η dìtoi")

rno?? w n ιρν?

.nwyi - a i y η ψ Γηψ> ί α ί ρ η π η ρ τ - )

I W i o n to i c ó n ? ->vy) ,nwi>3 "OÏV i p V ?

Similarly, does he w h o calls Sarah Sarai transgress a commandment? He 3 0 8 was commanded regarding her. Similarly, does he w h o calls Israel Jacob transgress a commandment?

The second name was given him in

addition, the first was not taken away from him 3 0 9 .

308

Abraham alone was commanded

Your wife Sarai, do not call her name

not to call Sarah Sarai as it is written

Sarai but Sarah is her name."

The

(Gen. 17:15): "God said to Abraham:

commandment to call Sarai Sarah was

152

HALAKHAH 9 directed to Abraham alone.

him Jacob even a f t e r he received his

309

new name of Israel.

Since the Torah continues to call

. m r i y n ι Ο p n ? > i y ί η ψ ι apy> ^ ψ ίηνμι o r r u N ty ί η ψ nariv^D p n s ? i N i p Nìn r j m v m p n p n y

.yaya i n w

pns>

.ρη*? Ι η ψ rus n í o p · )

.in i!?>nì ν τ > ύ n t y *ry w i p ? i

r p r p i tJNvnv1

n ^

iniiyi í ^ n

ρη>η ί η ψ UN riN-jpi pn*> , η η ^ γ ή in»yiN>

,ίοψ ι η ^ Ν * i n

ι ^ ύ ία n a n ιη»\ί>ίό

ϊη^Φ)

iwyipy? ί ο ψ Jiçt ι ι ν ί ρ )

OÇn» Why were the names of Abraham and Jacob changed but Isaac's name was not changed? The former were given their names by their fathers; but Isaac was called Isaac by the Holy One, Praise to His Name, as it is said (Gen. 17:19) "You shall call his name Isaac". Four were given names before they were born, and they are Isaac, Ismael, Josiah, and Solomon. Isaac, (Gen. 17:19) "You shall call his name Isaac".

Ismael as it is written (Gen. 16:11): "You shall call his n a m e

Ismael". Josiah, (1 Kings 13:2): "Behold, a son will be born to the dynasty of David; his name will be Josiah". Solomon, (IChr. 22:9) "Solomon will be his name" 3 1 0 .

All this for the just. But the wicked (Ps. 58:4) "The

wicked are perverted from the womb." 310

W h i l e in 2Sam.

12:24-25 it

from Chronicles that the name Solomon

seems that David gave the name

was

not

David's

invention

Solomon to his son and Nathan called

prophetically pre-ordained.

but

him Yedidiah after his birth; it is clear

Nia!?

o n i y o j i í o s p "V^n!?

>?? t i n n!?yn

* >n *riy

n>3 y i ! riis N>an I ^ N Ì n ^ y n

m vi'^V h^ * o i n í o > n 3 o>»> *

ON

i? oy\? n o i

o n * » > q N o i>N"iy>>

154

CHAPTER ONE

loin

NbN o n i o ?

"TÍV qjpv*

ιρν'Ψ

DOW Ν1Π p i

η ο ί η apy>

apy?

jiiîiwNi n a t i i

^ ^ f t

n}>ao

ij7>y ni»?>o

HÏ

1 1 1 3 l ^ n p n>m>

iwiaîin

DWV>?

.îwnty? by

ïii»3i»7p"j D ^ n ^ r i

n ç v t n a i n nj?> ^ ψ η

>*)ΝΓΙ ία v?3 ïï? ΊΠΝ"!

.niolpo

η ® inqty? ON >? apy ; ?

n o w ν ι π p i . b a o apy>·) "»p'V

f i v i D n ^ i y >3?n .JIλ?>®D

."pas >ρΝ» Í7ÍO\¡>>

tàw

b y tt n n ^ n n n y

^>ΠΤΐη .13ÇO ÌH)) 2H\ ία y j û l

ία Via Ti? ->ηΝΊ . η κ η n w y n -iaç>p b>nnn a w n nwya ηοψ .ή»»? η>η η? .Wnîn n w y ç n a o p b v ^ r n oîyoyj n w y ß

.wis» by»?) w n j

, η ί ί ί ν ί ο η UN Jiirpv>? η ύ ί ι ρ Ν Π n r r ç n b i o y ? Ben Zoma said: There will be a future time when Israel will no longer mention the Exodus. What is the reason? (Jer. 23:7-8) "Therefore, days will come, says the Eternal, that one no longer will say, by the Eternal Who brought the Children of Israel up from Egypt, but rather, by the Eternal Who raised and brought the descendants of the House of Israel from the Northern land . . . " They said to him, not that the Exodus will be eliminated but the Exodus will be additional to the Kingdoms 3 1 1 .

The

Kingdoms will be principal and the Exodus additional. And similarly it was said (Gen. 35:10): :Your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name." Not that the name Jacob will be taken away but Jacob will be additional to Israel. Israel will be principal and Jacob additional.

And so it says (Is. 43:18-19): "Do not r e m e m b e r the first

things"; this means the Egyptians, "And what was earlier do not dwell on"; this means the Kingdoms, "Behold, I create something new, now it will grow"; this refers to Gog.

They gave a simile: to what can this be

compared? To someone who encountered a wolf and was saved f r o m it. He started telling about the wolf when he encountered a lion and was saved from it. He forget about the wolf and started telling about the lion.

HALAKHAH 9

151

After that, he encountered a snake and was saved from it. He forgot about both of them and started telling about the snake. So it is with Israel, the last troubles make them forget the earlier ones. 311

"Kingdoms" is short for Tiasw

nnVe "subjugation by alien kingdoms,"

a general term for the sufferings of the Jewish people inflicted by Gentiles.

M I Ρ Π>Η >3\Y ΡΗΟ

ΟΝΙ Ν*> IA> i p ON ΝΊΤΡ»Η >)?)? T?NÌY> VSOIOÌ

YNM RNIRQ Ν-ΙΊΡ Π>Η ·Μ RUTE»» (foi. 4a)

^W?1» *ΤΪΗ3Π >53)? !?NW

ΠΝ-|»Η >390 Ï H W

N3> N> ÎN£

">OIN RMN> >?-) .*VNO >AI >*M A W N NÇN»N

,D7N'BD> OIÎRÇ» 3>Y)NÌ "MSN >:>?>? ÎWIVY D>P-}?NI ."RÁSN Mishnah 1: If someone was reading in the Torah at the time of recital 1 , if he read with intention 2 he fulfilled his duty, otherwise he did not fulfill his duty.

Between the sections 3 , one greets people out of

respect and answers their greetings. In the middle of a section one may greet because of fear and answer, the words of Rebbi Meïr.

Rebbi

Yehudah says: in the middle of a section one may greet out of fear and answer for respect, between sections one greets for respect and answers greetings from everybody. 1

Time of the obligatory recital of

Shema'. 2

commandment of reading the Shema'. 3

Of the Shema'.

The intention of f u l f i l l i n g the

.IMNPYRP

ΡΚΨ RNOIN TIN* ÏO >A-T -ION M NAIN

Halakhah 1: Rebbi Abba said: This means that benedictions do not prevent 4 . Since the Mishnah allows one to

dictions, it follows that benedictions

concentrate on reading the Torah text

are a separate obligation. In a number

as Shema' without requiring an inter-

of prayer texts from the Genizah, the

ruption for recitations of the bene-

recitation of the Shema' has a separate

4

m

HALAKHAH1 benediction:

"Praised be You, o

obligation separate from the bene-

Eternal, King of the Universe, Who

dictions mentioned in the Mishnah.

sanctified us through His command-

The latter benedictions could then be

ments and commanded us about the

recited before the Amidah.

recitation of Shema', with a full heart

Fleischer,

to declare Him King over us, and

nrain noipna D"Vmw'™pK, Jerusalem

willingly to declare His Unity." While

1988.

these texts are from a period about 500 years later than the t e x t of

the

nVon

See Ezra

'amai

nV'en

The paragraph has been explained as parallel to the Babli (1 lb-12a) by R.

Yerushalmi, they show that recitation

Solomon ben Adrat (Rashba)

of Shema' was then still considered an

responsa, vol. 1, no 319.

i 3 > nht

Ν ΐ η ψ j^N i j o i n ON n o i > >3-» - i o n

ΠΤ3

î p - t t Γ)ΓΙ3>3ΓΙ N > 7 35 ï y η * Ν3ΓΙ1 ΠΓΙ3>3ΓΙ >ηκ >3*1 N i n ι » η ρ ν ρ ψ ^

-ì^3?

in his

ϋ>Ν·) ·|13>Γ1Π . l ^ D ?

n i s Vì!3> Τ " ! * ι η ρ ΐ κ J i m

.:p3>

Í3> "IP Χ Ϊ Ψ >3 ÌY I N ÌIWN-L Ρ Ί 3 3 Ì3> LÌ? DN Γ φ Π > >3"! O W » ">OÌN

Rebbi Yose said: If you say that o n e needs t o r e c i t e t h e b e n e d i c t i o n s ; w h e n he recited t h e m he must focus his attention f o r t h e e n t i r e They objected: statement?6

Shema'5.

D o e s he n o t i n t e r r u p t a n d it d o e s n o t a p p e a r in o u r

So h e r e also, e v e n t h o u g h it has n o t b e e n s t a t e d he m u s t

recite t h e benedictions. That m e a n s 7 , o n e m u s t f o c u s o n e ' s a t t e n t i o n f o r the entire Shema'.

W e m a y hear it f r o m the following: R e b b i A h a i 8 said

in t h e n a m e of R e b b i Y e h u d a h : "He has f u l f i l l e d his o b l i g a t i o n if h e f o c u s s e d his a t t e n t i o n f o r t h e first p a r a g r a p h , e v e n t h o u g h h e did n o t focus his attention during recitation of the second paragraph" 1 0 . 5

Rebbi Yose supports the statement

certainly one requires total attention

of Rebbi Abba: If one would require

during the recitation of Shema'.

concentration on what one recites for

seen at the end of this paragraph, this

benedictions before and after Shema',

is not the rule.

As

158 6

CHAPTER T W O In the Mishnah, it is assumed that

of baraitot,

in the Yeshivah of Rebbi

one may recite t h e several sections of

Hiyya.

the Shema' separately since t h e y a r e

between Tannaïm and Amoraïm.

written at different places in the Torah

statement, Tosephta Berakhot 2:2 (Babli

scroll.

Berakhot

Since t h e Mishnah does not

He belongs to t h e generation His

13a), shows that Rebbi Yose's

mention the necessary interruptions in

a r g u m e n t is c o r r e c t and t h a t R e b b i

the recital, it might be possible that the

Abba stated the practice correctly. (In

Mishnah contemplates interruptions f o r

the printed editions of the Babli, t h e

t h e r e c i t a t i o n of t h e

benedictions

name is Rebbi Aha, but in the Munich

b e f o r e and a f t e r Shema'·, h e n c e , t h e

manuscript, and in all manuscripts of

i n f e r e n c e of

the Tosephta, t h e n a m e is c o r r e c t l y

Rebbi

Abba

is

not

justified.

Rebbi Ahai. Rebbi Aha is an Amora of

7

the fourth generation.)

The argument would be good only

if the statement of Rebbi Yose w e r e

9

true.

in the discussion since it is not recited

8

Rebbi Ahai was "Tanna", collector

n ^

in the evening prayers.

n n s ^ nn-^D ίθ>3η

>3Wi[i"| *T>n>> p v y N n n

The third paragraph is not included

p n ? p i n n i ήν)ϊ·α p - \ ? p a njo >1-»

.τηκ

top? tO rmyp >îwrii .TÌO>TI> i m a m

W h a t is t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e first and s e c o n d

.na

nina

."nanfc

paragraphs?10

R e b b i H a n i n a said: E v e r y t h i n g m e n t i o n e d in t h e f i r s t p a r a g r a p h

is

m e n t i o n e d in the second. In that case, should o n e h a v e t o r e c i t e o n l y o n e of t h e m ?

Rebbi Illa said: T h e first o n e is d i r e c t e d t o t h e i n d i v i d u a l , t h e

s e c o n d o n e t o the c o m m u n i t y ; the first o n e c o n c e n t r a t e s o n learning, t h e second o n e on doing11. 10

A natural question following the

of the first p a r a g r a p h is r e p e a t e d in

Tosephta of Rebbi Yehudah.

the second as a communal obligation,

11

The first paragraph is formulated

t h e r e a r e many topics in t h e second

in the singular, the second one in the

p a r a g r a p h that a r e not m e n t i o n e d in

plural. In addition, while the essence

the first. In the language of the Babli

159

HALAKHAH1 (14b), the first paragraph is the

the second one the acceptance of the

acceptance of the Kingdom of Heaven,

commandments of the Torah.

Ρ

>3γιι

o>3Wíon οη?ιυ? i

n¿i?

•1Ì5>W> l ^ N l

"»5*

"»3

7131?!? ÌN5 -tv OrpJVÓ

Bar Qappara said: One has to focus his attention only during the first three verses 1 2 . It was stated thus: (Deut.

6 : 7 ) "You should r e p e a t " 1 3 until

t h e r e is t h e obligation of focussed a t t e n t i o n ; f r o m t h e r e s t a r t s t h e obligation of repetition. 12

This is the accepted practice for

with focussed attention.

Another

the Yerushalmi with no one objecting.

difference

In the Babli (13b), the statement is

demanding Yerushalmi and the Babli is

given in the name of an otherwise

that the Yerushalmi requires the rest of

unknown Tanna Rebbi Zutra, and, even

Shema' to be "repeated", i.e., memor-

though it exemplifies the attitude of

ized, whereas in the Babli it has only to

Rebbi Aqiba, it is later replaced by the

be read.

statement of Rebbi Mei'r that only the

13

between

the

more

Meaning, "memorize".

first verse, Deut. 6:4, must be recited

iïD>n

"jn? i n m y . t o i y :j!?n>p r v n ON

r m r p α ϊ ηρί> α*ι n i x >3*1 r m n >a*i . i p i y a w v r v n ON n n ι ο ι ν ρ o > » v

Rebbi Hunah, Rebbi Uri 1 4 , Rav Joseph, Rav Y e h u d a h 1 5 in the n a m e of Samuel: One has to accept the Kingdom of H e a v e n standing.

Does this

mean that one has to get up when one is sitting? No, if one is walking he has to stand still. 14

Rebbi Uri is not known from any

Yohanan who in the parallel in the

other source. The Rome manuscript of

Babli (13b) is reported to require that a

the Yerushalmi reads "Rebbi Ammi";

person walking has to stand still during

this might be a better reading but

recitation of the entire first paragraph

Rebbi Ammi was a student of Rebbi

of Shema', since he follows the ruling

160

CHAPTER TWO

of Rebbi Ahai in the name of Rebbi

IS

Yehudah that the entire first paragraph

students of Samuel.

The most influential of all

requires concentrated attention.

->a o i r j j o i u >ai

.'-ta " n i n i I Ç N api»? "»3 l>?n5 a i

tn^a

>?ri

. r c j i o a ν η ύ ψ ι v o ? 'ù " ρ ο η κ α i n i * } r p - i N ç n ^ D t n i N «ipi>

n ? h^H

W

»an ΓΡ>

. o ^ i y n riinr» yanrçyi It was stated: One has to prolong "is One". said: But only at the daleth,17

16

.pap ^ - I N Ç γρπ T ) ^ Ra ν Nahman bar Jacob

Symmachos bar Joseph 1 8 said:

Anyone

w h o prolongs "is One" has his days and years prolonged in wellbeing. Rebbi Jeremiah was prolonging very much. Rebbi Zei'ra said to him: So much is unnecessary, only so long that you should think of Him as King of Heaven and Earth and the four directions of the world. 16

The last word of the first sentence

is necessary to use the f o r m of

The composition here is

endearment to distinguish this Amora

difficult to understand since one starts

from Rav Nahman, quoted without his

with a tannaitic statement ("It was

father's name because of his exalted

stated"), continues with the opinion of

status, whose full name seems to have

an Amora (Rav Nahman bar Jacob),

been Rav Nahman bar Jacob.

of Shema'.

and

then

returns

to

a

Tanna

17

The soft

without dagesh, was

(Symmachos, an outstanding student of

pronounced like an A r a b i c ^ or a

Rebbi Meïr). The parallel Babli (13b)

voiced English th, a sibilant sometimes

starts with the statement of Symmachos

close to τ. For example, the Aramaic n

and then continues with the statement

appears in the Elephantine papyri as n.

of Rav Nahman bar Jacob which is

Hence, it really was possible to prolong

quoted there in the name of Rav Aha

the consonant daleth since it was not a

bar Jacob. It is possible that "Aha", a

plosive sound as it is today.

name without meaning, is simply a

In the Babli (13b), Rav Ashi adds

form of endearment of the formal

that one should not omit to pronounce

name "Nahman", and that in the Babli it

the η This was because in Babylonia,

HALAKHAH1

m

as in M e d i e v a l A s h k e n a z , a π w a s

tendency, e. g. by punctuating ΪΡΠ» to

pronounced like a stronger π and

make the Sheva heard when it should

t h e r e f o r e t e n d e d to be silent in t h e

be silent by grammatical rules, so that

middle of a word, as π is mostly silent

the Torah r e a d e r should be f o r c e d to

in the m i d d l e of a word in m o d e r n

pronounce the n, but obviously to no

Hebrew.

avail.)

(Even t h e m a s t e r s of t h e

M a s s o r a h t r i e d to c o u n t e r a c t

Ί©ΙΝΙ

this

18

A Tanna, student of Rebbi Mei'r.

r i o > n tny v t y t n p p nìD>)o

v ^ v b a p p κηη ' n i a * ï y

ΓΡ> N>T? DON ηϊ

N » n >a*V?

. O N * ) ? TIN>SI>

w

a>rp n > j > o n n i p n>> I N * Ύ>Νΐ (foi. 4b) ΓΡ>

ρ κ ψ r n p N Ν"τη ττ>> .αη)}ψ)

ϊπψ

>çvao r n

,π^ο

Π?ΓΙ> K I N ΓΡ> -ÎÇN .*N>A Ι ΐ \ Ώ Θ Ζ ) p i o a ηϊη

Rav asked Rebbi Hiyya:

an

ΗΪΊ NJP

But I n e v e r s e e t h a t R e b b i a c c e p t s u p o n

himself the y o k e of t h e K i n g d o m of H e a v e n .

H e a n s w e r e d him: W h e n

y o u will s e e h i m c o v e r his f a c e with his hand, at that m o m e n t h e a c c e p t s the y o k e o f t h e K i n g d o m of H e a v e n . 1 9

H e a s k e d h i m b a c k : Is it n o t

necessary also t o m e n t i o n the Exodus? H e a n s w e r e d him: It is i m p o s s i b l e that h e s h o u l d n o t turn his w o r d s 2 0 .

Rebbi T a v y o m e 2 1 asked Rebbi

Hizkiah: D o e s this not m e a n that o n e has to f o c u s a t t e n t i o n o n l y f o r t h e first v e r s e ? 2 2

H e said to him: W i t h that 2 3 he m i g h t recite until "You shall

repeat." 19

The parallel is in Babli,

Berakhot

13b.

It seems that Rebbi s t a r t e d his

20

Turn his words to the Exodus. In

the Babli, Bar Q a p p a r a r e p o r t s that

Yeshivah classes early in the morning,

Rebbi never gave a class in which he

b e f o r e one could r e c i t e Shema',

did not mention the Exodus.

and

continued until it was too late to recite

21

Shema' as "acceptance of the yoke of

generation who o t h e r w i s e is q u o t e d

heaven", but only as "reading f r o m the

only in Midrashim.

Torah."

22

An Israeli Amora of the f o u r t h

If Rebbi r e c i t e d t h e r e l e v a n t

162

CHAPTER TWO

portion of Shema' while covering his

recited with focussed attention.

face with his hand during his morning

23

classses, he could not have spent much

could have recited all three verses and

time on it and, therefore, Rebbi does

there is no proof that he disagreed

not accept the opinion of Bar Qappara

with the ruling that r e q u i r e s con-

that the first three verses have to be

centration for the first three verses.

While he was covering his face he

nai p > p ? n o n >>>>$n >pi> >51 o w n " i ç n ^ r m > >3*1 o w n d p n >39 >a-> r o• ^τ-: n 3-1- ΟΥη n>n*v m " Maτ > a i . i r m τ¡ τ n >*τ> nü> ττ N^J γ ^τ ό TIN n i i p 'i :j · ·n· s: ,>t>>!wn • γ - >oi> " 24

o w n ">η-TV nv¿ τ ν ητ τ ν » n o w n - w-TV n w N3>n τ ·

Rebbi Muna 2 5 said in the name of Rebbi Yehudah w h o said in the

name of Rebbi Yose the Galilean:

If one interrupted so that he would

have been able to read all of it, he did not fulfill his duty.

Rebbi Abba,

Rav Jeremiah in the name of Rav: The practice follows Rebbi Muna w h o said in the name of Rebbi Yehudah w h o said in the name of Rebbi Yose the Galilean. 24

Here starts the discussion of the

Rav to "practice does not follow" and

second part of the Mishnah, about the

consider the statement here to be the

permitted interruptions in the re-

opinion of Rebbi Yehudah only.

citation of Shema'. The parallel in the

25

Babli, Megillah 18b, quotes both Rebbi

in several forms here in print and in

Muna and Rav, but from a discussion of

manuscripts, is Rebbi Muna, student of

the rules of blowing the shofar, given

Rebbi Yehudah (Judah) and Tanna of

below; they change the statement of

the last generation.

.1? n ^ j p n

^ n ? IN

This author, whose name appears

i ? ή ν η ν r n om

l } n v >a->

Rebbi Yohanan in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Jehozadak: The same rule 26 applies to Hallel 26

and the reading of the Esther scroll.

That one has to start again if the

have finished the entire text in the

interruption is so long that one could

meantime. The Babli (Rosh Hashanah

m

HALAKHAH 1 34b) quotes t h e s a m e s t a t e m e n t and

in that the principle of time limitation

declares that this is only the opinion of

of interruptions in recitals is accepted

Rebbi Yohanan's t e a c h e r but not his

without r e s e r v a t i o n ; t h e b l o w i n g of

own, and, therefore, is not followed in

shofar

on Rosh H a s h a n a h is n o t a

practice, since a r b i t r a r y interruptions

recitation and, t h e r e f o r e , can f o l l o w

a r e allowed f o r b l o w i n g t h e

different rules.

shofar.

The Yerushalmi d i f f e r s f r o m the Babli

ji>a> " p p > o >?-> -ION

o ? r i i y > i ? j p i η * V I P * p i n ? i i r ) N^rtpn 37·) j o i n α ϊ -13 η ί ν ψ ν ν π I V 1V9V

i"ì o y ? N)ìn a i ^ V P ^ I

>3-) ο ψ ? h o · » >3-) n>V)p)(> N D n > n p > o 7 ? i

iori n j o t

n}rj >V3 ncv >37 170η ϊχ ^ρψψ Nini t i n d í o JinN n j p p n

an

ονη ίο

. n ì ì i r i N n n o w ? 7>-)$ n n

.niWion

ì^^if pnv now? O l I ^ V >7>

A b b a bar R a v H u n a 2 7 and R a v H i s d a sat t o g e t h e r and said, t h e s a m e rule applies t o b l o w i n g the Shofar1*.

T h e y w e n t up to Rav's Y e s h i v a h and

heard R a v H u n a in t h e n a m e of Rav 2 9 : E v e n if o n e heard it in u p t o n i n e hours he fulfilled his o b l i g a t i o n 3 0 . this w a s a p r o b l e m f o r m e 3 1 .

R e b b i Z e ï r a said: W h e n I w a s t h e r e ,

W h e n I c a m e here, I heard R e b b i Y a s a 3 2 in

the n a m e of Rebbi Y o h a n a n : E v e n if o n e heard it d u r i n g a n e n t i r e d a y , o n e has fulfilled one's obligation 3 3 . order 3 4 .

But o n l y if o n e heard it in the correct

Rebbi Y o s e i n v e s t i g a t e d : If o n e n e e d e d t o hear t h e first s i m p l e

t o n e and a n o t h e r o n e the final simple tone, o n e b l o w of the Shofar

serves

the r e q u i r e m e n t s of both of t h e m 3 5 . 27

He appears in the Babli as Rabba

the entire ritual.

bar Rav Huna; he and Rav Hisda were

29

the leaders of the third generation of

death of Rav when Rav Huna was the

Amoraïm in Babylonia.

head of the Academy. The text given

26

That no interruption is allowed

here is from the Rome manuscript; the

longer than what is needed to complete

Venice print and Leyden m a n u s c r i p t

This must have been a f t e r t h e

164

CHAPTER T W O

have Klin a i o v a win an "Rav Huna in

34

t h e n a m e of R a v Huna", w h i c h c e r -

t h r e e t i m e s a s t r a i g h t n o t e (nv'pn),

tainly is a scribal error.

followed by a b r o k e n sound, f o l l o w e d

30

by a straight note.

If o n e h e a r d t h e n i n e s o u n d s

T h e basic obligation is to h e a r

[Since t h e r e w a s

p r e c r i b e d f o r Rosh H a s h a n a h on nine

d i a s g r e e m e n t in p r a c t i c e w h e t h e r t h e

d i f f e r e n t occasions during t h e d a y (but

broken sound should be in t h r e e w a v e s

in the correct order), then he has done

or in n i n e s m a l l v a r i a t i o n s ,

his duty.

Abbahu in the administrative c e n t e r of

31

Caesarea, where Jews from

W h e t h e r the rule of interruptions

applies to the blowing of the Shofar

or

different

places

came

Rebbi

many

together,

not. This shows that Rav Huna's ruling

instituted the rule that one blows t h r e e

was not widely a c c e p t e d in Babylonia

times, e a c h one of t h e t w o k i n d s of

in his time.

modulated sound and the third time t h e

32

two sounds together.]

He is c a l l e d Rebbi Assi in t h e

Babli, s t u d e n t of R. Y o h a n a n ,

and

36

In fact, t h e b e n e d i c t i o n on Rosh

c o - h e a d of t h e A c a d e m y of T i b e r i a s

Hashanah is not "to blow t h e

w i t h R e b b i I m m i ( A m m i ) a f t e r R.

but "to l i s t e n t o t h e s o u n d of

Yohanan. Both w e r e Cohanim.

Shofar"·,

33

obligation of each listener and does not

As mentioned e a r l i e r , this is the

statement quoted in the Babli (Megillah 18b, Rosh Hashanah

h e n c e , it is t h e

Shofar" the

personal

depend on the intention of the blower.

34b).

r p ^ t o - μ n > r ó : m ίΟη i o n n ^ t o - p i ÍN

nnp

>>η - ο v i n >3-»

P'PSîÎ) ΐ ϊ π ΐ η ψ ^ Ψ pupari .NKip? νύ^γιο)? noriia > - η

.Ν>η Ν"*) ΏΊΗ-ΪΟΙ

Rebbi Abin bar Hiyya 3 6 investigateci: The recitation of Shema' with its benedictions, it (the recitation of Shema')

without its benedictions, its

37

benedictions without it ? If he interrupted after a third, interrupted after a second third 3 8 ?

Does one estimate by the reader's speed or by the

average speed of all men? Rebbi Mattaniah 39 said, it seems reasonable by the reader's.

165

HALAKHAH 1 36

An outstanding student of Rebbis

one or is every interruption a s e p a r a t e

Yohanan and Zeïra who died young.

count of time?

37

unanswered.

Since we have decided that one

T h e question remains

has to start anew if he interrupted long

39

enough to h a v e f i n i s h e d t h e e n t i r e

generation. In the parallel in

recitation during the interruption, does

(2:2), the reading is: Rebbi Mattaniah

he count the time f o r Shema' with its

said: Is it not reasonable t h a t . . . , with a

benedictions, or without benedictions,

rhetorical negation [interpretation of

and does the rule of interruptions apply

Rashba (Rebbi Shelomo ben A d r a t ) in

a t a l l to t h e b e n e d i c t i o n s ?

his c o m m e n t a r y to t h e M i s h n a h in

The

Do separate interruptions count as

JiiN^jp? -α^π VB^ >")i? K W I V?? n ?

Megillah

Berakhot.]

question remains unanswered. 38

A Galilean A m o r a of t h e last

j w p>p?ç o n

m

ì d s n n>> "»on

ìttjn

. ' j o i n >*r> n w

. î j n i i n >*τ>

p>£>? p ^ o s n i

ΗΪ n ^ D n y

rrhp>

Rebbi Abbahu 40 asked Rebbi Yohanan: Assuming that I am reciting Shema' and interrupting while passing by stinking passage ways 41 , do I fulfill my obligation? He answered him: Abbahu my son, if you interrupt enough that you could have finished all of it, you did not fulfill your obligation. 40

A student of R. Y o h a n a n who

Torah or recite prayers, cf. Mishnah

became the principal d e f e n d e r of the

5:3. This section is also discussed in

Roman

Babli Rosh Hashanah 34b, where,

His f a t h e r ' s n a m e is

according to the theory of t h e Babli

unknown. His school was at Caesarea

mentioned above, R. Yohanan answers

Philippi [C. Paneas], seat of the Roman

only according to the opinion of those

prefect for Galilee.

who think that a f t e r a l o n g e r inter-

41

ruption one has to start anew.

J e w s in I s r a e l b e f o r e t h e authorities.

W h e r e it is f o r b i d d e n to study

166

CHAPTER TWO

ν ή ν η N 3 N 1 ν ? ? n>> i ç n

n>)?-}> >a-i .pis ^

.H}*, n a l i y p w >a-i> N"}pa>? P ^ V

d o n .'nain π > n w p>a? ojpjnoi νηψ η ρ íoí*í

p i p * ! » ? i o n ->a pv>pvy > 3 1 7 y - p w w a s t n>> - « o n n n p a V? 1 !?? π ι ο

^ l l

V??

n i n u i w n w r i y ·)>?? w η ν

«V»n η ' ρ η φ η J i N n p a i

^

'3Ί Hin

n i - i n i N i 3 n i > >a-> . n ^ n n i N t?aN

.o>p-j3 o>piTp

'ioip Njj^pa 'ai

Ν>πψ

os»

.πια

Rebbi Eleazar 42 went to pay a sick-bed visit to Rebbi Simeon bar Abba 43 . He said to him: Since I am weak, when I am reciting Shema' I tend to slumber; do I fulfill my obligation? He said to him: yes. Rebbi Jeremiah asked before Rebbi Zeïra: Did Rebbi Eleazar give this ruling since he knew that Rebbi Simeon bar Abba is very scrupulous in the execution of his religious duties 44 , or because he was so weak 4 5 ? He answered him: They 46 disagree explicitly; Rebbi Eleazar said he fulfilled his obligation, Rebbi Yohanan said he did not fulfill his obligation. They disagree for the recitation of Shema' since that is composed of separate chapters, but for the recitation of Hallel

and the Esther scroll, Rebbi

Eleazar will agree 47 . 42

A Babylonian who f i r s t was a

the r e - i n t e r p r e t e d posilion of R e b b i

student and then became a colleague of

Yohanan.

Rebbi Yohanan.

43

Even though he was

A fellow Babylonian who was a

the g r e a t e s t of his g e n e r a t i o n a f t e r

student of the great Amoraïm of t h e

Rebbi Yohanan, he never became head

first generation, thus much older than

of a Yeshivah since he d i e d s h o r t l y

Rebbi Eleazar.

before Rebbi Yohanan.

44

He o f t e n

T h e r e f o r e , will m a k e an e f f o r t

follows Babylonian positions like t h e

that his slumber periods will not be too

one presented here, where the position

long.

of R e b b i E l e a z a r is t h a t w h i c h t h e

45

Babli, Rosh Hashanah

could f u l f i l l his o b l i g a t i o n he could

34b, accepts as

Since t h e r e is no other way he

167

HALAKHAH1 claim an exemption from the general

duty.

rule because of Mix, an act of God.

47

46

That after a long interruption one

has to start from the beginning again.

Rebbis Yohanan and Eleazar, who

This sentence is a comment by the

interrupted a recitation for a longer

editors of the Yerushalmi; it is not the

period and then continued w h e r e he

Babylonian position.

concerning whether a person

interrupted, did f u l f i l l his religious

N 7τ n—. ,ντ>3 J i i v h: nIT m τi n a w a o • : >3γπ ν "τ Γ) ί ο τ ί ν ι

.yi-ip!?

. r n i r n lìtpta

y

Ninw•? >03 w i n " o ü w a ! w w n» .>3nΝίπψ >ηι

-ρ-ι* ο ι ν Ψ r n p N

ΊΠΝ> ON , y h p > -jn^ ÍÍ>N ΊΓΙΝ ï y ON ηοψ? ri*nm

>3") OW3 ήθ>Ρ >?*) ."»137 >13 ΝίΠ Π^?) .*Ν3"Τ >73 "ΜΠΝ >3*1 OW3 Ν i n 1 3 -13 Ν3Ν .ί*1>3Γ£ D I N 1>3

.>37 vty

Ο^ψ ^

Ν1Π Πφ?)

>73 >)> 13 ywin>

7>0>ΓΙ> 37Π 1>3 θί!?ψ Π ^ Ν ψ >7? 1)Πί>

It was stated: If someone wants to greet his teacher or anybody w h o his greater than himself in Torah, he is permitted to do so 48 . That implies that a person has to greet anybody who is greater than himself in Torah. And also from the following 4 9 :

If o n e tore his c l o t h e s and the soul

returned, if it is instantaneous he does not have to tear again. If it is later, he has to tear again. H o w much is instantaneous? The time for speech. How much is time of speech? Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said: the time one needs to greet his friend 5 0 . Hana

51

Abba bar bar

in the name of Rebbi Yohanan: the time for greeting b e t w e e n

teacher and student, when he says "Peace be with you, my teacher. 52 " 48

To continue the discussion of the

A person stands at the d e a t h b e d of

Mishnah, we now turn to the definition

s o m e o n e f o r w h o m he w o u l d

of what it means to interrupt "to greet

required to mourn.

somebody out of respect."

clothes after the person's death. In the

49

case discussed here, he tore his clothes,

A similar but more e x p l i c i t

bardita is found in Babli Nedarim

87a.

be

He must tear his

thinking that the patient was dead but

168

CHAPTER TWO

then the dying person showed signs of

(Baba qama 73b), no names are given

life. If the final death occurs within

but it is stated that t h e r e a r e two

the time needed for "speech", the first

measurements of "speech", one from

tear is sufficient. The baraita is quoted

teacher to student, the same as a person

here only to introduce the standard for

to a friend, and the longer one from

greeting, which is that the student is

student to teacher.

required to say: "Peace be with you, my

51

teacher."

bar bar Hana; his f a t h e r Rabba bar

This is the s t a n d a r d of

He appears in the Babli as Rabba

behavior for a student.

Hana was a nephew of Riiv.

50

52

The greeting of a person to his

The Babli (loc. cit.) has the longer

friend is D3'1?» oiVw "Peace be with

sentence ' a n m a "pV» diVw, "peace be

you." In the main parallel in the Babli

with you, my instructor and teacher."

n>> > o n

Π>ΓΙ·) >T>N -13 n p v ? >37 ^

N^T Ν"τη

T>3i»

pin

v v n ? " P ^ N η ? n>> -»ON >n

.ìNanji o n y a W 7

-»ONI - τ:v m - Τ ,ni>py it? I O N

· Τ

-»»NO

r p n r n p n DID

>3*1

N n ->ON . ^ » ΐ ρ ρ

Ίουρι

N n y i n y j I O N N^H N i n i

ν»?'!?)?

n a i i rP0^y>3

.'»toyn

N ^ N-yjrç

nm n>3 τ η~ >on τ ·: NDD τ τ n ^ -»ON " τ .vrI*TO r : · ·· τ v· o· ^: n~ ot

η>ηψ i o n n y w y

ϊ κ χ η ψ >3*17 rpovy ρ

κπ^οψ

.n3>î7i» >3*17 i*pp!?ri T>NÖ >3-)i VV7.Î Ν

>oip -iiiV'0 ìn>o

. i ^ i * >3*17 n > i > o > r i

>0P1 ' i o i p -Ó3V N!?1S ,-|p>N PP> 1 3 3 p i | > '3") i o n

. r p n i p - a y ΗΪΊ

W7,? DO D>> "»ON >?*> " n y

η.ί1Γ)Ν n>> i o n

,o»a!p m

'"PN

Rebbi Yohanan was leaning on Rebbi Jacob bar Idi when Rebbi Eleazar saw him and hid himself b e f o r e him 5 3 .

H e said, these t w o things the

Babylonian does to me: First, that he does not greet me, and second, that he does not teach the traditions in m y name.

H e said to him, thus they

behave a m o n g themselves; Zeira did not greet Rabba 5 4 since they o b s e r v e (Job 29:8) "Boys see m e and hide themselves." As they were walking, he 5 5

169

HALAKHAH 1 s a w a Bet Midrash.

H e 5 5 said to him: H e r e R e b b i M e ï r sat and r e p o r t e d

traditions in the n a m e o f Rebbi Ismael but he n e v e r reported t r a d i t i o n s in the n a m e of Rebbi Aqiba.

H e 5 6 a n s w e r e d : E v e r y b o d y k n o w s that R e b b i

Meïr w a s the student of R e b b i A q i b a .

H e 5 5 retorted, e v e r y b o d y k n o w s

that Rebbi Eleazar is t h e student o f Rebbi Y o h a n a n . c u r s e d 5 7 statue?

M a y o n e pass b y a

H e 5 8 said t o h i m , d o y o u w a n t t o h o n o r it?

Pass it b y

and blind its eyes! H e 5 9 said to him, Rebbi Eleazar did w e l l that he did not pass b e f o r e you. H e said: R e b b i 6 0 Jacob bar Idi, y o u k n o w h o w t o pacify. 53

This story is inserted here to show

that t h e o b l i g a t i o n to g r e e t

one's

acquire any rabbinic title. T h e second name, therefore, is Rav.

teacher was accepted in Babylonia only

55

Rebbi Jacob bar Idi.

when the student could not hide f r o m

56

Rebbi Yohanan.

his teacher. Rebbi Yohanan also insists

57

The word ' τ π π κ makes no sense.

that all his teachings be reported in his

In the parallel s o u r c e s in t h e Yeru-

own name; this is discussed in the next

shalmi, Sheqalim

section.

the word is ' i n * "cursed".

A psalm is q u o t e d t h e r e to

support Rebbi Yohanan's

position

58

2:6, Moëd qatan 3:2,

Rebbi Yohanan; the person who

mentioning t h e T e m p l e ; t h e rôle of

asks is Rebbi Jacob bar Idi who already

David in the building of the Temple is

knew the answer f r o m Rebbi Joshua

discussed in t h e t h i r d p a r t of t h i s

ben Levi, Avodah zarah 3:8.

aggadic insert.

59

54

that one avoids only important people

The names here do not seem to be

correctly transmitted.

Rebbi Jacob bar (di points out

Rabba belongs

or circumstances. One "blinds the eyes"

to the generation after Rebbi Yohanan

of the idol if one passes by it without

and Rebbi Ze'ira s t u d i e d under Rav

taking any notice of it and the idol sees

Huna and Rav Yehudah in Babylonia.

that it is not taken seriously.

T h e r e f o r e , it seems that t h e n a m e is

60

Zeïri, a Babylonian who studied under

Rome ms.; this is t h e b e t t e r r e a d i n g

Rav and t h e m e m i g r a t e d to I s r a e l

since the teacher will not a d r e s s his

w h e r e he became famous but did not

student (nor his equal) by his title.

The title "Rebbi" is missing in the

170

CHAPTER TWO

rniAN o > p ç n n>>y \y¡?n 7vt ηΝ .rpny) ι » Ν ^ ν η ψ ì v v p n >ya ì j n v >?-η τη

by vby

•>?") ì j n v

o w ? rpp-}?

> R A A > Ρ Ψ B Y V">>?N5 ^ A I

n y i o y "»ÖW^·^?

Nnn? i a

>Ji9V> a a i i o y \ ? n £ Τ Η L I N > 0 >!->"! > N 3 3 -13 Π3>3ΓΙ > 3 1

αϊ

ROW

on3>a >an . o ' o b i y ΐ ^ η κ α ΤΗ

-«ON N ^

>Π Κ Ι Η Ψ

.n>> N>}n>? .niwnjjp

ni»pj?

i o v ïiiwrjVï i ^ i n a v r n p i N oyyp .VL?>N)0

Ν1Γ)Ψ D ' I D J I

IN p>ny ~>nn >πψ7 v i · ? ? "i)?N n n n ]

D T N "TTPTA?

."po^ip

v i n s -ION

. r P ö i a ? n>»yv>

>rrç> N i m

But Rebbi Yohanan required that traditions should be reported in his name. Also David begged for divine mercy in this respect, (Ρ s. 61:5) "may I dwell in Your tent forever!" 61 Rebbi Phineas 6 2 , Rebbi Jeremiah, in the name of Rebbi Yohanan; Could David think of living forever?

Rather,

David meant: May I have the merit that my words will be mentioned in my name in synagogues and houses of study. What good does that do to him? Levi, the son of the Nazir63

said: If someone mentions a tradition

in the name of its author, the latter's lips whisper with him in the grave. What is the reason? (Cant. 7:10) "Dripping f r o m the lips of the sleeping ones." Like that bunch of grapes which drips by itself. Rebbi Hanina bar Pappai 64 and Rebbi Simon, one said, like one who drinks spiced wine, the other said, like one who drinks old wine, even though he consumed it, its taste remains in his mouth. 61

The context of the Psalm ex-

63

An author who is not otherwise

cludes an interpretation that would

mentioned in the Talmudim.

refer the verse to the Future World

parallels in the Babli (Yebamot 96b,

since it directly refers to the earthly

Sanhédrin

Temple.

statement is R. Yohanan's in the name

62

R. Pinhas bar Hama Hacohen,

of R. Simeon (either ben Yohai or ben

leading preacher of the fourth gener-

Yehozadaq) and the verse is quoted in

ation of Galilean Amoraïm.

the name of several authors, one of

90b, Bekhorot

In the

31b) the

111

HALAKHAH1 them Simeon Nazira who probably was

nezirul is permanent.)

the father of Levi, the son of the Nazir

64

who is quoted here. (The Naiir

Rebbi Abbahu, equally outstanding in

may

A colleague of Rebbi Simon and

not cut his hair, drink wine, or become

p r a c t i c e and in aggadah.

