Bava Batra 75a (עה.) — the Talmud in English

2.

When Rav Dimi came

from Eretz Yisrael,

he said

in the name of

Rabbi Yonatan: In the future

the angel

Gabriel

will engage in battle

with

the

Leviathan [in the future, Gabriel will wage war with the Leviathan, in order to hunt it with a hook and a rope].

Leviathan [in the future, Gabriel will wage war with the Leviathan, in order to hunt it with a hook and a rope].

As it is stated [Job 40:25]: “And the Lord answered Job from the storm and said” ...

As it is stated [Job 40:25]: “And the Lord answered Job from the storm and said” ...

“Will you draw

the Leviathan with a hook, and with a rope will you lower his tongue” [The Holy One, blessed be He, asked Job: Can you engage in a hunt and battle with the Leviathan]!?

the Leviathan with a hook, and with a rope will you lower his tongue” [The Holy One, blessed be He, asked Job: Can you engage in a hunt and battle with the Leviathan]!?

It follows that the Leviathan is fit for this hunt, but Job cannot undertake it. And who in the future will engage in battle with it? The angel Gabriel.

And were it not

for the fact that

the Holy One, blessed be He, assists him

—Gabriel—

he would be unable

to defeat it.

Just as

it is stated concerning the Behemoth [Job 40:19]:

with regard to the “Behemoth” [Job 40:19]:

“His Maker can bring near His sword,”

for, because of its great strength and might, no one can defeat it; only the Lord, who made it, can Himself bring His sword near it to strike it mortally.

So too with the Leviathan, which is greater and stronger than the Behemoth, no creature can defeat it. And although Gabriel engages in battle with it, he cannot defeat it except with the assistance of the Holy One, blessed be He.

3.

When Rav Dimi came

from Eretz Yisrael,

he said

in the name of

Rabbi Yohanan: When

the

Leviathan is hungry,

it

emits vapor from its mouth and makes all the waters of the depths boil.

As it is stated [Job 41:23]:

As it is stated [Job 41:23]:

“He makes the deep boil like a pot,”

like a small pot standing by the fire, which produces frequent and continuous boils; so too the Leviathan makes the depths boil, although they are vast and deep.

And were it not

that the Leviathan

would place

its

head in the Garden of Eden,

its scent would be so overpowering that

no creature could endure its scent.

And from where do we know that the Leviathan places its head in the Garden of Eden?

As it is stated there: “He makes the deep boil like a pot;

As it is stated there: “He makes the deep boil like a pot;

the sea he makes like a spice mixture,”

for, since the Leviathan placed its head in the Garden of Eden and absorbed its scent, the sea therefore became like a mixture of spices, through the Leviathan’s boiling of its waters.

And when

the Leviathan

is thirsty,

it drinks water from the sea and

makes furrows upon furrows,

deep excavations,

in the sea,

which appear like plowed furrows,

as it is stated there, verse 24:

as it is stated there, verse 24:

“After him he makes a pathway shine,”

for after the Leviathan drinks, the pathway of the sea—the furrow it created—shines.

Rav Aha bar Yaakov said: The

deep

does not return to its original state,

because of the great quantity of water that was diminished,

until seventy years, as it is stated there:

until seventy years, as it is stated there:

“He reckons the deep for restoration,” and

therefore

“restoration” is never less than seventy

years. Three statements that Rabba said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan concerning the reward of the righteous in the future: a.

Rabba said

Rabbi Yohanan said: In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will prepare a feast for the righteous from the flesh of the Leviathan.

As it is stated concerning the Leviathan there, Job 40:30:

concerning the Leviathan [Job 40:30]:

“Companions will feast upon him.”

And “feast” can mean only a meal, as it is stated II Kings 6:23:

And “feast” can mean only a meal, as it is stated II Kings 6:23:

“And he prepared a great meal for them, and they ate and drank.”

