Bava Batra 8a (ח.) — the Talmud in English

And his breasts like towers'

These are Torah scholars,

who nourish other people, like nursing from the breasts. And from this verse it is learned that Torah scholars do not require a wall of protection.

The Gemara asks:

And as for Reish Lakish,

why did he not learn from this verse that Torah scholars do not require protection?!

The Gemara answers: Reish Lakish

interpreted it

in another manner,

as Rava expounded: '

I am a wall'—

this is the Congregation of Israel,

who fence themselves off like a wall from becoming assimilated among the nations. '

And my breasts like towers'—

these are synagogues and houses of study.

Rav Naḥman bar Rav Ḥisda imposed a head tax;

he imposed a poll tax also

on the Sages.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said to him: You have transgressed against the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings.

Regarding what is stated in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings.

The Gemara explains the verses from which it can be learned that Torah scholars do not require protection.

From the Torah, as it is written

in the portion of Vezot HaBerakha: '

Even when He loves the peoples, all His holy ones are in Your hand';

the Gemara explains the verse:

Moses said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, even when You

so to speak

show affection

toward

the peoples,

and give them dominion over the people of Israel, even then

all His holy ones

of the people of Israel—that is, the Torah scholars—

shall be in Your hand,

and You will protect them. From here it follows that Torah scholars do not require protection!

The Gemara now explains the continuation of the verse—

“And they shall be crushed beneath Your feet.”

Rav Yosef taught: These are Torah scholars who wear out their feet, traveling from city to city and from country to country to study Torah .

And their purpose is as explained in the continuation of the verse: '

He shall bear Your utterances'—

to engage in give-and-take concerning the utterances of the Omnipresent .

The Gemara now explains where it is stated in the words of the Prophets that Torah scholars do not require protection.

From the Prophets—

as it is written [

Hosea 8]: '

Even if they teach among the nations, now I shall gather them, and they shall begin to be diminished from the burden of the king

and princes.'

The Gemara explains the verse—

Ulla said: This verse was stated in the Aramaic language,

and the word “yitenu” written in the verse derives from the language of learning , and the verse is thus interpreted— '

Even if they teach'—

if they all learn,

if all Israel study Torah, then

now I shall gather them.

I shall redeem them soon.

But if

only

a few of them

study Torah, those few

shall begin to be diminished,

shall be exempt

from the burden

of the yoke of the taxes imposed by the

king and

the

princes.

The Gemara now explains where it is stated in the Writings that Torah scholars do not require protection.

From the Writings—

as it is written

in Ezra, that Darius commanded the governor of the province Beyond the River concerning the priests, Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, as well as the netinim, who chopped wood and drew water for the altar, and all those engaged in the service of the Temple

Tax, tribute, and levy may not be imposed upon them.'

The Gemara explains the verse:

And Rav Yehuda said: '

Tax'—

this is the portion of tax that

the king

imposes on the residents of the country. '

Tribute'—

this is the poll tax.

A head tax. '

And levy'—

this is anona.

The tax that the residents of the country are required to give each year: one tenth of their produce and animals . Darius commanded the governor that these taxes—“no authority may impose them upon them”—were not to be imposed on the members of the Great Assembly, who were occupied with building the Temple. From here it can be learned that no tax may be imposed on one who engages in Torah study either .

Rav Pappa imposed

the expenses of

a new excavation,

the digging of new wells for the city's drinking water , also

on orphans,

even minor orphans.

Rav Shisha, son of Rav Idi, said to Rav Pappa,

How can you impose these expenses on orphans?

Perhaps

it is possible that

the water will not be found,

so that you will have caused the orphans a gratuitous loss; and even if they waive their claim, their waiver is ineffective, because minors are not legally capable of waiving rights.

He said to him,

Rav Pappa

I take the money from them,

I take the money from the orphans, and

if water is found,

then

it is found,

and it turns out that it was proper to collect money from the orphans.

But if it is not

found in the well,

I will return it to them.

I will return the money to the orphans.

Rav Yehuda said: Everyone

is required to participate in the expenses incurred by the residents

for closing the gates,

for installing doors at the gates of the city's walls,

even orphans. But the Sages

are not required to participate in the expenses, because the Sages

do not require

protection;

they do not require safeguarding.

Likewise,

everyone

is required to participate in the expenses incurred by the residents

for digging a well

to obtain water for drinking,

even the Sages,

since they too require water. But

we said

that the Sages are required to participate

only when they do not go out in a communal labor force,

when the residents themselves do not go out to dig the wells.

But when they go out in a communal labor force,

if the residents themselves go out to dig the wells, then

the Sages are not people who go out in a communal labor force.

It is not befitting the dignity of the Sages to go out and dig wells, and they are exempt from this obligation.

The Gemara now relates an incident demonstrating that calamity comes upon the world only because of the unlearned.

Rabbi opened

his

storehouses

of grain

during years of famine

to support the poor.