("Spiced

impure by a d e a d body.

wine" from Latin conditura

"condiment,

Since t h e

destruction of the Temple, any vow of

vrmtoq

spice.")

v n pwiy -»inri >*>-»«> v n n o

Nini -ïï>i> *

>ri)p>N v i i p o n τί>ι ηηψ

>3903 Ί 2 ^ΝΙΟψ 713ÌO >3>N

ia "ρκψ -»in VN

jiç>n τ η i ï mpiN·» 117

^ J / NÎI> >3tpy?n> ν ί ^ β ψ >£> ï y IN IOÎN ΊΟΗ .;[>)?> 1M>»p> >3 n>ni

* n»3 >> o n j p i N ?

Γ φ 0 >3Çf 0>N>>? D>>?> "TVT *m> Ν1Π Tpl} WT^O

ni53-)|7 i s 3 n ( ? n > NÌ? ν π ρ η η Ji>a r o í a

nbìw otos

. o n o r i o>n>

nwiy d ^ o γμ?ι .ni33*i(7n i o i r i v n y i y η η κ ψ n ^ ™ o a y i o rmp

in?? oaymi η ^ τ ^

There is no generation without scoffers. What did the hooligans of that generation do? They went to David's windows and said to him: David, when will the Temple be built, when will we go to the Lord's house? But he said, even though they intend to enrage me, it comes over me that I am happy, (Ρ s. 122:1) "I enjoy it when they say to me: let us go to the Lord's house." 65

(2Sam. 7:12) " 6 6 When your days will be complete";

Rebbi Samuel bar Nahmani said, the Holy One, praise to Him, said to David: Ί am counting full days for you, I am not counting missing days for you 67 . Will not your son Solomon build the Temple to sacrifice? Law and justice that you are upholding is more to my liking than sacrifices.' What is the reason? (Prov. 21:3) "Upholding justice and law is preferred by the Lord to sacrifice".

172 65

CHAPTER TWO Knowing that he would not build

people, Ex. 23:26, that the Just will live

the Temple and not see it.

complete years; as in fact Moses died

66

on his 120th birthday.

The word

2Samuel\

ΓΡΠΙ

given here is not in

the quote starts with the

It is asserted

here that David also lived complete

second word.

years; his age is never indicated in

67

Tanakh.

This is one of the blessings

bestowed at Mount Sinai on the Jewish

ν ι π πιο

"man

ΠΝ-ΡίΊ

Npvfl

V^JpNll Ν1Γ) •)>? ΐ Ο ψ Ρ ψ } . ΐ ί 2 3 Π >330 ÍN ΠίΟ»ΪΊ

"mSTl >??)? Î7NW n e >3«ιη

!?nìw o > p - j ? a i

Λ>ΚΟ >!-> n i l

-»jaiM η ι ι η > > ? ι ν τ γ ) ρ

Ν ΓΙ ."PN)? >3*1 i n b o i n N * v n >3?» !?NÌW

6R

(*TÌ33n >3?)?)

W

l i i s n >3ÛO

N3>y>?y>? . " m a n >3?n ÎN ΠΝ-ι»η o p n i>v>n Min

>330 i w i w N j v j r î î ? N n

. l i a s n >33>?

ηιο?Ό 'í?» i w w

VSPtf?

New Section. "Between the sections one greets people out of respect, and answers them." 69

Why does one answer, out of fear or to show

respect? We may hear it from this: "In the middle of a section one may greet because of fear and answer (for respect), the words of Rebbi Meir." Hence, in the prior case one may ask because of respect and answer out of respect. 71 "In the middle of a section one may greet because of fear and answer, the words of Rebbi Meïr." For what does one answer, out of fear or to show respect? We may hear it from this: "Rebbi Yehudah says: in the middle of a section one may greet out of fear and answer for respect." Hence 72 , in the first case one asks because of fear and answers because of fear. 68

The words are in both the Leyden

of R. Solomon Cirillo.

Since they

and Rome manuscripts, but missing in

contradict the f o l l o w i n g discussion,

the Genizah fragments and in the text

they should be disregarded.

m

HALAKHAH1 69

This is a quote from the Mishnah.

l e n g t h of t h e s t a t e m e n t of

Rebbi

The problem is that Rebbi Meïr does

Yehudah while for the Yerushalmi the

not indicate why one should answer.

two parallel statements of Rebbi Meïr

Since for Rebbi Yehudah the rules for

represent two parallel problems which

answering a r e more lenient than f o r

have to be solved separately.

initiating the exchange, it follows that

the seemingly repetitous arrangement

for Rebbi Meïr the rules for answering

of the Yerushalmi here; but the f i r s t

are not more lenient, but it is unclear

quote of Rebbi Meïr is in support of an

whether answering and initiating have

argument

identical status or that t h e rules f o r

presents

answering a r e more r e s t r i c t i v e than

discussion; t h e t w o q u o t e s of

those for initiating a verbal exchange.

identical text are of different status.

The Babli (13b) explains the words of

71

Rebbi Meïr as meaning "one may start

certainly more restrictive rules apply

an exchange and it goes without

than between sections.

saying

while

Hence

the

the second

topic

for

one

further the

Since in the middle of a section

that one may answer", they seem to

72

assume that it is obvious that the rules

Rebbi Yehudah, and from the previous

of answering cannot be stricter than

discussion we know that a n s w e r i n g

those for starting. Also, the Babli takes

does not have more r e s t r i c t i v e rules

the two parts together; it is possible

than starting the conversation,

that t h e u n n e c e s s a r y l e n g t h in t h e

follows that Rebbi Meïr must hold in

statement of Rebbi Meïr is considered

all cases that answering and s t a r t i n g

simply as a parallel to the necessary

have the same status.

r m > >3*) .>o*r»p n>p-)>

Since Rebbi Meïr disagrees with

. p i o a n v^ípisp. i ^ û n î r r ç h a n y x w *

. o a -»5i!p π ι γ ή q >

p ' o oa π-μ-η ηον

NDìn >?-»

it

Iiis ,ψπψη

So far in the middle of a section. Or even in the middle of a verse 7 3 ? Rebbi Jeremiah gave hints 74 .

Rebbi Jonah made himself understood 7 '.

Rebbi Huna, Rav Joseph: (Deut. 6:7) "You may talk in them", from here that one is authorized to talk between them 76 . 73

Do the rules given in the Mishnah

apply only b e t w e e n v e r s e s in t h e

middle of a section or even in t h e middle of a verse?

174 74

CHAPTER TWO The text here is not uniform. The

Leyden m a n u s c r i p t and t h e G e n i z a h

greetings or instructions by pantomime. 75

I. e„ he talked.

text are as the Venice print, nmn, but

76

In Hebrew, future, imperative, and

in t h e q u o t e s of t h i s p a s s a g e

by

subjunctive may have t h e same form.

Berakhot

In g e n e r a l , t h e p a s s a g e o s m a n in

Ramban, Milhamot

Hashem,

Chap. 2 and the authorities depending

Shema'

on him ( R a s h b a and Rosh on Babli

about t h e m " ( T h e D i v i n e c o m m a n d -

Berakhot 14a), the text reads » m a

ments), but R e b b i Huna t a k e s it to

The

is t r a n s l a t e d "you must talk

meaning is in both cases t h a t Rebbi

mean "you may talk in them", i. e.,

Jeremiah

while reciting the verses.

did

not

p i

talk

but

give

-i)3Nȓ p a

y b y ON r p n i v a ,p>p?> h^

M i s h n a h 2:

ID

.7Voy>> r r n v i i o r o n ? "pa o>¡?-}$n

. y b y O N Tvnp

ί)?ν»ι

vm

V3

r m n ? >3-1

T h e f o l l o w i n g are " b e t w e e n t h e sections":

between the

first b e n e d i c t i o n and the second, b e t w e e n the s e c o n d and Shema', Shema'

roo»

λ

between

and ( D e u t . 11:13) "it shall be w h e n y o u will really listen", b e t w e e n

"it shall b e w h e n y o u will really listen" and (Num.

15:37) "the E t e r n a l

spoke". B e t w e e n "the Eternal spoke" and "true and o u t s t a n d i n g 7 7 " .

Rebbi

Y e h u d a h said, b e t w e e n "the Eternal spoke" and "true and outstanding" o n e m a y not interrupt.

77

The benediction after Shema', starting with a series of epithets of the Torah.

3>rpi

.o?>ri!w *

rmn>

r w y o ~>t>

λ .njoN

H a l a k h a h 2: R e b b i L e v i s a i d 7 8 , t h e r e a s o n of R e b b i Y e h u d a h : 15:41) "I a m t h e Eternal, y o u r God 7 9 ", and it is w r i t t e n (Jer. the Eternal is t h e true God".

(Num.

1 0 : 1 0 ) "But

175

HALAKHAH 3 In the parallel in the Babli (14a),

whether a f t e r r e c i t i n g "the E t e r n a l ,

the explanation is by R. Abbahu in the

your God. True!" one stops and starts

name of R. Yohanan. Since Rebbi Levi

again

was preacher in the Yeshivah of Rebbi

irrelevant f o r t h e Y e r u s h a l m i .

Yohanan, the explanation originated in

question in the Babli is w h e t h e r Rebbi

that Y e s h i v a h .

In a d d i t i o n , R e b b i

Yehudah disagrees with the first Tanna

Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Yohanan

in principle, that 'between "the Eternal

in the Babli declares that the practice

spoke" and "true and

follows Rebbi Yehudah; this decision is

t h e r e is no i n t e r r u p t i o n a l l o w e d or

missing in the Yerushalmi and, hence, it

whether he simply moves t h e end of

seems that in Israel one used to follow

technical Shema' by one word and then

the

allows the regular interruptions there.

78

majority

opinion

that

an

interruption is permitted between the

79

last words of the Shema'

Shema'.

and "true".

"true and

outstanding",

is The

outstanding"'

These are the concluding words of

Hence, the question asked in the Babli,

H? yny

o n n > m > y p y τνοη% ON r v n )

,rm*n

n n - i j ? 15 j r ç h n ? >2-> nioN :>

mvn

r j ? ί π ν · ) η ^ η ι ρ o > n y JVD!?Ö

.Dì»i n £ n a n i i

Di»a ι η ύ

Mishnah 3: Ribbi Joshua ben Qorhah

90

said: Why does Shema' precede

"it shall be when you will really listen"? In order that one should accept the K i n g d o m of H e a v e n commandments.

b e f o r e he a c c e p t s the y o k e of

the

And "it shall be when you will really listen" to "The

Eternal said"? Because "it shall be when you will really listen" is applicable day and night 81 , "the Eternal said" is applicable only during daytime. 80

A Tanna who lived from the times,

81

The obligation to study the Torah

of R. Aqiba to those of Rebbi; he is

and k e e p its c o m m a n d m e n t s a p p l i e s

mostly

e v e r y w h e r e a n d at a l l t i m e s ;

known

interpretations.

for

his

aggadic

obligation

to h a v e zizit

on

the

one's

176

CHAPTER T W O

garment, expressed in the third section of

Shema', is a p p l i c a b l e only during

ioipi 31

daytime according to most opinions,

v a i ! ? d i n n > ? N o y o n o i j n v >3-1 0 W 3 N » n >3*1 :> n a b n

,ο^ψη

ο'οψ a i l

roolpç

ν ϊ χ ! ? 3 ρ » ψ h ? i ^ î m n i (foi. 4c) ν ο ψ j i í s

.^a^ni

nis νήΥτ) ν η ψ n i * ï o i p

ion

o i p 9 > v n i a n ? η η yny> J i n p J i j i y y ^ n i - ο ρ ι n o n o y p i o y π > π ψ H Ï 3 " ì > N y » t » ? NTI>ÍJ?0 .rm*p

.^SJIOI

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η η

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!?3p> ο - τ κ ψ

Halakhah 3: Rebbi Hiyya 80 in the name of Rebbi Yohanan: Why did they say, a man puts on tefillin, recites the Shema' and prays? So that he first should accept upon himself the Kingdom of Heaven completely. Rav said, one reads the Shema', puts on tefillin, and prays 81 . A bar ait a of Rav himself 8 2 disagrees with him: "If somebody was occupied with a dead person in his grave and the time for the recital of Shema' should move to a pure place 83 , put on tefillin, pray".

arrived, he

recite the Shema',

and

Does not the Mishnah support Rav: "In order that one should

accept the Kingdom of Heaven before he accepts the yoke of the commandments" 84 ? 80

R. Hiyya bar Abba, the student of

Shema' without giving an explanation

R. Yohanan.

o f what he was doing.

81

explanation of the Babli, that Rav had

The essential difference between

Hence, the

tefillin were brought

the Yerushalmi and the Babli is that in

to wait until his

the Yerushalmi Rav precribes that one

to him while he had to recite

should

be

putting

on

tefillin

(phylacteries) either after reciting the entire

Shema', or after reciting the first

paragraph of

Shema', w h e r e a s in the

Babli (14b) he is only reported to have put on his

tefillin after the recital of

Shema' at

its appropriate time, is impossible in the

Yerushalmi.

But

since

the

Yerushalmi quotes Rebbi Yohanan as explaining t h e g e n e r a l l y practice,

there

is

no

accepted practical

difference between the two Talmudim

177

HALAKHAH 3 and t h e statement of Rav can be l e f t

baraita

standing without a decision on his own

Yohanan.

opinion.

84

82

first paragraph, belong to the execution

This is the reading of the Leyden

is the one a d o p t e d by R e b b i

Tefillin,

while mentioned in the

manuscript. In both Talmudim we hear

of commandments.

that Rav and Samuel collected

the opinion of t h e Y e r u s h a l m i , Rav

baraitot,

tannaitic statements not made part of

recommended

the Mishnah.

between the first and second sections

83

of Shema'·,

Since a dead person can no longer

to

It follows that, in

put

on

otherwise, the

tefillin

Mishnah

p r a y , it is e x p l a i n e d l a t e r in t h i s

would not support his position.

Halakhah

contradicts the opinion of t h e Babli as

that praying in a graveyard

would violate the verse (Prov. 17:5):

quoted

"He w h o m a k e s f u n of

poor

objection of the Babli that c e r t a i n l y

blasphemes his Maker"; hence one has

Rav would not put off f u l f i l l i n g t h e

to leave t h e g r a v e y a r d if he wants to

obligation of tefillin

pray. The order of prayer given in the

recital of Shema'.

the

above;

,>p3 3-1 Ί Ο Ν

Rebbi Yannai 85 said: Tefillin need a clean body 86 . 85

The most important Amora of the

wear tefillin in a graveyard. This also

first generation in Galilea, student of

counts as having an unclean body since

Rebbi and teacher of Rebbi Yohanan.

on leaving the g r a v e y a r d o n e has to

86

The same rule is quoted in Rebbi

wash his hands. A Mishnah in the next

Yannai's name in the Babli (Sabbath

Chapter also implies that one may not

49a, 130a); t h e r e A b b a i a n d

w e a r tefillin

Rava

when his b o d y is n o t

explain that one may not break wind

cleansed f r o m an emission of semen.

while wearing tefillin and also may not

Some Medieval authorities imply f r o m

sleep while

the statement of R. Yannai that while

wearing

them.

The

Yerushalmi does not go into d e t a i l s .

w e a r i n g tefillin

The connection with the previous text

unclean thoughts.

probably is the quote that one may not

o n e may not h a v e

178

CHAPTER TWO

T > P 3 N 7 ν ό 1 3 -τη? Diri N l l l V

, ν Ν Ο Ί Π >J?>3 .1^11 ì p n o n

nç

•Ji>JO>n

Why does one not hold on 8 7 to them? Because of the impostors 8 8 . It happened that a man deposited something with another, and the latter then reneged on it. He said to him: Not you I thought trustworthy but those on your head I thought trustworthy. 87

There are two interpretations of

worn publicly in t h e Land of Israel.

this sentence. Rabbenu Yeruham [path

The reading of the Rome manuscript,

19, part 5] explains: Why does one not

"Why does one not hold on to them in

keep on his tefillin

the Land of Israel?" seems to explain

takes

them

off

Tosaphot [Sabbat

the entire day but after

praying?

49a] e x p l a i n : Why

the situation f r o m a Babylonian point of view w h e r e tefillin

never were a

does one not consider a person wearing

p r o b l e m with t h e g o v e r n m e n t

tefillin

automatically as a trustworthy

where, in R. S h e r i r a G a o n ' s time at

Jew who may be trusted to k e e p all

least, tefillin were worn by scholars all

mizwotl

day long. But even in Babylonia in the

The explanation of Tosaphot

and

is easier to fit into our text but t h e

f i r s t g e n e r a t i o n s of A m o r a i ' m

explanation

Sheshet is reported (Babli Sabbat 118b)

of R a b b e n u

Yeruham

Rav

seems to have the c o r r e c t h i s t o r i c a l

of being proud that he wore tefillin

background. Both the Roman and the

entire day, not just for a minimal time.

Byzantine governments f r o m time to

88

time f o r b a d e the wearing of

times of p r a y e r may m a k e a p e r s o n

tefillin.

T h e r e f o r e , f r o m t h e s t a r t of

the

reconstruction of Jewish l i f e a f t e r the war of Bar Kokhba, tefillin

d ü o πιο

outside of

suspect of being a g a n g s t e r

imper-

sonating a pious person.

w e r e not

.p").or? > > ί η η ψ - i s i î ? o > n > i i > > i n η η κ irçnil? n > n >n32 >3-1

p i r ) » O > N 3 î 1 3 ΐ 3 π ν >3") n>p>ri

Hence, wearing tefillin

the

. > ? n o i 7 n r r W ? N?i*in

i m -p"! . N i n > p ?

nt?i\?n

N \ ? » P 3 NÏ? r p i ' n v v t . v * τi n N"

179

HALAKHAH 3

Rebbi Yannai w a s w e a r i n g t h e m a f t e r his s i c k n e s s f o r t h r e e days, t o s h o w that sickness cleanses 8 9 .

What is the reason? (Ps. 103:2): "He W h o

f o r g i v e s all m y sins, H e W h o heals all m y sicknesses." Rebbi Yohanan ben Zakkai's tefillin w e r e not c o m i n g o f f f r o m h i m either in s u m m e r or in winter. And so did his student Rebbi Eliezer after him. 9 0 89

This statement s u p p o r t s t h e

Yannai wore his tefillin the entire day

interpretation that the "clean body"

but after that he was putting them on

required from a wearer of tefillin

only for prayer.

is a

body cleansed f r o m sinful thoughts,

90

since a person recovered from sickness

Bar Kokhba, the wearing of tefillin

is a person all whose sins have been

entire day in the Land of Israel was not

forgiven. It is spelled out in

unheard-of.

Midrash

This shows that before the war of the

Tehillim 103 that the first three days, R.

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180

CHAPTER TWO

Rebbi Yohanan was wearing both of them 9 1 in winter when his head was healthy.

But in sommer when his head was not healthy he put on

only that of the arm. But is not that forbidden because of nakedness 9 2 ? Rebbi Hiyya bar Abba said: He wore an undershirt 9 3 under his clothes. When he went to bathe, he was taking them off when he c a m e to the oil sellers 9 4 .

Rebbi Isaac said, he was wearing them up to Jacob, the bath

master 9 5 .

When he exited the bath, they brought them to him.

they were bringing them, he used to say:

96Two

When

caskets were travelling

with Israel in the wilderness, the ark of Him, W h o is the L i f e of the Universe, and the casket of Joseph. The Gentiles were saying: What is the purpose of these two caskets?

Israel was answering them, that is the

casket of Joseph with the ark of Him, W h o is the L i f e of the Universe. The Gentiles were taunting Israel and saying, how is it possible that the casket of a dead person is travelling with the ark of Him, W h o is the L i f e of the Universe? But Israel were answering, because this one kept all that is written in that one. Why did he say that?

Rebbi Hanania 9 7 said, in order to speak some

words of learning. Rebbi Mana said to him: Did he have no other word of learning to say but that 9 8 ? But that was sarcasm, to say that Joseph did only attain kingdom by keeping the commandments of the Holy One, praise to Him, and we received all that glory only because we kept the commandments of the Holy One, praise to Him, but y o u 9 9 want to remove His commandments from us! 91 92

Both

genitals and that is f o r b i d d e n as w e

tefillin.

Since the tefillin

on the arm a r e

shall see later.

[Only in r e c e n t times

worn under the c o a t or shirt, t h e r e is

have tefillin

the

garment

cannot be c o v e r e d by the c o a t sleeves

f r o m his

and the bad habit of praying with the

possibility

that

no

s e p a r a t e s t h e h o l y tefillin

become so l a r g e that they

181

HALAKHAH 3

Hebrew verb map , a few times also

l e f t arm u n c o v e r e d has taken over Ashkenazic congregations.]

loip, is probably from Greek κεντρόω

93

"to sting, vex, goad".

έπικάρσιον, τό, "striped garment".

This must have been a large undershirt

97

A late Galilean Amora f r o m

reaching at least to the upper parts of

Sepphoris (Zipporin), colleague of R.

his legs.

Mana.

94

Latin olearii.

98

95

Cf. Greek θερμασία, ή, "warmth,

he have to repeat the same text over

Since he went frequently, why did

heat.". Rebbi Yohanan would trust his

and over again?

tefillin only into the hands of a reliable

99

Jewish man.

government under Diocletian; for R.

96

This aggadah

Beshallah

4:7,

1, Babli Sota

Uli«?

the Christian emperors.

Mekhilta 13a.

Ν ί π ψ ? >-PN > 3 1 3 ni^n

Mana, the Roman government under

a p p e a r s several

times: T o s e p h t a Sota

For R. Yohanan, t h e Roman

The

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- α ϊ ) ? i i n ^ n n o a n n p i n a -»pi

H o w does o n e m a k e the b e n e d i c t i o n s o n t h e m ?

Rebbi Z e r i q a n 1 0 0 in

the n a m e of Rebbi Jacob ben Rebbi Idi: W h e n he puts tefillin

o n his arm,

what does he say: 1 0 1 "Praised 1 0 2 W h o sanctified us by His c o m m a n d m e n t s and c o m m a n d e d us about the obligation of tefillin." o n his head, w h a t d o e s h e s a y ?

W h e n he puts t h e m

"Praised W h o s a n c t i f i e d us b y H i s

c o m m a n d m e n t s and c o m m a n d e d us about the o b l i g a t i o n of putting o n tefillin."

W h e n he t a k e s t h e m o f f , w h a t d o e s he s a y ?

"Praised W h o

sanctified us by His c o m m a n d m e n t s and c o m m a n d e d us to o b e y His laws." That f o l l o w s the opinion that the v e r s e 1 0 3 speaks about the law of

tefillin.

182

CHAPTER TWO

However, according to those who say that the verse speaks about the law of Passover, that does not apply. 100

An A m o r a in t h e g e n e r a t i o n

102

In all formulas of benedictions,

after R. Yohanan and R. Jacob bar Idi.

one has to add a f t e r "praised": "are

The parallels in the Babylonian Talmud

You, o Eternal, our God, King of t h e

are all anonymous.

Universe".

101

In t h e B a b l i ( B e r a k h o t

60b,

103

Ex.

13:10.

In t h a t

chapter,

Menahot 36a) the order of the first two

verses 1-8 speak of the laws of Pass-

b e n e d i c t i o n s is i n v e r t e d ; t h e

over, v. 9 introduces the commandment

benediction

third

never was recited

in

of tefillin.

V. 10, t h e last in t h a t

Babylonia (Babli Berakhot 44b). T h e r e

paragraph, reads: "You shall k e e p this

is a disagreement in principle between

law in its time, nn'O' o ' n ' a "

the two Talmudim. It is clear that the

"law" is t h a t of tefillin,

Yerushalmi requires two

translate "from day to day", m e a n i n g

separate

If t h e

o n e has to

benedictions for the two

tefillin·,

t h a t at n i g h t t i m e t h e law is e i t h e r

therefore, the second

which

inoperative or that it is f o r b i d d e n to

one

completes the action is the important

wear tefillin.

and c o m p l e t e one.

Passover, one has to t r a n s l a t e " f r o m

(Menahot tefillin

In t h e

Babli

36a) it seems t h a t if both

a r e put on together then only

If the "law" is t h a t of

year to year."

The latter m e a n i n g is

t h e usual o n e f o r t h e H e b r e w

ex-

one b e n e d i c t i o n is n e e d e d ; t h e f i r s t

pression, but then it would have been

benediction is t h e one that counts and

rational to expect that verses 9 and 10

has to be recited.

traded places.

[This is Sephardic

and O r i e n t a l p r a c t i c e t o d a y ; A s h -

The Yerushalmi

refrains

from

kenazim recite the second benediction,

attaching names to the d i f f e r e n t inter-

which is strictly r e q u i r e d only if no

pretations.

tefillin are available for one's arm, out

(Erubin 96a), the first interpretation is

of doubt about the situation.

In any

In the Babylonian Talmud

that of R. Yose the Galilean, the second

case, in t h e B a b y l o n i a n s t y l e , t h e

one

second benediction is the minor one.

Y e r u s h a l m i s o u r c e Mekhilta

A s h k e n a z i c p r a c t i c e is an

Simeon

uneasy

that

of

R. A q i b a .

bar Yohai

In

the deR.

(p. 41), t h e f i r s t

adaptation of Yerushalmi p r a c t i c e to

interpretation is that of R. Aqiba and

Babylonian rules.]

the second one of R. Eliczer. Since R.

183

HALAKHAH 3 Aqiba

belongs

to t h e

following

be attributed to Rebbis Y o s e the

generation, the basic disagreement can

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πφνρνύ

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o>p> 'îTO

H^H U 3 N ρ

Galilean and Eliezer.

γρν

D>

?1

VH li*T|?9

£ÏÎ nina^!? Π1Γ1

en? .»i!?>V

.nnin o v

v b y v n o n !?a>f ι τ ι ύ η

n i n a ^ i n i o o v > o n ? IIÌN>

N i n y TIN JIÌN!? q> n > m N i n

Τ

p' τ nt i > > : n ί ο ίΤ » d- n !Τ? n7 -' fΤi n ^

.no>o> o » o· τ>· n h i—d Τ · Τ

m

τ

.•»so ι η ^ Ν ρ

Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Eleazar

104

rò yppop

: He who puts on

in the night transgresses a positive c o m m a n d m e n t .

ρ

ρ ..

»qwip

tefillin

W h a t is the reason?

(Ex. 13:10) ""You shall keep this law in its time, f r o m day to day;" "days" not night, "to days" 1 0 5 to exclude S a b b a t h s and holidays. Abbahu sat studying at night with his tefillin on his head!

106

But Rebbi He put t h e m

on the side 107 ; they were like a deposit in his keeping. Some want to say, he only m e a n t not to put them on, but when they w e r e on him during daytime it would be permitted.

Some want to say, let us hear it f r o m

there (Ex. 13:9): "It shall be for you a sign," when you need it f o r a sign, but not holiday or Sabbaths that are all sign. But is it not written "to days" 108 ? You have only what Rebbi Yohanan said: Everything that is not clear one supports f r o m many places 109 . 104

Probably the Amora, student of

statement?

Rebbi Yohanan, and not one of the

107

Tannai'm.

was not fulfilling the commandment of

105

wearing them, but he had them on his

Meaning certain days, but not

Not between his eyes, so that he

all days.

head to keep them since tefillin,

106

holy objects, have to be deposited in

How can he transgress his own

as

184

CHAPTER TWO

safe places.

Simeon bar Yohai, the first derivation is

108

anonymous, the second one is attributed

We do not expect the Torah to

repeat commandments needlessly.

to Rebbi Aqiba. While the discussion

109

here is of Amoraïm, the entire material

Since Ex. 13:10 may a p p l y to

is tannai'tic.

P a s s o v e r , any d e r i v a t i o n f r o m t h a t verse is not clear.

a » n N i n y i TIN

In Mekhilta

deR.

.DD'TIÌJ? JIN

nis ο π ί Ν

l > a » n 13>n r n i n - n o r r i a j m » n roi>

ίηψΝΐ

1Π2Ν r n

ο ^ ν ή .v>>£>Jia a » n r n i n - n n > n a πη>η

r>a !??>>? η η p i o l í n

ο ν ή n » p t n >3-1 . o > » D n

(Deut.

n a !??>η , π η ψ ι η r o v

ìnyn

11:19) "And y o u s h o u l d t e a c h t h e m t o

y o u r sons", and not t o y o u r daughters. 1 1 0 Torah is o b l i g e d f o r tefillin,

.i>»?a

in>o nV) o > > n b nbiy rm>n

.D>0Dn n>7>? i r v o W o m e n from where?

·)»))? o > y ó

A n y o n e w h o is o b l i g e d t o s t u d y

w o m e n w h o are n o t o b l i g e d t o s t u d y T o r a h

are n o t o b l i g e d f o r tefillin.ni

T h e y o b j e c t e d , but did not M i c h a l , t h e

d a u g h t e r o f t h e K u s h i 1 1 2 , w e a r tefillin, m a k e the p i l g r i m a g e t o the T e m p l e

113

and did n o t t h e w i f e o f J o n a h

, and the s a g e s did not object.

Rebbi

Hisqiah in the n a m e of Rebbi A b b a h u : Jonah's w i f e w a s t u r n e d b a c k 1 1 4 , the sages f o r b a d e it to Michal the daughter of Kushi. 1 1 5

110

T h e main d i s c u s s i o n of

this

obliged to wear tefillin.

Naturally, f o r

point appears in Chapter 3:3.

t h o s e w h o d e c l a r e t h a t Ex.

111

speaks of tefillin

T h e proof, explicit in t h e Me-

13:10

and nights a r e not a

khiltot, is really from Ex. 13:9: "It shall

time for tefillin, it follows that

be a sign on your hand and a remem-

is a positive commandment bound to

brance between your eyes, so that the

stated times and, as a general principle,

Torah of the Eternal

women a r e not obligated.

shall be in your

tefillin

However,

mouth, because with a strong hand the

since that interpretation of v. 10 is in

Eternal led you out of Egypt."

doubt, it is not used here.

Hence,

only one w h o is o b l i g e d to study is

112

Saul, addressed as "Kush" in the

185

HALAKHAH 3 heading of Psalm 7.

sacrifices should not be o f f e r e d .

113

114

Obviously, e v e r y b o d y can go to

Not f r o m J e r u s a l e m , b u t f r o m

J e r u s a l e m a n y t i m e he wishes, and w e

presenting h e r p i l g r i m a g e s a c r i f i c e in

k n o w f r o m many s o u r c e s t h a t e n t i r e

t h e T e m p l e s e p a r a t e l y f r o m h e r hus-

families made

band.

the pilgrimage,

in

particular for Passover. W h a t is m e a n t

115

h e r e is t h a t J o n a h ' s w i f e w e n t

wore tefillin

Jerusalem to b r i n g the

to

T h e first statement, t h a t M i c h a l and that the w i f e of Jonah

obligatory

m a d e t h e p i l g r i m a g e , is a t a n n a ï t i c

s a c r i f i c e s in h e r o w n n a m e , e i t h e r

s t a t e m e n t in t h e B a b l i ( E r u b i n 9 6 a ) ,

a d d i t i o n a l to t h o s e of her husband or

and t h e Babli c o n c l u d e s f r o m it t h a t

for herself

w o m e n may

when her husband

a w a y at sea or at N i n e v e h . bring

was

She m a y

n " » n nViv, t h e h o l o c a u s t

e x e r c i s e all o b l i g a t i o n s

that a r e bound to a f i x e d t i m e f r o m

of

which

women

are

freed.

The

a p p e a r a n c e , as a v o l u n t a r y o f f e r i n g ,

Y e r u s h a l m i A m o r a ï m and later Y e r u -

but if s h e i n s i s t s on p r e s e n t i n g

the

shalmi s o u r c e s ( P e s i q t a rabbati

o f f e r i n g as o b l i g a t o r y f o r h e r

pil-

22) disagree. This d i s a g r e e m e n t is not

grimage, then there is a question of t h e

mentioned

legality of t h e o f f e r i n g and d o u b t f u l

argument is rejected.

VN"! Dip)?

N - j p n ο ψ vi' i>y)ìi> " H í p i y D I N ->(it»o> H ï y

r j n s i v i o v>>ari ·|Γώ

in t h e B a b l i ; i. e.,

,ΊΓΡ πϊψ

i j w ïy

nçit»

f o p n HÏ

m\y-¡ η π ί Ν Ο

3 p V ? "Tü

VW V^flfl

oy v*)

Tk> Ι ψ ? ^ ρπ>ί>

rüwy «»Ν

the

o i p n >?> o » ? ->m , ο ί ^ ψ τό·>Ηψ

içib

rp-is - ρ * ! D ^ V r i ^ N v i ο ψ ν * VPVii! V l P i V n v n > Vpnjj ΐπ*ρη

Chap.

tjns

>33 η ί ι ψ n ^ a r i i κ - j p o nnit?

o y vi> v v m >

^ p o i

. " | Γ ώ Ì3>N·)

- i m » ? N y > » t » ? Ν-Τ1 , ^ η - ι ρ

rmiN'b?

ΓΡΓΙ r n o i n - ú n

It was stated

116

: "Entering a bathhouse, in the room where everybody is

fully clothed 117 one may read the Bible, pray 118 , and needless to say, one may greet people119.

O n e m a y put o n tefillin,

and needless to say, o n e

does not remove them. In the room where most people are naked one

186

CHAPTER TWO

may not exchange greetings and needless to say, there is no Bible reading or prayer; one removes one's tefillin

and needless to say, one does not put

them on. Where some are naked and some are clothed there is greeting, no Bible reading and no prayer, one does not remove tefillin not put them on.

and one does

But one does not put them on again until he has

completely left the grounds of that bathhouse." This supports what Rebbi Isaac said about Rebbi Yohanan, that he wore t h e m until he c a m e to Jacob, the bath master. 116

Tosephta Berakhot 2:20; a slight-

ly different version is Babli Sabbat 10a.

rooms were used for social affairs, especially in large cities.

One returns to the problem discussed

118

earlier that tefillin,

This is the reading of the Rome

as objects of

manuscript, the Tosephta and R. Solo-

holiness, cannot be worn on an arm that

mon Cirillo; the Leyden manuscript and

is not separated from one's genitals by

the Venice print have pV'on "tefillin"·,

some clothing. Hence, tefillin

but these are separately mentioned

cannot

be worn when one is naked, or in the

later.

presence of naked people. Prayer and

119

religious study go by the same rules,

formula "peace with you" is that Peace

following the verse (Amos 4:12) "Israel,

is one of the names of God, Jud. 6:24;

prepare yourself for your God".

hence, greeting somebody with oiVw

117

03,l?ï is permitted only under circum-

A Roman bathhouse was essen-

The problem with the greeting

In the hot room,

stances that would allow prayer. The

everybody was naked. In the anteroom,

prohibition does not include greetings

one was cooling down a f t e r the hot

in other languages if the name of God

steam, getting massaged by the olearii,

is not invoked.

tially a sauna.

and putting on one's clothes. The outer

n3>Nì n o n n j i ì o > 3 n ^ o D p >(n-|)? η π ? η n v j n >?-> > i o i p N y ? n>»p-i> >:n irai NO?

η ^ Ν ψ >3 i n n o lDïf

«IN-) >{Γη>ρ η>> - ι ώ ν NapiV

n i » > a Ti^oDp

.TINÎ* ta ΐ>Νψ >£> ï v

Nton

187

HALAKHAH 3 >>3í* >a-> - i o n

. i n ç π ψ Ύ t í ϊ χ η r r n s }τ\η ' y a r o i > > n

.rnr)

,>i!?>v p a p o k^"» n > t 7 > 3 3 n>> - n y n n>p-|> > 1 1 n i n n > o n Rebbi Jeremiah asked b e f o r e Rebbi Zeïra: If it was used as bath h o u s e in s u m m e r but not in t h e rainy season, w h a t is the r u l e 1 2 0 ?

H e said t o

him, a bath h o u s e e v e n if it is not in use, a toilet e v e n if it d o e s n o t contain e x c r e m e n t 1 2 1 .

Mar U q b a 1 2 2 said: a pig is a m o v i n g toilet.

Rebbi

J o n a h 1 2 3 i n v e s t i g a t e d : A p e b b l e o n the sea shore, w h a t is t h e r u l e ? 1 2 4 Rebbi A m m i the p h y s i c i a n 1 2 5 said: Rebbi J e r e m i a h taught that o n e m a y pass it by pylyvs126, 120

but o n e does not trust this ruling 1 2 7 .

May one pray in the room in

Amorai'm, and a s t u d e n t of

Rebbi

which people are naked if the instal-

Jeremiah.

lation is in use?

124

121

The rules of toilets, in which all

on the s e a s h o r e c o v e r e d w i t h ex-

religious acts are f o r b i d d e n , are ex-

crement, when one has to assume that

plained in Chapter 3, both in Yerushal-

some human used the pebble to cleanse

mi (fol. 6d) and Babli (Berakhot 26a).

himself a f t e r d e f e c a t i n g , but in the

122

It is questionable whether this is

a statement of Mar Uqba, Resh

Galuta

meantime waves covered the p e b b l e many times and it does not smell any

(Head of the Diaspora) in the time of

more?

Rav.

125

The author of the statement is

May one pray next to a pebble

An Amora about whom nothing

either Rabbana Uqba, grandson of Mar

more is known.

Uqba and Rav, or, more likely, Rav

126

Uqba bar Hama, student and son-in-law

pileus, pilleus, "bonnet, felt hat", also

of Rav Hisda.

In the Babli (Berakhot

Greek πίλινος "of felt", πιλίον "a band-

25a), the statement is attributed to Rav

age" (E. G.). The reading of the Rome

Papa, student of Rav Hisda's student

manuscript is ojî'Vo. The word appears

Rava (brother-in-law of Rav Uqba bar

as ovV» in Mishnah Niddah

Hama).

there explains the word by old French

123

Head of the Yeshivah of Ti-

Perhaps compare

orel, a scarf; Arukh,

ovVb to

Latin

8:1; Rashi

in its I t a l i a n

berias together with the Amora Rebbi

translation ossi, means a scarf used to

Yose, of the f o u r t h g e n e r a t i o n of

cover the mouth.

The

meaning

188

CHAPTER TWO

therefore is that Rebbi Jeremiah coun-

127

sels to cover one's face with a scarf.

rejection of Rebbi Jeremiah's statement

(Musaphia reads pallium,

is from Rebbi Ammi the physician or

"coverlet,

gown.")

It is not c l e a r w h e t h e r

the

from the editor of the Talmud.

i n a ÌOÌN

. ' í o y Π ^ Ο Ν IDS ì n w rp)?*v - u m i n ο ψ α

>?j) »33? ΓΡΝ . v i i ? r>3',v> i r í a w

VN - ; , ' i o y ri3'\y l i n i ΊΨ>

t

η ρ τ INO ,ΝΠ>) γ ι π ν o y a 1 0 7 I N » Ί 3 N 3 N N)3>>Î3

> 3 1 ">£N

n^pN

>>3^ JI>N .ΤΙΠΝ

,>ÌÌ»V 13>N"!

τρα»?

ΝΠ O ' O ^ f l Έ ψ T ) . ? ? rù->DH ì o ?

Rebbi Zeïra in the n a m e of Abba bar Jeremiah 1 2 8 :

Π>)3-)>

O n e m a y eat a

snack while wearing t h e m 1 2 9 , but o n e m a y not eat a regular meal while wearing them; o n e m a y d o z e 1 3 0 while wearing them, but o n e m a y not sleep while w e a r i n g t h e m .

S o m e T a n n a i m f o r m u l a t e : O n e s a y s the

benediction once; s o m e Tannaim formulate: O n e says the b e n e d i c t i o n twice131.

H e w h o says o n e says the benediction once, h o w can he be

right? H e w h o says, one says the benediction twice, because he ate and then they are not on him.

Rebbi Zeïra said, Abba bar Jeremiah talks

about one w h o eats only snacks. 128

A Babylonian Amora (in the

part of his statement, about sleeping, is

Babli he has a title and is called Rabba

introduced as an anonymous tannaitic

bar Jeremiah, short for Rav Abba bar

statement (]ian un).

J e r e m i a h ) , a s t u d e n t of Rav and

129

possibly the son of Rav's companion

which does not involve bread. The rule

Rav Jeremiah bar Abba.

about eating is not mentioned in the

From the

The tefillin.

A snack is a meal

following it is clear that Rabba bar

Babli; hence, the Babli agrees with it.

J e r e m i a h q u o t e s t h e r u l i n g as a

130

traditional one from Tannaïm, not a

and not sleeping." The Babli forbids

new amoraic ruling.

both dozing and sleeping.

(Berakhot

2 3 b , Sukkah

In the Babli 41b), t h e s e c o n d

131

Dozing is defined as "sleeping

It is also possible to read

189

HALAKHAH 3 "several times" but the discussion in the

benediction is recited (at least) two

next sentence mentions "two times".

times a day.

The entire sentence is a continuation of

(except for a fast day) one has to eat,

the first statement

hence one has to take off one's

of

Abba

bar

The o b j e c t i o n is that

tefillin

Jeremiah; he is r e p o r t e d by R e b b i

and put them on again, ccrtainly with a

Zeïra to have said that one may eat a

benediction.

snack and doze while wearing

tefillin,

people eat only snacks during daytime;

R. Zei'ra t h e n r e p o r t s t h a t

some

hence, it is proved that the T a n n a

The anwer is that some

Tannaïm require that one recite the

agrees with Abba bar Jeremiah that for

benediction over tefillin

a snack one does not have to remove

but

some

v m TTS

τ

>ii»y

others

·

once a day,

say

that

the

his tefillin.

i n TaT t !n D > o n ji>3î? d iτ nτ o j··dτ>·

:

n 3τ n- m

ο γ· ή: N -τp *y t: >3-» · · Ύ

ι>ηπ "TD . y j i r ò η>> 3>η» rnq n n > 3 i o s » ? rnn 7 5 i i n v >3-»

0 > £ Π Γ Ρ 3 > D*TN

n>)3-|? *13 N 3 N ty NJ>>? NJVÎJpÇ

i n ? n n p - p n a N 3 n ν 9 > > p n*VVì > 3 1 ί ο ν nn>? H i n n n ^

."P3 >Nj? Π)Γ)

,ίη?

inapì

. y a - p a y HÌ n ^ a p ^ j

ÌND •Ito

Rebbi Zeïra in the n a m e of (Rebbi) Abba [bar J e r e m i a h ] should not enter a urinal 1 3 3 with his b o o k s or tefillin Yohanan, w h e n he had a b o o k W h e n his tefillin

in his hand.

