Avodah Zarah 19a — the Talmud in English

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Abraham our forefather, who did not

follow the counsel of the generation of the Dispersion.

And this was when Abraham our forefather was forty-eight years old. And we expound “the counsel of the wicked” as referring to the generation of the Dispersion,

for they were wicked, as it is stated [

Genesis 11]

“Come, let us build ourselves a city.”

“And he did not stand in the way of sinners” —

for Abraham our forefather did not stand

Abraham our forefather

in the standing

of the

people of Sodom, who were sinners, as it is stated [

Genesis 13] “

And the people of Sodom were wicked and sinners against the Lord exceedingly.”

“And he did not sit in the seat of scorners” —

for Abraham our forefather did not sit

Abraham our forefather

in the seat of the Philistines,

when he lived among them,

because they were scorners, as it is stated [

Judges 16]

“And when their hearts were merry, they said: Call Samson, and let him amuse us.”

And the Gemara continues and expounds another verse in Psalms [112]: “

Happy is the man who fears the Lord,

who greatly delights in His commandments.”

The verse did not say “happy is the man,” with the definite article, speaking of the person about whom the verse speaks; rather, it said “a man.” And apparently its meaning is to exclude: a man, but not a woman.

And the matter is puzzling: Is it possible to say

“Happy is the man”

who fears the Lord,

“but not happy is the woman”?

After all, a woman who fears the Lord—she too shall be praised! Rather,

Rav Amram said in the name of Rav:

The verse did not come to exclude a woman, but rather to say:

Happy is the one who repents,

so that he becomes one who fears the Lord

when he is “a man,”

with his strength and his might, and does not wait until the days of his old age.

Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said: Happy is the one who overcomes his inclination

with strength

like a man

who is mighty.

It is further stated there: “

He greatly delights in His commandments.”

Rabbi Elazar said:

In His commandments

he greatly delights, for he serves the Lord out of love for His Name and out of love for His commandments,

and not

serves the Lord

for the

sake of

the reward of His commandments.

And

this exposition

that is, as we learned:

as we learned in the Mishna in Tractate Avot [1:3]:

He,

Antigonus, man of Sokho,

would say: Do not be like servants who serve the master

their master

in order to receive a reward. Rather, be like servants who serve the master

out of love for the master,

not in order to receive a reward!

That is, your loyalty to the Holy One, blessed be He, should be wholehearted; serve Him with love, and be prepared to say that even if we will ultimately receive no reward, we love our Creator and desire His commandments.

And the Gemara continues to expound the verses in the first chapter of the Book of Psalms.

“Rather, in the Torah of the Lord is his delight” —

It was taught:

Rabbi said: A person studies Torah only from the place toward which his heart is inclined.

A teacher should teach his student only a tractate in which the student presently desires to study; for if he teaches him another tractate, his learning will not remain with him, since the student does not desire it. As it is stated

“Rather, in the Torah of the Lord is his delight.” “His delight” means “his object of desire,” his will, for it was not said “he desires.”

And the Gemara tells of an incident connected with this:

Levi and Rabbi Shimon bar Rabbi [

Levi and Rabbi Shimon bar Rabbi

[Rabbi’s son],

sat before Rabbi,

sitting as students before Rabbi,

and they were dividing a sequence,

studying sections of verses.

The book was completed,

they finished one of the books and wished to begin another book.

Levi said: Let them bring

us

let them bring us, and we shall begin the Book of

Proverbs.

Rabbi Shimon bar Rabbi said: Let them bring

us

Psalms.

The Book of Psalms.

He compelled Levi,

Rabbi compelled Levi to study as his son Rabbi Shimon wished,

and they brought Psalms

and brought the Book of Psalms, and began to read at its beginning.

When they reached here,

when they reached this verse,

“Rather, in the Torah of the Lord is his delight,” he interpreted,

he interpreted it,

and Rabbi said: A person studies Torah only from the place toward which his heart is inclined.

Levi said: Rabbi!

