Bava Kamma 92a (צב.) — the Talmud in English

Mozhet byt',

dolzhen li on snachala sрубit' besplodnoye derevo, ostaviv plodovoye derevo,

dazhe

esli ono

tsennee

dlya breven, chem dlya plodov?

Tekst govorit: «Tol'ko

«derevo, o kotorom ty znaesh» i tak dalee. «Tol'ko»» -

eto ogranichenie: Torah ne predpisala snachala rubit' besplodnoye derevo, a potom plodovoye, tol'ko kogda besplodnoye derevo ne tsennee; no esli ono bylo tsennee, mozhno sрубit' plodonosyashchee derevo.

Shmuelu ego aris prines finiki, i, poprobovav ikh, on pochuvstvoval v nikh vkus vina

sluchilos', chto aris Shmuelа prines emu finiki s ego derev'ev, i Shmuel pochuvstvoval v nikh vkus vina].

Skazal

[sprosil]

emu

Shmuel svoemu arisu:

«Chto eto takoye»,

kak finiki poluchili vkus vina?!

Skazal emu

aris Shmuelu:

«Oni rastut sredi vinogradnykh loz»,

[finiki rastut sredi vinogradnykh loz], i vpityvayut ot loz ikh vkus.

Skazal

Shmuel:

«Neuzheli oni nastol'ko oslablyayut vinograd?»

[Neuzheli oni tak sil'no oslablyayut vinograd]?! Ved' esli finiki vpityvayut iz loz nastol'ko, chto v nikh popadaet vkus vina, nesomnenno, sily loz oslabeyut, i ikh vino budet plokhim.

V takom sluchaye

zavtra prinesi mne ikh kormokoreni,

to est' vykorchevay pal'mu, potomu chto ona vredna vinogradnym lozam, a zavtra prinesi mne osnovaniya finikovykh derev'ev.

Rav Khasda uvidel malen'kiye pal'my

[malen'kiye pal'my ]

sredi vinogradnykh loz

[rastushchie sredi vinogradnykh loz].

Skazal emu

Rav Khasda

svoemu arisu: «Vykorchevay ikh»,

to est' malen'kiye pal'my, potomu chto

vinogradnyye lozy podderzhivayut pal'my,

no

pal'my ne podderzhivayut vinogradnyye lozy,

to est' stoimost' vinogradnykh loz vyshe stoimosti palm, i potomu sleduet sрубit' menee vazhnoye derevo, chtoby sokhranit' stoimost' bolee vazhnogo.

Mishna:

Dazhe esli on

[vreditel']

vyplatil emu

den'gi za nanesennyy vred i za styd,

ne

ego prestuplenie

ne iskupleno, poka on ne poprosit u nego

[u postradavshego] proshcheniya.

Ved' Avimelekh, kotoryy vzyal Saru u Avraama, poluchil prikaz ot Vsevyshnego vernut' ee Avraamu i poprosit' u nego proshcheniya,

kak skazano

[Bereshit 20:7]:

«A teper' vozvrati zhenu

etogo cheloveka, ibo on prorok, i pomolitsya za tebya [on pomolitsya za tebya], i ty budesh' zhiv»."

I otkuda

ty uchish'

chto esli

vreditel' poprosil u postradavshego proshcheniya, a postradavshiy

ne prostil ego, tot zhestok ?!

Ibo

posle togo kak Avimelekh umolil Avraama i poprosil u nego proshcheniya,

skazano

[tam, 17]:

«I pomolilsya Avraam Bogu, i Bog istselil Avimelekha

i ego zhenu, i ego rabyn', i oni rodili»."

Tot, kto govorit

svoemu blizhnemu:

«Oslepi moi glaza»,

a ego blizhniy prishёл i oslepил ego, ne mozhet skazat': «On skazal mne nanesti emu vred, poetomu ya svoboden ot oplaty»; on obyazan zaplatit'.

Tak zhe tot, kto govorit svoemu blizhnemu:

«Otrubi mne ruku»,

a ego blizhniy prishёл i otrubil emu ruku, obyazan zaplatit'.

Tak zhe tot, kto govorit svoemu blizhnemu:

«Slomay mne nogu»,

a ego blizhniy prishёл i slomal emu nogu,

obyazan

zaplatit'; on ne mozhet izbavit'sya ot obyazannosti, utverzhdaya: «On skazal mne sdelat' eto, tak zachem zhe mne platit' za to, chto ya ispolnil ego zhelanie?»

Dazhe esli postradavshiy skazal emu: «Oslepi moi glaza»

s usloviem osvobodit' ot oplaty,

to est': «Ya razreshayu tebe oslepit' moi glaza i ne budu trebovat' ot tebya oplaty za nanesennyy vred», eto ne pomogaet osvobodit' ego ot oplaty; esli on nanes emu vred, on

obyazan

zaplatit', a v Gemare [93a] ob''yasnyaetsya prichina.