And “companions” can mean only Torah scholars,

as it is stated Song of Songs 8:13:

as it is stated Song of Songs 8:13:

“She who sits in the gardens, companions hearken to your voice; let me hear it.”

And so the verse says: “They will feast”—they will dine—“upon him”—upon his flesh—“companions”—Torah scholars and righteous people.

And the remainder,

the remainder of the Leviathan’s flesh,

they will divide it and conduct commerce with it in the marketplaces of Jerusalem,

as it is stated there:

as it is stated there:

“They will divide him among the merchants,”

meaning, they will divide its flesh among the “Canaanites”—merchants.

And

therefore

“Canaanites” can mean only traders

and merchants,

as it is stated Hosea 12:8:

as it is stated Hosea 12:8:

“Canaan has deceitful scales in his hand; he loves to oppress,”

and its Targum is: “You shall not be like merchants, who have deceitful scales in their hands, loving to oppress.”

And if you wish, say:

“Canaanites” can mean only traders,

from here Isaiah 23:8:

from here Isaiah 23:8:

“Whose merchants are princes,

whose traders are the honored of the earth.”

b.

And Rabba said that Rabbi Yohanan said: In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will make a sukkah,

a roof above and four walls,

for the righteous, from the skin of the Leviathan, as it is stated concerning the Leviathan Job 40:31:

concerning the Leviathan [Job 40:31]:

“Can you fill his skin with sukkot?”

Not everyone merits a sukkah made from the skin of the Leviathan. Rather, one who

merits

the level of his Torah and deeds—

they make a sukkah for him

from the skin of the Leviathan.

But one who

does not merit

to such an extent,

they make a shade-covering for him,

a mere shade—a roof without walls,

as it is stated there:

as it is stated there:

“And with the shade-covering of fish, his head,”

meaning, the skin of the great fish—the Leviathan—will provide shade over his head.

And not everyone merits even a shade-covering. One who indeed

merits

this,

they make for him,

at least,

a shade-covering

from the skin of the Leviathan.

And one who

does not merit

to such an extent,

they make for him

from the skin of the Leviathan

a necklace,

an ornament around the neck,

as it is stated concerning Torah and ethical instruction Proverbs 1:9: “For they are a graceful wreath for your head,

concerning Torah and moral instruction [Proverbs 1:9]: “For they are a graceful wreath for your head,

and necklaces for your neck.”

And not everyone merits even a necklace from the skin of the Leviathan. Rather, one who

merits

and is worthy of it,

they make a necklace for him.

And one who

does not merit

to such an extent,

they make an amulet for him,

a small object that he ties and hangs around his neck like an amulet,

as it is stated Job 40:29:

as it is stated Job 40:29:

“Will you bind him for your maidens?”

And the remainder:

the remainder of the skin of the Leviathan,

the Holy One, blessed be He, will spread it over the walls of Jerusalem, and its radiance

of the skin

will shine from one end of the world to the other.

As it is stated [Isaiah 60:1–3]: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has shone upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and a thick cloud the peoples; but the Lord shall shine upon you, and His glory shall appear over you.

As it is stated [Isaiah 60:1–3]: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has shone upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and a thick cloud the peoples; but the Lord shall shine upon you, and His glory shall appear over you.

And nations shall walk by your light,

and kings by the brightness of your rising.”

The prophet said in his prophecy concerning the future to the Congregation of Israel [Isaiah 54:11–12]: “Behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires.

And I will make your windows of kadkod,

and your gates of carbuncles, and all your borders of precious stones.”

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: They disagreed—

they differed—

two angels in heaven

concerning what the stones of the walls of Jerusalem would be made of in the future.

And who were the two angels who differed concerning this matter?

Gabriel and Michael.