:

A person

in his hands.

Rebbi

in his hand he g a v e it to s o m e b o d y else.

w e r e o n him, he stood in t h e m 1 3 5 .

with Abba bar Jeremiah: tefillin

134

132

A baraita

disagrees

A m a n m a y enter a urinal w i t h his b o o k s or

Rebbi Zeïra said:

A b b a bar J e r e m i a h r e f e r s to o n e

case w h e r e he can wear them, and to another case w h e r e he c a n n o t w e a r them136.

For if he cannot perform a mitzwah

w i t h t h e m , w h y s h o u l d he

degrade them? 132

W h i l e all sources h a v e h e r e

Jeremiah". This is also required since

"Rebbi Abba", the continuation shows

the next statement of Rebbi Z e ï r a ,

that one must read "(Rav) Abba bar

unrelated

to t h e

subject

under

190

CHAPTER TWO

discussion, is only q u o t e d b e c a u s e it

134

also is in t h e n a m e of A b b a

book of sermons.

bar

Jeremiah. 133

135

R. Eleazar Askari (followed by

Pene

In t h e Babli (Berakhot

Moshe)

23a), a

The Babli (loc. cit.) r e p o r t s that

Rebbi Y o h a n a n put t h e tefillin

w a n t s to i d e n t i f y t h e

in a

pouch which he k e p t in his hand , not

"house of water" with a toilet since in

that he was w e a r i n g t h e m .

Arabic a toilet is called ksVk n'a "house

Babli does not s p e a k a b o u t a u r i n a l

of w a t e r " , but L. G i n z b u r g a l r e a d y

(with c a n a l i z a t i o n , a f t e r t h e Roman

noted that this is impossible; in t h e

f a s h i o n ) b u t of a t o i l e t , i. e., an

Yerushalmi as in the Babli a toilet is

outhouse.

c a l l e d Koan n'a .

unknown in Babylonia.

(Sanhédrin

In t h e T o s e p h t a

4:8) it is stated that a king,

But t h e

Roman c a n a l i z a t i o n w a s Hence, the

seemingly parallel passages in reality

who has to write f o r himself a Torah

deal with different subjects.

that has to accompany him everywhere

136

(Deut. 17:19), may not t a k e the Torah

in the Babli (loc. cil.) in the n a m e of

with him to the "house of water". This

Rebbi Zera (Zeïra).

rule is quoted in Babli Sanhédrin

This distinction is also reported

If one takes off

21b,

the tefillin in the evening, when t h e r e

in the reading of R. Hananel and ms. ρ,

is not time a n y m o r e to put t h e m on

in the formulation t h a t he t a k e s t h e

afterwards, one must put the tefillin

Torah

a designated bag or chesi so as to treat

with

him

neither

to

the

b a t h h o u s e , nor to t h e t o i l e t , nor to

them

urinate.

disrespect is only authorized if

Hence, t h e t o i l e t a n d t h e

"house of w a t e r " a r e two d i f f e r e n t

with

respect.

in

Temporary tefillin

have to be ready for immediate use.

things.

wpjpn

."pn-pai iriiN

v r o I D > T 3 C £ IJIÌN ι>33ή) v>n r m w í o a

ν η 0 3 ? i D I N Nn»w inN

n y y ç ÍÍIÍN y v N ^ b i

v p D i » ? Ν η > ψ Nirr» I Ç N n v j k

n a p Nin τ \ φ

."pa - p i y

ηψίν r m a \ ? l a v i van

n u n i ? ^ -ion

.vpra

ο ν ή ΝΠΝ ->a i p i > ?

,-πον

n s oi»a

v*

i ? y\¿iin> > 3 1 7 n n ? -13

ni?!? * > r p w dü\? η ç

,ia>

l J J ^ i na\?

,γό ϊψ

191

HALAKHAH 3

First they w e r e giving t h e m 1 3 7 t o others; t h e s e w e r e t a k i n g t h e m and fleeing.

T h e y d e c r e e d that o n e s h o u l d put t h e m in h o l e s in t h e w a l l .

W h e n that incident 1 3 8 happened, they d e c r e e d that a person should e n t e r and k e e p t h e m in his hand. Rebbi Jacob bar A h a 1 3 9 in the n a m e of Rebbi Zeïra said: but o n l y if there is t i m e l e f t during the day to put t h e m o n again.

But if t h e r e is n o t i m e l e f t in t h e d a y t o put t h e m o n , it is

forbidden. For if he cannot perform a mitzwah

with them, w h y should he

degrade them? Maisha (Moses), grandson of R. Joshua ben Levi, said:

He

w h o w a n t s t o d o it right, m a k e s f o r t h e m a pouch the size o f a handbreadth and puts t h e m o n his heart 1 4 0 . What is the reason? ( P s . 16:8): "I put the Eternal always b e f o r e me." There 1 4 1 they say: H e w h o is not like Elisha of the bird's wings should not put o n 137

T h e tefillin,

when s o m e b o d y

tefillin.

relating to a urinal.

was entering a toilet. In the parallel in

140

the Babli (Berakhot 23a), it is not

case of need one can put the tefillin

mentioned that first one had to hand

the pouch and c a r r y them h a n g i n g

the tefillin,

which r e p r e s e n t a con-

under his outer garment, the s t r a p

s i d e r a b l e m o n e t a r y worth, to o t h e r

going around his neck. Since one needs

people.

the pouch a n y h o w f o r s t o r i n g t h e

138

The i n c i d e n t is d e c r i b e d

d e t a i l in t h e Babli (loc.

cit.):

prostitute found a pair of tefillin

A pouch with straps so that in in

in

tefillin during nighttime, the counsel of

A

Rebbi Maishe is only to put the straps

in a

on so that the pouch can be used also

hole near a public toilet, took them,

during daytime.

T h e Babli

(24a)

and b r a g g e d publicly that she had

forbids expressly to have the

received them for her services from a

hanging on its own straps (not those of

certain holy man who then committed

a pouch).

tefillin

suicide as a consequence of the public

141

scandal.

the Babli (Sabbat 49a) reads:

139

A colleague of Rebbi Z e ï r a .

Yannai said: Tefillin need a clean body,

The argument here, relating to a toilet,

like Elisha of the bird's wings." R. Z.

is p a r a l l e l to t h e p r e c e d i n g

Frankel points out that at the start of

one,

In Babylonia.

The p a r a l l e l in "Rebbi

192

CHAPTER T W O

f o l . 4c, t h e Y e r u s h a l m i q u o t e s t h a t

he held in his hands, he said: "a c o u p l e

"Rebbi Y a n n a i s a i d : Tefillin

of bird's wings." When he was o r d e r e d

need a

clean body"; h e n c e , t h e r e f e r e n c e to

to open his hands, two birds f l e w a w a y

Elisha of t h e b i r d - w i n g s is r e a l l y a

and his l i f e w a s s a v e d .

Babylonian addition. T h e story is told

shows again that tefillin

only in t h e Babli, loc. cit., t h a t Elisha

supposed to be larger t h a n a b o u t

w a s w e a r i n g tefillin

of an inch square.)

w h e n , in t h e

a f t e r m a t h of t h e w a r of Bar K o k h b a , w e a r i n g tefillin

(This story

cases w e r e not 3

/gth

The implication of this Babylonian

was a c a p i t a l c r i m e .

ruling is that nobody can b e e x p e c t e d

But he took t h e m off w h e n he saw a

to k e e p his body p e r f e c t l y c l e a n f o r

policeman and kept t h e m in his hands.

v e r y long; h e n c e , tefillin

W h e n t h e p o l i c e m a n a s k e d him w h a t

removed a f t e r prayers.

n^v?"} J i i n a p r i n > a > d i n >31 n j p ^ i

should be

η>ϊρη> n a N a N a i o y > a n - I > w

.inwiy « η ρ

l o w n r o n vty ρ

n a >t>i> n a l i v p w >3-)"τ n > t n ì > >ioip (foi. 4d) N a n N>>n > 3 1 n>> - d o n

π ψ ν ONI .D^

ιοί*

v n i n j v >3*11 N a n

N>>n

. n n a p b y y t > ? » IJUV > 3 1 rrçrn N » i i p £

y u > N ν η ο η ι n>> ~ » ? n

v p > y > 3 p s > N l 133 V>3>N

*ya>o yii>N p t ?

, i m > TIN r t i n p > n>> I O N

. n o ì N p o > y 7 i > OO>N o ^ j a n · » a n ? ρ

N b 01!??

1Ϊ7>3ΝΨ C P P N S T J 1;>N Ì J I I O » ^ 0 > V 7 Ì > D>»NFL >3

- V I V J^N 1>N VITT!?

V?>£>N$ ο > ν ψ " ! Π i ^ N n ç i N j p d>V7ì> D3>N c p j i a r n

.o«n ι » η ρ

>?

. ο > π η i>>mp 1 0 , * 0 3

o > n n i » n î ? i n > » n a î!7>£>NI o > y \ $ h n #

l D > » n a Ì!?>?NV> -»pN»î a>3iDi 7in>ri n o >ri>wy

Ί!?>Ν N £ N ,o>»n i > ? m p

I^jvoa

Π Η n » r i >?•)

. n n n n i n a >PÛON N ^

i^ayi o>p>i3n$

.o>nn

,*ÌON> a p y > > i ρ η > > > ο π η ^ Κ ! ? >nv3V>? ">V>N > η Ν η N M >η>3τιηψ n ç - ^ D J i i a N b

^

^ON

v>np V^N IÇN^

.0?>"1Γ)Ν O3>3A>

Rebbi Zeïra in the name of Rav Abba bar Jeremiah: A person may not enter a cemetery and relieve himself there. 1 4 2

When he did it anyway,

about him the verse says ( P r o v . 17:5) "He w h o makes fun of the poor

193

HALAKHAH 3

blasphemes his Maker." 143

Clarification: The great Rebbi Hiyya and

Rebbi Jonathan 1 4 4 were walking before the bier of Rebbi Simeon bar Yose bar Laqonia when Rebbi Jonathan stepped over his grave. The great Rebbi Hiyya said to him: About that they will say, tomorrow they will be with us but they hurt us. He answered him, do they know anything? Is it not written: (Prov. 9:5) "But the dead do not know anything." He told him: you know how to read, you do not know how to preach. {Prov. 9:5) "The living know that they will die", these are the Just who even in death are considered living; "but the dead do not know anything;" these are the wicked who even in life are called dead. From where that the wicked even in life are called dead? It is said (£z. 18:32) "For I have no pleasure in the death of the dead;" how can a dead person die? But these are the wicked who even in life are called dead. And f r o m where that the Just even in death are considered living? It is written (Deut. 34:4) "And He said to him: This is the land I had sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to tell." Why does the verse say "to tell"? He said to him: go and tell the patriarchs that all I had promised I fulfilled to your descendants after you. 142

T h e c o n n e c t i o n with t h e pre-

graveside sermons a r e unacceptable in

ceding section is that this is a statement

Judaism since the dead can no longer

of Rebbi Ze'ira in t h e n a m e of Rav

have any Torah thoughts.

Abba bar Jeremiah, and it speaks about

144

relieving oneself.

the first generation

143

He who relieves himself in the

s t u d e n t of R. Simeon b a r Yose b a r

cemetery makes fun of the dead two-

Laqonia, a preacher of the last gener-

fold; first he shows his contempt f o r

ation of Tannai'm who was the brother-

the dead and then he does something

in-law of t h e son of R. Simeon bar

that the dead can do no more.

Yohai.

Even

The greatest of the preachers of of

Amorai'm,

194

CHAPTER TWO

oyfcj Π > Ν > : n

'5ΓΙ

JVN·) ,-iw? >?ri

-rcn i o

.!>?)?!?>?

n>N . n v j i w n 19 i j n v m

.ron*

. r o n * qiON

:n>V

o v a pvpyi >:n wrrwrçm linnet

If one connected the letters 145 ; there is a Tanna who stated: it is valid, and there is a Tanna who stated: it is invalid. Rebbi Idi 1 4 6 in the name of Rebbi Simeon in the name of Rebbi Yohanan: He who says it is valid, below; he who said it is invalid, on top. For example, umxsn ,υχηχ . "|jnx is questionable, "imxsn is questionable. 145

One speaks h e r e about writing

tefillin, mezuzot

and Torah scrolls, not

about wearing t h e m .

T h e main dis-

cussion is in Yerushalmi Megillah

completely

written

and

its

foot

accidentally touches the following letter, as with a slightly too long foot

1:9;

of ι in 13, one may s c r a t c h off t h e

h e r e it is quoted since it is somehow

superfluous length and has a complete

connected with the topic of tefillin

acceptable letter.

but

But when a l e t t e r

mainly b e c a u s e it b e l o n g s to a se-

has its head elongated, so that from the

quence of statements by Rebbi Idi in

start the letter was not standing f r e e ,

the name of Rebbi Simeon in the name

then

of Rebbi Yohanan, which belong to the

scratched out and the w r i t i n g has to

topic of prayer.

T h e e x p l a n a t i o n of

start anew. The questionable case is a

this p a r a g r a p h

follows the

situation with a letter that is hanging

p r e t a t i o n of Rashba

inter-

(Solomon

ben

Adrat, Responso, vol. 1, #711).

the entire l e t t e r

has to

be

down below the line, as in t h e combination -|n when the small foot of η

The problem is the legal status of a

meets the d o w n w a r d stroke of η . In

holy text in which two l e t t e r s touch

that case, the n was complete but the "]

one another. The Babli states (Menahot

was not; this case remains unsettled (i.

49a)

e., f o r p r a c t i c a l r u l i n g s b o t h l e t t e r s

that

every

letter

must

surrounded by white parchment.

be The

have to be erased and rewritten.)

Yerushalmi has no equivalent statement

146

but one may assume that it subscribes

Galilean A m o r a in t h e Y e s h i v a h of

to t h e s a m e s t a n d a r d .

Rebbi Ammi. The Rebbi Simeon here

It is a l s o

required that a letter should be written, not carved out.

Hence, if a l e t t e r is

A Babylonian who became a

is Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish.

195

HALAKHAH 3 niai cripta o i n

"Tioy?

ljni>

λ :pr>Nn|3 o > i ? o y n n

y

ÌW*'

VV· » a i

n n ? H2H >?-) I Ö N o y p η ©

R e b b i Idi in t h e n a m e of R e b b i S i m e o n in t h e n a m e of

Rebbi

147

: No m a n should stand at an elevated place and pray. W h a t is

the reason?

Rebbi A b b a the son of R. P a p p a i 1 4 8 said: ( Ρ s. 130:1) " F r o m

Yohanan

the depth I call on You, o Eternal!" 147

These a r e t h e c o r r e c t names,

appearing in the parallel in

Megillah

1:9 and in the Rome ms. here.

The

noi' 'τ ο®3 Ilvo®. 148

It seems that the name must be

"son of Rebbi

Pappai"; t h e G a l i l e a n

parallel in the Babli (Berakhot 10) is

Amora Rebbi Abba lived a generation

aatributed to Rebbi Yose ben R. Hanina

b e f o r e the Babylonian A m o r a

in the name of the Tanna Rebbi Eliëzer

Pappi, one of the successors of Rava.

ben Jacob.

rjn*·)

Venice print: 'Ί3 »vu 'τ

D I N -Titty? N > l i n v >a*ì o w ? liVttw

-ιίηψ

Rav

>i~) - i o n

.!?N-W> q ^ N

V a n n i N ^ v n o>£>>\?n 1 » .!?tap?

o w ? >-PN "pan o y o

o^Çf ON V P î ?

ï y

ION

nn ηψΝ?

.Vî?l? "»ö'Jn NID

Rebbi Idi in the n a m e of Rebbi Simeon in the n a m e of Rebbi Y o h a n a n said: No man should pray when he has an urge to go to the b a t h r o o m 1 4 9 . W h a t is the reason? ( A m o s 4:12) " P r e p a r e yourself b e f o r e Y o u r God, o Israel!" Rebbi Alexandri said: (Eccl. 4:17) "Watch you feet when you go t o God's house"; watch yourself f r o m the drops that drip f r o m b e t w e e n y o u r feet. That means, for urine. But for defecation, if he can b e a r it, let him bear it 1 5 0 .

149

In the Babli (Berakhot 23a) this

Jonathan.

appears as a statement of R. Samuel

(Berakhot

ben Nahmani in the name of Rebbi

150

It is r e a l l y a T o s e p h t a 2:18).

The Babli disagrees and states

196

CHAPTER TWO

that prayer is only permitted when one

the bathroom (about a 70 minutes'

is able to walk 4 mil without going to

walk).

ira ^ Ν3Ν

nçN

T1V1

i > r i - r ç w ? qîwn - n o y ) ΝΠΝ > : η OW? " a * *U a p v ï >3"» - t i n o Νπ^ιψ

n>a !?ί< í o p ? Ν η ^ ψ ρ ywv

η ν γρ?"!? >a*i i o n

JH>V>a

ηίοψ

q i s n p o >γρ . : ρ - α ïï"pp)? >n>

i m > > nvyj n n

Tiyvp inri>)p η ^ ψ ψ c h n η ψ κ

.ma'? .ijijvr?

Rebbi Jacob bar Abbai

151

in the name of Rebbi Aha: (Eccl. 4:17)

"Watch you feet when you go to God's house"; watch yourself when you are called to God's house 152 that you should be pure and innocent. Rebbi Abba said: (Prov. 5:18) "Your fountain shall be blessed", your being called to the grave shall be blessed. Rebbi Berekhiah said (Eccl. 3:1 ): "A time to be born and a time to die", hail to the man whose hour of death is like the hour of his birth; just as at the hour of his birth he was innocent so at the hour of his death may he be innocent. 1S1

An Israeli Amora of the last

generation.

also a statement of R. Samuel bar

His statement is placed

Nahmani in the name of Rebbi Jo-

here since it gives a different inter-

nathan, i. e., of the first generations of

pretation of the last verse quoted

Israeli Amorai'm.

before.

152

In the Babli (loc. cit.) this is

>3*1 .NiP ( n n i N τ τ η τ η

N^JÌ ν η ψ m

>?-η N3> n n i N > o v >31 n > j i v T i i N 3 p i p i oip)?> -mn> n y o ) í o p

I. e., when you die.

íO

fop N^.ipD

hw ν*?

ΝΊίρη

rm>»

Ν!? UOÍN t o w

^Φ^?

•πνφψ

HALAKHAH 4

m

Mishnah 4: He who recited the Shema' and did not make his ear hear, (Rebbi Yehudah says that) 1 5 3 he has fulfilled his obligation, Rebbi Yose says that he has not fulfilled his obligation. If he recited and was not exact in its letters 154 , Rebbi Yose says that he has fulfilled his obligation, Rebbi Yehudah says that he has not fulfilled his obligation. He who reads backwards has not fulfilled his obligation.

If he recited and made a

mistake then he should return to the place of the mistake. In t h e s e p a r a t e Mishnah at the

anonymous s t a t e m e n t , but f i v e lines

start of the chapter (fol. 4a), as well as

further down quotes the Mishnah (firn )

in most Mishnah and Babli manuscripts,

as: 'He who recited the Shema' and did

the words in parenthesis a r e missing.

not make his ear hear has f u l f i l l e d his

However, in some manuscripts both of

o b l i g a t i o n , t h e s e a r e t h e w o r d s of

Mishnah and Babli, the words appear.

Rebbi Yehudah.' One of the editors of

153

that t h e

18th Cent, editions of the Talmud, R.

editors of the Yerushalmi did not read

Joel Sirkes k n o w n as Bah, w a n t s to

the words in parenthesis and, maybe,

cross out the last part of the quote, but

considered the full text as a baraita.

A

the Yerushalmi shows that two versions

similar instance a p p e a r s in the Babli

of the Mishnah did exist and, since it is

(15a) w h e r e the Mishnah is presented

impossible to write two versions at the

It seems f r o m the Halakhah

in this form: He who recited the Shema'

same place, one is quoted as a separate

and did not m a k e his e a r hear has

Mishnah and the other in the text.

f u l f i l l e d his o b l i g a t i o n ,

154

and

the

Gemara two lines later treats this as

>3*η η η π ρ i oτ n ·s s n o- i Ν » η >2-1 tú

ρ

nn p b ì

I. e., h e m i s p r o n o u n c e d

slurred.

,!?(?π>

n ? 7 ? ro^D

, > o v > ·3 -· 0: Π3!?η r mτ n > >2-n TT-: υ ι π V0V

Ν ^

or

>2-»

3*Ï :T n a i n

. n oτ j τi o: d· r oτi >τ n- : >oi>

" ρ ^ ΐ ψ η ? " ! ? ΓΟ^Π a i

ï y p j p ί η υ ν ρ η ? ! ? ΓΟ^Γ) DO>O>

ρ ο ί ο } "VNO r n

to>ο> ow?

Halakhah 4: Rav said: practice follows both of them for leniency 155 . If it were not so, what could one say? An anonymous statement and Rebbi

198

CHAPTER TWO

Yose, practice follows the anonymous 156 . Rebbi Yose and Rebbi Yehudah, practice follows Rebbi Yose 1 5 7 . So why does Rav have to say, practice follows both of them for leniency? Because he had heard Rebbi Hiyya formulating it in the name of Rebbi Mei'r 158 , he has to say that practice follows both of them for leniency. 155

In the Babli (Berakhot 15b), this

Sages and t h e r e f o r e has t h e f o r c e of

is a statement of R e b b i T a b i in t h e

law.

name of Rebbi Josiah; the latter was a

157

s t u d e n t of R e b b i

Babli, Erubin 46b. It follows that the

Yohanan.

The

This is also the position of the

s t a t e m e n t in t h e Babli is a c c e p t e d

statement of Rav seems superfluous.

without discussion because, as Rav Haï

158

Gaon points out in his commentary, the

Mei'r s t a t e s t h a t t h e o b l i g a t i o n of

Talmud previously did establish t h a t

reciting Shema' "is in the mind"; this

the first statement is Rebbi Yehudah's

implies that one does noi have to hear

and, t h e r e f o r e , the question a s k e d in

what he himself is saying.

the Y e r u s h a l m i has no p l a c e in t h e

Mishnah or an e q u i v a l e n t is n e v e r

Babli.

quoted in the name of Rebbi Mei'r, R.

In t h e Babli (loc. cit.),

Rebbi

Since t h e

One may assume that the fact that

Z a c h a r i a h F r a n k e l w a n t s to c o r r e c t

the ruling is attributed to a Babylonian

"Rebbi Mei'r" to "Rebbi Yehudah" and

in the Yerushalmi and to a Galilean in

considers t h e s e c o n d v e r s i o n of t h e

the Babli is intentional, to show that

Mishnah in b o t h T a l m u d i m as t h e

this is the universally accepted practice

Mishnah of Rebbi Hiyya, in contrast to

[necessary,

the

because

in

general

Mishnah

of

Rebbi

that

is

borrowing l e n i e n c i e s f r o m o p p o s i n g

f o r m u l a t e d anonymously.

points of view is frowned upon.]

there is no textual support f o r such a

156

Here, the Yerushalmi uses the

Mishnah w i t h o u t t h e c l a u s e

which

However,

theory. Practice follows Rebbi Yose e v e n

identifies Rebbi Yehudah as the author.

against

An a n o n y m o u s

statement of Rav is necessary f o r the

statement

in

the

Mishnah gives t h e consensus of t h e

Rebbi

Mei'r;

first part of the Mishnah.

hence,

the

199

HALAKHAH 4

>ov >3*1 V7»>n ,>pi> >3i> -ìpiN

>3*11

nio

>»>

n^i

iiw!? ρ ρ ψ η N ^ l V ç y

13W?

i3>ir) >pv >3*1 ->&ν .nvi >pi>

IP

^ri

ronn : n don .ns>

ΐΝψ νγι .νηψ na 3>π;π vnvp >çi> >31"! 133-1 vv>?

>317

>no ,rm*»n te iNy) κ>η >ιπ N>n >pi> >3ΎΤ nino 11 -inn /•OD?

nç

lypv» .vnì^n!?

'pi 1

It was stated: "He w h o did pray 1 5 9 and did not make his ear hear did fulfill his obligation." For whom do w e need that? which statement of Rebbi Yose? recites the Shema'

For Rebbi Y o s e !

For

For that which w e have stated: " H e w h o

and did not m a k e his ear hear has f u l f i l l e d his

obligation, Rebbi Y o s e says that he has not f u l f i l l e d his obligation." Mattanah 1 6 0 said: That formulation is Rebbi Yose's.

Rav

Rebbi Y o s e 1 6 1 said:

W e could be of the opinion that the rabbis and Rebbi Y o s e disagree only about Shema'

since there it is written: "hear!", but not about any other

obligations. Since Rav Mattanah said "that formulation is Rebbi Yose's", it is the same f o r all obligations.

W h a t is the reason of Rebbi Y o s e ?

(Ex.

15:26) "Bend your ear to His commandments", your ears should hear what your mouth says. 159

T h e thrice daily Amidah

160

This

paragraph

and

prayer. the

o b l i g a t i o n of r e a d i n g the Megillah

if

fol-

one d o e s not hear w h a t he himself is

l o w i n g d o not really b e l o n g here, they

saying. Hence, the general consensus in

r e f e r to the Mishnah Megillah

Megillah

2:4: " T h e

insane, the d e a f and dumb, and minors cannot read the Megillah

( f o r others)".

of

is i d e n t i c a l w i i h the o p i n i o n

Rebbi

practice,

Yose

in

therefore,

The

Berakhot. should

follow

Rav Mattanah notes that, obviously, one

Rebbi Y o s e f o r s t r i n g e n c y , in contrast

does not mean a deaf and dumb person

to R a v ' s s t a t e m e n t in t h e

w h o cannot talk, but a deaf person w h o

paragraph.

cannot hear.

Since the Mishnah

is

anonymous, it must be the consensus of the Sages that o n e cannot f u l f i l l t h e

161

The

A m o r a , one of

preceding

the

pilers of the Jerusalem Talmud,

com-

200

CHAPTER TWO

.Γφη>

-içn

NJV3JU3

.N>n ytty

i n ^ n

.Vinn I N ?

Ν ^ τ ρ η 3 7 -IION

n>îtt D i o n e a Nipn 37 ni>7 N7?t>o>p >pi> >37 i ç n

,·>ρν

ï y lia >373 >pi> >37 ION ,Ν>Π ->OV >3*17 ΝΤΟΠ a i own N3>?n >37 ON

NJV3J1 N'b]

N31>>P7j2

NJW>)?n

13>3ΓΙ7

>a-?7 Ν>Π7 Λ)ΟΤ)>Ν

njvari N^i N3j>>nnN NJW>>?D l^aïi ΝΠΙ .nipmjp îrDomj? VNV> o m ,N>n >pi> >377 in>n 7910 ΝΠ ODßV R a v Hisda said: T h e deaf and d u m b person is not m e n t i o n e d , it is a f o r m u l a . 1 6 2 Then the Mishnah might be Rebbi Yehudah's. Rebbi Y o s e 1 6 3 said: It is reasonable to think that Rav Hisda c o n c e d e s that the s t a t e m e n t f r o m Terumot

is f r o m Rebbi Y o s e 1 6 4 .

Rabbi H a n i n a said in the n a m e of

Rav Hisda, this o n e is by Rebbi Yose. Rebbi Y o s e bar Rebbi A b u n said: It must be said that that o n e is Rebbi Y o s e ' s s i n c e w e h a v e stated the first f i v e cases and did not include it 1 6 5 , because their terumah

is n o

terumah.

Then w e h a v e stated the f i v e later o n e s and did not include it. S o in the end y o u must say, that o n e is by Rebbi Y o s e 1 6 6 .

162

Since in all legal m a t t e r s the

person of sound mind can consecrate

insane, the deaf and dumb, and minors

terumah.

The first Mishnah in tractate

are equally incapacitated, the people

Terumot

reads:

who had to m e m o r i z e "insane and

people cannot consecrate terumah

"Five c a t e g o r i e s of and

the

if they did it anyhow, their actions are

phrase in their memories to "insane,

null and void: the deaf and dumb, the

deaf and dumb, and minors". After this

insane, minors, one who is not t h e

correction, the Mishnah in

owner, and a non-Jew."

minors" a u t o m a t i c a l l y c h a n g e d

Megillah

The sixth

may well be Rebbi Yehudah's.

Mishnah then reads: "Five categories

163

The Amora.

of p e o p l e s h o u l d

Terumah, the heave, is the first

terumah (since a priori it requires the

gift of grain to the Cohen f r o m the

recitation of a benediction) but if they

new harvest. There is no amount fixed

did it anyhow their actions are valid:

for terumah in the Pentateuch; it must

the speechless, the drunk, the naked,

be c o n s e c r a t e d e x p l i c i t l y .

the blind, those impure by emission of

164

Only a

noi

consecrate

201

HALAKHAH 4 semen." In between it is explained that

Terumot, explaining that the deaf who

win means a deaf and d u m b p e r s o n

is able to speak can give terumah,

who is not legally capable of acting but

to be formulated separately and could

has

that the deaf who can talk belongs to

not be included in the sixth Mishnah

the same category as the second group

since the first and sixths Mishnayot a r e

of five.

Rebbi Yose's who will o b j e c t to t h e

165

inclusion of the deaf-but-not-speechless

The case of the deaf who is able

in the second group.

to speak. 166

Hence, the second Mishnah in

USO

.m T n>? 0 9 7 1 N I

.qiic? η ψ ν ->ψΝΙ Ν Π Ν m

These need careful attention: bësâdëkhà,

waävadtem

mëhëfâh,

ty

In the Babli (Berakhot

, ρ ν τ ρ τ i n * t>H

ο ν ή Μ>3Γ) >3"» , η ρ ο ? ^ al-lëvàvëkhâ, hakkänäph

Rebbi H a n i n a in the n a m e of Rebbi Aha: âser 167

^

>319

al-lëvavkhem, petti,

nisBa'

etkhem

ésev mèerez167.

ädonayiM.

15b) this

t e c h n i c a l t e r m n m D "logically con-

list is an appendix by Rava to a baraita

sistent" in the Babli a p p e a r s as l a m o

stating that in reciting the Shema' one

"connected" in Y e r u s h a l m i Peah

has to d i f f e r e n t i a t e between identical

fol.l6d. It does not m a k e any sense to

sounds. There is no problem with the

derive i n n o f r o m Aramaic "inn "pale".

words in Shema' where final and initial

Hence, Galilean Ί3Π» sounded n i n a in

1 and m clash.

Babylonian ears. (Possibly both 3 and 3

More of a problem is

the clash of soft and hard s ,3 .

The

2:1,

were pronounced as "b" in Babylonia,

late Prof. Y. Kutscher pointed out that

as they still a r e

in classical Arabic t h e r e is a tendency

Jews from Arabic speaking countries.)

to pronounce f b as bb Studies

in North-Western

[Contemporary Semitic,

today in dialects of

It is less certain but still possible that Β was pronounced "p-h" rather than "f".

Journal of Semitic Studies 10(1965) pp.

168

21-51, see p. 30] but it seems clear at

hard glottal sound similar to Arabian

least for 3 which, under the influence of the G r e e k t h a t was t h e common v e r n a c u l a r , in G a l i l e e b o t h 3 and 3 were pronounced "v". For example, the

In Biblical times, ν (') was a

Arabic ^ but in Talmudic times it was either silent (see the next p a r a g r a p h ) or very weak so that there was (almost) a double vowel a.

202

CHAPTER TWO

*1)0» Ν>7 ,^ψίη Í O t a i *1ÌN N ^ f tyb

t j n s ~>VV .non

Ν>νψίη >?-> OW? ίΟ>3Γ) "13 !7ΝίΟψ >3*1

0\J» Ν ρ ϊ 1 3 N 3 N > 3 Ί OW? » i n >3*1 >-

!> '3-1 D û ? na>rn nwiiy.

^Ί

K1Ì3Ì 1ÍN

>31

i!?!pn οψ -iç»

>3 pnnl? p - u « n o n 3 1 o w ? n ì v >3-1

>331? V ? W V V

N ^ ì 1>33>n Η Ϊ Π 3 > η η

yatà ρ π η } m ^ ì ®

VN

.ΊΓπη TfTì^ i3i\y> n>n ON ."PNN VJ'in vn>n i>jvn pwiy Rebbi Samuel bar Hanina in the name of Rebbi Hoshaiah 169 : "He Who forms light and creates darkness170"; one should not say: "He Who forms light and creates radiance." Rebbi Haggai 171 in the name of Rebbi Abba bar Zavda 172 : "There they sang for You173", one should not say: "There they praised You". Rebbi Levi, Rebbi Eudaimon 174 of Haifa, in the name of Rebbi Levi bar Sisi175: one has to pronounce tizkeru

voiced 1 7 6 . Rebbi Jonah in the

name of Rav Hisda: one has to pronounce ki lë'ôlâm hasdô voiced 1 7 7 . It was stated: One does not take as reader anyone from Haifa, Beth Sheän or Tiv'on since they read Π like

178

Π and y like R If his pronunciation was

orderly, it would be permitted 179 . 169

A Babylonian, s t u d e n t of Rav

makes peace and creates all" to soften

Y e h u d a h and Rav Huna, w h o l a t e r

the language.

emigrated to Israel and became student

t h a t one m a y n o t go so f a r as t o

of Rebbi Yohanan.

eliminate the mention of darkness, in

170

This is the beginning of the first

b e n e d i c t i o n b e f o r e t h e Shema',

it

a p p e a r s h e r e in t h e c o n t e x t of t h e recitation of Shema'.

T h e language is

Rebbi Hoshaiah notes

t h e w o r d s of t h e B a b l i ( 1 2 a )

"to

mention night at day and day at night", to negate any Zoroastrian dualism, 171

A Babylonian who went to study

that of the verse (Is. 45:7) "He W h o

in Tiberias.

forms light and creates darkness,

172

m a k e s p e a c e and c r e a t e s evil."

t e m p o r a r i l y in Babylonia; he was a

In

A Galilean who went to study

prayer, the v e r s e is c h a n g e d to "He

chief a u t h o r i t y in G a l i l e e a f t e r t h e

Who forms light and creates darkness,

death of Rebbi Yohanan. Both authors

203

HALAKHAH 4 mentioned here were familiar with the

"you shall dam up", n a ® n "you shall

Babylonian prayer ritual.

hire", and even, under the influence of

173

Greek, which knows no sh sound, nawn

In Halakhah 1:9, the Yerushalmi

quotes t h e B a b y l o n i a n version of a

"you will get drunk".

short b e n e d i c t i o n a f t e r Shema':

177

"We

It is not clear why one should

thank You t h a t You took us out of

p r o n o u n c e i i o n w i t h a s o f t s.

Egypt and redeemed us from the house

Zachariah Frankel notes that the two

of slavery to thank Your Name".

Aramaic verbs ion hàsad "to be loving"

Babli (14b) has t h e

The

corresponding

and i o n hassad

R.

"to insult, d e g r a d e "

Galilean version: "We thank You that

d i f f e r in t h e q u a l i t y of its s sound;

You

and

hence, one has to take care that "truly,

redeemed us from the house of slavery,

His k i n d n e s s is f o r e v e r " should not

did for us wonders and great deeds on

sound

the sea, and we sang f o r You".

The

forever". It seems that while i should

version "There they praised You" seems

not really sound like z, c a r e has to be

took

us o u t

of

Egypt

as " t r u l y , His i n s u l t i n g

is

to be an a l t e r n a t i v e Babylonian f o r m

taken not to m a k e it sound like

that is r e j e c t e d h e r e (since it is not a

Maybe the same d i f f e r e n c e was once

proper i n t r o d u c t i o n to t h e r e q u i r e d

heard between Hebrew ion I "to show

recitation of Ex. 15:11,19.

kindness" and ion II "to insult."

In l a t e r

ss.

times, the Israeli standard introduction

178

to these verses was na-i nnnwa nna nWa

ciation t r e a t e d η l i k e hh u n t i l

D^ia ποκν, retained in the Ashkenazic

m i d d l e of t h e s i x t e e n t h

service on holiday nights.)

Under the influence of Polish, which in

174

An

of

the

pronunthe

Century.

second

contrast to German has only one ch-

Ευδαίμων

sound, Ashkenazic pronunciation lost

"fortunate" shows t h a t t h e pronoun-

the difference between π (A) and a (kh).

ciation of G r e e k in his t i m e was as

In all other Jewish dialects, the prob-

today, that υ = f = a .

lem is not the identificai ion of n,a but

175

of π,π .

generation.

Amora

Western Ashkenazic

His n a m e

Levi w h o u s u a l l y is q u o t e d

y is lost in all A s h k e n a z i c

without title or patronymic.

pronunciations; it is retained in Italian

176

and Portuguese Hebrew as ng.

Since voiced ζ (r) and voiceless s

(d,b) are similar sounds, care is needed to d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n n a m

(Num.

15:40) "you shall remember" and n a o n

179

If he makes an e f f o r t and tries

to realize the d i f f e r e n c e , even if he does not quite succeed.

204

CHAPTER TWO

>3*1 Ν "TN 1 1 mnpai

α ϊ Ν3ΓΙ "VON Γφ> >3")

Ν>

N l l p i l .NpV>fl

«JN >3ΓΙ ,ιπ> iri>>)q r j - m v m N a o i n o ? ΝΪΓΙ IOÌN >ρί>

N e w Section.

He w h o reads b a c k w a r d s 1 8 0 has not f u l f i l l e d his

obligation. Rebbi Jonah said that Rav Nahman bar Ada 1 8 1 stated, Rebbi Yose said that Nahman the Old stated, (Deut. 6:6) "They shall be", they shall be unaltered 1 8 2 . We have stated: The same holds for Η allei and the reading of the Esther scroll. 180

Reading sentences out of order;

"Nahman the Old", to distinguish him

reading words out of o r d e r is clearly

from later

useless since it makes no sense.

Nahman.

181 el.

A Babylonian, student of SamuHe p r o b a b l y is i d e n t i c a l

m\p>?

with

182

Amor aim

Taking the verb

ηί-ιντ> 13^ n ^ >> '

called

"to be" in

the sense of "to exist".

V?? N ^ n ? 0 1 5 , ο η π ρ ? n a a > n : n r f c n p n

Ν*Π l i v I H N »an n ç N n3>n

also

J?n n ç

νγι>?

* o w i?!?ìn>p iNia>? η ν «rçrçi JIN*} . " n o n ï y r n i O N

m n > > D ' J i i a p a 10 i i P N .rvwon nio>!? >>ip j i n * ν ο ψ ' >? >ri?nN .to'jn . h u í -pjiyl? r u w >!?N . m ç i This is fine for the Esther scroll since it is written there (Esther 9:27): "As they are written" 1 8 3 . But for H allei, since it is written (Ρ s. 113:3): "From sunrise to sunset, may the name of the Eternal be praised?" 1 8 4 What can you understand from that? Rebbi Abun said: It also is written in order. (Ρ s. 114:1) "When Israel left Egypt" in the past. (Ρ s. 115:1) "Not for us, o Eternal, not for us" in the present 1 8 5 . ( Ρ s. 116:1) "I loved, truly the Eternal listened to my voice" in the days of the Messiah. ( Ρ s. 118:27) "Bind the holiday sacrifice with ropes" in the days of Gog and Magog 1 8 6 . (Ps. 118:28) "You are my God" in the future world.

205

HALAKHAH 4 183

hostile

The verse reads: "The Jews con-

governments

or

to

the

firmed and accepted for themselves,

sufferings preceding the coming of the

not to be cancelled, that they would

Messiah. That may be the meaning of

observe these two days as they

the sentence here also.

are

Alternatively,

and it its time, e v e r y single

the psalm is interpreted t h e r e as the

year." Hence, the scroll must be read

song of Hananiah, Mishacl and Azariah

as it is written.

in the fiery oven.

184

186

written

Since t h e r e is no d i f f e r e n c e

In the celebration after the final

between East and West, there should

d e f e a t of t h e f o r c e s of evil.

be no d i f f e r e n c e between before and

Midrash

after.

the day the Eternal made, let us rejoice

Tehillim,

In

Ps. 118:24 "This is

detailed

and be happy on it" is taken to describe

parallel passage in the Babli (Pesahim

the time when one can be sure that the

118a), this sentence is applied by Rebbi

deliverance will not be f o l l o w e d by

Yohanan either to the oppression by

another oppression.

185

In t h e much m o r e

ÏY NRNN N^>3NN ΓΙΝ PPJIRRÇ» »O IN

13 VWIRP »AN OW? ΝΠΝ

ϊ ψ irav> η ύ ί ι η Ν η i m n ? ν»ψ·) r m i w í o n i i i : m vy^i . w r a w j i ru-» n y i J•i > ·a n Miipav»

. i 3 »··t ?:nτ na-» i ì t τò:n- ì: τ : Ρ"!?} νηψ

ne?

nyi

ì^n

. î j î•·j n jτ « b • n τr :ò -o τ

υ π ^ Ρ q j v a η?? u n p i s

^

.«!?τ

w j ·n· •i v i î i:

.up*?* u n p n v 3 p n

τ

·

τ

;pa w»>n ,u>»p y p n

t j j ^ n η ^ τ nD-ìW

pn^?

.iDin? w s - p

o ' J i i í o a n i NJVÎ^O n>yjw>N i ? N»-)p >yjw>N7

Rebbi Aha in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: composed this prayer

nipn

"p-w J i v y s w n i οϊρ>3

« V î W rp*i>a

. i D i n a W i n i w j n > j i y νηψ

c p J i o g y n >vHp

.nina

ní>p^n

187

Also he who

composed it in good order. The first three and

the last three are the praise of the Omnipresent, the middle ones are the needs of the creatures. Give us knowledge. You gave us knowledge 1 8 8 , accept our repentance. You accepted our repentance, forgive us. You forgave us, save us. You saved us, heal our diseases. You healed our

206

CHAPTER TWO

d i s e a s e s , b l e s s o u r years.