He said: Let those enter

to take grain—

masters of Scripture, masters of Mishna, masters of Gemara,

masters of halakha,

and masters of aggada. But let the unlearned not enter .

Rabbi Yonatan ben Amram pressed his way in and entered,

but Rabbi did not recognize that he was Rabbi Yonatan.

He said to him,

Rabbi Yonatan said to Rabbi,

“Rabbi, support me.”

He said to him,

Rabbi,

“My son,

have you

read?”

He said to him, “No.”

If so, perhaps

you have studied Mishna?

He said to him, “No.”

Rabbi said to him:

“If so,

since you have neither read nor studied Mishna,

on what basis,

by virtue of what merit,

should I support you?”

Rabbi Yonatan said to him:

Rabbi Yonatan

“Support me as

the Holy One, blessed be He, supports

the dog and as

He supports

the raven.”

Rabbi Yonatan chose specifically to say “like a dog and like a raven,” because we find that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed special compassion to these creatures. A dog does not find much food, and therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, implanted in its nature that food remains in its intestines for three days without being digested, thereby leaving the dog satiated. Likewise, the Holy One, blessed be He, took pity on the raven, because the raven is cruel to its young and does not feed them; the Holy One, blessed be He, provides them with mosquitoes from their excrement, and they eat them.

Rabbi accepted his arguments and

supported him,

giving him grain.

After he left,

after Rabbi Yonatan left,

Rabbi sat and was distressed. He said: Woe is me that I gave

my

bread to an unlearned person!

For Rabbi did not recognize that he was Rabbi Yonatan.

Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi, said to him: Perhaps he was Yonatan ben Amram, your disciple, who never wished to derive benefit from the honor of Torah,

and therefore he did not tell you that he was Rabbi Yonatan.

They investigated and found him.

And it became clear that he was indeed Rabbi Yonatan.

Rabbi said:

If so,

let everyone enter

to take grain, including the unlearned, for perhaps there are Torah scholars among them who do not wish to derive benefit from the honor of Torah.

The Gemara now explains why Rabbi did not allow the unlearned to take grain.

Rabbi followed his own view,

according to his position,

for Rabbi said: Calamity comes upon the world only because of the unlearned!

For

so

Rabbi said in

that

incident in which the king's crown was stolen , and

the cost of the crown

the money for making a new crown

that was stolen from Tiberias

was imposed on the residents of Tiberias.

The residents of Tiberias came

before

Rabbi and said to him: Let the Sages participate with us.

We want the Torah scholars also to participate with us in paying for the king's crown.

He said to them,

Rabbi

“No!”

The Torah scholars do not have to participate in paying taxes.

They said to him:

If so,

we shall flee,

we shall flee the city [

he said to them]]

Rabbi,

“Flee!”

You may flee . And indeed

half of them fled,

half of the city's residents fled.

After half the city's residents fled,

the king reduced it by half,

the king waived half the cost of the crown.

They brought him half,

those who had remained in the city came

before Rabbi and said to him: Let the Sages contribute with us.

We want the Torah scholars to participate with us in paying for half the crown.

He said to them: No!

The Torah scholars are not required to participate in the payment. They said to him: If so,

we will flee

from the city. Rabbi said to them:

Flee!

You may flee. And indeed,

they all fled

from the city, and

there remained

in the city only

that launderer.

When the king’s servants saw that no one remained in the city except the launderer,

they cast it upon the launderer.

They imposed the entire expense of the crown upon the launderer.

He fled,

the

launderer.

And immediately,

the crown was entirely annulled.

The tax for the king’s crown was abolished.

Rabbi said: You see that calamity never comes to the world except because of the ignorant,

for when all the ignorant had left, the tax was abolished.

We learned in the Mishna:

And how

long

shall

a person reside

in a city and be considered one of the people of the city

so that he must share with them the burden of the city’s needs? Twelve months! And the Gemara raises a contradiction to this:

And we raise a contradiction,

for did we not learn the following in a beraita concerning an idolatrous city?

If all the inhabitants of the city worshipped idols, they are sentenced to death by the sword, and their property is burned. But individuals who worship idols are sentenced to stoning, and their property is not burned.

And we learned in a beraita [Sanhedrin 112a]:

The donkey caravan and the camel caravan,

a caravan of donkeys or camels,

passing from place to place and lodging within it,

inside the idolatrous city,

and were led astray with them

and worshipped idols,

are liable to stoning, and their property escapes destruction,

as is the law concerning individuals who worshipped idols. For although they were inside the city, they were nevertheless not residents of the city, and therefore their status is not that of the inhabitants of an idolatrous city.

But if they remained there

the members of the caravan

for thirty days,

they are included among the residents of the city, and therefore

they too are sentenced by the sword, and their property is destroyed,

like all the inhabitants of an idolatrous city.

This beraita demonstrates that in order to be considered part of the inhabitants of a city, thirty days suffice; twelve months are not required.