And it was Elijah who revealed the angels’ dispute to the Sages of the Talmud—Tosafot. In the Ein Yaakov there is a version that reads: “Two amoraim in the West”—the Land of Israel—“disagreed concerning it, Judah and Hezekiah, the sons of Rabbi Ḥiyya, and two angels in heaven, Michael and Gabriel.” The Ben Yehoyada wondered: How could Judah and Hezekiah be mentioned before Michael and Gabriel? He answered: This teaches that the angels disagreed about it only after the two amoraim on earth had disagreed.

And some say—

there are those who say:

Two amoraim in the West

the Land of Israel—were the ones who differed concerning this matter,

and who were they—

those amoraim?

Judah and Hezekiah, the sons of Rabbi Ḥiyya.

One

of them [of the angels; and some say: one of the amoraim]

said:

The stones of the walls of Jerusalem in the future will be made of a precious stone called

“shoham.”

And the other

of them

said:

The stones of the walls of Jerusalem in the future will be made of a precious stone called

“yashefeh.”

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: Let it be both this and that.

Both in accordance with the words of this one and in accordance with the words of that one.

And this is what the verse is saying: “And I will make your windows of kadkod.” “Kadkod” is an acronym for “both this and that”: it will be in accordance with the words of both of them, and the wall of Jerusalem will be built of shoham and yashefeh.”

Although this verse preceded the sons of Rabbi Ḥiyya by a long time, this is what Isaiah prophesied: The wall of Jerusalem will ultimately be built in accordance with all the interpretations.

And what is the meaning of what the verse says [there]:

“And your gates of carbuncles”?

For it was in this manner that Rabbi Yoḥanan sat and expounded: In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring precious stones and pearls that are

in length

thirty

cubits

by

width

thirty

cubits,

and He will hollow them out

He will hollow out their width

ten

cubits

by

height

twenty

cubits, corresponding to the dimensions of the entrance to the Sanctuary,

and He will set them in the gates of Jerusalem.

That student mocked him

and asked him: “But

now

even

the size of

a

bird’s egg

[the name of a small bird]

we cannot find

precious stones and pearls.”

Is it really the case that in the future

such enormous

precious stones and pearls, so large,

will be found!?

After some time,

afterward,

that student’s ship sailed

belonging to that same student

on the sea,

and

he saw

there

ministering angels sitting and sawing

[sawing]

precious stones and pearls that were thirty by thirty

cubits,

with ten

cubits in width

in height

[height]

twenty

cubits.

He said to them,

the student asked the ministering angels:

These

precious stones and pearls that you are sawing,

for whom

are they intended?

They said to him,

the ministering angels:

They are for the Holy One, blessed be He, who will set them in the gates of Jerusalem,

in accordance with Rabbi Yoḥanan’s statement.

The student came

that same student

before Rabbi Yoḥanan. He said to him,

the student said to his teacher:

Expound, Rabbi; it is fitting for you to expound, as you said—

so I saw.

He said to him,

Rabbi Yoḥanan

Empty one

[empty person], “Had

you not seen it

with your own eyes,

would you not have believed it!?”

If so,

you are mocking the words of the Sages!

The meaning is that initially, when that student mocked him, Rabbi Yoḥanan did not take offense at him [see also Shabbat 30b]. The later authorities explained the reason: At first, Rabbi Yoḥanan attributed his student’s words to foolishness and lack of understanding, not to heresy and lack of faith. But when the student came and said to his teacher, “It is fitting for you to expound, since I saw it with my own eyes,” his end proved the nature of his beginning: his initial mockery had stemmed from heresy. Rabbi Yoḥanan therefore took offense at him and punished him. And so they said in Yalkut Shimoni: “There was a certain heretic there who said, ‘We cannot even find one the size of a sparrow’s egg, and this man sits and speaks in this way.’ While he was sailing on the great sea, his ship sank, and he descended to the depths of the abyss and saw ministering angels, and so on. He said to him: ‘Old man, old man, whatever you are able to mock, mock; whatever you are able to praise, praise. Had my eyes not seen it, I would not have believed it.’ He said to him: ‘And if your eyes had not seen it, would you not have believed the words of Torah?’ He fixed his eyes upon him and stared at him, and immediately he became a heap of bones. [See further there the account of a certain pious man, and so on.]”