Y o u b l e s s e d o u r y e a r s , g a t h e r us in.

gathered us in, judge us in justice. w h o arise against us. 1 8 9 us 1 9 0 .

You

Y o u judged us in justice, s u b d u e t h o s e

Y o u s u b d u e d t h o s e w h o arise a g a i n s t us, j u s t i f y

Y o u justified us, build Y o u r h o u s e , listen t o o u r s u p p l i c a t i o n s , b e

pleased w i t h us in it. Is it necessary after "build Y o u r house," listen t o o u r supplications, b e p l e a s e d w i t h us in i t 1 9 1 ?

But as t h e v e r s e is, s o is t h e

tradition (Is. 56:7): "I shall bring t h e m t o M y h o l y m o u n t a i n , m a k e t h e m happy in M y h o u s e of prayer. 1 9 3 "

187

The week-day 18 benedictions

of the Amidah.

Another derivation is

in law" that belongs to the benediction before the previous one, not to t h e one

given in the following paragraph.

for the elders (and all) of Israel and the

188

converts which follows a f t e r

The entire list should be read as

the

a conditional: Assuming that You gave

imprecation against apostates.

us k n o w l e d g e ( f o u r t h b e n e d i c t i o n ) ,

191

p l e a s e a c c e p t our r e p e n t a n c e ( f i f t h

building of Jerusalem and the Temple,

benediction).

the

T h i s is p a r t i c u l a r l y

evident in t h e second p a r t , s t a r t i n g

After a prayer

for the

re-

p r a y e r s f o r a c c e p t a n c e of t h e

prayer and the hope that our service be

from the prayer for good years, which

for

is a p r a y e r

and

superfluous since acceptance of prayer

therefore f u t u r e oriented even though

and God's pleasure are guaranteed in

the f o r m u l a t i o n h e r e is in t h e past

the Temple.

tense.

192

189

for

redemption

God's

pleasure

may

seem

As usual, the main argument is

While the benediction against

the part of t h e verse not q u o t e d : "I

apostates was introduced at Jabneh and

shall bring them to My holy mountain,"

the rest of the Amidah is an institution

corresponds

of the Men of the Great Assembly, its

Jerusalem, "make t h e m h a p p y in My

place was chosen in the spirit of those

house of prayer" c o r r e s p o n d s to t h e

who first formulated the prayer.

s u p p l i c a t i o n f o r a c c e p t a n c e of o u r

190

prayer, "their holocausts and sacrifices

This is the text of the Rome and

to

the

prayer

for

the

for pleasure on my altar ", corresponds

L e y d e n m a n u s c r i p t and t h e V e n i c e

to the prayer for God's pleasure. There

G e n i z a h m a n u s c r i p t s , not l i k e

print which have OBwna u p i x "justify us

207

HALAKHAH 4 is no benediction for the restitution of

prayer for Jerusalem; see the next

the dynasty of David here since in

paragraph.

Israeli practice this was part of the

J i * « > p j ? n D>N>3? n o ? · ) o > 3 i o y o ^ p i o>3p^ ο η ψ ν " ! ΓΙΝΟ η>ρη? >3-» -»ÇN i v i n p n - ) o y j ï y n ^ n n Ί 3 ί η > v m p n i?Nn } i o p > i h n n j a i lioyri

nyn

.ib nan")

i>3> i 3 a > i

nn>>p

.niì?o>

.n3>3 n n >yir> η>*τη n r m j 3 > π ρ n o " m y ^ n i>3>y!

>:? w r ù N

. n m n n£>?rin .3py> v m p UN

v i m i rrçn o j / n a >

ι η ο η η η >'> !?n 3iw>·) n n > > p > n a w ^ i

.>?>?n n r w p t J N ì J n > ? > N t o n r r t o > n a i n n > ? > 3 i i y _ ; o } D > i © n ^ N i î l i ^ p ^ n n n >33>3 ΝΠΝ >3*1 *Ï0N OW3 r m > >3")

. n > v > 3 ^ 3 ΗΪΗ

N>n n>y>3y) n v w

νκψ

(foi. 5a) n3>v¿ n i * >>

>3>n >3") I O N D\{i ì y

ïHyy?

.>107)7 0>>ίΠ N S n 7)?N>1 τι>ν>3ψ nieven

.n>y>3V>3

n w

>3ί

^Νψ iy>"Pn>

.>?>ογ>> Ν>ηψ η £ > ρ η - τ } } ? η>3>ον n ^ - n o > b i n N?i-» w p w

ο > 3 ψ η n ? - ) 3 i p p j ^ n n o >337 i o n *ii3v>> -r>ny x i n v

.o>»nn î d n n j v n >jv*i3

. ο > η κ - o î y ) >'> ! ? i p τ » : ? n>y>v>j} n D - j 3

*Π.3)? l i O O > ÌNT n o Ν3>3Γ) 7 3 ΝΠΝ >37 OW3 >1} >37 INVITI DD>"»?1

0 ? 3 3 y ί?Ν7τψ> η η D3J1K") OV) Î7JJ

L>Y3?3 VITN ΗΨΝ? VRN·) NI>!?AN I33PJP3 ^ψΐ . o n t y > 3 ? 0 3 o v v i ^Ψί >33 1 3 W > 7 Π Κ

,D>'?WTI> H3Í33 7VT

J e r e m i a h said:

.D>")VV

>073 >(3i

1 1 7 P >D NO£ .!?ÍO^> >OÜ> ^V

O'OPV o r n a r v i

, D > p > 7 ^ Π 0 3 Ρ 3 D>3p^

,D3>0 Τ Ι ! 193Rebbi

no

0>75

OO^D^^ >> ΓΙΝ 1V)p31

1 2 0 elders, a m o n g them m o r e than

80

prophets, instituted this prayer. W h y did they follow "the holy G o d " 1 9 4 by "He W h o f a v o r s with knowledge"?

B e c a u s e (Is. 2 9 : 2 3 - 2 4 ) " t h e y s a n c t i f y

t h e H o l y O n e o f J a c o b " is f o l l o w e d by "and those of e r r i n g spirit will k n o w insight."

" K n o w l e d g e " f o l l o w e d by " R e p e n t a n c e " , (Is. 6 : 1 0 ) " M a k e

208

CHAPTER TWO

fat the heart of this people, make it hard of hearing and its eyes sticky, that it should not see with its eyes, nor hear with its ears, nor understand with its heart, because if it would repent then it would be healed." "Repentance" by "Forgiveness", (Is. 55:7) "He should return to the Lord that He would have mercy on him, and to our God because He forgives much." "Forgiveness" by "Redemption", (Ps. 103:2-3) "He Who forgives all your sins, He Who hears all your maladies, He Who redeems your soul from destruction." Then he should say "Healer of the sick" before that 1 9 5 . Rebbi Aha said: why did they institute "Redeemer of Israel" as the seventh benediction? To teach you that Israel will be redeemed only in a Seventh Year 196 . Rebbi Jonah in the name of Rebbi Aha: (Ps. 126) "A song of ascent. When the Eternal will return the returnees of Zion" is the seventh song, to show you that Israel will be redeemed only in a Seventh Year. Rebbi Hiyya bar Abba said: Why did they institute "Healer of the sick" as the eighth benediction? That is for circumcision which is done on the eighth, following (Maleachi

2:5) "My covenant was with him: Life" 1 9 7 .

Rebbi Alexander said: Why did they institute "He Who blesses the years" as the ninth benediction? Corresponding to (Ps. 29:5) "The sound of the Eternal breaks cedars", since in the f u t u r e He will break all m a r k e t manipulators 198 . Rebbi Levi in the name of Rebbi Aha bar Hanina: Why did they follow "He Who blesses the years" by "Ingatherer of the dispersed of Israel"? Because of (£z. 36:8) "you, mountains of Israel, sprout your branches and carry your fruits for my people Israel", why? "because they will soon come." When the dispersed are gathered in then justice will be done, the evildoers will succumb, and the just will be happy 1 9 9 . It was stated: One includes the apostates and the wicked in "He Who subdues the evildoers", the converts and the elders in "refuge of the just", David in

209

HALAKHAH 4

"Builder of Jerusalem" 200 .

(Hosea 3:5) "Then the children of Israel will

repent, seek the Eternal, their God, and their king David. 201 " A p a r a l l e l with slightly d i f -

split an alphabetic acrostich between

ferent t r e a t m e n t of t h e e n t i r e para-

Psalms 9 and 10 is t h e Y e r u s h a l m i

graph appears in Babli M e gill ah 17b-

tradition which, t h e r e f o r e , cannot use

18a.

the verse quoted in the Babli.

193

194

T h e t h i r d b e n e d i c t i o n of the

Amidah.

What follows is a description

199

This describes benedictions 10-

13. The wicked a r e Gentile govern-

of the benedictions of the w e e k - d a y

ments that o p p r e s s t h e J e w s .

Amidah.

evildoers are Jewish evildoers.

195

200

Since in the verse r e d e m p t i o n

The

This is today t h e p r a c t i c e of

comes a f t e r healing. (Redemption here

Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews.

is personal redemption; redemption of

Babylonian practice was not to mention

the people is described by benedictions

the restoration of the Davidic dynasty

9-14).

in the benediction for Jerusalem, but to

196

A Seventh Year (shemittah) in a

Jubilee cycle.

make

it a s e p a r a t e

The

benediction

The "seventh song" in

preceding the f i n a l b e n e d i c t i o n "He

the next sentence is the seventh of the

Who hears prayer". Only the Yemenite

songs of ascent.

ritual f o l l o w s the strict Babylonian

197

The

Covenant

refers

to

circumcision. 198

style; the o t h e r Jewish groups pray twice for the Davidic dynasty, once in

Manipulators of prices of basic

the Yerushalmi f o r m of "Builder of

c o m m o d i t i e s who a r e c o m p a r e d to

Jerusalem" and then in the Babylonian

cedars for their (financial) strength. In

form "He Who makes sprout the horn

t h e Babli, R. A l e x a n d e r q u o t e s

of salvation".

10:15, w h i c h Rashi's) count

in B a b y l o n i a n was Ps.

9:36

Ps. (and

201

and,

tremble for the Eternal

The verse concludes: "They will and

His

therefore, is appropriate for the Ninth

Goodness at the End of Days", referring

benediction. Our texts of Psalms which

to Messianic times.

210

CHAPTER TWO

Ν»?)?? ι» ν *

. η ' ο ψ τ π n i d Ν»>η ρ

in>\í>)3> TOD n w i v ) N)?v\? '"»»SN

p i s nn>y>>? Í O > » ι η κ η ρ κ Ν)3ίΠ?ΓΙ >3") I ^ N

ιητ

. D ^ V ' "T"!7 N f f l

The Rebbis say: This King Messiah, if he is from the living, his name is David. If he is from the dead, his name is David. Rebbi Tanhuma said: I am declaring the reason (Ρ s. 18:51) "He gives kindness to His anointed, to David. 202 ' 202

T h e previous discussion e n d e d

historical David in Messianic times.

with the v e r s e f r o m H o s e a , w h i c h

The Babylonian Talmud points out that

indicates that in Messianic times all

a p r i n c e is less t h a n a k i n g a n d ,

t w e l v e t r i b e s will s e e k t h e i r k i n g

therefore, the new King Messiah will

David; it is clear that Hosea talks about

have the status of a Roman Augustus

the Messiah and calls him David. This

whereas t h e r e s u r r e c t e d David will

gives rise to an insertion about the

occupy t h e p o s i t i o n of C a e s a r , or

Messiah in this and the next paragraph.

Crown Prince.

The second argument is more ex-

In any case, t h e next

paragraph makes is quite clear that the

98b,

Messiah was born on the d a y of t h e

w h e r e f o r t h e f i r s t c a s e a verse in

destruction of the T e m p l e and that,

Jeremiah (30:9) is cited: "They shall

therefore, nobody with a recorded date

serve the Eternal, their God, and their

of birth can e v e r be c o n s i d e r e d as

king David whom I shall r a i s e f o r

Messiah. There is no reason to believe

them" w h i c h also is w r i t t e n in t h e

that the Babli would disagree with this

future tense. The second case, that the

conclusion. In addition, Maimonides in

original David will be resurrected as

his Letter to Yemen is quite a d a m a n t

Messiah, is based on a verse in Ezechiel

that the Messiah can only appear in the

(34:24) "I, the Eternal, shall be for them

Land of Israel and must be a political

their God, and My servant David prince

figure.

plicit in t h e Babli, Sanhédrin

in their midst", seems to r e f e r to t h e

211

HALAKHAH 4 o m p - i ç n 1 3 » n >317 n n ? y i v >37 . ί η ψ n n * n ^ a ^ i n ? ν ι η ι η>:>3ψιη >>>>? n V ) i n ? η ) η N ^ y ^ » ν >317

>377

Τ!^

: ρ τ ί η n y > h n v -13 >n*tv - α n>> - i ç n .τύρΎ ν η ψ ι

.Dn3)p η>ηψ η© n>> ι ώ ν

TTV3 yo n>> η η κ V73>

ion v i n i

r i y p 3 n n n >71 ο > κ ρ n i n i w i n ?

*ÌÌO(3 >N7Ì> 1 3 >N7V "13 n>> DON n>> i o n

ίηψ

"»©Ι o n j p k ì d

-τη l a y >inip η > τ η ί π riyi i n n ΝΓ17

>i> 13 y\ihn> >37

>

.Kin i n

n>>

n»p^n η>> d o n >131*7 η>ηψ n o i

"τ 3ϋη>Ν | >iîp?p V 3 ì ì

n>»>N VIJpN Ν » ψ ? 7

Jl>3

.Nn>yp ί ο > η i>>> u n i 73p?p n l o p ì

,

1>>ιηι Nfl-ji? N i n n > *?)>η t y

DNJ

V3ì

.ηιιη> o n > n>37 > o > ç

. n > n p NR931 n > n p ;?>»y N i n i > p i 5 » » > ·Π53ί N^ D 0 ? 0 7 n>3>N·) 1J3Î

n>iìp?0>n N3N N>>V3

.7-J3!?

n>S>07 rö i o n

3ΠΟ > Ν T>>>JVN7 NOÌ>37 ΐ?ίοψ>7 l i n w ç

n ^ Man

. p o n ? >> ji>> n>> n*i>?N .>>;>3Jin n > > : m i 3 n n n > > n ; n

>J1N N)Ni >Ol> -ΙΓΙ3 V I ηι τ )?Ν .*r>ay 7>pw>>n i n o >37 *içn

DD?)?! n>ö>N ΟΠ3)?7

TfOlp Jl>> 1>N Π>> V ? ? ^ >Π»Ν 7>> ΓΙ9?>Ν Π01 *v?n N j n p N i n n >

vpv i m

,3>Ji3i

,>>7> i n n>i>?\?01 n>>iy>Ni v o n i i j i n >ίη>»ηι κ η ν ν i o n>>

,!?i3> T>7i n i N i n

ι ο ρ » n ^ i n ^ n >37yn i » -τίη>> υ"? n o 113 ,>ψ> yn>? - i p i n ns>i n n . r a 3 > j p n o

Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, his name is Zemah. Rebbi Yudan, the son of Rebbi Aivu, said his n a m e is M e n a h e m 2 0 3 .

Hanina the son of Rebbi

Abbahu said: they have no disagreement since the numerical value of one is the numerical value of the other: Zemah is equal to Menahem 2 0 4 . Since Rebbi Yudan the son of Rebbi Aivu said, it happened to a Jew w h o was plowing in the valley of Arbel 2 0 5 that his ox was bellowing.

An A r a b

passed by and heard the bellowing of the ox. He said to him: Jew, Jew, unharness your ox, unharness y o u r p l o w 2 0 6 because the T e m p l e was

212

CHAPTER TWO

destroyed. The ox bellowed a second time. He said: Jew, Jew, harness your ox, fix your plow because King Messiah has been born. He said to him: What is his name? Menahem. He said to him: What is his father's name? Hizqiah. He said to him: Where is he? He said to him: At the king's palace in Bethlehem in Judea. He went and sold his ox and plow and made himself a vendor of baby linens. He went to towns and left towns until he came to that town. All the women bought f r o m him but the mother of Menahem did not buy.

He heard the w o m e n say:

Menahem's mother, Menahem's mother, come and buy for your son! She said: I would rather strangle him like a hater of Israel because he was born on the day the Temple was destroyed. He said to her: I like him, because for him it was destroyed and for him it will be rebuilt. She said to him, I have no money. He said to her, that does not bother me, come and buy for him! If you have nothing with you today, I shall return another day and I will take it then. After some time he went up to that town and said to her: How is your baby doing? She said to him: After you had seen me there came storms and raised him and tore him from my hands 207 . Rebbi Abun said: We do not need to learn f r o m that Arab, is it not a full verse (Is. 10:35): "The Lebanon will fall through a noble one"? 208 And the next verse is (11:1) "A sprout will come from the stem of Jesse." 203

The parallel to the entire para-

will restore my spirit."

graph is in Midrash Ekha rabbati 1(57).

204

The verse of R. Joshua ben Levi is

40+50+8+40.

Zach. 6:12: "Behold, a man of the name

205

of Zemah, he will sprout from below

ms. and Genizah fragments; the valley

and build the Eternal's temple."

The

of Arbel is West of Tiberias.

verse of Rebbi Yudan is Threni

1:16:

"Behold, far from me is Menahem who

138. n ó i = 9 0 + 4 0 + 8 , óniñ =

This is the reading of the Rome

The

place name is missing in the Leyden ms. and the Venice print.

213

HALAKHAH 4 206

ι ρ φ usually means a pitcher or a

bottle, f r o m l a t e Latin canna

to t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of Deut.

3:25,

"small

where Moses begs to s e e "this good

H o w e v e r , this jpap a p p e a r s

mountain and the Lebanon." Since God

several times also in the Babli (noted in

later showed Moses all he w a n t e d to

the Rabbinic dictionary 'Arukh

under

see, but nothing North of t h e city of

's pip) and seems to mean the central

Dan, it f o l l o w s t h a t "Lebanon" h e r e

peg by which the motion of the plow is

cannot mean the mountain range.

controlled; possibly f r o m old Persian

verse here was used

gan, "plow".

J o h a n a n ben Z a k k a i to p r e d i c t

207

Vespasian that he would be e m p e r o r

vessel".

The Zohar (II, 7b-8b) improves

on t h e s t o r y a n d a s s e r t s t h a t

the

by

b e f o r e he could c o n q u e r

The

Rabban to

Jerusalem

Messiah is living in Paradise at a place

because the Temple could fall only to a

known as "bird's nest".

noble one (Ekha

208

Isaiah, the verse is the introduction to a

The use of Lebanon as a f i g u r e

of speech for the Temple can be traced

* τ??? r n / y v w n p r o n ?

209

1(32)).

In

description of Messianic times.

yniw w p n n ηη

.o'piy'p

rabbati

n i i y - p a n JIN

ν^γογι rri d?n κιηψ

tm«^

R e b b i T a n h u m a said: W h y did t h e y i n s t i t u t e "He W h o l i s t e n s t o

prayer" as t h e f i f t e e n t h b e n e d i c t i o n ? C o r r e s p o n d i n g t o ( P s . 2 9 : 1 0 ) "The Eternal throned o v e r t h e Deluge", that H e a v e r t t h e c a t a s t r o p h y , that it should not c o m e o v e r the w o r l d 2 1 0 .

209

A f t e r the digression about t h e

Messiah, one returs to the main theme;

in the Psalm. 210

God has sworn that no f u t u r e

the final benediction of the w e e k d a y

Deluge will engulf the entire globe, but

insertion

one has to pray that p a r t i a l d e l u g e s

is t h e

f i f t e e n t h in

the

G a l i l e a n count, and t h e mention of God's name in the verse is the fifteenth

will be averted.

214

CHAPTER TWO

oriim

. o > n > # ν ψ > 3 w ç h n i l l οψ·) > í m ? > r m n r a i t n » 7 i n ! ? n i i n y

>>?

γ η N n a b n 1 3 "ρνρψ >31

i n n nis

>"> "|γι>

. o i b y lD>)?nin n i r m

ή ν * o y o n o i οί!?ψη ρ

-»ηί>

-

^

Dit»^? ρηοο ,Οί^Ι

Temple service (precedes) Thanksgiving 211 : (Ps. 50:23) "He w h o brings a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me and shows a path; I shall make him see God's help." One finishes with Peace, since all benedictions end with peace 2 1 2 .

Rebbi Simeon bar Halaphta 2 1 3 said:

There is no vessel that

contains more blessing than peace. What is the reason? (Ps. 29:11) "The Eternal gives strength to His people, the Eternal blesses His people with peace." 211

212

Now we are back to the expla-

The Priestly Blessings end in

nation of the sequence of benedictions

"peace", and all other services, prayers

in the Amidah. The 16th (Israeli count)

and grace, end with "He Who makes

prays for restoration of the Temple

peace in His heights, may He give

service and acceptance of our prayer

peace to us and all of Israel, Amen."

as if performed in the Temple.

213

The

A great preacher of the last

17th benediction is Thanksgiving, the

generation of Tannai'm; his statement

18th is for Peace, following (in the

here is the last statement of the

Morning Service) the Priestly Blessings

Mishnah (Uqezin 3:12).

that end in "peace".

η ό η η>>3ψ> n í i v m i n 3 > j i ? i n n y \ ?

nj/ov' oip)?> n w v n y o ) N i p

- m a n o i p n } n ^ n ^ i D -mn> n y o p > n j m > ύ>ΝΊ n y o . r o w i - o i i n i > n ? > ."tty!?»* >311 n o w ? 7 3 V P "ΡΡ>Ρ .n>;>>» T ò v m n > r o 10 1>1>?n >31

NV? >31 N » n >31 n o > i

.to

n £ > p n n n p >n "|3nv >311 n t o p y i y p y

1? i1? -Man ptoo") n>ro .ν?© p i t N i n i •W η ρ ^ η 1V5>3

πιη>>·) Ι>Ι»?Ν TO

í q p 1jni>

215

HALAKHAH 4

"If he recited and made a mistake then he should return to the place of the mistake." 214

If he made a mistake between the first and second

mention of "writing" he must return to the first "writing"215. If he made a mistake and does not know where he made the mistake, he returns to the start, to any place that he is sure about 216 . An explanation: Rebbi Hiyya, Rebbi Yasa, Rebbi Ammi were preparing the wedding canopy 2 1 7 for Rebbi Eleazar.

They heard the voice of Rebbi Johanan when he explained

something new. They said: Who is going down to hear that from him? They said, let Rebbi Eleazar go down since he is very careful. descended, ascended, and said to them:

He

So says Rebbi Johanan, if he

recited and found himself at jyoV219 one can be sure that he had the right intention. 214

Quote from the last part of the

of the section he remembers. Since the

Mishnah that now will be discussed.

language

The entire p a r a g r a p h is r e p e a t e d in

paragraph to here is in pure Hebrew, it

Babli Berakhot

probably represents an Israeli version

215

16a.

Both v e r s e s Deut.

6:9, 11:20,

from

the

start

of

the

of that Tosephta.

read: "You shall w r i t e t h e m on the

217

d o o r p o s t s of y o u r h o u s e and

Probably Latin genialia, ium (n„

your

plur.) "marriage bed, marriage" (E. G.).

gates." Since the verses are identical, a

Rebbi Hiyya m e n t i o n e d h e r e is R.

person who r e c i t e d Shema'

Hiyya bar Abba; his name is missing in

mechan-

ically has no way of deciding between

the Babli.

the two but must start anew from the

218

first verse.

section of Shema'.

216

In the Babli, this is quoted in the

language of t h e T o s e p h t a

In the last verse of the second Since t h e t h i r d

section is c o m p l e t e l y d i f f e r e n t in

(Berakhot

wording and style, one may assume that

2:5) that one has to return to the start

he recited the first two parts correctly.

216

CHAPTER TWO

η·»3n n w ί ο ν N » n 1 3 γ α >?->

•ΓΡΟ"«» v i ? ΝίΠ OHIO >V?0 Dit) TD7 Rebbi Lia

219

, Rebbi Yasa in the name of the great Rebbi Aha 2 2 0 : If he

prayed and he found himself in "He Who hears prayer", he may assume that he prayed with intent 221 . Rebbi Jeremiah in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: If he prayed without intent and he knows that the second time he will pray with intent, he may pray a second time; otherwise he should not pray 2 2 2 . The great Rebbi Hiyya said: I never managed to pray with intent, but one time I made an effort to concentrate and I started to think and said to myself, who enters first before the king, the ά ρ γ α π έ τ η ς 2 2 3 or the Resh Galuta22Al

Samuel

said: I counted chicks 225 . Rebbi Abun bar Hiyya said: I counted stone rows 226 . Rebbi Mattaniah said: I an thankful to my head that when I come to modim it bends down by itself. 219

Rebbi La or Illaï,

Galilean

concentration on what he was saying

Amora of the third generation.

somewhere in between but when he

220

He cannot be the Amora Rebbi

realizes that he recited the last of the

Aha since the latter belongs to the

intermediary b e n e d i c t i o n s he may

fourth generation. Probably he is the

assume that he said all others in the

Tanna Rebbi Aha of the last generation

required order.

of Tannaïm.

222

221

Since the weekday Amidah is a

requires total concentrai ion for all 18

long prayer, it is probable that he lost

benedictions for somebody who is not

It seems that the Yerushalmi

217

HALAKHAH 5 satisfied with the quality of his prayer.

Persian pat) "master, overseer". So the

The following examples show that such

title seems to designate the person who

a total concentration o v e r a l e n g t h y

overseas the royal castle (Fleischer) or

period of time is impossible and, hence,

" c o m m a n d a n t of a f o r t " ( L i d d e l l &

repetition of an i m p e r f e c t p r a y e r is

Scott).

excluded. T h e Babli [Berakhot

224

34b, a

The Davidic head of Babylonian

statement of Rebbi Hiyya (bar Abba) in

Jewry, who was a h e r e d i t a r y N o b l e

the name of the Babylonian Ra ν Safra]

under the Parthian and Persian rulers

requires total concentration only during

and s t i l l an i m p o r t a n t o f f i c i a l in

the first benediction; h e n c e , f o r t h e

Moslem times.

Babli someone who did not concentrate

225

When I consciously a t t e m p t e d

d u r i n g t h e f i r s t b e n e d i c t i o n has to

total c o n c e n t r a t i o n f o r a l l t h e

repeat the Amidah.

( B a b y l o n i a n ) b e n e d i c t i o n s of

Arukh

(In the

Shulhan

(Sec. 101,1), R. Josef

Qaro

19 the

Amidah.

follows the Babli but R. Moshe Isseries

226

decides Ashkenazic practice according

stones or b r i c k s in a building."

to the Yerushalmi.]

other p l a c e s in the Y e r u s h a l m i , t h e

223

This Greek form was found in a

Palmyrenian i n s c r i p t i o n .

Following

Fleischer, the title is a composition of Persian liji ark "citadel", x, pad

•pN^l

π»

Greek δόμος, "building; rows of At

spelling D i o n is found; in the Babli it always is diö't (which, however, might mean another word, δήμος).

(old

w i ò ? ìn

w í ó a v"PP p i i p w n

:n ni*»»

.nb'ûfla i? Jiwjfc

Mishnah 5: Professional workers 226 read 227 on top of a tree or on top of a wall in construction; they are not permitted to do this for prayer. 226

The ]OW is a professional who is

the uman loses for prayer is his own.

a contractor f o r his work; in contrast,

227

the VyiB is paid by the hour. The time

needs concentration only for the first

The Shema'; since this recitation

218 verse,

CHAPTER TWO we

may

assume

that

the

r e c i t e d by r o t e f r o m m e m o r y .

professional can c o n c e n t r a t e f o r t h a t

contrast, p r a y e r ( t h e Amidah)

In

needs

short time span without f e a r of falling

concentration f r o m beginning to end

down.

and can be recited only on the ground.

T h e rest of Shema'

can b e

. ^ • p O W Í Ó ? V M i N r O · £ > Ν η WN-15 V l i p H a l a k h a h 5: S o

228

NJVÍJTO

:fl 713*71

is the Mishnah: T h e hourly w o r k e r s read o n t o p o f

a t r e e 2 2 9 and t h e professionals o n t o p of a wall in construction. 228

T h e V e n i c e e d i t i o n h a s 'JO

w h e t h e r t h e Y e r u s h a l m i is of

the

w h i c h is an i n t e r r o g a t o r y p a r t i c l e

opinion that work on a tree is unskilled

referring to persons and does not make

work

sense here. The Genizah fragments and

construction of the Mishnah r e q u i r e s

t h e c o m m e n t a t o r of Sefer

the mention of hourly w o r k e r s h e r e or

Haredim

read T 3 as given here. 229

νγι

. r o r » ? ΐΓήη-ι>ν?ψ

a

careful

prevalent in Babylonia,

It is not clear

•nv j m n w í ó ? η» 1 ?·)

therefore,

that this rule is contrary to the opinion

T h e Babli d o e s not m e n t i o n

hourly w o r k e r s at all.

and,

. π ϊ ν ^ γ ι viNhai r»?în w í ó ? ρ » 3 π > ρ ρ

.^ç!?

>?τη

j i > 3 n bya 1 )

τ ι ν

Ή > ? Ν ι η > η η ή ο ' ρ >3-η Ν Ι Ν >?-» .η)Ν^ιη w í ó ? !

It w a s s t a t e d 2 3 0 : "They pray o n t o p o f an o l i v e t r e e or o n t o p o f a f i g tree." H e n c e 2 3 1 , o n all other t r e e s h e d e s c e n d s and p r a y s o n t h e g r o u n d . "The o w n e r d e s c e n d s in all c a s e s and prays o n t h e ground." A n d w h y o n t o p of an o l i v e tree or o n t o p of a f i g tree? Rebbi A b b a and Rebbi S i m o n say both, b e c a u s e t h o s e are v e r y laborious 2 3 2 .

230

This is a f r a g m e n t f r o m a text

s i m i l a r to Tosephta

Berakhot

they pray on top of an olive t r e e and a

2:8:

fig t r e e but f o r all o t h e r t r e e s t h e y

"Hourly workers read on top of a tree

have to descend and pray. T h e owner

and on top of a wall in construction;

descends in any case f o r prayer."

A

219

HALAKHAH 5 similar text, only with "professionals"

great care and there is danger that the

instead of "hourly workers", is quoted

trees or their fruits would be damaged

in Babli Berakhot 16a.

if the hourly worker would try to go

231

This looks like an i n f e r e n c e

down and up quickly, again to t h e

since xii is not a tannaitic technical

detriment of the owner. Both explan-

term. However, given the parallels in

ations are found in the commentaries.

T o s e p h t a and Babli, t h e word

κπ

Rashi in the Babli (16a) explains that

"therefore", may be an i n t e r p o l a t i o n

these trees have so many branches that

and the rest of t h e s e n t e n c e may

one can stand there securely and may

belong to the Tosephta.

concentrate on prayer without fear; it

232

may be that he agrees that because of

It is not clear whether it is very

troublesome to come down from these

the

many

branches

it

is

very

trees and, t h e r e f o r e , too much time

troublesome to come down f r o m the

would be spent at the expense of the

trees.

owner, or that olive and fig trees need

t O Î73N: ν η ψ π is Ν Ί ί ρ rrç n n ia>ri3 V3

î n ^ ç ^ >3

·)>Νψ r > a » i v i « Ν ί η ψ n y y i N ^ I p l i a N i n w n y v ?

. i n i o V5î? nv^-jN

' W T O v ï y r v n ONÎ

ÏH

n?

» i ö i p > in") " - j i r ô o>p!?n i n r i t>p>w\f> ι η η , ^ ρ ' ψ ψ N i n i I j n v >3-1 i o n It was stated 2 3 3 : "The porter m a y recite the Shema' on his shoulders

234

e v e n with his load

but he should start neither w h e n he unloads nor w h e n

he loads because he cannot then concentrate. In any case he m a y not pray until he unloads, but if he was carrying a load of 4 qab2is

it is permitted."

Rebbi Johanan said: only if he is in equilibrium. What m e a n s that he is in equilibrium? T w o parts o n his back and o n e part in front. 233

This statement is a

(Berakhot

Tosephta

2:7) where, however, the

234

For the same reason as t h a t

given f o r t h e w o r k m a n .

exemption for the carrier of a large

Tosephta,

load is not mentioned.

before the worker.

In

the

the p o r t e r is m e n t i o n e d

220 235

CHAPTER TWO A qab is 4 log, about 2.17 liters.

4 qab a r e a Roman modius,

about a

British peck, a fourth of a bushel.

without unloading if his load does not exceed 4 qab, on condition that it be balanced.

The

two

differences

The Babli, Baba mezi'a 105b, quotes

between Yerushalmi and B a b y l o n i a n

a baraita which states that the porter

practice are that for the Babli, the load

may pray with his load on his back if

has to be strictly less than 4 qab, f o r

the load is less than 4 qab, but not if

the Yerushalmi it may reach 4 qab, and

the load is 4 qab or more. Therefore, it

for the Babli the load has to be all on

seems t h a t in t h e Y e r u s h a l m i

the

meaning is that the p o r t e r may pray

the back and not distributed f o r e and aft.

.NIP-)

mi>P ΝΠ> N^J >3ΓΙ

It w a s s t a t e d 2 3 6 : " N o b o d y s h o u l d g i v e m e s s a g e s w i t h his e y e s w h i l e reciting." 236

An e x t e n d e d p r o h i b i t i o n

to

Samuel Bar M a r t h a .

However, the

by

Biblical justification of the prohibition

movements of eyes, lips, or hands while

is there given in the name of t h e early

r e c i t i n g t h e Shema'

Tanna Rebbi Eleazar Hisma.

communicate

with

others

is given in t h e

Hence,

Babli, Yoma 19b, in the n a m e of t h e

the statement of the Yerushalmi is a

early Babylonian Amora Rav Isaac bar

genuine tannaïtic one.

r o n ? y p - o > ? I!?>N n r j n ? ? n

Γ Ο Ν ^ Ρ " p w i y i>m> r>>i>i3O >?ri

v n ON iJiif .y\Nri Î7W3 vpjpim

ϊψ) ο ^ ψ τ ν

ty

rmwa

-hon .1 v?-q>? i-7>n n n ir»?V

Ji??n

UN ηζ> "Ρ^

JllWjfc "ΠΟΝψ ΙΤ;)?ΊΝ TIN* N3)p >3"!

rij/v?

η>ηψ ìn n i y t o ioy -ρψύι

, ^ ΐ ι η notier?

V"!>pN

It w a s stated: "The hourly w o r k e r s w h o w o r k e d f o r an e m p l o y e r h a v e t o recite t h e first b e n e d i c t i o n of G r a c e and s u b s u m e that of J e r u s a l e m in t h e b e n e d i c t i o n f o r t h e L a n d and c l o s e w i t h t h e b e n e d i c t i o n f o r t h e Land237.

But if t h e y w e r e w o r k i n g f o r h i m f o r their m e a l s 2 3 8 o r if t h e

221

HALAKHAH 5

employer was eating with them, then they recite all four benedictions." Rebbi Mana said:

This means that one may not w o r k w h i l e reciting

Grace. Otherwise, w h y do w e have to say this 2 3 9 ?

Let him work and

recite the benedictions! The obligation of reciting Grace

benedictions before the meal it seems

is biblical but the number of bene-

that the hourly workers are required to

dictions is a rabbinical ordinance (Beth

recite these [this is also the reading of

Yosef on Tur Orah Hayyim

237

191). In

the Tosephta (5:24) and most of the

order to reduce the expense for the

manuscripts of the Babli, against the

employer

Venice text of the Babli (16a)].

(and, h e n c e ,

increase

employment for the poor), the hourly

238

workers whose lunchbreak is paid for

payment to them.

by

239

their

employer

recite

an

For the food only, without cash

The a b b r e v i a t e d version of

abbreviated version of Grace that still

Grace; it is necessary only if it profits

contains all required elements. Since

the employer.

the Yerushalmi does not mention the

poi ιπρίη

o"TN l i o y ?

,ντ>? ιψΣήτη

Ϊ Ϊ Ϊ ) >?*i> n i n "paN na

r m n n i o w ? pn>? n i - a twiny*

n>n

.irnn

- n w vm!? . y p ?

>a-i .qf7>? τα!ραι

ηο3π r n s ] i n n 03 nojpn

Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac 240 in the name of Rav Huna: One should not stand and pray while he keeps a coin in his hand 241 ; (having the coin) in front of him is forbidden, at his back it is allowed. Rebbi Yasa used to bind them together and grab them in his hand 242 . And for money matters, (Deut. 14:25) "you shall bind the m o n e y together in your hand", only in your hand 2 4 3 . Hillel 244 .

Rebbi Yose bar Abun thus taught his son-in-law Rebbi

222 240

CHAPTER TWO An Israeli Amora of Babylonian

the owner is a kind of trustee.

The

origin who in his youth was a student

inference, which

of Rav Huna, the student of Rav.

d e r i v a t i o n , is that a n y b o d y w h o is

241

That one should not come to

trustee for other people's money can

examine it while praying; having the

discharge his obligation of p r u d e n t

coin w h e r e it cannot be seen is no

care only by having t h e money tied

impediment to prayer.

together and in his personal control all

242

Since b o u n d t o g e t h e r

is not a

strict

the time.

they

cannot be examined.

244

243

prayer and trusteeship.

The verse deals with money that

P r o b a b l y r e f e r r i n g to

both

has to be spent in Jerusalem, for which

Ί 3 n p y > > a i >33 r n r i i - m N τ η ? V3J?> n n ν π ν n a i p y ? > 3 · η n > p \ n

rpn-ρο n o p

r n

>3->> ρ η π η yurv{0 Hiybyi Nmy î i j w p o n a ν π ν . q i n n o i n>> i o n

.piv"! Ι ^ Ι Ι ί Ί

.n>jry»a!p

Rebbi Hizqiah and Rebbi Jacob bar A h a w e r e sitting at o n e p l a c e and Rebbi Jacob bar A h a had coins on him. There c a m e the t i m e f o r prayer, he u n b o u n d t h e m and g a v e t h e m t o Rebbi H i z q i a h .

He bound them

together little by little.

H e asked: W h a t

have you left? 245

T h e y b e c a m e untied and lost.

245

remedy for the worry.

This story is a counterexample

Hence, the

to the prescription given before. Since

practical conclusion would be t h a t

coins a r e s h o w n

coins have to be put in a s a f e place

to c o m e

untied

before the start of prayer.

sometimes, binding them together is no ν η ψ u n i o i p rrç n t i ia>ri?

v>?>o v n y >p η κ HÌVQ

>3"ì i o n

>Τ1>ψρ Ν3)3 >3-| "MON .513113 T l ì O n ? 13>N 71^33?» V)?y> J i n p 1 Ç N Ν31ΓΙ 3"ì r p n ? r i P N r i m a r i m p ? r o n * VM ")3ni> >3-1 DW? ΝΠΝ -13 3p}>>

nnp

"»5!

ÌÌ7>3NI t ? n r a >3-1 > n i p 0>Jl)?»p ^

^

«1311?

. r n i n n i l o n p n > ? ο ^ Ν ψ c p « n n?Nb>? η ί υ q ì y ^ n

223

HALAKHAH S

Rebbi H a n i n a 2 4 6 said: A l s o o n e w h o has his w a t e r o n his s h o u l d e r m a y recite Shema'

and pray.

R a v H u n a said:

praying d o not require concentration?

S o t h e r e c i t i n g o f Shema'

and

Rebbi Mana said: I p o i n t e d o u t t h e

d i f f i c u l t y b e f o r e Rebbi Phineas that e v e n if y o u say that t h e r e c i t a t i o n o f Shema'

does

not

concentration247?

need

concentration,

R e b b i Y o s e 2 4 8 said:

does

prayer

not

need

I c o n f i r m e d it f o l l o w i n g w h a t

Rebbi J a c o b bar A h a said in the n a m e of R e b b i Johanan: Y o u g o t it, t h e c o m p l e t i o n o f the w o r k s of w a t e r 2 4 9 that are not clear f r o m t h e w o r d s o f the Torah.

246

He refers back to the

Tosephta

cleansing from impurity.

Nevertheless,

that allowed praying if t h e c a r r i e r ' s

Rebbi Hanina s t a t e s t h a t o n e may

load d i d not e x c e e d 4 qab.

r e c i t e Shema'

The

and e v e n p r a y w h i l e

statement is introduced here since it is

carrying such water. This statement is

explained on the authority of R. Jacob

obviously difficult to accept. Rav Huna

ben Aha who was the main person in

(the second) dismisses Rebbi Hanina's

the preceding section.

statement as in obvious contradiction to

The water referred to here is water

generally accepted principles.

used for the sprinkling with the ashes

247

of t h e red h e i f e r to c l e a n s e f r o m

Hanina's s t a t e m e n t f o r Shema',

impurity caused by contact or closeness

reference to prayer musi be a mistake

to the body of a dead Jew, as explained

e v e n t h o u g h it r e f e r s t o a

prior

in Num. 19 and the Mishnah t r a c t a t e

s t a t e m e n t a b o u t p r a y e r only.

The

Parah.

T h e ashes of t h e red h e i f e r

sentence is a rhetorical question. In a

have to be given into 'Vs ^x 0 " n tra,

text f r o m t h e C a i r o G e n i z a h , it is

virgin f r e s h water in a vessel.

formulated as a declarative sentence:

This

E v e n if o n e a c c e p t s

Rebbi its

means t h a t a f t e r being d r a w n f r o m

"recitation of Shema'

f l o w i n g w a t e r , t h e w a t e r has to be

concentration; p r a y e r n e e d s c o n c e n -

watched so t h a t no kind of work is

tration".

done with it.

both versions.

A lapse of attention to

the w a t e r m a k e s it u n f i t f o r use in

248

d o e s not need

The meaning is the same in

The Amora, one of the editors

224

CHAPTER TWO

of the Yerushalmi.

water", not ηκυπ *η "ι he water of

249

sprinkling" that is the technical term

After the ashes have already

been given into the water, when it is

used for fresh water guarded for the

clear that the term "living water" no

ashes. It follows that as long as the

longer applies and there is no in-

ashes have not been given into the

dication in the Torah that it has to be

water, one may neither recite Shema'

guarded as strictly as before. This also

nor pray while guarding it.

explains R. Hanina's expression "his

o n ra\¿» > n s í o "tü ft

npN

>3)3)?

