Bava Batra 91b — the Talmud in English

5. And the Gemara brings another saying of his, in the exposition of the verse in the Book of Chronicles I [chapter 29]: “Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom,

and the One who raises up to every head.”

Rav Naḥman bar Rava said in the name of Rav: Even

a simple appointment of

the head of the irrigation channels,

who is the official appointed over the distribution of the water of the city’s wells—who will draw water from them today and who tomorrow—

is established for him by Heaven,

the appointment being made according to the will of God. And this is the meaning of the verse: Whoever is raised up, for any matter whatsoever, to be a head, is made so according to the will of God.

And now the Gemara returns to what was said above at the beginning of the previous folio, that Elimelech and his sons were punished for leaving the Land on account of the famine.

Rav Ḥiyya bar Ravin said in the name of Rabbi Joshua ben Korḥa: Heaven forbid

to say that they were punished because they left the Land on account of the famine, since

even if they had found bran

to support themselves with,

they would not have left. But for what reason were they punished?

Because

they should have asked for mercy for their generation, but they did not ask!

And similarly

it is stated

in the Book of Isaiah [chapter 57]:

“When you cry out—

your collections will save you.”

That is to say, if you cry out in prayer for all the public gathered together with you in your city, and you pray not only for your personal salvation, you are immediately answered and saved together with them, because the merit of the public, for whom you prayed, assists you in your salvation together with them.

Rabba bar bar Ḥana said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: They taught this only

that one may not leave for outside the Land on account of the high cost of living,

but

when the

money was cheap,

so that it was possible to earn money easily,

and produce was expensive. But

if the

money was expensive,

so that it was difficult to earn a living, because the price of merchandise had fallen greatly, causing losses to those engaged in commerce, then

even if four se’a stood for a sela,

so that the price of produce was cheap,

they may leave!

It is permitted to leave because of lack of livelihood, as will be explained below: [

Mnemonic

for the following five sayings in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan:

sela, laborer, carob, boy, they say ].

a.

For Rabbi Yoḥanan said: I remember,

I recall,

when four se’a stood for a sela,

when produce was cheap,

and there were many people swollen from hunger in Tiberias, because of lack,

because they did not even have

an issar

with which to buy food! And this means that the lack of money, even when produce is cheap, causes great suffering to people who cannot buy it because of the lack of money; therefore, at that time it is permitted to leave the Land.

b.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: I remember, when laborers would not hire themselves out,

when the laborers were unwilling to hire themselves for work

in the eastern side of the city,

because

from the smell of bread they would die.

For the wind blew from west to east, bringing to the eastern side of the city the smell of the hot bread baked in the city; and because of their hunger they would die from the smell of the bread being baked. Therefore they refused to work and earn a living in the eastern side of the city.

c.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: I remember, when, as a child, I would cut a carob,

when, as a child, he would cut a carob,

and a thread of honey would extend over his two arms,

a thread of honey would extend over his two arms.

And Rabbi Elazar said

something similar to the words of Rabbi Yoḥanan:

I remember, when a raven would take meat,

when the raven would sneak in, take meat, and fly upward with it,

and a thread of fat would extend

a thread of fat would extend

from the top of the wall

from the top of the wall

to the ground,

to the ground beside the wall, because of the great amount of fat in the meat.

d.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: I remember when they would stroll,

playing together,

a boy and a girl,

a youth and a maiden,

in the marketplace,

in the city marketplace, and their age was

already sixteen,

about sixteen years old,

already seventeen, and they did not sin,

they did not sin despite playing among themselves.

e.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: I remember when they would say in the bet midrash,

they would state in the bet midrash a rule concerning conduct with idolaters:

one who agrees with them,

one who appeases them, agreeing with their words and not arguing with or refuting their words, in the end he

falls into their hands.

But whoever

trusts in them,

who trusts that they will not harm him and reveals to them what he possesses, in the end the property

belonging to him

belonging to him will be property

belonging to them,

belonging to them. And similarly it happened with Hezekiah, who showed the emissaries of the king of Babylonia his treasuries because he relied on them, and in the end they took them from him.