By this

you have given me permission to stand

and interrupt my study in the Book of Psalms, for my desire is to study in the Book of Proverbs.

And the Gemara brings further expositions concerning the verse “Rather, in the Torah of the Lord is his delight.”

Rav Avdimi bar Hama said: Whoever engages in Torah—

the Holy One, blessed be He, fulfills his desires,

his wishes and his needs,

as it is stated: “Rather, in the Torah of the Lord,

which fulfills for him

his desire.”

Rava said: A person should always study Torah in the place toward which his heart is inclined. As it is stated: “Rather, in the Torah of the Lord is his delight.”

And

further

Rava said: At first,

when a person begins his study,

the Torah is called

the Torah

by the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, and in the end,

after he has studied it and reviewed it,

it is called by his name

of the learner who labored in its study.

As it is stated,

at first,

“In the Torah of the Lord is his delight,”

and at its end it says

“And in his Torah he meditates day and night.”

The verse did not say “and in the Torah of the Lord he meditates,” but rather said “in his Torah,” which from now on is called “his Torah,” that of the one who studies it.

And

further

Rava said: A person should always study Torah

from his teacher, until the version of the Talmud and its interpretation are fluent in his mouth,

and afterward he should meditate,

he should examine his learning, compare one matter with another, raise difficulties and resolve them, equate and distinguish.

As it is stated: “In the Torah of the Lord,”

and this is the Torah transmitted to him by his teacher,

and afterward,

and afterward it says

“And in his Torah he meditates,”

and this is the Torah that he understood through his own examination.

And

further

Rava said: A person should always first learn the version,

a person should study from his teacher,

even though he forgets

and forgets his learning,

and even though he does not know what he is saying,

for his teacher is unable to explain anything to him and only teaches him the version.

As it is stated [

Psalms 119]: “

My soul is crushed with longing,”

and we expound:

“Crushed” is written,

in the language of crushing, which is breaking wheat into small parts, into two or four, in a “mill for crushed grain” for food [and it is not suitable for kneading],

and it was not written “ground,”

which grinds very finely.

And so King David said: My soul has crushed the Torah, “with longing,” from the abundance of my longing for words of Torah; I crush it according to my present ability, even though I am still unable to grind it well, to enter its depth.

And the Gemara brings another statement of Rava concerning this matter.

Rava raises a contradiction

—he raised an apparent contradiction between two verses—

In the Book of Proverbs [chapter 9]

it is written: “Wisdom [the wisdom of Torah] elevates [those who study it]

on the wings

on wings

of the heights of the city.” On the wings of the heights of the city.

And

later, in that same chapter,

it is written: “

Upon a throne

of the heights of the city.”

And apparently these verses contradict one another, for “wings” is not a permanent place of residence, whereas a “throne” is a permanent place of honor.

And he answers:

At first,

at the beginning of his study, the Torah elevates him in a manner that is not permanent,

on wings

of the heights of the city.

And in the end,

after he has studied it, it elevates him in a permanent manner,

upon a throne.

Rava further expounds:

It is written in the Book of Proverbs [8]: “Does not wisdom call, and understanding give forth her voice

And

at the head of the heights?”

And

afterward

it is written: “Upon the way.”

And this is somewhat a contradiction, for “at the head of the heights” means at the head of high mountains, which is not accessible to everyone, whereas “upon the way” means before the eyes of everyone.

And he answers:

At first, at the head of the heights,

the one who studies it labors over it as though it withdraws from him and hides itself at the top of lofty mountains.

And in the end, upon the way.

He issues rulings before the eyes of all who see.

And now the Gemara brings a similar exposition taught by Ulla.

Ulla raises a contradiction

and raised an apparent contradiction between two verses.

It is written [

Proverbs 5]: “

Drink water from your cistern,”

and the intention is the wisdom of Torah, which in this verse is compared to a cistern of water.

And

afterward

it is written: “

And flowing waters from your well.”

And this is somewhat a contradiction: a cistern contains gathered water, and it ends when it is drawn, whereas a well continues and brings forth living water at all times, and its water does not cease when water is drawn from it.