. " p w i o n vb^ cd!?

Tû>5 y ç ^ r i n p n n o s i n n ÍOÍ?·)

1 n w » (foi. 5b)

ηψ^ι© idn

.n^a

.-nos ιηηψ

nyy

v-po>ri

,τιηκ n y v Mishnah 6: The bridegroom is free from reciting the Shema'

in the

first night 2 5 0 ; until the end of Sabbath if he did not do the act 2 5 1 .

An

Rabban Gamliël married and recited in the first night 2 5 2 .

His

action:

students said to him:

Our teacher, did you not t e a c h us that the

bridegroom is free? He said to them: I will not listen to you to lift f r o m me the Kingdom of Heaven even for one hour. 250

Since he is unable to concen-

had their first sexual relations the

trate in anticipation of his first night

night following the S a b b a t h , cf.

with his bride. The bride, as a woman,

Minhagim of the Community of Worms

has no obligation to recite Shema' since

by R. Yospe Shamash, ed. I. Zimer, I. M.

this is a p o s i t i v e

commandment

Peles, vol. 2, p. 47; there the editor

occurring at stated times and does not

gives several conjectural reasons in

apply to women.

note 16. He also indicates that this is a

251

It was common usage even in

possible reflection of old usages from

seventeenth Century Germany that

the Land of Israel, never followed in

couples who married Wednesday night

Babylonia.

It seems to me that the

225

HALAKHAH 6 usage is quite u n d e r s t a n d a b l e if it is

the parties to get acquainted enough to

noted that bride and bridegroom w e r e

get intimate.

in their low teens, t h e girl possibly

252

even a pre-teen.

T h e m a r r i a g e was

"Rabban" and had students of his own,

arranged by the parents, with minimal

it is obvious that he was not a teenager

i n v o l v e m e n t of t h e p a r t i e s to t h e

and t h e m a r r i a g e w a s not his f i r s t .

wedding.

Hence, his level of anxiety was low.

Some time was needed f o r

m r ) ? ì N n m >>o> > a n

ow? oìvujn

njj«>>n >oi> >?-» n > » i p » a n jvn

Since he already had t h e t i t l e

ν

13>3ti N n i n>> mqh

Λ

.nav? n£>nna . r n i a n τ\ψν

ηηίβψ τ\;·>Ηψ

ni!?>> y ^ - i N Ί)?>η>

Halakha 6: Rebbi Eleazar ben Antigonos 2 5 3 in the name of Rebbi Eleazar the son of Rebbi Yannai: This means that it is permitted to start sexual relations on the Sabbath 254 . Rebbi Haggai said before Rebbi Yose: Explain it for a widow where he does not make a wound. He answered him: Did we not formulate "Four nights? 255 " Can you say four nights for a widow? 253

An Israeli Amora of the second

the normal case of a very young girl,

generation who always reports in the

the making of the wound is automatic.

name of R. Eleazar, son of R. Yannai.

Now, t h e m a k i n g of a w o u n d

254

Since t h e groom is f r e e f r o m

forbidden on the Sabbath but, accor-

reciting the Shema' Friday evening if

ding to Rebbi Simeon (bar Yohai), any

he did not yet have intercourse with

work not done for its own sake is not

his wife, it follows that we expect him

f o r b i d d e n , e x c e p t in t h e c a s e of an

to be anxious about it also Friday night.

automatic consequence ( x v n p'DS "cut

If he w e r e

off its head, will it not die?'). For the

not a l l o w e d

to

have

is

intercourse, t h e n he could d e f e r his

very young girls discussed h e r e , t h e

anxiety f o r a day and r e c i t e

wound

Shema'.

The problem is t h a t he will m a k e a wound in deflowering his w i f e and, in

might

be

an

automatic

consequence. The entire discussion belongs more

226

CHAPTER TWO

to Niddah

X:1 w h e r e all the parallels

in the Babli a r e f o u n d .

House of Hillel say until the wound is

T h e second

part of the Yerushalmi Niddah

healed" (one does not suspect any blood

is lost

to be menstrual).

W h i l e it is q u i t e

and it cannot be ascertained anymore

possible t h a t a v e r y young girl can

w h e t h e r the entire discussion of our

a l r e a d y be a w i d o w , t h e

Mishnah is taken from there.

cannot apply to her since the m a r r i a g e

255

festivities of a widow a r e only t h r e e

This refers to the first Mishnah

in the last chapter of tractate "About a y o u n g g i r l w h o

Niddah:

days (Thursday, Friday, Sabbath) while

marries

t h o s e of a v i r g i n a r e s e v e n

before puberty, the House of Shammai

(Ketubot

say that one allows four nights and the

here about a widow.

UN -ttiw

days

1:1). Hence, w e cannot talk

n}>5 πιο >th> >3*ì >&ip n j v w p n i î -13 api»?

113TÌ? Nì>y> " T ^ a ì n n . j ^ .>>?

Mishnah

n ç i >> I O N

ii3J}>3V> » n ? n b ì v ?

INDI

Jvançi

ι ι ο η β ψ 1N?Ì

ΊΟΝ .ΓΏψ} nt>-)ÌO t?>30> r0>3 ΠΏ nniwü^ lisipö Νΐηψ

.jnaVv* m o p

IN Ν»ν)-|·>ν)>ρ 1 1 Ί 3 pns>

. n ? n n i w ; ^ îïsrç? .>>?

.·»>? n n i w ^

"rabil

n n i ^ j

1Í3T1» Ν ί η ψ

¡"i^W?

Rebbi Jacob bar Savdi 256 said: I asked the question before Rebbi Yose: What is the difference between her and him who breaks a clay amphora in order to eat a dried fig from it 2 5 7 ?

He said to me:

But it says

afterwards, "only he should have no intent to make it into a usable vessel." And here when he has the intention of making her a married woman it is as if he had the intention of making her into a vessel. Rav Isaac bar Rav Meshirshia 258 said similarly: What is the difference between her and him w h o opens a boil on the Sabbath 2 5 9 ?

He said to him, but it says

afterwards: "only he should have no intention of making a permanent opening." And here when he has the intention of making her a married woman it is as if he had the intention of making her into a vessel 260 .

227

HALAKHAH 6 An Amora of the f o u r t h gener-

action in itself and, t h e r e f o r e , both R.

ation, probably somewhat o l d e r than

Simeon and R. Yehudah will forbid it:

Rebbi Yose.

R. Simeon because of his intent and R.

256

257

This r e f e r s to Mishnah

Y e h u d a h b e c a u s e it is a c o m p l e t e

Sabbat

action.

XXII:3: "One may break a clay amphora (whose top has been closed off by solid

In the Babli, the deflowered woman

clay) in order to eat a dried fig f r o m

is called a vessel; the Yerushalmi only

its contents, but he may not have the

compares her to a vessel.

intent to m a k e it into a p e r m a n e n t

258

vessel," i. e., he may not break the seal

sharshia. He is a Babylonian who was

open in such a way that it needs no

associated with the last editors of the

more action after the Sabbath to make

Yerushalmi and the first editor of the

In the Babli, t h e n a m e is Me-

the opening a permanent one that is

Babli.

easy to use. This follows the principle

same question is asked by Rebbi Ammi,

q u o t e d b e f o r e that a c c o r d i n g to R.

the Galilean authority two generations

Simeon, work not needed f o r its own

earlier.

sake is not f o r b i d d e n on the Sabbath.

259

In the Babli (Ketubot 6b), t h e

Which is allowed (Babli Sabbat

Even R. Yehudah, who disagrees and

107a) f o r the same reason as why the

states that any complete work

top of an amphora may be broken, with

is

f o r b i d d e n on Sabbath irrespective of

the same restriction as to intent.

intent, will agree that breaking off an

260

irregular piece of the c o v e r i n g does

In t h e Rome ms. and G e n i z a

f r a g m e n t s , the last s t a t e m e n t reads:

not constitute complete work since it

ns nV miPvV "(He has the intention) to

needs f u r t h e r regularization a f t e r the

make her a permanent opening."

Sabbath. Rebbi Yose's answer is that

Our

text probably is dittography.

b r e a k i n g t h e hymen is a c o m p l e t e

n n n N n rryian η ψ ί ν Νίπψ >î?n

π!?>ηη?!7 n ^ v ? c h n t>iyi> t i ï >ari

. • f l D ^ o u m ÌB?N>>P> o n n N !

"piN r n

η - Π « v o y » -»ζη p s i ni

p m

,-IÌON

r j m >i!?>y n p · ) j p o i

>3 > o v >3-1 n o N ·>όη

. r n i i n η ψ ν ? π>>»κη

Τ Ο ^ Ν Ί ìmny .ηΝ'ϊο

yçy n?iN> Í O

n p

228

CHAPTER TWO

It w a s stated 2 6 1 :

"A m a n should not h a v e first s e x u a l r e l a t i o n s o n t h e

Sabbath b e c a u s e h e m a k e s a wound; but others a l l o w it." R e b b i Y o s e bar A b u n said:

T h e r e a s o n of t h e o t h e r s is that h e is intent o n his job; t h e

w o u n d results a u t o m a t i c a l l y 2 6 2 .

A s s i 2 6 3 said, it is f o r b i d d e n .

Benjamin

f r o m G i n z a k 2 6 4 w e n t o u t and said in t h e n a m e of Rab, it is a l l o w e d . Samuel heard it and r e s e n t e d it, h e [ B e n j a m i n ] died, h e [ S a m u e l ] recited f o r him: praised b e H e W h o s m o t e h i m 2 6 5 .

A b o u t Rav, he [ S a m u e l ]

recited: ( P r o v . 12:21) "The just will cause n o wrong."

261

This baraita

is also q u o t e d in

wedding meal.) It is seen here that the

5b, w h e r e it is d e t e r -

Yerushalmi is strictly of the opposite

mined that "others" means R. Simeon

opinion; hence, the identity of "others"

who states that an action not expressly

is not determined here.

i n t e n d e d is not f o r b i d d e n on

262

Babli Ketubot

Sabbath.

the

It is e x p l a i n e d t h e r e , that

Hence, t h e a c t is p e r m i t t e d

according to R. Simeon.

even though R. Simeon forbids actions

263

which automatically imply some other

in the Babli as the first authority who

action that desecrates the Sabbath, here

allows it.

he allows a first sex act on Sabbath

264

since s p l i t t i n g t h e h y m e n is not a

the capital of Media, called Gazaka by

n e c e s s a r y c o n s e q u e n c e if t h e m a l e

Ptolemy. Another version is told in the

partner

Babli, Niddah

is

considerate

(and,

His alter ego, Animi, is quoted

Ginzak ("city of the treasury") is

65a. According to the

consequently, an intact hymen is no

version which allows first sex acts on

g u a r a n t e e of v i r g i n i t y . )

Since we

the Sabbath, Benjamin, c a l l e d t h e r e

decide on the Sabbath according to the

"from Saqasan", tried to follow a ruling

opinion of Rebbi Simeon and since the

attributed to Rav to the e f f e c t that a

medical statement is by Samuel, the

second sex act would be p e r m i t t e d

greatest medical authority in the Babli,

even without waiting the seven days of

it is clear that the Babli decides that

a cleansing period regularly required

first sex relations on Friday night are

of a menstruating women, and applied

permitted. (In the Middle Ages, poor

to the newlyweds since blood f r o m the

people married on Friday a f t e r n o o n in

breaking

order to save expenses for a separate

indistinguishable from menstrual blood,

of

the

hymen

is

229

HALAKHAH 6 as discussed in the following section.

265

"Ήρ" means "recited a Biblical

In the Babylonian version, Benjamin

verse". There is no such verse but its

tried to act according to this ruling but

intent is close to ISam. 25:39.

he died before he could do so.

vqfcvb

Γ φ ? 7 N>nr»íf Np-pfl·? í ^ n ^ N j p ^ n N>nrr!?3

•)íV3 . Π Ν ^ η

y n n π ϊ ψ η ρ ί - ρ η η frpH p i y " ì l ^ Ί

η ϊ rrçjan ο ι ? ntofl!? v i ö n p o p r i >&> Ν}>1Γ) N3N

ϊκναψ ηψν»?>

,n»3y> n ^ y ? !?iy?> i n ç i j q v > ? i > i n i p

ìNiy)? r ò r p n ^ n o . w n i n κ ι η η » ) ψ n£>y? Ιίνίρψ

N-τπ? - o o Minn η>> ί ο ψ ι

n>)>3V>W 1Π2Ν >3"| "1ÇN .0>ΪΡ3 ΓΠΠΟ >J0> n!?>y:i !?iV3> i n j ? "»tJ/!?*

Τ ί Ί ψ η i!?>flff n a v i n a V P } ? ? n p i r n n*-)3 ->çn ^ N ì n ^ l un!?

nin

Ν3>ΐΓ) N ' p i i a p tJNìny

0 7 n | >n r m y o >> - i o n pn>p 1 3 ì w ì o w

>an

iqh

bNio^n .jivtì-i*

,n>?>p y ^ Í

Ί ί ο ι ο n j n y r ï j s ηη>α> r n i O N η ^ ? >?ri .o>>iri3 DT rrç >ÍO rrç>)

o i o y ni>3 0 7 Samuel said: All the rules spelled out at the start of the last chapter of Niddah

are theoretical and not for practical application 2 6 6 . Rebbi Yannai

fled even f r o m married pre-puberty girls 2 6 7 . They asked b e f o r e Rebbi Yohanan: What about a second sex act? They said, he did not teach to take all f o r blood of the wound, how could he rule f o r a second sex act 2 6 8 ? What we are asking about is the case when there w e r e days of interruption, days of purity, in between 2 6 9 . Rebbi Abbahu said: I was the best m a n of Rebbi Simeon bar Abba and I asked Rebbi Eleazar:

is it

possible to have the second sex act? He permitted it, since he holds like Samuel, and Samuel said: One may enter a narrow gap 2 7 0 on the Sabbath, even if one rubs off some pebbles. Rebbi Haggai said: I was the best man of Rebbi Samuel the Cappadocian 2 7 1 ; I asked Rebbi Josiah and he shrank

230

CHAPTER TWO

f r o m it 2 7 2 . I a s k e d Rebbi S a m u e l bar Isaac; he said: n o w , w h a t is b l o o d o f a period and w h a t is b l o o d of v i r g i n i t y 2 7 3 ?

It w a s stated 2 7 4 : "The bride is

forbidden f o r her h o u s e all s e v e n days and he m a y not t a k e f r o m h e r t h e c u p of blessings, the w o r d s of Rebbi Eliezer." W h a t is the reason of R e b b i Eliezer?

It is i m p o s s i b l e that not s o m e m e n s t r u a l b l o o d b e m i x e d in t h e

b l o o d of virginity.

266

T h e rules allowing m o r e than

here.

one sex act w i t h n e w l y w e d virgins

271

while either the wound is not healed or

here, an Amora of the third generation,

seven days had not passed since t h e

of the c i r c l e of s t u d e n t s of

wedding night. The same statement of

Yohanan.

Samuel is in Babli Niddah 65a.

272

267

Like all other authorities quoted

Rebbi

He r e f u s e d to give an opinion.

touching

It is not 100% clear what Rebbi Haggai

them, just as it is forbidden to touch a

a s k e d , but w e may assume t h a t his

married woman after puberty.

question was i d e n t i c a l w i t h t h a t of

268

Rebbi Abbahu.

He r e f r a i n e d f r o m

In t h e w e d d i n g night, w h e r e

according to him only one sex act is

273

allowed. "He" is R. Yohanan.

since on t h e one hand we a l l o w an

269

That m e a n s that w h e n a man

occasional rubbing o f f , and, hence, in

married a virgin and the required time

our case an occasional d r o p of blood,

has passed since the wedding night it

f o l l o w i n g Samuel, but on t h e o t h e r

turns out that the first night in which a

hand we treat every d r o p of blood on

second sex act is permissible would be

f e m a l e g e n i t a l s as m e n s t r u a l

a Sabbath. This is a valid question for

necessitating seven days of cleansing

the Yerushalmi which f o r b i d s a f i r s t

when all bodily c o n t a c t

act on t h e S a b b a t h ; t h e r e is s o m e

spouses is forbidden.

chance that a second act will again

274

p r o d u c e some minor lesion and some

this is a baraita in Massckhet

drops of blood.

(a c o l l e c t i o n

270

tradition.)

In a dirt wall. The statement of

It seems impossible to d e c i d e ,

and

between

In a slightly d i f f e r e n t wording

in

the

Κ allah 1

Yerushalmi

At any meal d u r i n g all

6b and

seven days a f t e r the w e d d i n g , seven

is used there for the same argument as

benedictions a r e said o v e r a c u p of

Samuel is also in Babli Ketubot

231

HALAKHAH 7 wine for the newly weds after grace is

notes that the groom is not allowed to

recited. The bride is required to drink

take the cup back from the bride since

from the cup of which her husband

she has to follow all the rules of the

drank, as a fertility rite. Rebbi Eliezer

menstruating woman.

V 7 > n > r i it? ì i p N >iN •τ 0>30©>N OTN TT··:

,iny>N η η ρ ψ " p w i o τ INWD τ ¡ · ·>i>N · · ' p ? ! ?τ

>(rn :t m v n

TO "»ION t Nτ τV · τ .Nim!? » τ t t"

M i s h n a h 7: H e 2 7 5 t o o k a b a t h in t h e first n i g h t a f t e r his w i f e died.

His

s t u d e n t s said t o h i m : Did y o u , o u r t e a c h e r , n o t t e a c h us t h a t t h e m o u r n e r m a y n o t t a k e a b a t h . H e said t o t h e m : I a m n o t like m o s t o t h e r p e o p l e , I a m asthenic276. 275

Rabban Gamliel.

276

Greek ασθενής.

situation is i n v o l v e d , a l w a y s Medical con-

have

precedence over the rules of mourning.

siderations, even if no life-threatening

n i n >on

oro

π ι ο >t?i> >?-) ."inj 13>N ρ

n ^ n - i i "»ion ï i h nm

:» n a i n

r u n v r ï o ΓΡ> n i n i N 3 -II n » n

N^iy

t O ) rP> 1 Ç N ΝΠΝ >3"! >3Ì> 1Π3 1 3 N 3 >3"1> Γ Ι ^ Ι N ^ i y ΓΡ>

i n i > 3 - p n>> n i n * ) >3->7

ino

W?N

>Ì3N N o n >3"! Ν"ΤΓ) ρ

« i n ) ^ N ^ N ^ n ì y n>> rnn >ON >3-1 ,113>N 7ÌV1

VITI N)?>>7 n>> -ÌON Wn/?

.>3-1

n^yj-'yo

^ Γ ΐ η Ο Ν 11ΠΝ"! , Ν 3 "13 Π>>Π

• i n p N i ΐ33*ι> ^NV N - n i y n>> r n n N > y ^ i N > 3 7 7 H a l a k h a 7: W h o 2 7 7 s t a t e d t h a t t h e m o u r n e r is f o r b i d d e n t o t a k e a b a t h during the entire seven days?

Rebbi N a t h a n 2 7 8 .

Something happened to

R e b b i A m m i 2 7 9 , h e a s k e d R e b b i H i y y a b a r A b b a w h o i n s t r u c t e d h i m "all seven days following Rebbi Nathan".

Something happened to Rebbi

Y o s e 2 8 0 ; h e s e n t R e b b i A b b a b a r C o h e n t o R e b b i A h a ; h e said t o h i m :

232

CHAPTER TWO

Rebbi, did y o u not s o teach us that s o m e t h i n g h a p p e n e d t o R e b b i A m m i , h e a s k e d R e s h L a q i s h 2 8 1 w h o i n s t r u c t e d h i m "all s e v e n d a y s f o l l o w i n g H e said to h i m 2 8 2 , m a y b e t h e s e w e r e t w o s e p a r a t e

R e b b i Nathan".

incidents, w e say it in t h e n a m e of R e b b i H i y y a bar A b b a , y o u s a y it in the n a m e of R e s h Laqish.

And also f r o m the f o l l o w i n g 2 8 3 :

Something

happened t o Rebbi H a m a 2 8 4 , father of Rebbi O s h a y a , h e a s k e d t h e rabbis and t h e y f o r b a d e it.

277

This entire discussion belongs to

t h e t h i r d c h a p t e r of t r a c t a t e

bathing; he sent one of his students to

Moëd

ask Rebbi Aha, t h e greatest authority

There

in Lydda, in Judea. In the next section,

are some textual d i f f e r e n c e s between

it will be seen t h a t in t h e South, in

the two texts, an occurrence rare in the

Judea, one did not follow Rebbi Nathan

Yerushalmi. But in fact the deviations

and allowed bathing for the mourner.

of the text h e r e f r o m its o r i g i n a l in

Nevertheless, Rebbi Aha did not want

Moëd Qatan are all scribal or printer's

to i n t e r f e r e w i t h t h e

errors, as is shown f r o m the Rome ms.

accepted in Galilee and answered not

and the Genizah fragments. Therefore,

with his own opinion but with a note

the text h e r e follows the Moëd

that Rebbi Yose himself had t a u g h t

Qatan (Halakhah

5, fol. 62d).

Qatan

prohibition

text w h e r e v e r t h e r e is m a n u s c r i p t

about two cases where the question had

evidence from Berakhot to support that

come up in Galilee and was answered

version.

in the sense of Rebbi Nathan.

278

281

Usually k n o w n as N a t h a n t h e

Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish; t h e

Babylonian, a Babylonian f r o m t h e

abbreviation "Resh Laqish" is standard

Davidic

in the Babli but very i n f r e q u e n t in the

family,

second

in

the

Synhedrion under Rabban Simeon ben

Yerushalmi.

Gamliël.

bably is that of a lazy copyist.

279

282

A close relative of Rebbi Ammi

T h e a b b r e v i a t i o n pro-

Rebbi Yose to Rebbi Aha, that

died, for whom he had to mourn f o r

m a y b e this was only o n e o c c a s i o n

seven days.

reported under two d i f f e r e n t n a m e s

280

and, t h e r e f o r e , r e p r e s e n t s only t h e

T h e f o u r t h generation A m o r a . felt

opinion of o n e t e a c h c r a n d n o t a

uncomfortable with the prohibition of

g e n e r a l l y a c c e p t e d r u l e t h a t would

It

seems

that

Rebbi

Yose

233

HALAKHAH 7 need at least two supporting a u t h o r -

ities, I have a completely independent

ities.

occurrence in which G a l i l e a n r a b b i s

283

gave the same ruling and, t h e r e f o r e ,

T h i s is R e b b i A h a ' s a n s w e r :

Even if you do not agree that Rebbi

you have to accept it.

Ammi asked twice, f o r two d i f f e r e n t

284

He is t h e t h i r d

generation

cases of mourning, and was given the

Amora, f a t h e r of R e b b i O s h a y a t h e

same answer by two d i f f e r e n t author-

second.

133*1 *1)D>J1 1>N

.N'ÇÎ'Vf

ÍM N O m 1 J 3 1

^ Ν ψ Min"!

-1331 V ^ N

i n n i)o>ri ρ κ

^ > η η η > w m y o i p p >357 ."inpN Ν ΐ η ψ >» 1Ì2N

>3

>OÌ> ,κηο

Nom

l ^ i "v?>ri ^ n

-»ON . v s p r n ® D Ì T T I Ì p e r n i o n \ ? > p n Ί Π Ν r m i N n y i y l i m n n y r n n r\t
O N M Ì O ÍJ1ÍN IN") N3>?n

>t>V >3")

,VV7,ï N > n ^ n - i i j i s J i ^ n n ν Ν ψ

235

HALAKHAH 7

T h e y s a w R e b b i Y o s e , s o n of R e b b i H a n i n a 2 9 1 , i m m e r s i n g h i m s e l f . T h e y did not k n o w w h e t h e r it w a s f o r his e m i s s i o n 2 9 2 , t h e y did not k n o w w h e t h e r it w a s t o c o o l d o w n b e c a u s e b a t h i n g in c o l d w a t e r is n o t c a l l e d bathing293. 291

O n e of t h e f i r s t s t u d e n t s of

293

It remains u n d e c i d e d w h e t h e r

Rebbi Yohanan, p r e c e d i n g the o t h e r

taking a cold bath during the mourning

authorities mentioned up to now.

p e r i o d is p e r m i t t e d or not.

292

The

An emission of s e m e n w h i c h

Babylonian a u t h o r i t i e s in t h e Babli

requires immersion in a ritual bath as

CTaanit 13a) declare that a cold bath is

explained in the next chapter.

Marital

forbidden to a mourner (and, therefore,

relations are forbidden for the mourner

on the Ninth of Av) but is allowed on

during

fast days (in a year of draught) when

the entire seven

days

of

mourning.

the emphasis is on deprivation.

Jiin»(? v ^ n ì * n i } · π η ρ

n m

non

nin

,ν>?γι p r p N a >3-» n i n ,D>Ç3 ΐ 2 > Γ η π > - ι π ι η ψ v ^ y

Rebbi A b b a t a u g h t l i k e that w h i c h w a s s t a t e d 2 9 4 .

Rebbi Aha taught

a b o u t h i m w h o c o m e s f r o m t h e r o a d 2 9 5 and his f e e t a c h e t h a t h e is permitted to w a s h t h e m with water. 294

This statement does not belong

prohibition of taking a bath on these

here but either in the last chapter of

fast days.

Yoma (fol. 44d) or the first chapter of

295

Taäniot: "When somebody goes (on the

observe the period of mourning with

Ninth of Av or Yom Kippur) to see his

the family but arrives only a f t e r t h e

teacher and has to pass a river on the

f u n e r a l when the rest of t h e f a m i l y

way,

without

already is in full mourning. This ruling

compunction." The statement is given

of Rebbi Aha is not restricted to the

here to show that, in fact, taking a cold

place where one allows a bath f o r the

bath by walking through the ford of a

mourner but falls under the heading of

r i v e r , is no i n f r i n g e m e n t of

medical necessity.

he

crosses

it

the

A family member who comes to

236

CHAPTER TWO

This ruling introduces s u b s e q u e n t

trip, or p e o p l e on a t r i p w h o meet

statements concerning a mourner on a

iNia»\i>?>

mourners.

.b*T3on n £ > y ? a · ρ - ι π ι η Τ Η 3

ΐ ' π ψ Γ φ ί ρ ί !7?N >?ΓΙ

. Ί ί ΐ ^ rpiyri? p i α κ ? nyvma p i It has b e e n stated:

.raton? - p y n

"A m o u r n e r a n d o n e b a n n e d 2 9 6 o n a t r i p a r e

permitted to wear sandals297.

When they c o m e to t o w n they should

r e m o v e t h e m . T h e s a m e holds f o r the Ninth of A v and public fasts 2 9 8 ." 296

One put in the ban by rabbinical

298

The fast days proclaimed in the

authority f o r improper behavior, who

Land of Israel during a draught, when

should show the signs of mourning.

all the deprivations of Yom Kippur are

297

Even though mourners a r e not

also in force. The only fast day in the

a l l o w e d t o w e a r l e a t h e r s h o e s or

diaspora w h e r e these rules also apply

sandals.

is the Ninth of Av.

T h i s a g a i n is a

medical

exemption.

>31

DÌ"ì7?ì

V>NÌW

•pî? *IÇN

. i t a !?>NWÌ N r i a w a

>pv > -n

.O>nip>?

Ì?ÌNV>> l î q W m n i ">IIN *τη> ÎKN N a n

o?>>y oit>y t ù y

0"TN VyiTf? 0 7 K ^ i l i D"TN >N*ii3>i
> ί Ό ft Π ) ? Ν o m v

ίνΨ?

u o

·ί>>ρΐη3ΓΙ V b y t?3>j? i l l J !

ν * ΊΟ^

ο ^ ^ η

ΓΙΒψ?1 :Π VWOÌi

ì y vmrpri

VíN Μ π > 3 ΐ ι η >3>3

"pnirpri

DnnN o n i n >n νπ

thieves,

:π γ ι ^ τ ι

. o m y n ï y V P ^ r » V>?Î?>?

Halakhah 8: Hence, about unrelated f r e e d m e n o n e

accepts

condolences? So is the Mishnah: one does not accept condolences for slaves. 306 306

There are several

different

were free the master would not accept

explanations of this cryptic piece. The

formal condolences for him since these

most reasonable is by R. Abraham ben

are restricted to those close relatives

Adrat (Rashba) in his commentary on

for which one has to keep a period of

Babli Berakhot 16b: Since the slave is

formal mourning.

not related to his master, even if he

the Mishnah has to declare explicitly

The answer is that

239

HALAKHAH 8 that one does not accept formal con-

to the case of a student f o r whom the

dolences since the slave is a member of

teacher may accept condolences; see

the household and, p r e s u m a b l y ,

the section after the next.

is

treated like a family member, parallel

05D3

t?a>p

innD> v p j r i p c ι υ ρ η

>Jl»n n j p n p ? VN

η ρ κ

ION

Ν^Γ)

V " > i n >3? ïy

ν Ί Π Ν It????·) J l > } >

.vnnin?

on

I^SN

VP?

.71971?? o n a y m »

ixiPD? IN n ? j j

.071VÍ?

iJinpw n r i n i η ψ ν ο

ty .νΊΠΝ >l S"!

"ISn!? 0 £ P ? Î » 3

VWia?

» j a » o'l^V5? ^

VP?

V P ^ n

t j ^ i>>?¡?)?

i>Dìn?ri v > ? î ? ) p Ì>N D n n N i

ty

.liiipO

D i p o n it? ι η ί κ

It h a p p e n e d that R e b b i E l i e z e r ' s m a i d s e r v a n t d i e d 3 0 7 and his students c a m e t o h i m f o r c o n d o l e n c e s but he did n o t a c c e p t . c o u r t y a r d , t h e y f o l l o w e d h i m there. h i m there.

H e entered

the

H e e n t e r e d the h o u s e , t h e y f o l l o w e d

H e told t h e m : I w a s t h i n k i n g that y o u w o u l d b e b u r n e d b y

l u k e w a r m w a t e r but y o u a r e not burned e v e n b y b o i l i n g w a t e r .

Did they

not say that o n e d o e s not accept c o n d o l e n c e s f o r slaves because s l a v e s a r e in this l i k e animals?

If o n e d o e s not accept c o n d o l e n c e s f o r unrelated f r e e

persons, s o m u c h m o r e f o r s l a v e s 3 0 8 .

If o n e ' s s l a v e o r a n i m a l d i e d , p e o p l e

say t o him: T h e O m n i p r e s e n t m a y r e p l a c e y o u r loss.

She must have been his personal

accept condolences f o r slaves", mea-

maidservant. The story is repeated in

307

ning that this is a rule that cannot be

an enlarged version in Babli

waved.

Berakhot

In the Babli, his attitude is

16b and, in the Yerushalmi version, in

directly contradicted by Rebbi Y o s e ,

Evel Rabbati 1:9,10.

the most authoritative oí the Tannaïm

308

Rebbi Eliezer disagrees with his

of the fourth generation.

Rebbi Yose

and

even recommends eulogies f o r honest

with the statement of the previous

slaves; this represents the G a l i l e a n

section in the Talmud. He will read in

attitude (not shared in Babylonia) and,

the Mishnah "because

while

brother-in-law Rabban G a m l i e l

one does not

not

spelled

out

in

the

240

CHAPTER TWO

Yerushalmi, is taken for granted in this

present story gives examples of model

passage which immediately after the

eulogies for rabbis.

\wn i » a p N*i3j? -»37 γργιον -ia N7N *ia N » n »an rjB^j 7 3 >to»y

ϊ κ χ n> 1 3 ?

a>an Ηψ2 ί ^ ί γ)>ι>ο>τ» hopo n>an nyrrc

i33> τ ι > n i l H ï y r p - m .o!?iyn rrç oip>>·)

, o > m niyi> o y i a n

tv

*n> , κ ι π rpna « m p n n* h V t

.o>?3a niy-}>

.D'pivn n i n w

n ç i i n a i n nn>

o > m (foi. 5c) niy-)> town

. t r n s i!? y o i tj^jan ntyy n o

.ìD»?>ap ,>ni>? - m v

V?n< otyiao D'p^ri

ftm

a>an r p ^ i "ja to n>rrç>

>N îinvy) tola o ^ y n t o ? >m>? n>n v i n ty W i n ntyiy i a n n>m> n y ^ a >(sp)p n>n i t » y ? a η>ηψ n y ^ a i

ί ο π η ? l i n a nypiJi obiya

i m p Nin :p->a v m p n ï y W i n p w i y

ny>p? it

ny^»a

i p a u p i i N u p i o ^ i y n n i a w a p n s n t »Ν π κ η " ) tola o b i y i v i ^ : ! o>pHSD

n>n i i m p p > y ? n ιηψ n y ^ n i . a r m Vitp ii>a

When Rebbi Hiyya bar Ada 3 0 9 , the nephew of Bar Qappara, died did Resh Laqish accept for him since he was his teacher and a student is beloved as a son 310 . He went and eulogized him: (Song of Songs 6:2) "My friend descended to his garden, to the spice patch 3 1 1 , to shepherd in the gardens." 312

It would have been necessary only to say ""My friend

descended to shepherd in the gardens." But "my friend" is the Holy One, praise to Him. "He descended to His garden", that is the world. "To the spice patch", that is Israel. "To shepherd in the gardens", these are the peoples of the world. "And to collect lilies", these are the just ones whom He removes from their midst. They gave a parable, to what can this be compared? To a king who had a son whom he loved very much. What did the king do? He planted a garden for him. When the son did the will

241

HALAKHAH 8

of his father, the father searched in t h e e n t i r e w o r l d f o r a n i c e plant and planted it in his g a r d e n .

W h e n the son was making him angry, he cut

d o w n all his plants. S o w h e n Israel d o e s the will of t h e H o l y O n e , praise t o H i m , h e searches the entire world and o b s e r v e s t h e just p e r s o n , b r i n g s h i m and attaches h i m t o Israel, like Jethro and Rahab. A n d w h e n t h e y a r e m a k i n g h i m angry h e r e m o v e s the just o n e s f r o m a m o n g s t t h e m 3 1 3 . 309

A second generation Amora in

Galilee.

He had the r e p u t a t i o n of a

saintly man.

He might h a v e been a

s t u d e n t of t h e y o u n g Rav in Academy

of R e b b i , but his

which also is appropriate to the sermon based on this verse.

This does not

imply that the verse in Resh Laqish's

the

Bible had here a singular, only that the

main

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n as s i n g u l a r is m o r e

teacher was R. Simeon ben Laqish.

convenient for his sermon.

Since t h e topic of condolences and

312

As with most Scriptural quotes

eulogies is implied in the previous text,

in the Talmud, the main inference is to

a list of sample eulogies follows. Most

be drawn f r o m the part of the v e r s e

of these a r e found (with some change

that is not q u o t e d ; t h e s t u d e n t

in names) in Midrash

expected to recognize the verse and to

Rabba, Song of

Songs on 6:2, Ecclesiastes 310

on 5:11.

complete it himself.

Hence, a teacher may formally

mourn a student. Qatan

In the Babli ( M o ë d

26b), only

a student

may

is

T h e s p e l l i n g is

left as in the manuscripts and is not edited to c o n f o r m to our m a s o r e t i c texts.

formally mourn a teacher.

313

311

Ada was collected because of the sins

While t h e m a s o r e t i c text has

"spice patches", the consonantal spel-

Implying that Rebbi Hiyya bar

of his generation.

ling here seems to p r e f e r the singular

N nτ a :! -? n- : >a~i >a >oi> m· NnniN5 HM

T V

ΓΌ n>>

n ··» : Nιτ

·

"I i n· ·mIT ΓΡΝΊ . r p "yΤm n m N aτ h-t ~Q- N τ» n > m -: -

v?Ji> ιιη

. r p r n n n i ipy>

n w

,ΝΟ!ΤΤ τ

-ívrniam

. o v Í7D3 ο ' ρ»··ϊ τη s >»( n·· p»τ n j τw: n j v t Ν Ι τΟτ N iτ m Π5>ΝΓΙ M iτ nτ ι ύ η η τ : -: τ ·· :

ί ο ν lia? Ν Π ^ Ν ^ Τ r n »

Η·>ΏΗ

->nn> . w n i p p τ ι *

.'op V i ì n y ? ) ? ' » V VT3VÌ V ^ ?

IWîTC

. w n y i n ΝΙΠ ^l1?

242

CHAPTER TWO

n i a n n v ^ y n ç o j ή η η > v i i » >γιν Ν Ί ? * ? ϊψ

r m i ì y >ri)a>N y - p > r o ' N n n b y a r i m

ϊ ψ i m i y ·>τ\ψΗ y i v κ ι η

Iii» "ΤΨΟΝΙ Ν ^ ' Τ nniN?

rj?

.rpro>Njp w ^ ^ n )

^ V t ? ^ η ϊζΠ v S p ì ì

·1Ι?!?θ)ρ N i n i ο ^ ί ν π ρ ?

A clarification.

ij>">)pN

ο'ρη*

Rebbi Hiyya bar Abba 3 1 4 and his group, s o m e say

Rebbi Yose bar Halaphta and his group, and some say Rebbi Jacob and his group, were sitting to study Torah under a fig tree. The owner of the fig tree was coming every morning at sunrise and collected figs. They said, maybe he mistrusts us 315 , let us change place. The next day, the owner of the fig tree came to them 316 ; he said to them: the one mizwah that you used to do with me you are withholding from me 3 1 7 . They said to him: We thought that maybe you mistrust us. During the morning he came and informed them that if the sun shines on ripe figs they get wormy 3 1 8 . At that time they said, the owner of the fig tree knows the best time to collect figs and he collects them. Likewise, the Holy One, praise to Him, knows the time of the just ones to be removed from the world and He removes them 319 . 314

In the Rome manuscript, he is

scholars among themselves a r e s p e a -

identified as the G r e a t R e b b i Hiyya

king H e b r e w and only with t h e un-

(whose full name was Hiyya bar Abba

learned f a r m e r they s p e a k A r a m a i c .

bar Aha Karsala f r o m K u f r a in Iraq),

The Great Rebbi Hiyya belongs to the

who otherwise is never r e f e r r e d to as

g e n e r a t i o n of

"bar Abba" in t h e Y e r u s h a l m i .

Tannai'm a n d A m o r a ï m ; e v e n

The

transition

between his

sage h e r e cannot be the third g e n e r -

inclusion is a little late c o m p a r e d to

a t i o n A m o r a R. H i y y a b a r

Abba,

the other two possible sources. This, as

student of R. Yohanan, since not only

noted by Levi G i n z b e r g ( f o l l o w i n g

a r e the a l t e r n a t e authors Tannai'm of

Eliezer ben Yehudah) is characteristic

the f o u r t h generation but the story is

of Tannaïtic times.

very e x p l i c i t in s h o w i n g t h a t

the

It is possible that the author of the

243

HALAKHAH 8 Zohar

317

i d e n t i f i e d this R. Hiyya b a r

Since the one who provides the

Abba as a Tanna of the fourth gener-

physical means for Torah study, not the

ation, c o n t e m p o r a r y of Rebbi Yose,

scholar, acquires the g r e a t e r m e r i t

Rebbi Jacob, and, t h e r e f o r e , Rebbi

from the study, you are depriving me

Simeon bar Yohai, since he a p p e a r s

of the merit of T o r a h study t h a t I

there as a major partner in dialogues

cannot acquire on my own.

with the latter.

318

Hence, he has to come e a r l y

every

every morning to harvest all figs that

morning to check on us. (In the Leyden

are ripe because later they become

manuscript and the Venice print, the

worthless.

text is "mistrusts me" but the Rome

319

manuscript can be read as "mistrusts

Laqish, the Tannaïm do not see in the

us").

premature death of a saintly man a

315

316

Since he c o m e s e a r l y

In contrast to the Amora Resh

consequence of the sins of his con-

In the Midrash, it is explained

temporaries.

that he went on a systematic search to find his scholars.

ROYJ N ^ I N P •pa

-IO?*·»

n>n n n >

η > π ψ *τηΝ

>3*I TY N » N >3-1 - O "PA >:N TJN^R I D

ΓΏΊΠ ON oj)>p ON

INS 3 > n s V N ΓΌΐ

ο ψ n>nì n a i n o»>}p3

jiirmN i»v ^ o p rpm OJW VDY> IB 1ΪΙ31 YI^VF»

τ^ίνη

n p ì t N » n >3i

i ^ n nyy πη ODILIA

-mi> ÌN3

tepN^p?

is

-οτιψη

>

Ί1ΊΠ)!»!Ρ .JIVTYPL

3

Ν ^ Ν V3> Ν > π η o i > n - ^ D i3v?> « Ν V"!)?ÌNI v ö V I ? ' ? η ϊ ν ψ >riy>> rrç ys? : ΐ > φ η m T i D 3 l i a >3*1 y v

.o^yo

lîii"! n i y y >riy>

. t o r a o v n - t o OJJN oj?y>> Ν ^ ψ n o n - m i '

,ΓΟψ ΠΝΟ> W h e n Rebbi A b u n bar Rebbi H i y y a

p > ™ "PObri ν Ν ψ 320

η

?Ψ Γφηψι

died, Rebbi Zeira a s c e n d e d his

pulpit and eulogized him: (Eccl. 6:11) "Sweet is the year of the worker." It does not say here "sleeps" but "whether he eats little or much." T o w h a t can Rebbi Bun bar H i y y a be likened? To a king w h o hired m a n y w o r k e r s and there was o n e w o r k e r w h o was exceptionally productive in his w o r k .

244

CHAPTER TWO

What did the king do? He took him and walked with him the long and the short. In the evening, the workers came to receive their wages and he gave him his total wages with them. The workers complained and said: we were toiling the entire day and this one did toil only for two hours and he gave him his total wages with us!

The king told them:

This one

produced in two hours more than what you produced all day long.

So

Rebbi Bun produced in Torah in 28 years what an outstanding 3 2 1 student cannot learn in a hundred years. 320

One of the frequently quoted

shows.

authorities of the Jerusalem Talmud, a

321

student of Rebbi Yohanan and Rebbi

"constant, resolute".