And now the Gemara returns to the matter of Mahlon and Chilion:

In the Scroll of Ruth

it is written, “Mahlon and Chilion,”

whereas in the Book of Chronicles [chapter 4]

it is written

that they are called

“Joash and Seraph”!?

And

Rav and Samuel

disagreed in resolving the apparent contradiction.

One said: Mahlon and Chilion

are

their names. And why were they called by these names,

why are Mahlon and Chilion called in the Book of Chronicles by the names

Joash and Seraph?

To teach you, by the name

Joash, that they despaired of redemption,

for they did not trust that the Holy One, blessed be He, would redeem them from the famine; rather, they settled in the Diaspora and married Moabite women there.

And to teach you by the name

Seraph, that they became liable

for the punishment of

burning, to the Omnipresent,

because they left for outside the Land; therefore they died faint from hunger. For this is similar to burning.

And one said: Joash and Seraph

are

their names,

the true names of Mahlon and Chilion,

and why were they called by their names,

why are they called in the Scroll of Ruth by the names

Mahlon and Chilion?

To teach you by the name

Mahlon, that they made their bodies profane.

They profaned their bodies by leaving the sanctity of the Land of Israel for outside the Land, which is impure and has no sanctity. And to teach you by the name

Chilion, that they became liable to destruction by the Omnipresent,

because they left the Land of Israel.

It was taught in accordance with the one who said that “Mahlon and Chilion” are their names:

For it was taught: What

is the meaning of the verse

that is written

[in that passage in Chronicles], where the verse lists the sons of Judah for their generations: “

And Jokim, and the men of Kozeba, and Joash and Seraph, who ruled over Moab, and the inhabitants of Leḥem, and the matters are ancient”?

This is the meaning of the verse:

“And Jokim”—

this is Joshua,

who was from the tribe of Judah through his mother, and was called by the designation “Jokim,” because

he established an oath for the men of Gibeon

not to harm them.

But

“and the men of Kozeba,”

they are not from the tribe of Judah; rather,

these

are

the men of Gibeon, who deceived Joshua,

who tricked him, and because of their deception he established his oath for them not to harm them.

“And Joash and Seraph”—

these are Mahlon and Chilion,

who were from the tribe of Judah, for their father Elimelech was the son of Nahshon son of Amminadab.

And why were they called Joash and Seraph?

“Joash,” because they despaired of redemption,

for they thought that the Holy One, blessed be He, would not redeem them from the famine.

“Seraph,” because they became liable to burning by the Omnipresent.

“Who ruled over Moab”—

because they married Moabite women.

“And the inhabitants of Leḥem”—

this is Ruth the Moabite, who returned

and attached herself to Bethlehem of Judah,

and her sons were from the tribe of Judah.

“And the matters are ancient”—

these matters,

that this matter should occur in this way—that Mahlon and Chilion would leave the Land and thereby die, and Ruth the Moabite would come and marry Boaz, and from this the kings of the house of David would be born—

the Ancient of Days

[a designation for the Holy One, blessed be He]

said them,

for He decreed and said concerning them that the matters would unfold in this way, so that David would emerge from them. And they went forth from Him earlier, but the matters had been concealed.

As it is written

[Psalms 89]

“I have found David My servant,” and it is written

[in the Book of Genesis, chapter 19], concerning Lot, who was the father of Moab and the father of Ammon, and from whom Ruth the Moabite emerged, using the language of finding:

“Your two daughters who are found.”

And it is hinted here that already then, when Lot was in Sodom, the Holy One, blessed be He, decreed [“found” David there], that David would emerge from Ruth the Moabite.

And the Gemara continues to expound the following verse in Chronicles, there, concerning the tribe of Judah and concerning Ruth the Moabite.

“They are the potters, and the inhabitants of plantations and hedges with the king in his work; they dwelt there.”