Rabbi Yoḥanan directed

his eyes at him, and

he became

that student

a heap of bones,

like a corpse whose flesh had decayed and fallen away long ago, leaving nothing but a heap of bones.

The beraita raises an objection

from a beraita to Rabbi Yoḥanan’s statement that the gates of Jerusalem would be only twenty cubits high:

It is stated in the Torah [Leviticus 26:13]:

“And I will lead you upright,”

and what is the meaning of “upright”? Before Adam sinned, his height extended from the earth to the firmament. Once he transgressed, the Holy One, blessed be He, diminished his height and set it at one hundred cubits.

Rabbi Meir says: Two hundred cubits

will be their height,

like the two heights of Adam,

for this is the meaning of the word “upright” with two mems: two heights.

Rabbi Judah says:

This teaches that

one hundred cubits

will be their height,

corresponding to the Sanctuary and its walls,

for the height of the entire Sanctuary, including its roof and upper chamber, was one hundred cubits.

And from where do we know that in the future their height will be like that of the Sanctuary?

For

indeed

it is stated [

Psalms 144:12]:

“That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; our daughters as cornerstones, hewn after the pattern of the Sanctuary,”

Just as the Sanctuary was one hundred cubits high, so too our sons and daughters will be one hundred cubits tall.

And now an objection arises against Rabbi Yoḥanan: How will they enter Jerusalem through a gate only twenty cubits high? Will they not be one hundred or two hundred cubits tall, making it impossible for them to enter through a gate so low!?

And we answer: Indeed, in the future the gates of Jerusalem will be as high as is appropriate for the stature of Israel, but

when Rabbi Yoḥanan says

that they will be ten cubits wide and twenty cubits high,

it is referring to the windows for the wind,

the windows made for ventilation, and concerning the windows in the wall the verse says: “And your gates of carbuncles.”

3.

And Rabba said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will make seven canopies for each and every righteous person.

As it is stated [

Isaiah 4:5–6]:

“And the Lord will create over the entire site of Mount Zion and over its convocations a cloud by day and smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a canopy.

And there shall be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for refuge and shelter from storm and rain.”

“A cloud by day”—one canopy.

“And smoke”—a second canopy.

“And brightness”—a third canopy.

“Fire”—a fourth canopy.

“Flame”—a fifth canopy.

“Canopy”—a sixth canopy.

“And there shall be a booth for shade by day”—a seventh canopy. And concerning what the verse says: “For over all the glory shall be a canopy,”

this teaches that

the reward of all the righteous is not equal; rather,

the Holy One, blessed be He, makes each one a canopy according to his honor.

Rashbam. The Rashash asks: How is it possible that smoke, which is given as a punishment below, should be counted among the canopies of honor? He further asks: “Flame” is not a canopy in its own right, but merely a description of the “fire” canopy—it is not coal-fire, but flaming fire. Therefore, the Rashash explains: The end of the verse reads, “And there shall be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for refuge and shelter from storm and rain.” If so, one should include “for refuge and shelter” among them, since “booth” at the beginning of the verse refers also to them. The Ben Yehoyada wrote: Certainly these seven canopies are seven levels of a great, pure, refined, bright, and exceedingly luminous light. When the verse mentions smoke, fire, and flame, it does not mean that the canopy will be made of smoke, fire, or flame; rather, the canopy will always be pure and refined light, which is called by the names smoke, fire, or flame. Concerning this, the Gemara asks: Why is there smoke in the canopy, and so on. Rabbeinu Tam explains that the seven canopies are: (1) cloud; (2) day—to illuminate; (3) smoke—to punish one who is narrowhearted toward him; (4) brightness; (5) fire, by which one of lesser stature is burned; (6) flame; and (7) night—for rest and sleep—Tosafot Yeshanim.