Or,

with

the

Arabic

ρ'in

Ze'ira; he died young as his eulogy

ona^

n y a l i * >i!?>y "»O^N"!

>5-» ÌJNJJ

D i p o i N 3 Í O «IPD^ «Λ >3 l»£P>n π α Ν ON ,ίτηιοη >3"! n n N Μ75ΝΨ UN

> : n IJJOT I D

Ì T W ON "I^D") o £ i y

.n^ìn? p w

Ì3N1 n p v

ty

W'p^ri

ipitj

Ν > ι η ·>η . i n a ^ n ι Λ n u o >n η ο ψ o o n 7>)?>ri ïrçy: .>n ! » >?>>))p n p ^ ? " ! ro>n ο ί ρ ο n * w

,V£»>>n

Nsjan i>no nnpnn-!

. 0 3 > N ^ n Ι ' Γ Ρ ' Τ 0 3 > N3> ΠΝ>3)? W ^ j M ty η θ ί > >ΠΝ ON .noD - ! n n ? ΠΠΝ

ty

-η

JIN

W h e n Rebbi Simon bar Z e v i d 3 2 2 died, Rebbi Illai a s c e n d e d and eulogized him: Four things are used in the world and if they are lost, they have replacement, ( J o b 28:1,2) "But silver has a source, and a place is where gold is refined; iron is taken from dust, and stone is smelted into copper." Those, if they are lost, have replacement.

But a scholar who

died, who can bring us his replacement, who can bring us his substitute? (.Job 28:12 3 2 3 ,21) "Wisdom, where can it be found, where is the place of understanding?

It is hidden from the eyes of all living!" Rebbi L e v i 3 2 4

245

HALAKHAH 8

said:

If the brothers of Joseph lost their spirit because they found

something, as it is written (Gen. 42:28) "they lost their spirit", we, who lost Rebbi Simon bar Zevid, so much more! 322

Hizkiah, Jonah, and Phincas.

A Galilean Amora of the third

generation, also quoted as Rebbi Simon

323

bar Savdi, whose discussions with

wanted to refer to verse 20: "Wisdom,

Rebbi Illaï (Lai) are recorded several

from where does it come'.'"

times in the Yerushalmi.

324

He was a

It seems that the

preacher

Probably a scribal error for Lai.

teacher of the leaders of the fourth

But the parallel in Yerushalmi Horaiot

generation

3:8 (fol. 38b) also has Rebbi Levi.

of

Amor aim,

ynvM i o n - m η ί ο

Rebbis

->O?NI i w i o v n Ï U N ty >p>o - ο η >

ia v m o -?o7 to n>nw -·fνi r b η ην ί τ ό ό Ί 3« . τ: τ τ τ o>wpn τπζΐ

τον -rny

.tora

n>n rtvò .ιο> ο > π >τ:ν πτ jin - : τ: r

. .

τ

·1?ΐ ϊ ψ η ν α η η κ η γ ο ^ ί ^

onwy ^

itoy 3>αη

-jn-j I D

τ

niwiy ν π ι

-toy

πνο

ï y -r»y o > v a i í < ï y "noy

i n w n>rn .*)» ϊφ Jivnn tino nwiy r p m

NÌD π1»"»? W i i ^ D >??> η η η >ρ>ρ 1 3 >to ^ Ί η>π -J?

NID Ν "Τ Γ)

.

Ο

τ τ τ

Γ

τ :

«

>3 OINTT^D ΓΚ9 >3· 3 W T τ • • τ

When Rebbi Levi bar Sisi 325 died, the father of Samuel came and eulogized him: (Eccl. 12:13) "Final word: Everything has been heard, fear God." To what can Rebbi Levi ben Sisi be compared? To a king who had a vineyard with a hundred vines which gave him every year a hundred barrels of wine. He reduced them to 50, to 40, to 30, to 20, to ten, to one, and this one gave him a hundred barrels of wine. This one vine was as dear to him as the entire vineyard. So Rebbi Levi bar Sisi was beloved before the Holy One, praise to Him, like all mankind. This is what is written (loc. cit.) "Because that is all of man," mankind

326

.

that one is like all of

246 325

CHAPTER TWO One of the outstanding students

He, like the Great Rebbi Hiyya, was a

of Rebbi, in the generation of trans-

collector

ition between Tannai'm and Amoraïm.

(baraitot);

Some time a f t e r R e b b i ' s d e a t h he

foundation of study in Nahardea.

emigrated to Nahardea in Babylonia

326

where he became an associate of Abba

interpretations of Vs as "all" or "entire".

bar Abba, the f a t h e r of Samuel, a

In the Babli (Berakhot 6b) this is a

descendant of Hananiah, the nephew of

sermon of Rebbi Abba bar Kahana, a

of

mishnaic

material

his collection b e c a m e the

A kind of pun on the possible

Rebbi Joshua, who founded the first

Babylonian who became p r e a c h e r of

Talmudic academy in Babylonia at the

the third generation of A m o r a ï m in

outbreak of the war of Bar Kokhba.

Galilee.

. y n a - α τ η m r i p n n d h > p>!?p 1 5 p a o d > i v d i d l o r p

n o n>> n m yjajim

,n>> j i i d p i

, o r i r » p n * u > N i n n a r n o n n w n>> i e n

N i n n- i: π ό. .η. i «- · n ^ ->»n « τ no

.>\?fVN Μ3Ν1

τ -

:

·

h ùτ p»τ n o~ η»!? - i -o nτ . y» iτ nτ i n- n >··n :o n-

η>ρ>>Ό n o - i o n

,η>> j r j r i p i

ΝΓΙΝ . j v p ^ p i i n 1» >> Jiìn>3i ^ w ?

. o n f v p Ν*η>

^ \ ? p > p ! ? η>ρ>>υ

> n i 2 N i n > r m > N i n>> n * i ? ü o n ' P ' N i m

-13 n>> -»on i ) n i > >3-1 >3î>

î o r p n>> n m

,n>> p i p i n g n>>

no i o n

N 5 n ? n>n? ν π ì j n v >a*i> n>> y - » p N IIJIN

N * n tjV

n>> - i o n

nji>>p N > n n n>> P I O N

,n>>

i n > n>> N " ) p i o

. N n i w - i 3 t » o ΗΪΊ

ρ>>ρι i n

ρ

n>> i 7 î ' P n i r i

.n>7>i n w * | iû>\?:> r r j q C a h a n a 3 2 7 was v e r y y o u n g w h e n he c a m e up here. s a w h i m and a s k e d him, w h a t is n e w in H e a v e n ? judgment o v e r this m a n has b e e n sealed. was stricken.

A p e r s o n in rags

He answered: The

This h a p p e n e d t o h i m and he

A n o t h e r o n e in rags s a w h i m and asked, w h a t is n e w in

H e a v e n ? H e answered: The judgment o v e r this m a n has been sealed. This happened to him. H e said: Did I not g o up to gain merit, but I a m sinning! Did I c o m e up to kill the people of the Land of Israel? I shall g o and step d o w n the w a y I c a m e up. H e c a m e to Rebbi Yohanan and said t o him:

A

247

HALAKHAH 8

m a n w h o s e m o t h e r w i s h e s h i m w e l l and w h o s e s t e p m o t h e r 3 2 8 h o n o r s him, should he g o there? H e said t o him, he s h o u l d g o t h e r e w h e r e h e is honored.

C a h a n a d e s c e n d e d t h e w a y h e c a m e up.

T h e y c a m e and told

Rebbi Y o h a n a n that C a h a n a had d e s c e n d e d t o B a b y l o n i a .

H e said, h o w

could h e g o w i t h o u t asking permission? T h e y told him: that q u e s t i o n , that h e asked of y o u , w a s his request f o r permission. 327

While the previous section dealt

seven years. This must have happened

with

a

to

between the Sassanid v i c t o r y in 226

with

C.E. and Rav's death in 247 C.E. (Since

Babylonians i m m i g r a t i n g into Israel.

the organization of t h e new P e r s i a n

Cahana here is Rav Cahana II; his story

empire must have taken some time, the

can be understood only in connection

earliest time for Rav Cahana's flight is

Galilean

Babylonia,

we

emigrating now

deal

with the remarks in Babli Bava

Qama

probably around 235 C.E. When Rav

117a,b; t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n is Rashi's

C a h a n a r e t u r n e d to B a b y l o n i a ,

(117b).

became a student of Rav's successors

Rav Cahana was a young member of the

Academy

of

Rav

when

Rav

he

Rav Yehudah and Rav Huna; hence, he returned a f t e r 247 C.E.)

In Tiberias,

unsuccessfully tried to dissuade a Jew

Cahana (whose rabbinical title is not

from informing against a n o t h e r Jew

recognized in the Y e r u s h a l m i ) f i r s t

b e f o r e the Persian a u t h o r i t i e s .

Rav

kept Rav's injunction but in the end he

he

found a way to get around it and was

slapped t h e w o u l d - b e i n f o r m e r and

r e c o g n i z e d by R e b b i Y o h a n a n as a

Cahana

w a s so o u t r a g e d

that

broke his neck. Rav pointed out to him

g r e a t scholar.

that under the new Sassanid regime the

birth defect or an accident, Cahana had

Jews had lost the criminal jurisdiction

unsymmetric lips which gave his f a c e

they had under the Parthians and that,

the look of a p e r m a n e n t smirk and

therefore,

to

be

Rebbi Yohanan got offended. He gave

Rav t o l d him to

go

him an evil eye so that Cahana died.

("ascend") to the Land of Israel, to the

When informed that the smirk was no

Academy of Rebbi Y o h a n a n , but he

smirk but a bodily f e a t u r e of Cahana,

warned

he went to the cave where Cahana was

prosecuted.

he

was

liable

U n f o r t u n a t e l y , by a

him not to a s k

difficult

q u e s t i o n s f r o m Rebbi Y o h a n a n f o r

buried. The entrance to the cave was

248

CHAPTER TWO

guarded by a poisonous snake which let

the hoodlums. According to the Babli,

Rebbi Yohanan enter only after he had

Rav Cahana found the presence of R.

publicly a c k n o w l e d g e d that he had

Yohanan too dangerous.

been a student of Cahana.

Then he

explain the roundabout way in which

prayed in the cave and Cahana was

he asked for leave from the Academy

resurrected from the dead. This is the

in the Yerushalmi version.

basis of the questions asked here by

328

tflipi

Nin χιρη

The land of Babylonia.

.ο"τ νρπ

ρ>>ρ t? ία>νΐ

,οο-ρρ ιοί "29 νΨρηι ΓΡ> idn Νπ-ιο> vi«? .a l ì αυ

Ν^Ι y t> ao '^V

·1?η?»3 -pay η>> *V?N !??n Η^η ΗΟΓίη Nïm»

η>> DON .«nao ρ

κ^"! Ví»v) i? no γρ> DON ΠΝ)?> N\?>?7 -ry .i rß 30

nn inn

DON .n-jvi η»?!? n'nj Nyjpna

•VI Min nçi n>> mP* -OV"PP "Ό

m -raipi NIV^ m i?

n>> îdon .N(7flî n^iiyi "pro^N·) rprijvn »ya .îjd

This will

rnao m >iî?v

Ηϊη

.«rao

lib ion

>JI>>"¡ irù DON

>a-»

Rebbi Zeïra went to have himself bled when he ascended here 3 2 9 . He went and wanted to buy a pound 3 3 0 of red meat from a butcher.

He

asked him: How much is that pound? He said to him, 50 minas and one slap 331 . He said to him: Take 60, but he did not accept. Take 70, but he did not accept. Take 80, take 90, until he came to 100 and he did not accept. Then he said: Do what is your routine. The next morning he went to the Academy and said to them: Rabbis, what is this bad practice here that nobody can eat a pound of red meat unless they slap him! They said to him: Who is that? He said, the butcher so-and-so. They sent to him to bring him but they found that his coffin was being carried out. They said to him: Our teacher, all that 332 ? He said to them: That should happen to me, but I was not angry about him 333 ; did I not think that this was general practice?

This used to be t h e g e n e r a l

This makes one pound of gold (345 g)

method to heal minor illnesses and also

the equivalent of Γ250Ό00 old silver

served as a p r o p h y l a c t i c .

denars.

329

Bleeding

required that one must eat enough red

At that time, 50 Minas, or

5ΌΟΟ silver Denars, would therefore be

meat a f t e r w a r d s to r e p l a c e the lost

1.38 g = 0.04 oz of gold or at today's

substance.

gold prices, $14.45. This is a very high

330

A Roman pound (libra,

λίτρα)

price but not out of line in a time of

of twelve Roman ounces, slightly more

e x t r e m e d e c l i n e of

than 12 avoirdupois ounces. It seems

ranching. It is quite clear from this and

that Rebbi Zeïra incurred the wrath of

other stories that the obligation to eat

t h e b u t c h e r by using t h e

meat

feminine form litrëta

correct

for the G r e e k

farming

on h o l i d a y s w a s a

monetary obligation.

and

serious

(The so-called

litra

silver coins of that period were copper

which in A r a m a i c really should be

coins dipped for a second in a stiver

masculine (but was not taken as such in

solution.)

litra, while common usage was

Dtnip is Greek κρουσμός, ó, "striking,

popular use). 331

The price of meat can be taken

smiting, collision".

to d e t e r m i n e the time of R. Zei'ra's

332

arrival in Israel.

A Mina (Mvä) was

a Babylonian title, "Rav", b e f o r e he

100 Denar. In old times, a Mina was an

i m m i g r a t e d to G a l i l e e but, b e i n g

enormous sum. But the inflation in the

dissatisfied with the style of Talmudic

later part of the military anarchy, from

study in Babylonia, he never used it.

the

of

Seeing that Heaven was giving him

Aurelianus to the reorganization of the

special protection, the members of the

Roman state under Diocletianus, was

academy of Tiberias started giving him

extreme. All Midrashim telling about

the Palestinian title, Rebbi, right away.

exorbitant sums being paid for simple

They wondered that Heaven was so

objects of daily use must be dated to

quick in punishing a man who had

that

offended him.

failed

period,

currency

from

reform

274-284

C.E.

Rebbi Zeïra really had acquired

Diocletian introduced new gold coinage

333

Hence, I did not wish him dead

based on a price of 50Ό00 old gold

and I am innocent of his death.

Denars for a Roman pound of gold.

remark connects to the next story.

This

250

CHAPTER TWO

V3? . N » - a > \ r j v p i n n IHN ? >npn

">9P ^

N*U> N i n n i N r c m y p i ? -TV n>> n m

P^V H

.*τη Ìnp*yt9 π>> n>n>")

i n n>a

n>> o p b m i ©n?p>> i n i * v n i α>κρ njíd-»n n i n Ninn n>> -«on rpro N i n n i 'nn - ) wy

η^π

n i n i n o í o í d i n n>> i o n

VP?3 ^o >V>p τ η ï y n>> hin") nm") n > a p i ,>»y νιγ) qpnyy τ ι ι γ π N n ^ i a y Ν>ηη η>> d o n t>N n n y i

λποιο ν ο > r n - o y i V~)V? VH® "P^VP

N^I N*UJ N i n n i « l ì

: n - α tJNinw >1-» o y n n ^ - j ? >a-> υ η ^ 3 l n i o » ηη^ητι n^D >3

n>> -MON .JISDW *ii3 .ODnpin i p ^ > i? i s s i g l i

.n»>>? l a i o i ini©>? η η ^ η ι ^ ψ

Ν>η η ψ ρ p r o p

η>>>3 í a í o i . o a n p i o i p t f v i s i s s i ^ n t?N n n y ) a ' r p i ty TlÌNl? •>> · J1NÖ >Γ1>>ηψ

When Rebbi Yasa ascended here, he went to a barber. He wanted to bathe in a public bath of Tiberias. He met a scoffer who hit him once on his neck and said: The noose 3 3 4 of this man is loose. There was an admistrator 335 sitting who was interrogating 336 a robber 3 3 7 .

He 3 3 8 went

and stood there all laughing opposite him. The administrator asked him: Who was with you? He looked around and said: The one who is laughing here was with me. He 3 3 9 fetched him, interrogated him, and he confessed about one murder. When they both went out, carrying two beams 3 4 0 , Rebbi Yasa passed by going to the bath. He 3 4 1 said to him: That noose which was loose you already tightened. He answered him: That is the bad luck of this man, is it not written (Is. 28:22): "Now do not scoff, that your fetters should not be tightened." 342 Rebbi Phineas, Rebbi Jeremiah, in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac 343 : Scoffing is hard since its start is pain and its end destruction. Its start is pain since it is written "Now do not scoff, that your fetters should not be tightened," and its end is destruction as it is written (loc. cit.) "For destruction and finality I heard from the Lord of Hosts 344 over the entire earth."

251

HALAKHAH 9 334

This is the reading of the Rome

laughed about the trick he played on

manuscript. The Venice print has κριιν

the s c h o l a r

but w h o w a s

caught

"neck" which cannot be loose or tight,

because the robber thought that he was

but the noose around the neck can.

laughing about the pain i n f l i c t e d on

335

himself and who took r e v e n g e by

Α ρ χ ω ν , "ruler"; in

Rome a local administrator, 336

Imperial praefectus.

denouncing the scoffer.

Under threat or by the use of

342

And, therefore, Rebbi Yasa was

judicial torture. (Referring to a Jewish

not guilty of the scoffer's death.

court, the word would mean "punish".)

343

337

Rebbis Zeïra and Yasa, it is not clear

Greek ληστής (also a collateral

form ληιστής).

The word appears in

Since he was a contemporary of

whether this is an independent aggadic

the Babylonian tradition as D'uoV

interpretation, appended here because

338

it uses the same verse that R. Yasa

The scoffer. The next "he, him,

he" refer to the robber.

used, or as the s o u r c e

339

Yasa/Assi's interpretation.

The archon, who f e t c h e d the

of

Rebbi

scoffer who then confessed to a murder

344

under the threat of torture.

c o r r e c t l y quoted; this r e l i e v e s the

340

scribe from the necessity of writing

The beams used for their own

crucifixion. 341

The Divine Names a r e

not

down a name which cannot be erased.

The s c o f f e r who might h a v e

liypv Iii. .»nip lWN-in n ^ a vny) nis imp> .iJiv» own rus

NAIN ON

Nimrr!?D i o

M i s h n a h 9: T h e b r i d e g r o o m m a y recite t h e Shema'

inn ν τηνη IOÌN

ïwïm

in his f i r s t n i g h t if

h e wishes. R a b b a n S i m e o n b e n G a m l i ë l says, n o t e v e r y o n e w h o w a n t s t o g r a b a r e p u t a t i o n 3 4 5 can d o so. 345

Asserting that he is such a holy

man that he can c o n c e n t r a t e on his

prayers under any circumstances,

252

CHAPTER T W O

7>n> i o y y r i i w y b N s i - i r r i o ι * * N> r o y

Ninrç» * m ~ ! ? 3 l

I3>R? 1 ? O N Ν ^ Ν

ty

κ ι η ψ (foi. 5d) ">37~ί?3 >?ri

.ro-ja

ν

m i n

Ni^ni nyiy 03η

.rrçhy

,ΗΨΊΝ T>N> INSY NWITE NSI-TN - !??

O ^ N *P»>RI

.•VD>¥3

TY

ÍJ1ÍN

Halakhah 9: It was stated 3 4 6 : In anything that gives pain, everyone who wants to distinguish himself may do so. A scholar does and may blessing come to him. In anything that gives praise, not everyone who wants to distinguish himself may do so. A scholar does except if he has been appointed to a position of public authority. 346

This T o s e p h t a (Taäniot

1:7)

bring prestige, not e v e r y o n e can join

r e f e r s to t h e Mishnah (Taänit 1:4) that

and a s c h o l a r c a n n o t j o i n if h e has

if t h e r e w a s no r a i n by t h e m i d d l e of

been duly a p p o i n t e d to a p o s i t i o n of

t h e month of H e s h w a n , d i s t i n g u i s h e d

a u t h o r i t y since in that c a s e h e has to

people start

avoid even t h e a p p e a r a n c e of b e i n g

fasting; public

fasts

b e c a u s e of t h e d r a u g h t s t a r t o n l y in

better

Kislev.

R a b b a n Simeon b e n G a m l i e l

authority. T h e Yerushalmi q u o t e s this

states that in m a t t e r s that b r i n g pain,

Tosephta anonymously, hence it accepts

everybody

it as valid ruling.

can join with the

dis-

than the people

under

his

tinguished persons; only in m a t t e r s that

itnsN

Nirrç» π ^ ψ ^ ί

>3*Η

o > : m n n i - p r p > 3 3 θ " Ρ " Π 3 > v p > r i p p >ari

LAI.? N'^VB ^ S N

UT

>51 ni* ì f o - ) o>?"vrn rii-prp !?N>>>?Ì l a i DON OW>

Ν

.ΐ»??"} ! Ο Π Ν > Ρ Ν>ΗΨ ΓΠΨΑ

Vibrion v m ^173 .Tiw? N i l

o í a ? 13 Γ φ η >

NID Ü Í 3 3 I 3 ΓΠ1Π> IB I O N V 3 3 N 3 -

r i i w v b N ^ i n n ! ? ? Ν > r»3y> ty Ν ί π ψ ~ i 3 T ^ 3 >?ri ρ

Π Ν Ί Ο Ψ Π? ΝΊΠ N b i n>>

, - n a ^ n b y o j - ) 3 i n i N ií>O 1 ? O N N ^ N n i y i v 0 3 η .ΠΨΊΝ

νη^

ίων

. r r ç n y *τ>η>

IN^Y RIIWYB NSVURBD NYS TY NIRRÇ» Ι Τ Τ ΐ »

ΝΠ-) RPB I O N

N^Í1"!

ΤΦΪΕ

m a ? N b 7 l i n e a i N v y t ' 3 " ! "»»Ν

.Π3"ΐ3

η ν "

253

HALAKHAH 9

It was stated: One may step to one side because of obstacles on the road 347 . And when one sinks 348 , even into a field full of saffron. Rebbi Abbahu said 349 : It happened that Rabban Gamliel and Rebbi Joshua were on the road and stepped on the side because of obstacles on the road when they saw Rebbi Yehudah ben Pappos, who was sinking, coming towards them. Rabban Gamliël said to Rebbi Joshua: Who is this one who makes an exhibition of himself 350 ? He answered: This is Yehudah ben Pappos, all whose deeds are done for Heaven's sake. He said to him 3 5 1 : Did we not formulate "In anything that gives praise, not e v e r y o n e w h o wants to distinguish himself may do so.

A scholar does except if he has been

appointed to a position of public authority." He answered him 352 : Did we not also formulate, "In anything that gives pain, everyone who wants to distinguish himself may do so. A scholar does and may blessing come to him." Rebbi Zeïra said, but only if he does not shame others 353 . 347

This is one of the conditions of

an immigrant f r o m Babylonia, in t h e

public use of private land which Joshua

Babli is a t t r i b u t e d to R e b b i .

imposed on the land distributed to the

shows that the note of Rebbi Zeïra is a

Israelite tribes (Babli Bava Qama 81b,

b e l a t e d a c c o m o d a t i o n of

Yerushalmi Bava Bat ra 5:1). If a road

practice to Babylonian standards.

is impassable, one may walk on t h e

350

This

Galilean

Showing overly great care not

shoulder even if the field is planted up

to infringe on other people's property.

to the roadbed.

Since the possession of land is a gift of

348

In t h e

rainy

season

on

an

God, any property rights a r e f r o m the

unpaved road.

start subject to the liens e n a c t e d by

349

Joshua, and use of the shoulders is no

in

A parallel to this story is quoted the

Babli

(Bava

Qama

81b)

infringement

of

other

people's

concerning Rebbi, Rebbi Hiyya, and

property.

Rebbi Y e h u d a h ben Q a n o s a .

piety therefore is quite misplaced.

The

disapproving conclusion, given here in

351

the name of the late Amora R. Zeïra,

Joshua.

R. Y e h u d a h ben P a p p o s '

Rabban

Gamliel

to

Rebbi

T h e i m p l i c a t i o n is t h a t R.

254

CHAPTER TWO

Yehudah ben Pappos, who otherwise is

prehistory of the revolt of Bar Kokhba,

unknown, held a public position and,

too late).

therefore, was prohibited f r o m exhib-

352

iting his piety. (In Kaftor

R.

Gamliel. Since walking on a wet dirt

Astorre Parhi gives the name as Pappos

road is exhausting and very slow, even

ben Y e h u d a h , a man k n o w n f o r his

the holder of public office is permitted

extreme habits, cf. Tosephta Sota 5:9.

to walk on the road.

However, of the two men of this name

353

mentioned in Talmudic literature, one

generation were e m b a r r a s s e d by his

is too early, in Temple times, and the

unnecessary exhibition oí piety.

other

one

is

mentioned

i n i o n a v > d n ν?*?,? pns> 3 1 i ? .•pp'ttpç

in

Rebbi

Joshua

.Min ï w ï t y

Ï7V?3> D ? ^ y n i v i

Rabban

the

PO?' o n m ì x i

.OViri

to

And h e r e , t h e l e a d e r s of t h e

^11

Ν^ΓΡ

NWiy π π κ

v ^ ^

ì ^ ' n j p r i O N > 3 1 ·)3>Ν ì ? t Ö Η ψ Ή >3"!

Ν ΠΙ n>> ->ÇN ΊΟΚ

waperah,

"ȂN

ÌDWÌV} ">11» "OOS Ν ί Π ψ Ν!?·) η>> n m MßH ï w ï m

, γ ι ^ Ί ON ΐ ^ η ÏWtyi

»aril ,-iwa i n n li^ri

1 3 1 3 n o ? N3N

Clarification. Rebbi Miasha 3 5 4 and Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac were sitting and eating in one of the upper synagogues 355 . There came the time of prayer and Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac got up to pray. Rebbi Miasha said to him: Teacher, did you not teach us that once one started one does not interrupt 356 .

And Hizkiah stated: Every one who is free f r o m an

obligation and does it anyway is called uneducated 357 . He answered him: Did we not state 3 5 8 : "The bridegroom is free?" The bridegroom, if he wants. He 3 5 9 answered him: Is that not from Rabban Gamliël 360 ? He said to him, I can free myself as Rabban Gamliel did; Rabban Gamliel said: I shall not listen to you to lift from me the Kingdom of Heaven.

251

HALAKHAH 9 354

This is the reading of ms. Rome.

to translate: "Did not Rebbi (the editor

The Venice p r i n t has "Rebbi Yasa".

of the Mishnah) teach us ...".

The Venice reading e x p l a i n s why R.

357

Samuel is mentioned in second place,

individual" (as opposed to the State).

since Rebbi Miasha was a student of

358

Rebbi Samuel ben Rav Isaac.

Maybe

chapter, t h a t t h e g r o o m is a b s o l v e d

there existed a version in which Rebbi

from reciting Shema' but that he may

Yasa was mentioned both times.

do so if he wishes.

355

Of Tiberias. Most commentators

359

Rebbi Miasha.

invert the word order and explain: On

360

Mishnah 9, even t h o u g h f o r -

Greek ι δ ι ώ τ η ς "private person,

The two M i s h n a y o t f r o m this

the upper floor of a synagogue (since

m u l a t e d a n o n y m o u s l y , is only

in the synagogue itself one may not

c e p t a b l e to R a b b a n G a m l i e l , not to

eat).

those who disagree with the him. The

356

M i s h n a h Sabbat

1:5.

If

the

speaker is Rebbi Yasa, one would have

ac-

a n s w e r is that t h e M i s h n a h is acceptable to all.

"wVtp ¡ n o m a t y

ό

, v > > a r i n i n i y ç y π η ρ η - n o s V3a> .η\ρ'»π

t i n i η\?>ηη

η^

ί π η ψ >η »alieni

ι!?>ί< . ρ η ^ η 1·?? I T * η ν » ο η ρ Ν ψ ΠΝ") - V I 1 0 ?

nw» π\ρηπ

Ttf* π υ ' η η ψ ms

,η^ο^η ρ M i s h n a h 1:

M

ΐηιν>3

A n y o n e w h o s e d e a d is lying b e f o r e h i m 1 is f r e e f r o m a n d f r o m tefillin.2

r e c i t i n g Shema'

T h e c a r r i e r s of t h e b i e r , t h e i r

substitutes, and t h e substitutes of their s u b s t i t u t e s , in f r o n t of t h e bier o r behind t h e bier, those t h a t a r e needed by t h e bier a r e f r e e , t h o s e t h a t a r e n o t n e e d e d b y t h e bier a r e o b l i g a t e d . 3

All of t h e m a r e f r e e f r o m t h e

obligation t o pray. 4

1

Any close relative who has to

those in front of the bier await their

mourn for the dead and who has to

turn to carry the bier to the cemetary

organize the burial.

but that those behind the bier already

2

did that; they follow only to honor the

This is the text of the Yerushalmi

and the Mishnah manuscripts.

Most

dead person, but not to actively render

sources of the Babylonian Talmud add

any more services.

"and from all obligations of the Torah",

does not know of such an organization.

but the commentary of Talmid Rabbenu

4

Yonah to Alfassi declares that good

obligation from the Torah is only to

manuscripts do not contain the addition

say some prayer every day; hence, even

and it also seems that the addition was

if the participants in the burial miss

not accepted by Tosaphot.

one prayer they still have two others to

3

fulfill the Biblical

In the Babli: "Those behind the bier

are obligated".

Rashi explains that

The Yerushalmi

According to Maimonides, the

According

requirement.

to N a c h m a n i d e s ,

the

257

HALAKHAH1 obligation

of

prayer

is e n t i r e l y

Torah obligation to bury a fellow Jew.

rabbinical and is eliminated b e f o r e the

>?V*ri o i » 3

.v>>flji ΐ Γ ΐ ύ ύ > Ν l i w N - i n o i > ? ΪΊΗ

>3-1 > 1 5 7 7 7 } n v r ! ? 3 >\ί)»>ψη D i » 3 Í5>N

H nain Niri

M i n n i v y ^ n 0 0 9 I N 3 ON") ìriij ύ ' Ν

Di>3 ON

."p^anri ini ori

r o w N - 1 3 n o w y w i n » >a*>

·Ί?>ίη

ηίΥΠΠ

.NT Ν5ΓΙ N"T N ì r i f ")>>? N ^ N . V i 3 >

Ì N 3 ON")

"ììV^ 1J1Ì3 N ì n

ΊΤΙβψ >0 1 Ç > 0

5

Halakhah 1: It was stated : "And from tefillin."

1J1Ï3

6

A mourner may not

put on tefillin on the first day; on the second day he puts on tefillin

and

when new faces appear during the seven days of mourning he takes them off; these are the words of Rebbi Eliezer. Rebbi Joshua says: On the first and second days he does not put on tefillin·, on the third day he puts on tefillin and if new faces come he does not take them off. If he does not put on tefillin

even on the second day, why is it

necessary to mention "anyone whose dead is lying before him"? Because he stated the one he stated the other 7 . 5

In t h e f i r s t s e n t e n c e of

our

Mishnah. 6

necessity to attend to the burial. 7

This is a bardita from Moed

Qatan

Since it is necessary to mention

that he is f r e e f r o m r e c i t i n g

Shema'

(3:5); a similar baraita (with the names

(and f r o m p r a y e r , w h e t h e r t h a t is

of Rebbis Eliezer and Joshua switched)

s t a t e d in t h e Mishnah or not), t h e

is quoted in Babli Moëd Qatan 21a. All

m e n t i o n of tefillin

authorities in all sources agree that a

memory aid. Since for a long time the

is a d d e d as a

the

Mishnah was transmitted by memory, it

entire first day of mourning, even if

could not h a v e been w r i t t e n d o w n .

the burial

Memory aids a r e an important part of

mourner may not put on tefillin

preceding

was c o n d u c t e d night.

in

the

So t h e r e is no

connection b e t w e e n tefillin

and the

Mishnah composition.

258

CHAPTER THREE r o £ n a n o w ? n>)?-)> Ι Ί

>ai

'î'i?

ov?

> 1 1 n ^ v ? ^ P l "pa ^ T ?

>t>v >a*i - i o n

nròr) no>3

Nvyt

lì?? Ν^Ψ

VN") >pï>o£

>a*i3 yvyirp > a - p " » Í V ^ S

Rebbi Zeïra, Rav Jeremiah in the n a m e of Rav: Practice f o l l o w s R e b b i Eliezer in p u t t i n g o n a n d R e b b i J o s h u a in t a k i n g o f f 8 . inquired:

Rebbi Zeïra

If h e put t h e m on on the s e c o n d day, f o l l o w i n g R e b b i Eliezer,

w o u l d Rebbi Eliezer act like Rebbi Joshua, not t o t a k e t h e m o f f ? Y o s e bar A b u n said:

Is it s o that R e b b i Eliezer w o u l d a c t l i k e R e b b i

Joshua, n o t t o t a k e t h e m o f f ? f o l l o w s Rebbi Eliezer."

8

Rebbi

If it w e r e so, w e s h o u l d s a y " p r a c t i c e

9

T h e m o u r n e r puts on

tefillin

starting the second day a f t e r

the

that Rebbi Joshua's opinion, that one does not take off tefillin

for visits of

funeral and does not take them off for

condolence, does not d e p e n d on the

a new visitor.

day. In the Babli, this is the ruling of

In the Babli, this is a

ruling of Ulla, one of the commuters

Rava, of t h e g e n e r a t i o n

between Babylonia and Galilee in the

Rebbi Zeïra.

following

The Babli quotes f r o m

second generation of Amoraïm.

the early Tanna Rebbi J e h u d a h ben

9

Tema that one puts on tefillin and takes

If on the second day, on which we

f o l l o w R e b b i Eliezer, he t a k e s off

them off even a hundred times.

Since

tefillin for new visitors, then the ruling

R. J e h u d a h ben T e m a , w h o s e t i m e

should h a v e been: P r a c t i c e f o l l o w s

cannot be determined, precedes Rav in

Rebbi Eliezer on the second day and

any case, his opinion is not of much

Rebbi Joshua f r o m the t h i r d day on.

practical value.

Since days are not mentioned, it is clear

>p? ΐ ό o?*!?»? T W O ,D>rini iría PPiV w y R e b b i A b u n said:

o v JIN

^ç!?

τα r n

o>o> Ν ϊ η . o » r a I D ? P P i V

It is w r i t t e n ( D e u t . 16:3) "So t h a t y o u

DON o>n>

should

r e m e m b e r the day of your e x o d u s f r o m Egypt the t o t a l i t y of t h e d a y s of

259

HALAKHAH1

your living;" the days when you are occupied with the living, not the days that you are occupied with the dead 1 0 . 10

The verse deals with

the

Ben Zoma in the first chapter who read

celebration of Passover but is used to

Vai "the entirety" and not "all".

i n d i c a t e that any o b l i g a t i o n of re-

verse gives a complete justification for

membrance, and tefillin

the Mishnah, viz., that the entire first

is one of them,

are only for living and are invalid once

day is not for tefillin,

one has to care for the dead.

burial.

Rebbi

The

even after the

Abun here f o l l o w s the o p p o n e n t s of

no 1 ? .to "pypiv)

iN . n o b y i l i a ?

io^J? by i > n n n > NST OH >?ri

.iNiwj? Νψ>ψ >n to n>n iirp?>ao p>si n n .iNiwn Ηψν)

ι>ί*Ψ > ? ? P ι ο ν γ ι DNi

to

no

to i - r i a ? >??o

. b i n ? -IRI?>N . a b t o JTO'O?» ">109 >3ΓΙΓΙΊ i N i w n Ηψψ >3"! -«ON

. A I O O V 5 N B B I N ? *I»>NB IF? Γ Ρ Ν

îj^îriT

VP^Pî)!

ib

own

>Ο

to

·)>ι P J I P - N O S >IRIM

^

1V3&

i m to N u n b n o n >ptp>y bN-) n b ? n > p t w by n p ? b D i n a r i by . ί κ ψ ο Nwi3 Ν ΐ η ψ >o? π ύ ή ρ ρ ι o t o t o p ν ? η ? τ η It was stated: If he wants to be more stringent with himself 1 0 one does not listen to him 1 1 .

Why?

Because of the h o n o r of the deceased or

because he has nobody to c a r r y his l o a d 1 2 ? between them?

W h a t is the d i f f e r e n c e

If he has someone w h o is carrying his load; if you say

because of the honor of the deceased it is f o r b i d d e n , but if you say because he has nobody to carry his load, here he has s o m e b o d y to carry his load.

Has it not been stated: he is f r e e f r o m t a k i n g the

lulabxil

Explain that it refers to weekdays. But has it not been stated: he is f r e e f r o m blowing the shofar.

Can you say on weekday?

No, on holiday.

Rebbi Hanina said 1 4 : Because he is obliged to bring him a c a s k e t and burial shrouds as we have stated (Sabbat 23:4): "One waits for nightfall at

260

CHAPTER THREE

the borders of the Sabbat 1 5 domain to oversee matters for a bride and matters for a deceased to bring for him a casket, burial shrouds, fifes, and women mourners;" it is as if someone was carrying his load. 10

To put on tefillin even though he

do

anything

physical

for

the

is not obligated.

arrangement of the funeral, the task of

11

He is forbidden to put on tefillin.

overseeing and deciding cannot be

12

In organizing the funeral.

delegated.

13

The mourner whose deceased has

14

Even though it is forbidden to use

not yet been buried may not weave the

the Sabbath to prepare for the next

lulab on Tabernacles, nor may he blow

day, in these cases it is permitted to

the shofar on New Year's Day. While

position oneself on the Sabbath so that

the rule of lulab applies only to the

one can start immediately fulfilling a

intermediate days when burials are

mizwah after the end of the Sabbath.

permitted, one never blows shofar

as

The Sabbath domain extends 2000

an obligation except on a holiday.

cubits from the last house of one's city;

13

one may not move outside that domain

R. Hanina points out that the

argument that somebody works for him

on the Sabbath.

is irrelevant since even if he does not

'"i?"? nri«»? Hxyy

^»O

Γήθ>)3ΓΙ JIN VOID 'ΓΙφ'Ν)?

!?ν>!?>?3 l a i jiowdì

o r i t ^ n d o í n y\iön> >3*η

-ION W a n o r i o l i πηψ nnya

I p t n »3 ^

.niv»>?n n i * i s s i>7>n>ri> 15

D I P ? ? - n s to n p N

>3-1 -»ON n s n n

. J i i v » ö n TIN Ì S S ywirv r n

OaiD Nin π ι ψ

. ί τ ι ψ η ΠΝ η ρ ί * NID

When does one overturn the couches 1 6 ?

F r o m the moment when the

dead left the gate of the courtyard 1 7 , the words of Rebbi Eliezer.

But

Rebbi Joshua says, from when the c o v e r plate was laid on the g r a v e 1 8 . And when Rabban Gamliel died, after he left the gate of the courtyard, Rebbi Eliezer said to his students: Overturn the couches 1 9 .

And when the

c o v e r plate was laid on the g r a v e , Rebbi Joshua said: O v e r t u r n the

261

HALAKHAH1

couches. They said to him: We already did turn them over on the orders of the old man20. Friday evening he rights his couch, at the end of Sabbat he overturns them 21 . T h e Venice (and L e y d e n ) text

that the moment the funeral procession

here, DO'S} is unintelligible. The text

is on its way is not w h e n t h e b i e r

given h e r e is t h a t of t h e G e n i z a h

leaves the house but when it leaves the

fragments and the parallel in Éemahot.

outer gate of the courtyard.

16

18

15

The mourner is not allowed to eat

T h e dead was buried on a bier,

reclining on a couch, but has to eat

not in a casket. Hence, the grave had

sitting upright on a chair as a sign of

to be covered by a large flat stone, the

mourning.

golal.

This d u t y a p p l i e s to all

those who are required to observe the

19

w e e k of m o u r n i n g .

dies, all are mourners.

found in Massekhet

T h e baratta Éemahot IX.

is The

20

When the head of the Synhedrion

Even though Rebbi Eliezer was

entire discussion is taken f r o m Yeru-

put in the ban since he did not a g r e e

shalmi Moid

with a majority ruling when he knew

Qatan 3:5; the baraita

is

also found Babli Moëd Qatan 27a.

that the ruling contradicted tradition, it

17

In the Talmud it is assumed that a

follows f r o m h e r e not only t h a t he

house has no door leading to the street

continued to lead his Yeshivah but also

outside.

A n u m b e r of h o u s e s w a s

that in his lifetime, his a u t h o r i t y in

always clustered around a courtyard,

matters of religious practice remained

the door of t h e house lead into the

supreme.

courtyard, and the c o u r t y a r d had an

21

exit gate.

mourning is forbidden on the Sabbath.

In that way, p r i v a c y was

Since any o u t w a r d sign of

always assured. The statement asserts

V"MMnî>P o n i v ) -iniN

13 l i y p w >3")

TP3?Î Π ^ Ν Ι

v / n i >?ri

i s l i y p w > 3 T ? ΓΟ^Γ) >·)> i ? ü y ö r p > 3 1 0 W 3 n o i > >3-» , V T ¡ Τ Ύ Ψ l o j p w Γ13 ΐ η η ν ι v > i y

n\pn

>3-) 0 W 3 ν π ν "»3 i p v > >3-» >T!

262

C H A P T E R THREE

It was stated:

" A dargesh22

is put upright 2 3 and is not turned o v e r .

Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar 2 4 says, he r e m o v e s its qlbntryn25 enough 26 ."

and that is

Rebbi Yosa 2 7 in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben L e v i : practice

follows Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar. Rebbi Jacob bar A h a in the name of Rebbi Yose, a couch whose posts 28 are upright and r e m o v e d together with it, he takes them o f f and that is enough.

22

A kind of bed whose exact nature

a c t i v e "he stands them up", w h i c h

was unknown even in the time of the

seems to i m p l y

Talmud, as seen f r o m the discussion

mourner, not passive as is implied here.

that follows and in Babli Nedarim

24

56a.

Maimonides, in his c o m m e n t a r y Nedarim,

d e f i n e s dargesh

to

as a low

an a c t i o n

by

the

In all places where this is quoted

in the Babli, the name is Simeon

ben Gamliel,

Rabban

the f a t h e r

of

couch (used for sitting only in the case

Rebbi and son of Rabban

of a mourner), much l o w e r than a

Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar was a Tanna

regular couch called mittah.