Rava said: It is not difficult. This

which we learned in the Mishna—that they are not called the people of the city unless they resided there for twelve months—is in order

to

be called

the people of the city—“the people of the city.”

And

this

other

matter that we learned in the beraita, that thirty days suffice, is in order

to

be called

residents of the city—“those who reside in the city.” To be considered part of an idolatrous city, it is not necessary to be among the people of the city; it suffices to be among its residents, as it is stated in the verse: “the inhabitants of that city.” This is not so with regard to liability for the city’s expenses: one must be “a person of the city,” and a person is not considered one of the people of the city unless he has resided there for twelve months.

The Gemara adds that this distinction between residents of the city and the people of the city was already taught in a beraita:

As it was taught:

One who is forbidden by vow to derive benefit

one who vows not to benefit

from the people of the city,

then

every

person

who remains there

in the city

for twelve months is forbidden

to the one who made the vow

to derive benefit from him.

Since he resided there for twelve months, he is one of the people of the city, and is included in his vow that he would not derive benefit from the people of the city. But from a person who resided in the city

less than this,

twelve months,

it is permitted

for the one who made the vow to derive benefit from him, since he is not included among the people of the city.

But if he vows not to derive benefit

from the residents of the city,

then

every

person

who remains there for thirty days is forbidden

to the one who made the vow

to derive benefit from him,

since having resided there for thirty days, he is included among the residents of the city. But from a person who resided in the city

less than this,

thirty days,

it is permitted

for the one who made the vow

to derive benefit from him,

since he is not included among the residents of the city. Thus, this beraita clearly distinguishes between residents of the city, defined by thirty days, and the people of the city, defined by twelve months.

And we raise a difficulty:

And with regard to all matters,

the city’s expenses,

do we require

that he reside there

for twelve months

in order to obligate him in the city’s expenses?

But was it not taught that a person who resides

in a city for

thirty days

is considered one of the people of the city

with regard

to

the charity food-collection,

from whom food is collected for the poor; and if he resides there

for three months,

he is considered one of the people of the city

with regard

to

the charity fund,

from whom money is collected for charity? And if he resides in the city for

six

months, he is considered one of the people of the city

with regard to clothing:

money is collected from him to purchase clothing for the poor. And if he resides in the city for

nine

months, he is considered one of the people of the city

with regard to burial:

money is collected from him in order to bury the poor. And if he resides in the city for

twelve

months, he is considered one of the people of the city, and is obligated

to

participate in the expenses of

the wall-planks,

wooden planks that reinforce the wall of

the city.

This beraita makes clear that this measure of twelve months was stated only with regard to “the wall-planks”; with regard to the other expenses, he is considered one of the people of the city even before twelve months.

And we answer:

Rabbi Asi said that Rabbi Yohanan said: When we learned in the Mishna as well,

that which we learned in the Mishna, that he is not considered one of the people of the city unless he has resided there

for twelve months, with regard

to

the wall-planks we learned it,

as is explained in the beraita. But with regard to the other matters, he is considered one of the people of the city even before twelve months.

And Rabbi Asi said that Rabbi Yohanan said:

From

everyone

they collect

for the expenses

of

the wall-planks of the city,

wooden planks that reinforce the wall,

even from

orphans

whose

property benefits from the protection.

But

from

the Sages they do not

collect, because

the Sages do not require protection;

they do not require guarding.

Rav Pappa said:

From everyone they collect

for the expenses

of

the wall,

the repair of the wall,

and for the cavalryman,

to pay the wages of the cavalryman who rides around the city to guard it,

and for the weapons guard,

payment for the guard of the city’s weapons, who sits in the house adjoining the gate of the wall,

even from orphans. But

from

the Sages

they do not collect, because the Sages

do not require protection.

They do not require guarding.

The general rule of the matter—

every matter

every matter

from which they have

the orphans have

benefit,

they collect

even from orphans!

Rabba imposed

the obligation of

charity

also

upon the orphans of the house of bar Marion,

the orphans of bar Marion, who had been exceedingly wealthy.

Abaye said to him:

How can you impose an obligation of charity upon orphans,

but

did

Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda not teach: Charity may not be assessed upon orphans, even for the redemption of captives?

He said to him,

Rabba,

I

what I did by imposing an obligation of charity upon them,

I did in order to give them standing.

My intention was to accord the orphans standing, so that they would be honored in matters of mitzvot like their father.

Iphra Hormiz,

the name of a woman,

the mother of Shapur

the king, sent a purse of dinars

She sent a purse containing dinars

to Rav Yosef. She said: Let them be

these dinars

for

doing with them

a great mitzva.

Rav Yosef sat and examined it: What

is the mitzva called

“a great mitzva”?

Abaye said to him: From

what

Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda taught

we can learn what a great mitzva is, for he taught:

Charity may not be assessed upon orphans, even for the redemption of captives,

and from the fact that he said “even for the redemption of captives,”

conclude from it: