Avodah Zarah 29a (כט.) — the Talmud in English

And cold water

cold water is beneficial

for cracks

in a person’s face.

And conversely,

exchanging these remedies for one another

— is dangerous!

Hala

vinegar is beneficial

for bloodletting,

to heal after bloodletting.

And small fish,

eating small fish, is beneficial

for fasting,

to strengthen oneself after a fast.

And conversely,

exchanging these remedies

— is dangerous!

Shahalei and bloodletting,

eating the plant called shahalayim and undergoing bloodletting afterward

— is dangerous!

Ishta,

a feverish illness, and afterward

bloodletting,

bloodletting from the shoulders

— is dangerous!

When one has eye pain,

eye pain,

and

afterward

bloodletting,

bloodletting from the shoulders

— is dangerous!

On the second day after fish,

on the second day, that is, on the day after eating fish, one may let

blood.

Likewise, on the

second day after bloodletting,

after bloodletting,

one may eat

fish.

Eating it does not cause harm.

However, letting blood on the

third day after it,

after eating fish, or eating fish on the third day after bloodletting

— is dangerous!

The Sages taught: One who lets blood should not eat locusts, milk, cheese, onions, or shahalayim

[these are the initial letters of the following words]:

neither milk, nor cheese, nor onions, nor shahalayim.

If he ate

one of them, what should he do?

Abaye said: Let him bring

bring

a quarter-log of vinegar,

a quarter-log of vinegar,

and a quarter-log of wine,

a quarter-log of wine,

and mix them with one another,

mix them together

— and let him drink

and he should drink.

And when he defecates,

when he needs to attend to his bodily functions,

he should defecate only to the east of the city,

because the eastern wind is not strong and will not carry the odor of the excrement into the city.

And why all this?

Because the odor is harsh,

the odor of the excrement after drinking the mixture of vinegar and wine is harsh and strong.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: One may cure an unkeli on Shabbat.

And the Gemara clarifies:

What

what is

unkeli?

Rabbi Abba said: It is the istumka of the heart.

Something like cartilage located opposite the heart, which sometimes bends inward and obstructs breathing.

What is the remedy

what is the treatment for this?

Bring

take and bring these types of plants:

cumin,

cumin in the amount of

a handful,

the full measure of a clenched fist.

mint

[mint],

and agdana,

wormwood,

and tzitrei,

a plant called tzitra,

and avdata,

hyssop.

If he needs a remedy

for the heart,

for the istumka of the heart, he should drink all of these

with wine,

in wine.

And your mnemonic

for this is found in the verse: [Psalms 104:15]

“And wine gladdens the heart of man!”

And if he needs to be healed

from ruha,

from tuberculosis brought on by the wind, he should drink these

with water,

in water.

And your mnemonic

for this is: [Genesis 1:2]

“And the spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water.”

And

for likhuda,

for an illness that attacks a woman giving birth, who sometimes becomes chilled while sitting on the birthing stool, these should be steeped

in beer

in beer, and she should drink them.

And your mnemonic

for this is: [Genesis 24:15]

“And her pitcher was upon her shoulder.”

The mnemonic is as follows: kada—kuda, “pitcher”; shikhma—shikhra, “shoulder.”

Rav Aha, son of Rava, ground all of them

he ground all these types of plants

together

together,

and took it,

and took them

the full measure of his five fingers,

between all the fingers of his hand,

and drank it

drank them.

Rav Ashi ground each and every one separately,

he ground each of them by itself,

and took

and took from them

the full measure of his large finger,

the full measure of his large finger [thumb],

and the full measure of his small finger,

and the full measure of his small finger [little finger]. That is, he took the amount he could hold between these two fingers.

Rav Pappa said: I performed all these remedies,

I performed all these treatments,

but I was not healed,

and I was not cured,

until that Arab

until that Ishmaelite said to me:

Bring

bring

a new small jug and fill it with water,

a new small jug and fill it with water,

and put into it

put into it

a spoonful of honey,

a full spoonful of honey,

which you should hang beneath the stars,

which was to be left in the courtyard of the house at night, beneath the stars,

and tomorrow—

drink it

drink it.

I did so,

I did this,

and I was healed

and I was cured!

The Sages taught: Six things heal a sick person from his illness, and their healing is genuine.

And these are they:

a.

Cabbage,

b.

and chard,

c.

and the water of dried sisin.

A dried mint plant, which one soaks in water and drinks.

d.

and the stomach

of an animal.

e.

and the womb,

of an animal.

f.

and the liver’s diaphragm,

which separates the lung from the liver.

And some say: Also small fish.

Moreover, small fish cause the entire body

of a person to flourish and multiply!

Ten things cause a sick person to relapse, and his illness becomes more severe

than it was before he was ill.

And

these are they:

one who eats

ox meat,

and likewise one who eats

fat,

and one who eats

roasted meat,

and

poultry, and

one who eats

a roasted egg, and

one who eats

shahalayim, and

one who personally performs

shaving, and

likewise

a bath

also causes a sick person to relapse,

and

eating

cheese and liver.

And some say: Also nuts

are included in this list.

And some say: Also cucumbers.

The tanna of the school

of Rabbi Yishmael taught: Why were

these vegetables

called “cucumbers”?

Because they are as harmful to a person’s entire body as swords!

And for this reason they were called “cucumbers.”

We learned in our Mishna:

“And one may not take a haircut from them,”

from gentiles

“anywhere!”