The Babli

of the last generation who lived to see

tentatively defines dargesh as a couch

the start of the second generation of

made of a frame onto which a leather

Amorai'm.

mattress is attached by ropes.

25

This

Gamliel.

The spelling and, therefore, the

definition may be compatible with the

meaning of the word are uncertain.

description given in the next section.

The spelling here is pioraVp, that of

23

the Genizah texts and Éemahot

Most commentators explain that

is

the dargesh is lifted to stand either on

TnwnVp; the corresponding word in the

its f r o n t end or its f o o t end.

But

Babli

already Rosh

ben

according to Z. Frankel, is G r e e k t ò

(Rabbenu Asher

is TU'aip.

The

last

Yehiël, 14th Century in Mayence and

κραβάτιον,

Toledo) has shown in his commentary

κραββατάριον, "accessories to the bed";

to Babli Nedarim

this seems to be correct but is not very

that this explanation

Byzantine

word,

[ C f . also

Greek

is impossible and that the statement

instructive.

κράββατος

must mean: it is left standing as is. The

"couch, mattress"; Latin grabatus,

other commentators are influenced by

Macedonian κ ρ ά β α τ ο ς " l o w

the version of the Babli which instead

camp bed" (E. G.).]

of the passive form used here have an

26

from couch,

There is a question whether the

263

HALAKHAH1 anonymous Tanna requires more or less

sign of mourning has to be made.

that Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar.

The

seems that this is also the explanation

quote in Éemahot XI reads: nupon ©J~n

here, that Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar

•PUD iniK ity^K ]a ]iyn®

adds a certain requirement to the first

.nom nrn

irn® nina n n ' j n i nV® p-iuwVp

"A

It

statement.

surrounding dargesh is not turned over.

27

Rebbi Yasa.

Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar says, he

28

Τα ά ν ά κ λ ι τ α , "things to lean on";

removes the accessories and leaves it

according to both Rashi and Arukh the

as is."

two posts over which the mosquito

In this f o r m u l a t i o n , Rebbi

Simeon ben Eleazar explains that while the dargesh

screen was hung.

is not turned over, some

it naia

n>)?-|? >3-1 - i ç n

irrç >ν"! η ο > η N i n rrç

ΝΪΊ-) .WVYJ i r n n a i a ï y

n o n N m nvpßn

(fol. 6a) . Π 3 ψ N i n 1 3 7 71Ç >N> D31Ì ty NID 3Πϋ)? ON .ITH "»iy? D O i W ' ^ O • V I R I \rù

Ji>N'f N n n o > î ?

V>>N3

^ON

Rebbi J e r e m i a h 2 9 said, o n e

W h a t is a c o u c h and w h a t is a dargesh?

that o n e plaits 3 0 o n its b o d y is a c o u c h and o n e that o n e d o e s n o t plait o n its b o d y 3 1 is a dargesh.

But h a v e w e not stated ( K e l i m 16:1) "Bed a n d 3 2

crib a f t e r h e rubs t h e m with fish skin 3 3 ." d o e s h e rub 3 4 ?

If h e plaits o n its b o d y , w h y

Rebbi Eleazar said, e x p l a i n it w i t h t h o s e C a e s a r e a n cribs 35

that h a v e holes . 29

In Babli, Sanhédrin

20a/b, this

strips it has a base of leather that is

appears in the name of Rebbi Jeremiah

fastened only in a few places to t h e

in the name of Rebbi Yohanan.

frame.

30

32

T h e couch has a f r a m e and

Reading of the Rome and Mishnah

instead of a box spring it has length-

mss.

and crosswise strips that a r e plaited

Venice print and Leyden ms.

together.

33

31

Maybe, according to the Babli,

moment when a wooden implement is

because instead of a p l a i t e d bed of

finished. Wood in itself cannot become

The conjunction is missing in the

This Mishnah d e a l s with t h e

264

CHAPTER THREE

ritually impure but wooden vessels and

34

implements can. The moment when a

the strips forming the base of the bed,

If the entire frame is covered by

wooden bed frame is finished so that it

who cares how the w o o d e n f r a m e

can become ritually unclean is the

looks?

moment when it can be delivered by

35

the carpenter to the customer, after it

the frame but go through the holes in

is polished with the classical equivalent

the frame, leaving half of it exposed.

The strips are not wound around

of sand paper.

ïy

>ONb ϊ π ν

ijnv

15»n .>qn'7 r p n o N i n y i n i

ογή Napm?

,no>on n»a?>

.yiN^ i m η ψ η n ^ n i n s n>n? v n > ο ν π

>> n>n n a i o J i n * v?ip*N *ì)?n n*)3î? -15 . n i a i s ? Jiiov? ï y v w ? ν η ψ ίθψ>!? VP95T i ? livipv» Νΐηψ Ninip

n a ? J}N IN ow?

,na?iD>

'Pi*

>21 . - w v © n n a ? na??")

Nn»v) n>ia? no>ng. n ^ a

Nin n>ia?

ηίη?

Nin n o >390 i o n i n

i ^ ï N i n y ^ i n n -ION n i n n i

From where the overturning of beds 36 ? Rebbi Crispus 37 in the name of Rebbi Johanan: (Job 2:13) "They sat with him towards the ground." It does not say here "on the ground" but "they sat with him towards the ground," on something close to the ground. It follows that they were sleeping 38 on overturned couches. Bar Qappara said: A beautiful f o r m 3 9 I had in your house and you caused me to overturn 4 0 it, you also overturn your bed! Some quote it by the expression "let him overturn; overturn 4 1 the agent!" Rebbi Jonah and Rebbi Yose, both in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish. One said, why does he sleep on an overturned coach? So that he should wake up in the night and realize that he is a mourner. The other one said, since he sleeps on an overturned bed he wakes up in the night and realizes that he is a mourner.

265

HALAKHAH 1 36

nninsV "to o v e r t u r n it" ( B a b y l o n i a n

Levi Ginzberg noted c o r r e c t l y

that all the sermons h e r e point only to

Talmudic Hebrew.)

T h e f o r m «tddisV

the overturning of beds on which one

has no parallel in the Yerushalmi and

sleeps, not couches on which one sits.

might be a scribal error.

The Yerushalmi does not address t h e

Bar Q a p p a r a seems to think t h a t

question w h e t h e r during t h e day t h e

persons die because of the sins of their

mourner has to sit on t h e ground or

relatives. This is a p p r o p r i a t e only f o r

may sit on an overturned couch.

children who cannot die f o r their own

37

"Curly haired" (Latin, a Roman

sins since nobody below the age of 20

surname). A student of Rebbi Johanan

is liable b e f o r e t h e h e a v e n l y c o u r t .

and R. Simeon ben Laqish, and teacher

The following, a l t e r n a t e version also

of Rebbis Jonah and Yose.

shows that Bar Qappara speaks about

38

mourning for small children.

Since the friends were sitting with

Job f o r seven days and seven nights,

41

they must h a v e slept " t o w a r d s

missing in the parallel Moëd Qatan 5:3.

the

The agent is the bed on which one not

ground". 39

G r e e k ε ί κ ώ ν "image", a l s o

only sleeps but also has sex. Hence, the couch is the agent which produces the

"phantom". 40

The imperative nss "overturn!" is

T h e parallel Megillah

jvi?

3:5 has

- a n it? ρ κ OH) i - i u n

Jiwjfc Î7iD>

disi

N>1

birth of a new baby.

ÌJDÌN

.!??iín>? n y i y ιγιν n>3 iì? ν * o n )

Î7DÎN Ν > )

Νίη

ON") .VÏ)) V3)?î»p VN")

.^DÎN")

.·)» n i i w i

^DÌN·)

! ? > κ ί η l7N>>>?? n^V

oh

.rnin

ty

r m > >3-»

iro»n

tow-io

tv?

.ìnn? -»»'ni

, ρ Ν ιοη,ΠΝ n?iy ι:η>3ψ

nìi^nn-^3

>!> 15 y y j i r v >3-1 D\Ì»? n a

. p N ι η η κ v ) i y i>n

,ί:ηί:Γί>3 n ^ W I

liypw l a i ί ο ν

.ίγιν

tC?) .to-li*"!« nJlW

.ÌOÌN·) a o > n π α ν ? ì m

V I H * V ? i y :p_>3 ON")

ίηκ

V 3 3 TI* ÎJ3VI ΓΙ3>η)?

DJ)W lO")

Ν7Γ) . i o n i n n o * r o i y ì j > n O v - i y ο η π Ν ΐ Ì7DÌN")

ϊ ψ η ίηοψ î ç r ^ s

ÍD-jiS"^ onnNi

UN SÌ ' n - i r i n i

N> o^iy « n

>ΓΠΓΙΓΙ

i ? iiy»pv> Ί 3 1 Ρ HD^D

266

CHAPTER THREE

42

A11 the time that his deceased in lying before him, he eats at his

neighbor's, and if he has no neighbor, he eats in another room. If he has no other room, he makes a wall of separation and eats. If he is unable to make a wall of separation, he turns his face towards the wall and eats. He does not eat reclining; he does neither eat nor drink his fill. He eats neither meat nor drinks wine. One does not allow him to participate in a group to say Grace. If he recited Grace, one does not answer "amen" after him. If others recited Grace, he does not anwer "amen". That is meant on weekdays. But on the Sabbath, he does eat reclining; he eats meat and drinks wine, eats and drinks his fill. One lets him participate in a group to say Grace. If he recited Grace, one does answer "amen" after him. If others recited Grace, he answers "amen". Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel 4 3 said: Because I allowed all of these, oblige him for all other obligations of the Torah. If I permitted him temporary life, so much more eternal life 44 . Rebbi Judah ben Pazi in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: Practice follows Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel. 42

This baratta

is found in almost

practice by the Babli which requires

17b,

only that the enjoyment of Sabbath

Moëd Qatan 23b, and the Yerushalmi

should not be d i m i n i s h e d in any

source Semahot X.

situation that is seen by others.

43

Yerushalmi makes no

identical form in Babli Berakhot

In Babli sources, the author is

Rabban Gamliel.

The d i f f e r e n c e is

The

distinction

between public and private obligations.

essential since practice follows Rabban

44

Simeon ben Gamliel even against a

conjugal duties towards his w i f e on

plurality of dissenters, but does not

Sabbath

necessarily follow Rabban Gamliel. In

commandment of the Torah.

the interpretation of the Babli, Rabban

emphasis

Gamliel o b l i g e s the married male

anti-Sadducean; for the Sadducees, any

mourner to fulfill his conjugal duties

sex act on the Sabbath was a Sabbath

towards his wife.

desecration punishable by death.]

This is rejected as

And he who does not fulfill his

transgresses

on

this

a

positive [The

probably

is

267

HALAKHAH 1 o>3*îb

>>33

o^-1?

"top?

If he 4 5 was handed over to the public 46 , he may eat meat and drink wine. If he was handed over to the carriers 47 it is as if he was handed to the public. 45

The deceased.

T h e o t h e r "he"

denotes the mourner. 46

T h e p u b l i c body

47

Qadishah.

Paid carriers.

organizing

•)ÎJl>î7yiN"| - r ç o

>Ü7>3N pn*> a i 1 3

funerals, the Hevrah

r m *ì? Ν » Π

>3"! ^ 3 Ρ

t>>3p N O ?

191 13

">3 Ν » η

>31 i r a p ρη>> a i na Iwìoy) >3"! ι » ι τ ? .~»ρη yirppyN·) ηψα ï>ip»Nl l)pl>p

>3"!

n i d i n ç ? -ι»>η p n p ù p nnn> N ^ N in niov

ty

"Ppa

When Rebbi Yassa died, Rebbi Hiyya bar Abba received his mourners 48 and gave them meat to eat and wine to drink. When Rebbi Hiyya bar Abba died, Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac received his mourners and gave them meat to eat and wine to drink. When Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac died, Rebbi Zeira received his mourners and gave them lentils to eat, saying that this was the tradition 49 .

When Rebbi Zeira was dying he

commanded and said: "You should not accept mourning for me this day, tomorrow consolers. 50 " 48

I. e., Rebbi Yasa's i m m e d i a t e

family and possibly students.

this first meal. (In Galilee, under the

A

influence of late Greek, e v e r y 3 was

mourner returning f r o m the burial has

pronounced v; mi stands for K3 in Rebbi

to receive the first meal f r o m others;

Hiyya's name.)

the mourners were received with food

49

so that they could go home and prepare

16b as a Galilean tradition (transmitted

the next meal themselves. Rebbi Hiyya

by Rabba bar Mari, a student of Rebbi

bar Abba did allow meat and wine for

Johanan) that Jacob prepared a meal of

It is quoted in Babli Baba

batra

268

CHAPTER THREE

lentils (Gen. 25:29) for his f a t h e r Isaac

Rebbi Zeïra told his students not to be

as the first meal a f t e r t h e b u r i a l of

among the mourners the first day nor

Abraham. The same tradition is given

among t h o s e w h o a r r a n g e m e a l s of

anonymously in the Galilean

Midrash

consolation the next day. While he was

Bereshit rabba 63:16. The substitution

a Babylonian by birth, he o b j e c t e d to

of eggs used today instead of lentils is

the Babylonian practice that students

Babylonian (Baba bat ra 16b).

mourn only one day for their teacher

Even

though Rebbi Z e ï r a was Babylonian,

(Babli Moid

the practice might have been that of

them to mourn for him the entire seven

the city of Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac.

days (or not at all).

50

Qatan 25b) but w a n t e d

It is not very clear what Rebbi

K'nnn a r e those w h o a r r a n g e t h e

Zeïra was commanding to his students;

meal for the mourners, n n a ; as Levi

also the text is quoted in very different

Ginzberg points out, this m e a n i n g in

forms by Nachmanides (Torat

Galilean (not Babylonian) A r a m a i c is

Haadam\

ed. Chavel, p. 144) and those who quote

clear from Tar gum Sheni on Esther

f r o m the latter.

towards the end.

The only consistent

1:2,

interpretation is that of Levi Ginzberg:

>5*η M i a r n n>33> y ^ y c o i n n > r i \ ? p m i r o -»ρΝ

. n ' a s !?iy>n i > y a "jíjin i n o >

Dip>)p N b N

mW)

n'y

51

N?>n >a*yj n m

p w

>a*i

. v ? n > i p j p · ρ π ψ > ί θ η υ n o r ) r n r n 17V .nnan!?

-15 ρ κ

l i a i ·ρ!? .-Tip-ppi

Rebbi Isaac the son of Rebbi Hiyya the Scribe suffered an accident 52 . Rebbis Mana and Yudan went to him. There was good wine, they drank a lot 53 and laughed. The next day they wanted to visit him again. He said to them: Rabbis, is that what a man does to his friend? Yesterday, the only thing that was missing for us was that we would get up and dance! Reading of the Rome ms. Venice

The entire story is an introduction to

and Leyden: nm . T h e text h e r e is the

the following baraita about the cups to

only mention we have of this Amora.

be drunk in a house of mourning.

52

cup of w i n e consists of t w o t h i r d s

51

53

I. e., a close relative died. More than the 10 cups allowed.

water and one third wine).

(A

269

HALAKHAH1

.•ptian " p i l i n ^ n r i i ή ^ π ini*·) ι ή η η

>)a> ο ^ ψ ί η κ π r v i ? γ η \ ν n i o i D - l i t i s n ~>ηί< ty v y f y p ύ > κ

i g ìivjpw

πηψρι

p t ç n -ιηί η ψ ^ ψ ί

,ο>>>ηΝ > η ι η ? π > - r n w

13*ΐ> - τ η ^ ι π ρ ρ π ν > ι ό > -τη*·) : η υ » η ·)ϊπ> τ η κ οηηοηι

-|i}>>y n «

v?>irv)

ν"ί?πψη

i w

γη

rnyy

ο η υ η τίν lO^V ia>çin

iva

ΐίαψ

ivdì

ï H ^ m Il?ip>?>

It is s t a t e d 5 4 :

T e n c u p s o n e d r i n k s in t h e h o u s e of a m o u r n e r :

b e f o r e the m e a l 5 5 , f i v e during the meal, and t h r e e a f t e r t h e m e a l .

two These

are the three a f t e r the meal: o n e f o r G r a c e 5 6 , o n e f o r t h o s e w h o e x e r c i s e charity57, o n e for those w h o console mourners58.

And when

( S i m e o n b e n ) 5 9 G a m l i e l died, t h e y a d d e d a n o t h e r t h r e e :

Rabban

One for the

of the c o m m u n i t y 6 0 , o n e f o r t h e head o f t h e c o m m u n i t y 6 1 , and

Hazzan

o n e f o r Rabban G a m l i e l 6 2 .

But w h e n the Rabbinical a u t h o r i t i e s s a w that

t h e y r e g u l a r l y g o t d r u n k t h e y d e c r e e d and r e t u r n e d it t o t h e o r i g i n a l status 6 3 . 54

This is the Y e r u s h a l m i f o r -

mulation, also found in Semahot The Babli version, Ketubot

XIV.

8 b, has 3

57

In honor of those who gave their

time and w e n t o u t in t h e f u n e r a l procession.

cups b e f o r e t h e meal, 3 d u r i n g t h e

58

meal, and 4 after the meal for the four

meal and participate in it.

benedictions of Grace.

59

55

the parallel sources, "Simeon ben" is a

As an apéritif. The next five a r e

The outsiders who provided the

As is seen from the following and

r e g u l a r d r i n k s to go with the solid

scribal error.

food.

60

56

T h e r e l i g i o u s l e a d e r of

the

The regular cup over which Grace

community who leads the services and

is said, as explained in later chapters.

all religious a c t i v i t i e s including t h e

Since o n e may n o t

funerals. (A rabbi is only a religious

together

recite

in t h e p r e s e n c e

Grace of

the

judge; t h e hazzan

was not only t h e

mourner, one cup is needed f o r e a c h

reader but also the ritual slaughterer

one of the participants.

and general servant of the community.)

270 61

CHAPTER THREE T h e p r e s i d e n t of t h e congre-

became the Jewish standard

that

gation, who was r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e

everybody has to be buried in Rabban

establishment

Gamliel's way.

a n d u p k e e p of

the

cemetery.

63

62

Galilean Amoras, shows that

He had himself buried in a simple

The preceding story, f r o m later "the

linen shirt and in a plain u n a d o r n e d

original way" a r e t h e p r e s c r i b e d 10

wooden casket. Before his time, people

cups; there is no prohibition of wine at

w e r e buried in e l a b o r a t e c l o t h i n g in

the funeral meal.

expensive caskets.

> i o n τ η η ΝΊΠ Ü7

A f t e r him

.'inn - j m

>*o? >3-1 ,ia*i * m : > >

Ί κ η ΝΠΝ '1-1

>3-> ή i?

it

.r)>> ION") >t>Ì> >3*)}

.")» i n ^ l

Otf??*

Ή ^ ϊ

0?1< 0>>>3N ON

1

^

ins

.rP3*ì 71}Γ) ΝίΓΓ) ^ p v >3*1 .p-T'p!pri

.pDÎp J I O ^ S

niçb v ^ N j p o

in©

>Γ1*)ΓΙ 1>P N " j n l O Ç

ρ κ ON"! / ) » o ^ n y ) n n ^ i

M a y a C o h e n d e f i l e h i m s e l f 6 4 f o r the h o n o r of his teacher? T h e f a t h e r in-law of R e b b i Y a n n a i t h e y o u n g e r 6 5 died. l a w 6 6 and his teacher. h e a r d it and said:

H e w a s b o t h his f a t h e r - i n -

H e asked Rebbi Y o s e w h o f o r b a d e it.

Rebbi A h a

His students should defile t h e m s e l v e s for him.

The

students of Rebbi Y o s e d e f i l e d t h e m s e l v e s f o r h i m but ate m e a t and drank wine67.

Rebbi M a n a told them: O n e of t w o things y o u c a n n o t e s c a p e .

If

y o u are mourners, w h y did y o u eat m e a t and drink w i n e ; if y o u are n o t mourners, w h y did y o u d e f i l e y o u r s e l v e s ? 64

By t o u c h i n g a d e a d body or

carrying his casket (cf. Lev. 21).

The

teacher of Rebbi Johanan. It is implied that he was a Cohen.

main place of these discussions is in

66

Yerushalmi Nazir 7:1.

his wife but may not defile himself for

65

An

Amora

of

the

fourth

G a l i l e a n g e n e r a t i o n ; so c a l l e d

to

distinguish him from Rebbi Yannai, the

A Cohen must d e f i l e himself f o r

any of her relatives. 67

Before the burial.

271

HALAKHAH1

19 ,N3i>n t^N")

3>jv mr) >th> >3-> . r n i n "ña?!? i r ò N n o » y i n e

.Oft? Γϊ>> ΙΟΝ Η ϊ ΡΙ»> 3>31Π

.DÜ73 Π>> "Ï&N ΐ Ο π»> p g r ?

May a Cohen defile himself for the honor of Torah? Rebbi Yose was sitting and teaching when a dead body was brought in 68 . He did not say anything either to those who left or to those who remained sitting 69 . 68

To be eulogized in the Yeshivah.

Cohanim among his students

who

He said nothing to those who

preferred to study even if it meant

were Cohanim and did not want to stay

staying with the dead person in the

in the same house with the dead person

same

even though they were missing some of

undecided whether a Cohen should stay

Rebbi Yose's lectures, nor to those

or leave.

69

"tent".

Rebbi

Yose

was

NT133 n i n n l i n y n>n l O n iτ n- i o- nτ N3N -»3 ν »τ π >3*π n n a r vτ n: rro: ran τ : · τ · · : S

"Τ

T T

V>»o)p νγ} ν π ν - η npv? '3Ύ! 1 · Ρ ' 3 Ί 1 Dip)3> l i o ì n

,·)Γΐ3 >3-ι γή>ί»

>3"! >ön >3-1

iv>jn

.niacin

.mtppi V&'N?

-13 3pi»? >3-)> η»ρ^η >3"! ">ÖN . o n p ç y ^ 9 3 V^ "V?N . ^ n "»ini r n n o Tin>ri> Ν η υ η ψ v n a i rP> V!>N3*T o w n VN N^

DIÌJ? n>> ->in>ri N^ ΝΠΝ

m r n o i w ? VN1 .p^rn N1? r n i n

Rebbi Nehemiah the son of Rebbi Hiyya bar Abba said: My father did not walk under the arch of Caesarea 70 .

Rebbi Ammi, Rebbi Hizqiah,

Rebbi Cohen and Rebbi Jacob bar Aha went walking on those streets 71 of Sepphoris. They came to the arch and Rebbi Cohen left 7 2 . They reached a place of purity and he returned to them. He asked them: "What were you discussing?" Rebbi Hizqiah said to Rebbi Jacob bar Aha: "Do not tell him anything!" We do not know whether it was because he was angry that he left since one defiles oneself for words of Torah or whether it was because he 73 was haughty 74 .

272 70

CHAPTER THREE R. Hiyya bar Abba was a Cohen,

71

Latin platea, Greek π λ α τ ε ί α (seil.

as is also clear from the later account

όδός), "street".

of the visit of Diocletian. He did not

72

pass under an arch a t t a c h e d to a

Rebbi Hiyya bar Abba did not pass

building or archway under which there

under the arch of Caesarea.

were graves.

73

The Caesarea here is

Probably for the saine reason that

Rebbi Cohen. (The first "he"

Caesarea Philippi, on the Jordan near

r e f e r s to R. Hizqiah.)

Since t h e

Banias. Even though Caesarea Philippi

problem is unresolved, it seems that in

was built by the Herodian family, it is

the opinion of the Yerushalmi, as a

unlikely that the arch belonged to a

doubt in matters of Torah, he should

building containing a Jewish grave and

not defile himself for Torah study.

it is accepted in the Babylonian Talmud

(This is the opinion of the Babli,

(Yebamot 61a), following R. Simeon bar

Avodah zarah 13a, for all defilements

Yohai, that only Jewish graves defile

that have a Biblical basis.)

"in a tent" but not Gentile ones. The

74

problem is not mentioned in any of the

Leyden manuscript; the edil io

surviving parts of the Yerushalmi; one

of Nachmanides has ]0"J . The Venice

might infer from the stories told here

print has J0"0i "a flyer" which makes

that the ruling of the Babli was not

no sense. The implication seems to be

that accepted in Galilee. Nachmanides

that Rebbi Hizqiah, the

(DIX min, τικχιπη ρ » , ed. Chavel, vol. 2,

authority, was piqued by the fact that

p. up) adds: "but R. Ammi (who also

Rebbi Cohen, a very minor figure, did

The r e a d i n g is that of

the

princeps

Rabbinic

was a Cohen) did pass under them."

not ask his opinion whether he might

The rest of the paragraph supports the

pass under the arc.

reading of Nachmanides.

w v p p i n n i w a j >?»-r>n η ύ ί η ρ > Î H > y i N b n s n n N S V Ï i r ò κ ρ φ ρ >?ri •îv!?¥ T ò V ì Nsi> .noo> riDit !?ΙΝ

75

-no>!? it»£>N"! >ian ρ

τ ί η > > ρ>Ν*?

ΓΠψ !?>sn>

νΛ o n i ç î n r n v r n

.ηφκ

-iii>y>i v n ï n n n n i n tin!?!?

N»\?> ΓΠΊΤ) *ή»>> ρ·>ΝΟ ^ Υ>> ISSISI "MOÍN >ÜÍ> >3") i n i ΙΠΝ Ν2ήη N e o n n>ny i r p n η ο ν . n y n ΐ > ì n > \ ? ? n ρ ON h ï h

v!?y n p N >pn> i r ò H V Ϊ Η m p Ν

273

HALAKHAH 1 It is stated 7 6 :

A Cohen m a y defile himself by leaving the Land77 for

civil and c r i m i n a l s u i t s , f o r t h e c o n s e c r a t i o n o f t h e N e w M o o n a n d intercalation of a y e a r 7 8 , to s a v e a field f r o m a G e n t i l e , and h e e v e n m a y l e a v e and l o d g e a c o m p l a i n t a b o u t i t 7 9 , t o s t u d y T o r a h and t o m a r r y a w i f e . Rebbi Judah says, if h e has a place to s t u d y 8 0 , h e s h o u l d n o t d e f i l e himself.

Rebbi Y o s e says, e v e n if h e has a p l a c e t o study, h e m a y d e f i l e

himself, since a m a n m a y not h a v e the luck t o learn f r o m e v e r y t e a c h e r . T h e y said about Joseph the C o h e n 8 1 that he d e f i l e d h i m s e l f and f o l l o w e d his teacher t o Sidon 8 2 .

In truth 8 3 , t h e y said a priest s h o u l d not g o a b r o a d

unless o n e promised h i m a wife.

75

T h e unexplained word Ί ΐ ο ^ is

missing in the parallel Nazir

Land of Israel ritually unclean but the

7:1 (fol.

fact that it is so, is obvious f r o m Amos

56a). It probably is a corruption and is

7:17. (The Babli takes t h e impurity of

best disregarded. It could be f r o m 1U3

the "land of Gentiles" to be rabbinic,

"to act as watchman."

R. M. Margalit

but this r e f e r s to t h e t i m e when no

assumes that a silent ν is missing, that

ashes of a red h e i f e r w e r e a v a i l a b l e

one should r e a d no*»^, to annul (a

anymore and every Cohen was impure

d o c u m e n t of i n d e b t e d n e s s . )

The

from the start, whereas the Yerushalmi

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of Z. F r a n k e l (Latin

baraita might refer to earlier times, cf.

latro), J. Levy (Greek ρητώρ), and M.

Chapter 1, Note 3.) The prohibition for

J a s t r o w ("to I t u r e a " ) h a v e

the Cohen to d e f i l e himself willingly

to

be

rejected. 76

derives from Lev. 21:1-15.

This baraita is in similar form in

other Yerushalmi sources, Nazir Semahot IV:25,26, Tosephta Moéd 1:12,

Avodah

zar ah

78

In the absence of a c o m p u t e d

7:1,

calendar, the last two activities may be

qatan

exercised outside t h e Land of Israel

1:8, a n d

in

only if political c i r c u m s t a n c e s m a k e

materially d i f f e r e n t Babylonian tra-

the consecration in Israel impossible.

d i t i o n in Babli Avodah

(The statements up to this point a r e

zarah

13a,

Erubin 47a.

missing in the Babli parallels; see the

77

preceding Note.)

It is not clear which verse of the

Torah d e c l a r e s all land o u t s i d e t h e

79

"To lodge a c o m p l a i n t " a b o u t

274

C H A P T E R THREE

real estate usually means to c l a i m

teacher, the p r a c t i c e of l e a v i n g the

ownership

Land

particular

against if

a squatter,

t h e r e a r e no

in

written

for

study

purposes

is

well

established.

documents f o r either party.

82

80

Sîdân, in contrast to B i b l i c a l Sïdôn,

Any place to study in the Land

N o t e the Talmudic vocalization

of Israel.

close to modern Arabic Saida.

81

83

Joseph (called Issi) ben Yehudah

As a rule, any tannaïtic statement

(or Aqabiah) from Huzal in Babylonia

label

who immigrated to Israel and was a

established practice.

student of Rebbis Eleazar ben Shamua

f o r a priest to l e a v e the L a n d

and Yose ben Halaphta. He is a Tanna

m a r r i a g e is o n l y

of the last generation and known as the

m a r r i a g e , not f o r

"last of the pious".

possible bride.

If such a holy man

Van "in

truth",

represents

T h e permission

for

an

for

arranged

a search

for

a

leaves Israel to f o l l o w his secondary

n?ip ι ώ ν h m

i r ò - α N 3 N >317 η η Ν n ^ n a

n o i Ν Π Ν >2-) y n w

>31 i n i

.o?a? n w y f i inb κ η ψ ψ

,D>ÛD TIN>VO> i n b NO\?>? Ν Π Ν

» D n ï y > ? i n yny)

n i w p ^ i

ÌN -»»ni u n

o w n >oi>

.OI!?3 Γ Ρ > n n m

N W Ì 3 Î3>N1 Γ Ι ϋ ? · ) η Jl>33 7 0 Ì V ί Ο Π ψ i n b ' ^ D ΙΟΝ

.Πψντί

DOIT HWV

ine

Nb

13 TVTV

">£>)? " D O l

,n>3ip>N N 3 N Ì r P Í Í J P N

. Í W i » 3 "12ÌV V f l ? DIS . o t o s ÏT>> J i n O N

M a y a C o h e n d e f i l e himself f o r t h e l i f t i n g o f h a n d s 8 4 ?

n'y

Gedilah85, the

b r o t h e r o f R e b b i A b b a bar C o h e n 8 6 said b e f o r e R e b b i Y o s e in t h e n a m e of Rebbi Aha:

A C o h e n d e f i l e s 8 7 h i m s e l f f o r t h e l i f t i n g o f hands.

A h a heard it and said:

I n e v e r told h i m a n y t h i n g .

Rebbi

O n s e c o n d t h o u g h t s he

said, m a y b e he heard f r o m m e that w h i c h R e b b i Jehudah b e n P a z i said in the n a m e o f R e b b i Eleazar:

E v e r y C o h e n w h o stays in the s y n a g o g u e and

d o e s n o t l i f t his hands t r a n s g r e s s e s a p o s i t i v e c o m m a n d m e n t , a n d w a n t e d t o say that a p o s i t i v e c o m m a n d m e n t 8 8 s u p e r s e d e s a commandment.

I never told him anything89.

cause h i m t o b e f l o g g e d !

he

negative

B r i n g h i m in a n d I w i l l

271

HALAKHAH 1 84

The priestly blessing

(Num.

commandment is t h e p r o h i b i t i o n f o r

6:24-26) that the Cohen has to r e c i t e

the Cohen to d e f i l e himself

during morning prayers.

good cause.

Since t h e

without

priest has to l i f t his h a n d s f o r t h e

89

blessing, in imitation of Aaron the High

priestly blessing is only on a C o h e n

Priest (Lev. 9:22), the entire ceremony

who happens to be in the synagogue at

is called "the lifting of hands".

the right time. But if a coffin is in the

85

This is the reading of the Rome

synagogue f o r an eulogy b e f o r e t h e

manuscript. The names given in other

funeral, the Cohen c a n n o t be in t h e

sources, nVaa .nVojn, are not otherwise

synagogue when the priests a r e called

attested as Semitic names.

and, hence, would h a v e to e n t e r t h e

86

synagogue to be defiled at a moment

An Amora of the f i f t h gener-

ation, s t u d e n t of t h e A m o r a

Rebbi

T h e o b l i g a t i o n to r e c i t e t h e

when

there

is no p o s i t i v e

com-

Yose, t w o g e n e r a t i o n s a f t e r R e b b i

mandment on him.

The h y p o t h e t i c a l

Abba bar Kahana.

argument of Rebbi Aha could only be must

resolved in f a v o r of G e d i l a h in t h e

defile himself to fulfill the obligation

unlikely event that s o m e o n e in t h e

of reciting the priestly blessing.

s y n a g o g u e dies s u d d e n l y w h i l e t h e

88

priests already

87

Implying t h a t a C o h e n

The obligation on the Cohen to

r e c i t e t h e blessing.

nriN

The

negative

.Njvn inri n i n i

.>> "pnì?>Ny>

l ^ V

the

η>π> í o q ΙΓΏΝ >?-) rníoym

>> ·ρη!?>> ? ? j m > v o .PIVI

for

priestly blessing.

N m - i ) ? NJW>??:I

,ΓΡ> " P ^ V !

assemble

yù

-»ön

p a y i m i n ί ο r n r j •)? ì i v p y i

R e b b i A b b a h u w a s sitting t e a c h i n g in t h e f o r t i f i e d 9 0 s y n a g o g u e in Caesarea 9 1 ; there w a s a c o f f i n there. There c a m e t h e t i m e f o r l i f t i n g t h e hands and t h e y 9 2 did n o t ask him.

T h e r e c a m e t h e t i m e f o r e a t i n g and

they a s k e d him. H e said to them: For the lifting of hands y o u did not ask m e , f o r e a t i n g y o u are asking m e 9 3 ? taking himself a w a y and fled.

W h e n they heard this, e a c h o n e w a s

276 90

CHAPTER THREE This is the reading of the Rome

but it will become clear that the latter

ms., f r o m S y r i a c i m a , " f o r t i f i e d " .

is in fact meant.

Graetz's translation "revolutionary" is

92

phantasy.

students.

T h e w o r d could be f r o m

The

Cohanim

among

his

They r e m a i n e d s i t t i n g f o r

G r e e k μ ε ρ ί ς , -ίδος, ή "part, region,

Rebbi Abbahu's lecture.

district". In that case, the translation

93

would be "regional synagogue" (E. G.).

deliver a ruling, it seems that he had

The reading of the Leyden ms. and the

not formed a d e f i n i t e opinion on t h e

V e n i c e p r i n t , κ π π β , "measuring" or

matter. Rebbi Yose was one of the last

"tripping", does not make any sense.

students of Rebbi Abahu; the discussion

91

q u o t e d in t h e p r e c e d i n g

It is not quite clear whether this

was C a e s a r e a on Sea or

was issued by Rebbi Abbahu.

Philippi; the former is usually assumed

>a-t

.π>?9Π>ο

ïï^O

î ^ P P ^

Νίατιψ?>

paragraph

could not have taken place if a ruling

Caesarea

ÍO!?P oi3>>o>í?iT P ' > t ? τ ?

Since R e b b i A b b a h u d i d not

niM-)> i r ò Ν p o p

r r i ΊΙΟΗ

V O ? n Ν Ι Ν *va N » n r n ! ? y u a n í o n >

rn?)? i j n v niDipn

o w ? n ' p - p >3*η n » p ^ n YV

ΝΠ> TIT n > 3 m o i p n

Rebbi Yannai said: A C o h e n d e f i l e s h i m s e l f in o r d e r t o s e e t h e king. W h e n k i n g D i o c l e t i a n v i s i t e d h e r e , R e b b i H i y y a bar A b b a w a s s e e n stepping o v e r g r a v e s at T y r e in o r d e r t o s e e h i m 9 4 .

R e b b i H i z q i a h and

Rebbi Jeremiah in the n a m e of Rebbi Johanan: T h e r e is an o b l i g a t i o n t o s e e g r e a t p e r s o n s of g o v e r n m e n t , s o t h a t w h e n t h e k i n g d o m o f

the

dynasty of D a v i d will return o n e will k n o w h o w to distinguish

one

g o v e r n m e n t f r o m the other. Since D i o c l e t i a n c h a n g e d t h e

carries the f o r m a l title of "king" or

constitution of the Roman empire from

whether he should be a ruler who has

a formally republican

power over life and death.

94

one to

an

Since the

absolute m o n a r c h y , it is not t o t a l l y

rule appears here in the name of Rebbi

c l e a r w h e t h e r a Cohen may d e f i l e

Yannai who lived under the principate,

himself only f o r a r u l e r w h o also

t h e second a l t e r n a t i v e is t h e m o r e

277

HALAKHAH1 likely one. In the Babli (Berakhot 19b),

it is not proven that Rebbi Hiyya bar

the ruling (and the statement of Rebbi

Abba stepped over Jewish g r a v e s at

Johanan) is not by an early Amora but

Tyre. (The Babli, loc. cit., notes that a

by a very early Tanna, Rebbi Eleazar

Cohen

bar Z a d o q , a Cohen w h o m e n t i o n s

commandment f r o m s t e p p i n g over a

is p r o h i b i t e d

by

Biblical

having seen the late Herodian r u l e r s

grave only if there is less than a hand-

before the destruction of the Temple.

breadth of space between the c o r p s e and the upper cover of the c o f f i n , as

It was reported b e f o r e that Rebbi Hiyya bar Abba was a Cohen. We also

explained in Mishnah Ahilot

saw b e f o r e that the Yerushalmi does

most cases s t e p p i n g o v e r a g r a v e is

not seem to e x c l u d e G e n t i l e g r a v e s

only a rabbinical p r o h i b i t i o n w h i c h

from the defilement of a "tent"; hence,

may be lifted in special circumstances.)

íjn^ i ?

, o i » n Π31Π3 i > n ί κ π

>3-1 t n ? N

N 3 N -13 Ν » Π >3*1

Π "TV

r m n > >3-17 π > τ ι η Ν > í o i r p n ? ) p 7 I D VN I D ^ n S ON

is

ΓΡΊ[? 1 3 7 \ φ ψ ) D T P

.DUNOÌ p - p s m n3pi>i Ν π ψ ο ρ α

, ρ > > ρ N ^ I N3I3 >3T Ί Γ Ι 3

. m s n Ji)p3 i n i N w y i j j j v o ? nv3

17V >3-1

VII; in

>3-1 -ION

>3">

"iJiJvn? p y r ^ D

W h e n R e b b i Judah t h e P r i n c e 9 5 died, Rebbi Y a n n a i p r o c l a i m e d a n d said: "There is n o p r i e s t h o o d t o d a y 9 6 . "

W h e n R e b b i Judah t h e P r i n c e ,

grandson of Rebbi Judah the Prince, died, Rebbi H i y y a bar A b b a did push R e b b i Z e ï r a 9 7 in t h e G u f n a s y n a g o g u e o f S e p p h o r i s a n d d e f i l e d h i m . W h e n N a h o r a i 9 8 , the sister of Rebbi Judah the prince, died, H a n i n a 9 9 s e n t f o r R e b b i M a n a but t h e latter did not c o m e .

Rebbi

H e said t o

him, if o n e d o e s not d e f i l e himself for t h e m during their l i f e t i m e , s o m u c h less in their death. Rebbi N a s s a 1 0 0 said, in their death they m a d e t h e m like a corpse of o b l i g a t i o n 1 0 1 .

95

Rebbi, the son of Rabban Sime-

on ben G a m l i e l a n d e d i t o r of Mishnah.

the

96

All priests a r e obliged to come

to the eulogy and funeral. 97

Who also was a Cohen and did

278

CHAPTER THREE

not want to d e f i l e himself. While the

him must c a r e for him; even the High

Prince Judah 1 was not only patriarch

Priest, w h o d o e s not d e f i l e himself

but also r e c o g n i z e d as t h e g r e a t e s t

even for father and mother, must defile

rabbinic authority of his day, Judah II

himself for a corpse of obligation.

was patriarch and a competent but not outstanding scholar.

Rebbi

It is not too clear who is meant. We

Zei'ra

may assume that M a i m o n i d e s w r i t e s

apparently felt that his scholarship did

f r o m t r a d i t i o n w h e n he f o r m u l a t e s

not merit that a Cohen should d e f i l e

(Hilkhot Evel, 3:10) "When a patriarch

himself, whereas Rebbi Hiyya

bar

dies, everybody defiles himself for him,

A b b a , w h o l i k e Rebbi Z e ï r a was a

including Cohanim; they made him like

greater scholar than Judah II, insisted

a corpse of obligation f o r e v e r y b o d y

t h a t t h e o f f i c e of p a t r i a r c h

because everybody is required to honor

alone

deserved this recognition.

him and everybody is stunned by his

98

death."

Nahoraï is really a man's name.

In the parallel in Nazir she is c a l l e d

Hagahot

Maimuniot

(ad

loc.)

note that the sentence "they made him

Y e h u d i n a ï , w h i c h s e e m s to be t h e

l i k e a c o r p s e of o b l i g a t i o n " is t h e

better tradition. She was the sister of

statement

Judah II.

discussion goes as follows:

99

Rebbi Hananiah from Sepphoris,

of

Rebbi

Nassa.

The

The sister of the patriarch Judah II

a colleague of Rebbi Mana; see Chap.

d i e d a f t e r him.

2, Note 97.

manded t h a t Rebbi Mana, a Cohen,

100

should d e f i l e himself f o r her.

A student of Rebbi Eleazar and

Rebbi Hanina de-

Rebbi

others; a resident of Caesarea whose

Mana retorted that, since he would not

name is prominent in the part of t h e

defile himself

Yerushalmi that was edited in Caesarea

p a t r i a r c h ' s l i f e t i m e , w h e n it w o u l d

(Neziqin.)

h a v e c o n s t i t u t e d an h o n o r f o r t h e

101

patriarch, he might not do so a f t e r the

A corpse of o b l i g a t i o n is t h e

for her during

the

body of a Jew who is not the known

patriarch's death.

r e l a t i v e of a n y b o d y

and,

support of Rebbi Mana, explains that

could

t h e d e f i l e m e n t of C o h a n i m f o r t h e

In s u c h a

patriarch is because he is considered an

nearby

t h e r e f o r e , has nobody who o r g a n i z e his f u n e r a l .

situation, the f i r s t p e r s o n w h o f i n d s

R e b b i Nassa, in

obligation for all of Israel.