And we ask:

Why is there smoke in the canopy

what need is there for it!?

He said,

he explained,

Rabbi Ḥanina: Whoever is narrowhearted toward Torah scholars in this world

and does not wish to allow them to benefit from his property,

his eyes will be filled with smoke in the World to Come.

And we ask:

Why is there fire in the canopy

what need is there for it!?

He said,

he explained,

Rabbi Ḥanina: This teaches that each and every one will be burned by the canopy of his fellow,

the lesser will be burned by the canopy of his fellow who is greater than he,

Woe to that shame, woe to that humiliation.

This is not on account of envy, which occurs only among those lacking understanding, but because one sees himself lacking a degree of perfection that he could have attained, as his fellow attained it—Mesillat Yesharim, chapter 4.

A similar matter

this,

you say

concerning Moses and Joshua.

It is stated [Numbers 27:18–20]: “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom there is spirit, and lay your hand upon him. And present him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and command him before their eyes. And you shall place some of your glory upon him, so that all the congregation of the children of Israel may heed him.’”

And from what the verse says:

“And you shall place some of your glory upon him,”

rather than saying, “And you shall place your glory upon him,” it follows that “some of your glory”

but not all of your glory.

The elders of that generation,

who recognized Moses’ greatness and Joshua’s greatness,

said: Moses’ face

was

like the face

like the light of the

sun,

whereas

Joshua’s face

was only

like the face

of the

moon.

Woe to that shame, woe to that humiliation,

for in a short time the honor diminished so greatly. For Joshua was a prophet and a king like Moses, yet he could not attain his level of honor.

Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: The Holy One, blessed be He, made ten canopies for Adam the first man in the Garden of Eden.

As it is stated [

Ezekiel 28:13]:

“You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone

was your covering: ruby, topaz, and diamond; beryl, onyx, and jasper; sapphire, turquoise, and emerald; and gold.”

The verse first stated a general principle: “Every precious stone was your covering,” and afterward specified and enumerated ten types of precious stones, from ruby through gold. It follows that the Holy One, blessed be He, made ten canopies for Adam the first man in the Garden of Eden.

Mar Zutra said: Eleven

canopies the Holy One, blessed be He, made for Adam the first man in the Garden of Eden,

as it is stated: “Every precious stone,”

and this is not a general statement followed by its particular details. Rather, this too was a canopy in its own right, and together with those enumerated by the verse from ruby through gold, there were eleven canopies for Adam the first man.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said:

Adam the first man’s canopies were of very great importance,

and

the

inferior

among them,

of

all

of them,

among the materials from which the canopies were made, was

gold,

as is demonstrated by this:

for

it

is mentioned there

gold

last,

after all the other canopies. This implies that it was the least significant of them all. And since the gold canopy was the least of all Adam the first man’s canopies, one can learn from this the importance and unique value of his other canopies, which were mentioned before the gold canopy.

This section of Ezekiel, in which Adam the first man’s canopies are mentioned, is a rebuke to Hiram, king of Tyre, who became arrogant and made himself into a “god.”

And the Gemara discusses:

What is “

the work of your timbrels and your apertures

that was in you on the day you were created and prepared,” as stated at the end of that verse, which speaks of the glorious canopies of the first man?

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Hiram, king of Tyre:

When I created My world,

I looked at you

and knew that you were destined to rebel against Me and make yourself a “god,”

and

therefore

I created apertures upon apertures in man

that discharge feces. And “on the day you were created”—on that very day when I conceived that you would be created, the apertures in man were already “prepared”; they are like a drum, which is hollow and perforated, and you should have reflected on your deficiency and not become arrogant.

And some say: “

The work of your timbrels and your apertures that was in you,” which the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Hiram, king of Tyre, refers to the work of the grave, which is hollow like a drum,