And he answers:

At first, drink

water

from your “cistern,” and in the end, flowing waters from your “well.”

And the Gemara continues and brings another exposition concerning the ways of studying Torah.

Rav said in the name of Rav Seḥora, who said in the name of Rav Huna: What

what is the explanation of this

which is written [

Proverbs 13]: “

Wealth from vanity diminishes, but whoever gathers little by little increases”?

We expound “vanity” like “bundle,” from the expression “bundle”—

If a person makes his Torah into bundles of bundles,

who studies much together and is unable to review his learning many times,

it diminishes,

he forgets his learning.

But if he gathers little by little,

he studies a little and reviews it, and a little more and reviews it,

he increases!

Rava said: The Sages know this matter,

the students know this matter,

but they pass over it,

they pass over it and do not fulfill it.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: I did it,

I did this: gathering little by little and reviewing my learning until I grasped it, and afterward I studied more and reviewed it—

and it remained in my possession,

my Torah endures within me.

And concerning this matter the Gemara brings another exposition.

Rav Shizbi said in the name

in the name of

Rabbi Elazar

ben Azariah: What

what is the explanation of this

which is written [

Proverbs 12]:

“The deceitful hunter does not singe his prey” [

the plain meaning of the verse: The hunter singes the tips of the birds’ wings so that they will not fly away, but the deceitful one does not do so, because he wishes to deceive the purchasers when they appear beautiful. But in the end he loses through his deception, because they fly away from him]—

And we expound “singe” as a notarikon of “shall live and shall lengthen days”—

The deceitful hunter shall neither live nor lengthen days

that is, one who studies much in order to display his wisdom and deceive people, and in the end forgets his learning and his days are shortened, in contrast to true study, concerning which it is stated [Deuteronomy 30]: “For it is your life and the length of your days.”

Rav Sheshet expounds “deceitful” as praise: one who knows how to devise intellectual stratagems to retain his learning, and studies little by little and reviews it many times.

And Rav Sheshet said: The deceitful hunter—

shall singe

he has birds in his possession to singe and eat.

And he expounds the verse in the language of a question: Is it so that the deceitful hunter shall not singe?!

When Rav Dimi came

when he arrived from the Land of Israel,

he said: A parable to a person who hunts birds:

birds;

if he breaks the wing of the first one

so that it will not escape—

all

the broken ones

remain in his possession, but if not—

they do not remain in his possession.

The Gemara returns to expound the verse: “Happy is the man who did not walk in the counsel of the wicked, and did not stand in the way of sinners, and did not sit in the seat of scorners. Rather, in the Torah of the Lord is his delight, and in his Torah he meditates day and night.”

“And he shall be like a tree planted beside streams of water.”

And we expound “planted”: a tree that one plants, uproots, and plants in another place—

They said in the academy

of

Rabbi Yannai: “Like a tree planted”—

and not like one “planted”

in one place—

It comes to teach us that a student should go and study from every person, and not before one teacher, because

anyone who studies Torah from one teacher—

never sees a sign of blessing

in his learning

ever.

The Gemara tells of an incident in connection with this:

Rav Hisda said to the Sages: “I wish to say a matter to you

I wish to say a matter to you,

but I am afraid

and I fear

that you will leave me

that you will abandon him

and go away

and go away!

And he said this matter to them:

Anyone who studies Torah from one teacher—

never sees a sign of blessing.

And indeed,

they left him

they abandoned him

and went away

and went away

before

before

Rava [

Rabba].

He said to them: These matters

these matters, which must also be heard from another teacher, the amoraim—concerning

reasoning

to learn sharpness and acuity of heart—

but

before that, to study

Gemara,

the version of the Talmud—

from one teacher is preferable

so that it will be fluent in his mouth,

so that ![](pamud.bmp "

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the languages will not be divided,

so that the languages will not be divided; that is, every teacher has his own language, version, and traditions, and the student may become confused by this.