279

HALAKHAH 1

.nn^ìalp γρερν γιγιν? νηψ

^

Ν * Ο » ? ! ! J133Ç > 3 9 0 >Ν Τίν

ίΟΝΊ ΙΟΝ

1 1 1 3 (fol. 6b)

"ita?!? ΊϊΡ

inç

, Γ Ι Ν ^ IDO 13Πί> > 3 Ί > ΪΗψ

HÏÏH

" Ί Ί "ION . y i v >Í>N ißN"! V 3 N t í a s

o w p

.oto^a Kinn ΓΙΝ^ rnça ON

rn\?N ."|im> >3-)> r o n s Ν>η , η ^ ο r ò r r i π ι ν ή I>N

vn^

M a y a C o h e n d e f i l e h i m s e l f in h o n o r of his f a t h e r a n d m o t h e r 1 0 2 ? Rebbi Yasa heard that his m o t h e r had c o m e t o B o s t r a 1 0 3 . asked R e b b i Y o h a n a n , m a y I l e a v e ?

H e w e n t and

H e said t o him, if it is b e c a u s e of

danger o n the r o a d 1 0 4 , leave. If it is in order to honor f a t h e r and m o t h e r , I d o not k n o w .

R e b b i S a m u e l bar R a v Isaac said,

R e b b i Y o h a n a n still

needs t o answer. H e importuned h i m 1 0 5 , so he said: If y o u d e c i d e d t o g o , return in p e a c e 1 0 6 .

Rebbi Eleazar heard this and said: t h e r e is n o g r e a t e r

permission than that.

102

As the sequel shows, t h e only

question is whether a Cohen may leave

her coffin arrived at Bostra. 104

To

accompany

his

mother

the Holy Land doing s o m e t h i n g in

because of the dangers of the road is

h o n o r of f a t h e r or m o t h e r .

clearly allowed since it is a matter of

The

Biblical prohibitions cannot be violated

life and death.

for the honor of father and mother.

105

103

Rebbi Johanan's answer

This city is South of the Hauran

R e b b i Yasa did

not

accept

as f i n a l ,

mountains, not f a r f r o m Edreï, on the

insisting to have a definite yes or no.

caravan route to Babylonia.

106

It is not

the B i b l i c a l E d o m i t e B o s r a .

Rebbi Johanan would not order

The

any Cohen to leave the Holy Land in

parallel in the Babli (Qiddushin 31 b) is

order to meet f a t h e r or m o t h e r but

much more explicit, stating that Rebbi

neither would he hinder any one who

Assi's (Yasa's) m o t h e r was mentally

very much wanted to go.

disturbed and that it turned out that

J i n x nio>Njp& ο > ? · η

TT>in n^in-a

o y v n >?ri

.o>3in ·ή3?> i r p

o r n n vn o n .πνο\?ι

roi-»;?

nnNl

rninv»

inç

n¡?irn

280

CHAPTER THREE

ï y dn)?ìoi lits ία

Nìn

-VD^n " m a

>1·) -içn nn ρ

Ima

n i i - i p 3 rj>in

.nnin

n n p N ν "TN . r i n N η ν ν n y y r i

onì

n^ñnna

DNjpio i ^ s n

οίνΊα?

m s o η η ν τ Ν ΐ η ψ ο > ? η η *τίι:> .mTin n y p p Ν>ηψ η κ ρ ί ο

M a y a C o h e n d e f i l e himself in h o n o r of the public? It is stated:

When

there are t w o a c c e p t a b l e roads, o n e long and pure, the other o n e short and impure: If the public w a s w a l k i n g 1 0 7 o n the long o n e , he g o e s o n t h e l o n g o n e ; o t h e r w i s e , h e g o e s o n t h e s h o r t o n e in h o n o r o f t h e public.

That

refers t o i m p u r i t y b y their w o r d s 1 0 8 ; a l s o f o r i m p u r i t y that is f r o m t h e w o r d s of the Torah? F r o m w h a t Rebbi Zeira said, s o great is the h o n o r o f the p u b l i c that it t e m p o r a r i l y p u s h e s aside a p r o h i b i t i o n 1 0 9 , that m e a n s e v e n impurity that is f r o m the w o r d s of the T o r a h 1 1 0 .

107

In a f u n e r a l procession.

The

rabbinical, not biblical.

baraita is from Semahot 4:14. Since the

109

f o l l o w i n g baraita

if somebody notices that his clothing is

IS s p e a k s

about

It is explained in Kilaim 9:2 that

digging the grave, the text here speaks

forbidden as shaätnez, he may k e e p his

of the procession preceding the actual

clothes on until he gets home and does

burial. A similar but d i f f e r e n t

not h a v e to stand n a k e d or in his

baraita

in the Babli (Berakhot 19b) deals with

underwear in public.

people returning after the burial.

110

108

conclusion but, as noted before, it deals

If the impurity is not certain but

only possible, the p r o h i b i t i o n passage

for

the

>33> r o l ? ? ) l a "pvpw

Cohen

is

of

only

vi
o - » y > o i p >N3>

K p t y

ï H y i j n v >?") N r p

r o i > >3") .rip

ty

"TD ì n p > r n n i n τ ? -»ç>5 ,η>> η η ρ n i n i Ji>3n p f i ! ? i i û i y w H p n n>tnv 'öip ν!? i n p

m n τ?

^-(í? ,n>>

η>>?·ν r n N m

pism

. η - π ρ > n>> ρ ρ ρ α ynr)

m n p > m mr) t ? η η υ

, p n * > a n -13 nir)

281

HALAKHAH1 Rebbi Jonah, Rebbi Y o s e the G a l i l e a n 1 1 1 , Rebbi Y a s a bar Hanina:

One

d o e s n o t ask rulings o n p r a c t i c e b e f o r e t h e bier of a d e c e a s e d 1 1 2 .

But

Rebbi Y o h a n a n a s k e d Rebbi Yannai b e f o r e the bier of R e b b i S i m e o n b e n Y o z a d a q 1 1 3 a b o u t h i m w h o d e d i c a t e d his h o l o c a u s t s a c r i f i c e f o r t h e u p k e e p of the T e m p l e , and he a n s w e r e d h i m 1 1 4 !

L e t us s a y w h e n he w a s

far a w a y 1 1 5 o r w h e n t h e y w e r e b r i n g i n g h i m t o t h e s t u d y h a l l 1 1 6 .

But

Rebbi Jeremiah a s k e d R e b b i Zeïra b e f o r e t h e bier of Rebbi S a m u e l bar Rav Isaac! Let us say that he a n s w e r e d him w h e n he w a s far a w a y ; w h e n he w a s c l o s e he did not a n s w e r him.

111

A Galilean Amora of the third

whereas gifts f o r t h e u p k e e p of t h e

generation, teacher of Rebbi Jonah.

Temple are only a monetary obligation.

112

In the Babli (Berakhot 3b) it is

So it should be impossible to dedicate

stated more generally, in the name of

an 'olah for the upkeep of the Temple.

R. Joshua ben Levi, t h a t w o r d s of

H o w e v e r , a bardita

Torah a r e f o r b i d d e n in presence of a

32b) s t a t e s that a h o l o c a u s t

coffin. According to Rashi, the reason

a f t e r w a r d s was d e d i c a t e d

is (Prov. 17:5): "He who scoffs at t h e

u p k e e p of t h e T e m p l e c a n n o t

poor blasphemes his Maker." Since the

slaughtered unless redeemed first and

(Babli

Temurah which for

the be

dead person can no longer study Torah,

the money given to the Temple.

he is poor in this respect.

a n s w e r given t h e r e ( p r e s u m a b l y by

113

This is the correct r e a d i n g of

Rebbi Yannai) is that the obligation of

the Rome ms. R. Simeon bar Yozadaq

redemption is purely rabbinical, a kind

was an Amora of the first generation,

of fine, but that f r o m the T o r a h t h e

one of the teachers of Rebbi Yohanan.

second dedication is invalid.

The Leyden ms. has ρ ΐ ϊ ν

*?ridi» by a

115

The

So that the deceased could not

scribal error.

have heard them even w e r e he still

114

alive.

T h e Mishnah ( T e m u r a h 3 2 a )

states that a f o r b i d d e n substitution is

116

valid only f r o m lesser

Rebbis Y o h a n a n a n d Y a n n a i

sanctity.

to

higher

T h e highest sanctity of a

Most commentators explain that

outside the Bet-Hamidrash.

were

However,

s a c r i f i c e is t h e nViy, t h e holocaust,

that would be the same as "being f a r

which is t o t a l l y burnt on t h e a l t a r ,

away".

T h e r e f o r e , it seems that t h e

282

CHAPTER THREE

c o r r e c t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n is g i v e n by R.

T o r a h t e a c h e r in his o w n s c h o o l by

Z a c a r i a h F r a n k e l , that a e u l o g y of a

necessity must involve words of Torah.

n s j m ) ID)? "îrws ty i ! n ? t >

J û ' j m V n o ^ o'flron 'in .ni^on ρ

It is stated:

2r>yrin

T h e carriers117 m a y not wear s a n d a l s 1 1 8 lest a s h o e l a c e of

o n e of t h e m break so he would be eliminated f r o m the g o o d deed.

117

T h e c a r r i e r s of t h e bier in t h e

members of a society that monopolizes

f u n e r a l p r o c e s s i o n , m e m b e r s of t h e

the mitzvah

"holy society".

will

118 Shulhan

A c c o r d i n g to Ture Arukh

Yore

Dea

Zahav

on

358:3, t h i s

applies only to professional carriers, or

π>> η i ? H

have

to

walk

barefooted.

H o w e v e r , it seems that shoes w i t h o u t laces would

be permitted

by

the

Yerushalmi.

>:>y>N π > 3 ΐ η ·>ψΝ·) n o s ^ n

IIIIN N I t Ì - P I ?

.ία!? b i s "Iii? ' O D I Rebbi Zeïra bent d o w n 1 1 9 during a eulogy. h i m u p a n d f o u n d that h e t a r r i e d 1 2 0 .

of c a r r y i n g t h e bier, w h o

^

T ^ W ï

νίψ 1?

They wanted to straighten

T h e y said t o h i m , w h a t is t h i s ?

He

said t o t h e m , b e c a u s e w e will g o there, f o l l o w i n g ( E c c l . 7:2): "Let t h e o n e w h o is a l i v e t a k e it t o heart."

119

Most commentators explain that

tarry,

3)

to

empty

oneself.

In

,

the

Y e r u s h a l m i sources, t h e f o r m 3»'·κ is

p a r a l l e l s q u o t e d in Levy's d i c t i o n a r y

f o u n d only in m e a n i n g 2). T h e v e r s e

show that A r a m a i c VHP is t h e p a r a l l e l

quoted reads in full: "It is b e t t e r to go

of biblical H e b r e w m e , "overhanging".

to a house of mourning than to go to a

The s p e a k e r was leaning down over the

wedding.

railing of his pulpit.

humanity, let the one w h o is a l i v e t a k e

120

it to heart."

Rebbi

Zeïra

fell down.

But

T h e A r a m a i c 'JV may mean 1) to

b e c o m e p o o r , 2) to t a k e o n e ' s t i m e ,

Since t h a t is t h e end of all

231

HALAKHAH 2 ny VIRO?

^ > n r i n > V>ÌD> ON n m i m a n n i s M W A V7>?IYN

λ RWVA

W ^ ON)

RNW>

M i s h n a h 2: W h e n t h e y buried t h e d e c e a s e d a n d r e t u r n e d , if t h e y a r e able to start and finish b e f o r e they f o r m the r o w 1 2 1 they should start, otherwise they should not start.

T h o s e w h o s t a n d in t h e r o w ,

the

i n n e r m o s t a r e e x e m p t 1 2 2 a n d t h e o u t e r o n e s a r e obliged. 121

Before the mourners leave f o r

the entrance to the city. There may be

their home, the other participants of

a long enough walk from cemetary to

the f u n e r a l form two lines and the

town that the p r e s c r i b e d time f o r

mourners pass in the row b e t w e e n

Shema' would pass. The words "start"

them.

and "finish" r e f e r to the recitation of

W h i l e t h e y pass, w o r d s of

consolation are spoken to them. Today,

Shema'.

that c e r e m o n y is p e r f o r m e d in t h e

122

cemetary so that the Mishnah becomes

hear them, they are doing a good deed

void. In talmudic times, the burial was

and cannot be distracted by other ob-

in the cemetary far from the city, but

ligations. The "outer ones" are those

the ceremony of the row took place at

who cannot be seen by the mourners.

ΙΚΡΤΡΠ I ? O N N ^ N YÇY Η ^ Ρ 15>?RI N M

Since the mourners can see and

^LOO ΠΗΗ RIIS V N ^ O VÍ
2 η>>! r o y n > ? γ ρ ν ι H a l a k h a h 2 : 1 2 3 It is s t a t e d :

Virn

.nm] non

η*

"One does not take the dead f o r burial

c l o s e t o t h e r e c i t a t i o n of t h e Shema'

u n l e s s o n e d o e s it o n e h o u r in

advance or one hour afterwards, so that they m a y recite and pray."

But

did w e not f o r m u l a t e : " W h e n t h e y b u r i e d t h e d e c e a s e d a n d r e t u r n e d " 1 2 4 ? Explain it f o r t h o s e w h o t h o u g h t that t h e y h a v e a f r e e p e r i o d 1 2 5 b u t t h e y did n o t h a v e a f r e e period.

284 123

CHAPTER THREE T h e e n t i r e discussion of this

clocks.

Mishnah is r e p e a t e d word by word in

In t h e p a r a l l e l in t h e Babli

(Berakhot

19a), it is staled flatly that

Yerushalmi Sanhédrin 2:2 (fol. 20a).

the restriction of the baratta

124

apply to funerals of important persons.

How can the situation dealt with

does not

in the Mishnah ever arise if the baraita

In t h e o p i n i o n of t h e B a b l i ,

is correct?

situation envisaged by the Mishnah can

125

In t h e a b s e n c e of

o n ")3>3γι ν γ ο

apply to previously planned funerals.

reliable

1>(?>P90 V » o v ç y

TP'P?*?

VPP^n

19VOW

. n ^ a t f ? · ) ν η ψ η?-ιρ> i p r n - n ι ρ > ρ ? Γ η η>η n y y n

. w n o v a >3γιι n o i It is s t a t e d 1 2 6 :

the

o w í o n oi>? n j v ì j i o

.n^arf?

^rupri!? v ^ t o ?

T h e e u l o g i z e r a n d all w h o p a r t i c i p a t e in a e u l o g y

interrupt f o r the recitation of Shema'

and d o not interrupt f o r prayer.

It

happened that o u r teachers i n t e r r u p t e d f o r t h e r e c i t a t i o n o f Shema'

and

prayer. Did w e not formulate: "If t h e y are able t o start and finish"?

Our

Mishnah s p e a k s of the first day, w h a t is stated f o r the s e c o n d day.

126

Tosephta Berakhot

2:11.

This

(and L e y d e n ) texts t h a t h a v e i s o n n

Tosephta comes a f t e r the one dealing

instead of t h e unusual τβοπβπ ( t h e

with the funeral (which will be quoted

corresponding word in the Babli would

l a t e r in this H a l a k h a h . )

be VDonn.)

H e n c e , it

clearly deals with a eulogy after funeral.

the

baraita

[A s e e m i n g l y

in t h e Babli, Berakhot

similar 19a,

T h e text of t h e T o s e p h t a

deals with a eulogy b e f o r e burial and

follows that of the Genizah fragments;

has nothing in common with the text

it is slightly corrupted in the V e n i c e

given here.]

V7>?iy W?!?^ n p p o >7?

ιν>ν> ^ n j v

i n f l m>?N I O N r n ' N a .n^ajii ÌNOi

t?3?3 Ν ΐ η ψ τη l o o n ? ! * 1 3 ^ Ν ΐ η ψ >?-} - » ç n m

.!>¿73J?> ï h

ì y ION? ΊΟΝ i n i .ria^g v m p n ! w n

ι η ί η ^ n i p p NID j m > ON O'NI

innN

. w r r p n ΐ ? κ η ϊψ -107 INO .bins

IÇN?

*τη ν ι ο ί η κ

. n > > a N ^ I o n ? > a >5-1 ίκ>Η yoivy

I O N ? -107

HALAKHAH 2

2M

Rebbi Samuel ben E u d a i m o n 1 2 7 said: H e w h o e n t e r s the s y n a g o g u e and finds t h e m standing and p r a y i n g 1 2 8 , if he k n o w s that he c o u l d start and finish b e f o r e the reader starts, s o that he m a y a n s w e r "Amen", he m a y pray, o t h e r w i s e he should not pray.

A b o u t w h i c h "Amen" did t h e y talk?

T w o A m o r a i m , o n e says the A m e n of "the h o l y K i n g " 1 2 9 and the o t h e r says the A m e n of "He W h o listens to prayer". Rebbi Phineas said, t h e y d o not disagree. H e w h o said: the A m e n of "the holy King", o n the Sabbath, and he w h o said: the A m e n of "He W h o listens to prayer" o n weekdays.

127

An Amora of the f i f t h Galilean

Amidah. "He Who hears prayer" is the

generation, student of Rebbi Mana.

last of the middle b e n e d i c t i o n s of

The paragraph added deals with the

weekday prayers (15th in Israel, 16th

problem of whether to start or not; it is

in Babylonia). The statement refers to

a kind of appendix to the first two

the old Galilean usage that

paragraphs. After that digression, one

was recited only on special days; it

will return to the discussion of the

p r o b a b l y was not r e c i t e d

Mishnah.

Sabbath afternoon prayers and, hence,

128

The Amidah prayer.

it is not mentioned that one should be

129

The third benediction of the

able to respond to Qedushah.

.Vn>>n

c n w p l n p i v n JinN

D>5? V I O T

O^ÌD

. V P Ü ? CP??

oivyp

in

now rnv nn n v

the

>ari

- W I O ? Î73N 0 1 W 3

V a » n o * 3 ì 2 P n r n " i n ì v ? ο ' Ρ ' ^ π r n w a V T P ì V n Ί3>3ΓΠ ν τ ο ^ η mìo?

Qedushah

.ΐ>?>>η

- m a o w n VTPiyn ^ r i i N70

.rni-inN r o y m

rrç ο ν π - ^ 3 n i l ο > ι π ν u n oro>p N i n y p i l o r i ^>3117 » m

.roiwN-i η ί ψ η

.713WN-» η~Ό rm\po nnpiy

.mi-iHN roy)» o y n

n^opn·)

o > > 3 N n j m p i y n i n a y * » ^ n n j W N - α awn ninawpn

in»y>

'Pi1 ' ¡ η Γ ρ η η m t e P î p

o n i - j n n m NJI?OÌB

.rrç Ί Π Ν ^ jmnri

ION ."HPiy D ^ i N m

286

CHAPTER THREE

It is stated (Tosephta Berakhot 2:11): "Rebbi Judah says, if they all are standing in one row, those who are standing because of honor are obliged, those because of mourning are exempt 1 3 0 .

When they descend for a

eulogy, those who see inside are exempt, those who do not see inside are obliged 131 ." It would be that what we stated: "Those who stand in the row, the innermost are exempt and the outer ones are obliged" is the last teaching 132 , and what is stated: "Those who are standing because of honor are obliged, those because of m o u r n i n g are exempt", is the first teaching 1 3 3 . And what we have stated there (Mishnah Sanhédrin "When he

134

2:2):

consoles others, all the people stand one behind the other and

the executive officer becomes a partition between himself and the people", the last teaching.

(Another opinion: the first.)

Rebbi Hanina said:

Originally, all families were standing still and the mourners passed between them. When competition increased in Sepphoris, Rebbi Yose ben Halaphta decreed that the families should pass by and the mourners stand still. Rebbi Samuel Tosephta 1 3 5 said: Matters returned to their original state. 130

In

(Berakhot

the

text

of

the

Babli

actively console are not exempt.

The

19b), Rashi reads: "those who

Babylonian Talmud makes no comment;

come b e c a u s e of themselves", not

we have to assume that it accepts the

"because

position of R. Samuel Tosephta.

of

honor",

but

most

manuscripts and old authors have

131

"because of honor". Also, in the Babli

mourners, the may recite the

only the second part of the Tosephta is

for t h e m s e l v e s without

attributed

anybody.

to

Rebbi

Yehudah.

According to Rashi, only those are

132

Since they cannot be seen by the Shema'

offending

The question is, what is the last

obliged to read the Shema' who come

teaching?

out of curiosity whereas according to

original custom was that the mourners

We are informed that the

most others those who come to honor

walk between two rows of participants

the dead and his family but do not

who greet them with words of con-

287

HALAKHAH 2 W h e n competition g r e w in

practice instituted by R e b b i Yose at

Sepphoris, it seems b e c a u s e p e o p l e

Sepphoris (in the second half of t h e

w e r e jostling f o r t h e best positions

second century C. E.) is in e f f e c t an old

(those who did not make it to the front

Jerusalem practice from the

rows could not be seen or heard by the

before the destruction of t h e Temple,

mourners), Rebbi Yose decreed that the

as stated explicitly in Babli

mourners should stay put and all others

19a, where it is noted that also under

march by them to greet and console

that system people q u a r r e l l e d

solation.

time

Sanhédrin

in

them. This is the case dealt with by

Jerusalem.

Rebbi Judah, that there is only one row

editor) seems to have doubts whether

Here t h e copyist (or t h e

(moving, not standing).

An otherwise

to go with the definition of "first" and

unknown Rebbi Samuel declares that

"last" as above or to call "first" the first

the innovation of Rebbi Jose did not

practice reported by Rebbi Hanina and

stand t h e test of time and in his time

"last" the second one. Hence, there a r e

the consolers stand and the mourners

two opinions about the attribution but

move.

Rebbi Samuel's opinion is t h e

the meaning is clear. If the uncertainty

"last teaching", Rebbi Yose's "the first

is the editor's, then the note "Another

teaching". In the first teaching, there

opinion: the first" belongs to the text.

are no people in o u t e r rows, so t h e

If it is the scribe's or some r e a d e r ' s ,

Mishnah automatically has to apply to

then it is a gloss that has entered the

the last teaching.

text from the margin. For consistency,

133

the hypothesis of a gloss is preferable.

Since t h e e n t i r e T o s e p h t a is

Rebbi Judah's, it s p e a k s of the case

135

where t h e r e is only one row.

Simeon of the Tosephta".

(This

In t h e V e n i c e

text,

"Rebbi

The name

argument is not applicable to the text

given in the text is f r o m t h e Geniza

quoted in the Babli.)

fragments (Rebbi Samuel Tosephta) and

134

The High Priest. When he goes

similar to the parallel in Yerushalmi

out, he is accompanied by his executive

Sanhédrin 2:2 (fol. 20a) "Rebbi Samuel

officer; when he consoles mourners the

of Sofephta".

executive goes first, the High Priest

region of N o r t h e r n A r m e n i a , c a l l e d

second, and e v e r y b o d y e l s e in o n e

Thospitis by Ptolemy, which was t h e

orderly row after him. This is possible

birthplace of Rabba Tosphaä, one of

only in t h e s c e n a r i o e n v i s a g e d

by

the later heads of the Academy of Sura

R e b b i Yose; it is s h o w n t h a t

the

in Babylonia.

Tosephta might be t h e

288

CHAPTER THREE

V i ^ n ì v ^ a ^ n p i vövy

m i o ? CP?\?ì?Ì o m ^ ì D>YÓ :» τ ο ν » •limn Ji3-p5i rrçwpai

Mishnah 3: Women, slaves, and minors are exempt from reciting the Shema' and from phylacteries but are obliged for prayer, mezuzah,136

and

Grace for food. 136

W h i l e both p h y l a c t e r i e s and

their status is different.

mezuzot are based on verses in Shema',

JlÇl H ï )

JIN

JW DJ1ÌN ΟίΗ®!?") 1V3P CPVW

Î13Î7Î1

Halakhah 3: Women from where? (Deut. 11:19) "You must teach them to your sons." To your sons but not to your daughters 137 . The f a t h e r is u n c o n d i t i o n a l l y

e x e c u t e d at s t a t e d times, of w h i c h

obliged to teach his sons Torah; since

women and slaves a r e a u t o m a t i c a l l y

this is an integral part of

Shemathe

exempted. Since the Yerushalmi brings

same is valid for reciting the Shema'. It

this a r g u m e n t in r e l a t i o n t o o t h e r

is general p r a c t i c e that women

things later in this section, it follows

137

may

recite Shema'; it f o l l o w s that in the

that f o r it the r e c i t a l of Shema'

opinion of the Yerushalmi, women may

simply an aspect of Torah study and

study any subjects of Torah they wish.

Torah study is required "day and night",

[The Babli, Berakhot 20b, simply notes

not depending on any particular time.]

t h a t Shema'

is an o b l i g a t i o n to be

vinari

ρ™

n^n

ft

ηπ

.τπν

* wrftNt

,ηηκ -p™

*

ft

is

νοψ

l?>3>? o m y

-Tayn

νιπ -pi}

Slaves from where? (Deut. 6:4): "Hear, o Israel, the Eternal, our Power, the Eternal is unique." He who has only one Lord, this excludes the slave who has another lord 138 .

289

HALAKHAH 3 As explained in the preceding

performed at stated times; therefore, a

paragraph, the Yerushalmi does not

separate argument is necessary to f r e e

r e f e r to the obligation o f

from

138

as

Shema'

an

reciting

obligation

to

be

(Ex.

obligation

slaves

who

accepted Judaism.

.na -p-m N i n y n y ^

Minors from where?

the

* τηίπ

o ^ i ?

13:9) "So that the Torah of the Eternal

should stay in your mouth", at a time when he is permanent in it 139 . 139

This paragraph is exceedingly

difficult for two reasons. generally

accepted

1) It is a

principle

that

way it applies to adults you might think that tefillin

apply to minors the

same way they apply to adults, but the

minors are not obliged to do anything;

verse says 'you must p r e s e r v e

it is their parents who are obliged to

decree', I spoke only about those able

teach them and see to it that they

to watch over their tefillin·,

perform mizwot.

they said:

only with

2) The verse deals

tefillin.

statement and the tradition are not unquestioned. Both Mekhiltot dR. Ismael,

(Mekhilta

ed. Horovitz-Rabin, p. 68;

from here

If a minor knows how to

watch his tefillin,

In the Y e r u s h a l m i tradition, the

this

his father makes him

tefillin" The argument

presupposes

the

statement that minors are obliged to have mezuzot

on their doors (meaning

p.41),

that if they live alone, the r a b b i n i c

the Tannaïtic commentaries to Exodus,

authorities have to see io it that they

Mekhilta

dR. Simeon

bar Iohai,

give the same commentary on the next

have mezuzot on their doors).

verse (Ex.

and tefillin

13:10): "You must preserve

are always

Mezuzah

mentioned

this decree in its time, from year to

together in the first two paragraphs of

year".

Shema'.

" W h y has this b e e n

said?

Hence, one may assume that

Because it has been said (v.9): 'It shall

they are identical in those details that

be for you a sign on your hand', I might

are not spelled out.

understand this to include minors. And

and

it is logical, since mezuzah

explanation is needed lo distinguish

commandment

and

is a positive

tefillin

are

a

positive commandment; if you find that mezuzah

applies to minors the same

Mekhiltot

Boi h Yerushalmi

agree

that

some

between the rules for mezuzah

and

those f o r tefillin.

the

However,

M e k h i l t o t extend the o b l i g a t i o n of

290 tefillin

CHAPTER THREE to all school children whereas

Mizwah

onwards.

In i t s e l f

the

the Yerushalmi restricts it to those f o r

a r g u m e n t a b o u t m i n o r s is

whom

irrelevant; it is needed to exclude t h e

the

study

of

Torah

is

a

permanent obligation, i. e., f r o m Bar-

totally

opinion of the Mekhiltot.

.io?«!! b y o ^ n r n \y¡v»i)? t n i ^ " r n i ^ s

n ?

They are obliged to pray so that everybody ask mercy for himself 140 . 140

Here again, we h a v e a di-

vergence between Yerushalmi Babli.

and

The Yerushalmi states that

and if that were a general obligation, women

would

be

dispensed f r o m it.

automatically Hence, it f o l l o w s

prayer is an obligation not because it is

that the rabbinical obligation of prayer

a Biblical commandment but because

for women cannot mean f o r the Babli

the rabbis thought that everybody has

an obligation to pray ai those s t a t e d

to implore divine mercy for himself. In

times, which it could m e a n in t h e

the Babli (Berakhot 20b), the argument

interpretation of the Yerushalmi.

of the Yerushalmi is repeated but then

opinion

it is stated that in Psalms (Ps. 55:18)

Maimonides, the possible one of t h e

three times daily are stated f o r prayer

Yerushalmi that of Nachinanides.

.qnyyii

of

the Babli

The

is t h a t

of

n i o t > ? ϊ χ ο π ι τ ρ ι η > π ? 7 rrçiwpai

And for mezuzah, as it is written (Deut. 6:9): "You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and your gates 141 . 141

This is an obligation of ownership, not of person.

* riis n r n i i r i y a y ì

i ' r m γκοπ

ro-pi

And grace after meals, as it is written {Deut. 8:10): "You will eat and be satiated; then you must praise the Eternal, your God.142" 142

According to t h e Y e r u s h a l m i ,

w o m e n and slaves a r e r e q u i r e d

to

recite Grace from the Torah since

everybody who eats must give praise. In t h e Babli {loc. cit.), this r e m a i n s questionable.

291

HALAKHAH 3

.nino?

O'wîîji

«WV

IJ'M)

K i n η * >N

ο > ν ό inis") O>\ÍÓN i n * n o n ? irçrçn n)>y

n w n N>n η n o

.p!?1?^ n a w

m i o

yap

ni¿>i> r n s » - ! ? ? )

nip-i* ΐ ρ ^ ϋ ψ n w y rtisoa

ìivpw

ττ>5ΐ·»^ι n(?i»)9 1î?n ntoy)·) n ï U N ή »

m o p η.ηψ

. n o i , ? ίρ-^ηψ nipy η ^ ρ Ν ΐ η ψ Tino* m W P o n w n

JNNVJ? NJVN ON ·ΡΨ ÌJAII POYO

non? i m n Ν

n\yy noia

RAÍ ION , Π ^ ^ Η Ρ NIOA Η!?>> Ν>ηψ

T h e r e ( M i s h n a h Qiddushin

195

1:7) w e h a v e s t a t e d :

ο ν > Vj

"Every positive

c o m m a n d m e n t that is activated by time, men are obliged by it but w o m e n are exempt. Every positive c o m m a n d m e n t that is not a c t i v a t e d by time, b o t h m e n and w o m e n a r e obliged by it."

( T o s e p h t a Qiddushin

1:10):

"What is a positive c o m m a n d m e n t that is activated by time? For e x a m p l e sukkah, lulab, shofar, and tefillin.

What is a positive c o m m a n d m e n t that

is not activated by time? For e x a m p l e lost articles 1 4 3 , sending a w a y t h e nest 1 4 4 , railing 1 4 5 , and zizit1*6.

Rebbi Simeon e x e m p t s w o m e n f r o m zizit

because it is a positive c o m m a n d m e n t a c t i v a t e d by time." n i g h t g o w n is e x e m p t f r o m zizit.

R e b b i Lia said:

Because a

T h e r e a s o n of t h e

rebbbis is that, if a g a r m e n t is designated both f o r d a y t i m e and f o r night, it needs zizit. 143

The obligation to return found

stated that t h e y must b e s e e n ,

so

a r t i c l e s and stray a n i m a l s to t h e i r

garments, worn exclusively in the night

owners in Deut. 22:1-3.

when it is dark, do not need zizit.

144

The obligation to send away the

Babli ( Q i d d u s h i n 33b-34a;

Menahot

mother if e g g s or c h i c k s are t a k e n

4 3 a ) m e n t i o n s n e i t h e r zizit

nor the

from a nest in Deut. 22:6-7.

opinion of Rebbi Simeon in its quotes

145

f r o m the T o s e p h t a ; it a s s u m e s

The obligation to m a k e a f e n c e

around a flat roof in Deut. 22:8. 146

T h e obligation to wear zizit

position in

the third section of Shema' where it is

of

Rebbi

generally accepted.

Simeon

The

to

the be

292

CHAPTER THREE

Ji5*ìan >pn i n i i n >ι> ο > 3 Ί π TI^ ÍOSÍO CHN n o a ο ί Ν ψ NÎJ . i n i i n

ο > 2 ΐ π ni* N ^ i n γη n a i a a » n

l i m n 113*1? Ν>η

>3ΓΙ ΝΠΙ . l i m n

Ν»> >?-» -ION .M^ÌO Ν ^ DN Ì!?>3N

>?•> .rpa? Nìn ΐ7?Νψ >p T · ? ^

Λ

^

npiai nya^ì

n>n ON ^

^TPI

ν η ψ π η ρ η ί ο ^ η ρ η ν ^ VIY?H) ρ η π > uri n a 13 r n v >a-»i >pi> wí?3)p τηι^ι îni^-^D Νη>ψ n ^ a i p Ν Ί ^ γ ι ό ο HÌ . v a ? ΐ3ψ>? τ η κ ι "τηκ-in

It is stated: "For every obligation that a man is free of, he may help the congregation to fulfill their obligation, except for Grace." But have we not stated: "Anybody who is not obligated may not help the congregation to fulfill their obligation"? If he were obligated, he could help them to fulfill even if he himself already fulfilled it!147 Rebbi Lia said: There is a difference about Grace since it is written (Deut. 8:10): "You will eat and be satiated, then you must praise the Eternal, your God;" he who ate must give praise. Rebbi Yose and Rebbi Judah ben Pazi were sitting together and saying: It would be reasonable 148 for reciting the

Shema'

that every single person

should repeat it aloud. It would be reasonable for prayer that every single person should pray for mercy by himself. 147

"To be free" does not mean the

s a m e as "not b e i n g o b l i g a t e d " rather "having

already

himself of the obligation."

mentioned is that of saying Grace. The

but

second statement means, e. g., that a

acquitted

woman, not being obligated to hear the

T h e first

shofar, may not blow the shofar

for a

statement means, e. g., that s o m e o n e

man who is obligated. Since everybody

w h o already has heard the shofar

on

is obligated to say Grace a f t e r a meal,

Rosh Hashanah nevertheless may blow

there seems to be no reason why Grace

the shofar

should

and recite the appropriate

be e x e m p t e d

benediction for somebody w h o did not

statement.

hear the blowing.

148

The only exception

in t h e

first

The exemption m e n t i o n e d f o r

293

HALAKHAH 3 Grace should be extended to the recital

recite the Amidah aloud, without silent

of Shema' and prayer.

The argument

prayer, and it is stated that everyone is

rests on t h e e x p r e s s i o n

required to say t h e p r a y e r with t h e

f o r Shema' (Deut.

6:7) -paV onjaiin "you s h o u l d

r e a d e r , not just to r e s p o n d

with

repeat it to your sons"; it implies a

"Amen". In Babylonia the question did

personal

be

not arise since silent prayer was always

p e r f o r m e d by listening to a r e a d e r .

required b e f o r e the repetition by the

The discussion of prayer presupposes

reader.

action

and

cannot

the Galilean practice that the r e a d e r

l i O O V >>>> pini

71D*n D O W ? Π ί ' Ν Γ Ο Ι Ρ

Ν Π Ν ' i - η >pi> >2-1 .rtyiy-^

1>3 D Ç Î Π 3 1 Ρ 1>3 Π10

r o - n ·ρνο 3^!?

n J D ì J ro 1 »© . 3 ^ p ? n j p ì r o w V 3

Ì3»N 3^1!? . ο > η > 3 ί

n i ^ i o s n i i r n i n *nn>ri n r ? N » ç m 3 p y > >3"! 3>rin

Hïy

ήν)Νΐ

->ψ?>κ n-jiri

V~>W

,ov3 t&y

>ηύ

.!?\?3>> π} -ιψο>Ν rmo in? »5 .o»n>?? ,Î703>!? ·· τ

W h a t 1 4 9 is the d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n sukkah

and lulab?

Sukkah

does not

n e e d a b e n e d i c t i o n a f t e r t h e first night o f t h e h o l i d a y , lulab

needs a

benediction all s e v e n d a y s 1 5 0 . Rebbi Y o s e and Rebbi A h a w e r e sitting and saying, w h a t is the d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n sukkah both nights and days, lulab the Southerner o b j e c t e d : day?

H o w is this?

that it should e v e r e n d

149

were

applies o n l y d u r i n g d a y t i m e 1 5 1 .

mentioned

applies

Rebbi Jacob

will end; t h e s t u d y of Torah, it is i m p o s s i b l e

.

It seems that this paragraph is

put h e r e because 1) sukkah

Sukkah

But t h e s t u d y of T o r a h applies by night as by

Sukkah 152

and lulab?

and lulab

as e x a m p l e s

colleagues. 150

This is a shortened version of a

of

Tosephta (Berakhot 6:9,10) discussed

temporary obligations and 2) it was the

more in detail later (Halakhah 9:4, fol.

subject of a discussion between Rebbi

14a) and in Babli Sukkah

Yose ( t h e A m o r a ) a n d o n e of

Rebbi

his

states

that

one

46a, w h e r e makes

a

294

CHAPTER THREE

benediction all seven days of Sukkoth

It may be that this distinction caused

and that Babylonian practice f o l l o w s

Rebbi Yose to be dissatisfied with the

Rebbi. Galilean practice followed the

first explanation.

rule

151

that

the

benediction

"Who

While sukkah is one continuous

commanded us to dwell in the sukkah"

o b l i g a t i o n , lulab

was recited only once during the entire

distinct periods of obligation of which

holiday. About lulab, the Babli notes

each one merits a new benediction.

c o r r e c t l y t h a t in t h e a b s e n c e of a

152

Temple, taking the lulab a f t e r the first

boy on becoming Bar Mizwah should

represents

seven

It is unreasonable to say that a

day is a r a b b i n i c o r d i n a n c e , not a

recite the benediction f o r t h e T o r a h

Torah commandment;

once and not repeat it for his e n t i r e

hence,

the

obligation of the second day cannot be

lifetime.

covered by the benediction of the first.

benediction every year.

p

10)7·)

. p j: n—bs > 7· ·3: »l •u' p• :a ÌN η ψ Ν ί Ν η ρ κ

!?ιν

Sukkah

at least gets a new

m a p tav"!

ι ί ρ ν Ì J I N >?ΓΙ

n o :Nιτ vν r i oτ > » oτ i r o - u- > υ ν m ΓΡΓΙΪ» >ο

1?WT

m á

Ν Π* Ντ

·

·

-ION ~ τ

( Ί ^ Ν ) ι η η π Ν τ φ ν α *ina>ri

. r r v N p ib ν π ι ϊ ι Ή ρ ί Ν i n y n o ìiinnisi n?iy i n i N v i f p ç .Ίψν p!p

It is s t a t e d 1 5 3 :

ο η ψ ν p > ΓΠ>Ν>3 N i n n

In truth, t h e y said a w o m a n m a y s a y G r a c e f o r h e r

h u s b a n d 1 5 4 , a s l a v e f o r his m a s t e r , and a m i n o r f o r his father. R e b b i A h a s a y in t h e n a m e of R e b b i Y o s e bar N a h o r a ï : about a m i n o r is f o r the latter's e d u c a t i o n 1 5 5 ?

D i d not

All t h e y said

E x p l a i n it that h e r e c i t e s

a f t e r h i m 1 5 6 , as w e stated there 1 5 7 : "He f o r w h o m a s l a v e , a w o m a n , o r a m i n o r w e r e reading it, repeats after t h e m what they are saying, and m a y it be a curse f o r him. In truth, they said there should be a curse o n t h e m a n of t w e n t y years w h o needs the child of ten." 153

Tosephta Berakhot

Berakhot 20b, Sukkah

5:17, Babli

38a. The entire

piece is f o u n d in Sukkah

3:11, Rosh

Hashanah 3:9. 154

He who does not know how to

say Grace may listen to a companion

295

HALAKHAH 4 recite G r a c e aloud.

T h e Yerushalmi

the minor himself is not obligated and,

has no problem with women or slaves

by the previously mentioned principle,

but for the Babli the question remains

cannot perform any religious duty f o r

w h e t h e r w o m e n may in f a c t r e c i t e

others.

Grace

156

for

males

who

have

an

The adult repeats word by word

obligation f r o m the Torah, i. e., w h o

what the minor says, so t h e adult in

actually ate their fill.

fact has recited all benedictions.

155

157

T h e minor must be e d u c a t e d ;

there is an obligation on the f a t h e r to

In some Tosephta collection no

longer extant.

teach him all religious obligations but

η η η Ν > ι Ο ι n>)a!p

ù'N)

i r n r » ? n¡?

î j - u p - t o w r m n > >3*1 .n>?9> :p.3>? ú w

Mishnah 4: He who had qeri158

.1

mvn

π η η κ ! ? :p.}Jp

thinks but does not recite any

benediction before or after 159 ; on his food he recites the benedictions afterwards 160 but not before. Rebbi Yehudah says, he recites benedictions before and after. 158

An emission of semen.

159

The recitation of

160

Grace, which is an o b l i g a t i o n

Shema'.

from the Torah. He does not recite the rabbinic benedictions before the meal.

.jito-n n r n n p inn Halakhah 4: What does he think of? The benedictions161. 161

But the Shema', which is an

the Shema"', and this also seems to be

obligation f r o m the Torah, he recites

the o p i n i o n of M a i m o n i d e s in his

normally. But Rashi explains "he thinks

decision based on the Bahli.

296

CHAPTER THREE

O>0

to

HR

- P N O (fol. 6c)

D>0

θ ί ρ « 3 NJVM1Ç

n > î û > N"^ :i"u>? i ^ N " ) Î J W ! ? v^ovpîQ iJ'N") yçy> U N ί ο ί ρ n t n r ) v o y ) m s ν " > i p V"i)?iN d > o ? d ì " v n j ?

imp!?

">121 ηη.Γ)Ν> ν > ) ·