The Sages taught: When a Jew takes a haircut from a gentile,

he must

look in a mirror

to see whether the gentile is cutting his hair properly.

And when a gentile takes a haircut from a Jew, once he reaches

the gentile’s balorit,

he withdraws his hand,

and does not trim it, because the gentile grows it for the sake of idolatry.

The Gemara discusses this:

The Master said

in the beraita—

“When a Jew takes a haircut from a gentile, he looks in a mirror.”

What are the circumstances?

How is this case understood?

If

he takes a haircut from the gentile

in the public domain, why does he need a mirror,

for since they are in the public domain, the gentile will automatically be afraid to kill him?

And if

they are

in a private domain,

then even

if he looks

even if the Jew looks in a mirror,

what difference does it make?

Since no one else can see them, the gentile will kill him.

The Gemara answers:

Actually,

he is taking the haircut

in a private domain. And since there is

a

mirror,

and the Jew looks into it and examines the haircut,

he appears

to the gentile

as an important person

who is particular about his appearance. Therefore, the gentile is afraid to kill him even in a private domain.

Rav Hana bar Bizna was

taking a haircut

from a gentile on the roads of Nehardea,

on the paths outside the city.

The gentile barber said to him,

the gentile barber said

to him: “Hana, Hana! Your neck is well suited to the razor,”

your neck would look good cut by a razor!

Rav Hana bar Bizna said:

Rav Hana bar Bizna said:

“I deserve this,”

this is deserved by me,

because I transgressed

because I transgressed

the ruling of Rabbi Meir

in our Mishna, who said that one may not take a haircut from them anywhere.

The Gemara asks:

And

why

did he not transgress the ruling of the Rabbis?

Did Rav Hana bar Bizna not transgress the ruling of the Rabbis? The Sages said in the Mishna that taking a haircut is permitted only in the public domain, but not when the Jew and gentile are alone together.

Say that the Rabbis said

that it is permitted to take a haircut in the public domain. But

did they say anything about a private domain?

Did they say that it is permitted there?

The Gemara explains:

And he,

Rav Hana bar Bizna,

held that the roads of Nehardea,

where he took the haircut,

since many

people were found

there,

they

are considered like the public domain.

Therefore, they too were included in the permission granted by the Sages, and when Rav Hana bar Bizna confessed, he confessed only that he had transgressed the words of Rabbi Meir.

We learned above in a beraita:

“And when a gentile takes a haircut from a Jew, once he reaches his balorit, the Jew withdraws his hand.”

The Gemara asks:

And how far

must he distance himself from the balorit and withdraw his hand?

Rav Malkiya said that Rav Adda bar Ahava said: Three fingerbreadths in every direction.

He must distance himself that amount from the balorit and must not tend to that place.

Since we have discussed the words of Rav Malkiya, the Gemara cites laws stated in the name of Rav Malkio, whose name is similar, as well as laws cited in the name of Rav Malkiya himself.

Rav Hanina, son of Rav Ika, said—

these are the laws:

a.

A spit

on which meat was roasted on a Festival may not be moved immediately after the roast has been cooked, because it is repulsive and muktze, and the Festival need for it has already been fulfilled. Rather, he removes it from before him and drags it, moving it indirectly, until he takes it to a corner.

b.

Female slaves:

We learned in the Mishna [Ketubot 59b] the tasks that a wife performs for her husband. Rabbi Eliezer said that even if a woman brought her husband one hundred female slaves, he may compel her to work with wool, because idleness leads to licentiousness. Rav Malkio said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Eliezer.

c.

And dimples

[Nidda 52a]: If a young girl has two dimples where hair grows, even though there is currently no hair there, she is considered an adult; and if she falls before a yavam, she does not wait, but performs halitza.

These laws

Rav Malkio

taught.

But the following laws:

a.

The balorit,

whose prescribed measure is taught here; b.

ashes from a fire

[Makkot 21a]: Rav Malkiya said that it is forbidden for a person to place ashes from a fire on his wound, because it appears like a tattoo [which is prohibited, as explained in the Mishna there].

c.

And cheese:

below, on 29b, it is explained that gentile cheese is prohibited. Rav Malkiya explained the reason in the name of Rav Adda bar Ahava [below, 35b]: They smooth the surface of the cheese with pig fat!

These laws

Rav Malkiya

taught.

Rav Pappa said:

The Mishna and the beraita

—the laws stated concerning the words of the Mishna and in beraitot [the balorit, female slaves, and cheese]—were taught by Rav Malkiya.

The independent teachings

—laws and traditions stated independently [the spit, ashes from a fire, and dimples]—

were taught by Rav Malkio.

He taught them.

And the mnemonic

for this is:

“Beraita”

“malketa”

[Mishna—from the expression “queen”]. That is, the laws taught concerning the Mishna and the beraita are those of Rav Malkiya [because the name “Malkiya” resembles “malketa”].

The remaining laws were taught by Rav Malkio.

The Gemara asks:

What is the difference between them,

what is the difference between the mnemonic of Rav Hanina, son of Rav Ika, and that of Rav Pappa?

There is a difference between them: female slaves!

The law concerning a woman who brought many female slaves to her husband relates to the words of the Mishna. Therefore, according to Rav Pappa, it was stated by Rav Malkiya. But according to Rav Hanina, son of Rav Ika, it was stated by Rav Malkio.