“They are the potters”—

these are the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab, who guarded their father’s oath,

because their father made them swear not to drink wine and not to build houses.

“The inhabitants of plantations”—

this is Solomon, who resembles a planting

that goes and grows,

in his kingship,

which also grew and became stronger.

“And hedges”—

this is the Sanhedrin, who fenced in the breaches of Israel,

through the ordinances and safeguards that they made for the Torah.

“With the king in his work they dwelt there”—

this is Ruth the Moabite, who saw the kingship of Solomon, the son of the son of her son.

As it is stated

[I Kings 2], when Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, came to ask him to give Abishag the Shunamite to Adonijah his brother: “The king rose to meet her and bowed to her, and sat on his throne,

and he placed a throne for the king’s mother,

and she sat at his right.”

And Rabbi Elazar said:

King Solomon placed the throne

for the mother of royalty,

who was Ruth the Moabite, from whom all the kings of the house of David emerged.

The Sages taught:

It is written [Leviticus 26], concerning the blessing of produce growing in the sixth year before the Sabbatical year,

“And you shall eat from the old produce,”

so that the produce in the sixth year would be

without salmanton,

which prevents the produce from aging properly, causing it instead to continue rotting.

And the Gemara explains:

What is “without salmanton”?

Rav Naḥman said: Without a worm,

so that there would not be in it a worm that consumes the produce.

And Rav Sheshet said: Without heating,

so that the produce would not become heated, for heating prevents aging, and consequently the produce rots.

It was taught in accordance with Rav Sheshet,

and conversely, it was also

taught in accordance with Rav Naḥman.

And the Gemara explains:

It was taught in accordance with Rav Naḥman,

as it was taught:

“And you shall eat old produce.”

One might have thought that Israel would await the new produce,

the new produce of the eighth year,

because the old had been consumed,

that is, because of the worm the old produce of the sixth year would be consumed near the harvesting of the new produce in the eighth year, and Israel would await the harvest of the produce of the eighth year—for so the verse said: “And you shall eat from the old produce until near the days of the harvest,” but not including them.

The verse therefore states: “Until its produce comes,”

so that they would have old produce to eat

until produce comes

of the eighth year,

of its own accord.

Until the new produce ripens properly, so that the old produce would not be consumed by the worm, and they would not need to advance the harvesting of the new produce while it was still moist, nor need to roast it so that it would be fit to eat.

It was taught in accordance with Rav Sheshet: “And you shall eat from the old produce.” One might have thought that Israel would await the new because of the old

in their possession, because

it

is

bad.

That is, the kernels of the produce are whole, but the produce becomes heated; and this is heating!?

The verse therefore states: “Until its produce comes,” until produce comes

of its own accord.

The Sages taught:

It is written [Leviticus 26]

“And you shall eat old, very old produce,” teaching

the verse

that everything that is older than its fellow is better than its fellow.

And I have only

that the blessing applies so that everything older than its fellow is better,

to things whose practice is to age,

such as wheat and wine.

Things whose practice is not to age,

such as produce, whose practice is to rot,

from where

do we know that the blessing of the seventh year also applies to them, so that they will not rot, but on the contrary, the old ones will be superior!?

The verse therefore states: “Old, very old produce,”

the verse repeated its expression and said “old, very old,” to teach you that

in any event,

in every matter, there will be a blessing in the old.

“And you shall take out the old because of the new”—

teaching that the storehouses were

of produce from the sixth year

full of old produce

even in the eighth year,

and the threshing floors

of the produce of the eighth year

full of new produce. And Israel would say: How shall we take this out,

the superior old produce from the storehouses,

because of this,

the new, which is not as superior as it!? For there would be such great abundance in the sixth year that there would be no room to bring in the new produce of the eighth year.

Rav Pappa said: Every matter is better when old,

it is good when old and ancient,

except dates, beer, and small fish in oil,

small fish in oil.

We have returned to you, chapter “The Seller of the Ship”