Tot, kto govorit svoemu blizhnemu:

«Porvi moyu odezhdu»,

ili skazal emu:

«Razбей moy sosud»,

a tot poshel i porval ego odezhdu ili razbil ego sosud, osnovyvayas' na ego slovakh,

obyazan

zaplatit' emu; on ne mozhet utverzhdat': «Ya svoboden ot oplaty, ved' ty skazal mne prichinit' tebe vred».

No esli vladelets skazal emu: «Porvi moyu odezhdu, i ty budesh' svoboden ot oplaty», «razбей moy sosud»

s usloviem osvobodit' ot oplaty —

svoboden

ot oplaty, a v Gemare [tam] eto ob''yasnyaetsya.

Vse eto otnositsya k sluchayu, kogda vladelets skazal emu prichinit' vred ego imushchestvu. No esli odin chelovek skazal drugomu:

«Sdelay eto takomu-to cheloveku»,

dazhe esli skazal emu

«s usloviem osvobodit' ot oplaty»,

tot

obyazan — i za

vred, prichinennyy

telu, i za

vred, prichinennyy

imushchestvu

etogo takogo-to cheloveka, ved' vladelets ne dal emu razresheniya prichinyat' emu vred.

Gemara:

Mudretsy uchili: vse te summы, kotorye skazali

v predydushchey Mishna [90a]: «Tot, kto udaril svoego blizhnego po uhu, platit sel'a; tot, kto dal emu poshchechinu, platit dvesti zuz» i tak dalee,

eto oplata za ego styd,

a

ego stradanie —

to, chto on trevozhitsya i perezhivaet iz-za svoego styda, ne proshchaetsya emu, poka on ne poprosit u nego proshcheniya.

I

dazhe

esli on raskayalsya i

prines

v zhertvu

vseh baranov Nevayot v mire

[otlichnykh baranov, proiskhodyashchikh iz mesta, nazyvaemogo «Nevayot»],

emu ne proshchaetsya, poka on ne poprosit u nego

i tot ne prost it ego.

kak skazano: «

A teper'

vozvrati zhenu etogo cheloveka, ibo on prorok i pomolitsya za tebya».

Iz togo, chto Vsevyshniy skazal Avimelekhu, chto Avraam pomolitsya za nego, sleduet, chto On prikazal emu umolit' Avraama do tekh por, poka Avraam ne pomolitsya, chtoby Vsevyshniy pomiloval ego i istselil ego i ego domochadtsev.

V svyazi s tem, chto byl upomyanut etot stikh, my zadayom vopros: neuzheli, raz ona

zhena proroka

takova

obyazana byt' vozvrashchena

[ee nuzhno vernut'], a

zhena drugogo

[esli by ona byla zhena obychnogo cheloveka]

ne obyazana byt' vozvrashchena?!

Ved' ben Noakh preduprezhden o zaprete zapretnykh polovykh svyazey, i emu zapreshcheno otnimat' zhenu u ee muzha?!

Skazal

[otvetil]

rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani, skazal

[ot imeni]

rabbi Yonatan:

Vot kak sleduet tolkovat' stikh:

«Vozvrati zhenu etogo cheloveka» —

v lyubom sluchaye.

To est' obyazannost' vernut' zhenu otnositsya k lyubomu muzhchine, i ne imeet znacheniya, kto ee muzh.

A slova «ibo on prorok» — eto otvet na utverzhdenie Avimelekha.

Avimelekh utverzhdal: «Ya ne vinovat v tom, chto vzyal Saru u Avraama, ved' oni vveli menya v zabluzhdenie, i ya byl v etom vynuzhden».

A Vsevyshniy skazal emu: «Eto neverno: ty vinoven v etom i zasluzhivayesh' nakazaniya».

A chto ty skazal

[v svoyom utverzhdenii]:

«Neuzheli Ty pogubish' takzhe i bezuprechnyy narod?! Ved' on skazal mne: “Ona moya sestra”, i ona sama skazala: “On moy brat”»,

iz-za etogo ty schitaesh' sebya bezuprechnym, potomu chto byl vynuzhden, tak kak mog doverit'sya ikh slovam, chto Sara ne zhena Avraama.

Ty gluboko oshibaesh'sya! Ved' oni byli vynuzhdeny obmanut' tebya, a ty dolzhen byl znat', chto nel'zya doveryat' ikh slovam i nuzhno opasat'sya, chto ona ego zhena, nesmotrya na to, chto oni skazali, chto Sara lish' ego sestra, sledovatel'no, ty ne «vynuzhden», a «prestuпnik» i podlezhal smertnoy kazni, esli by ne umolil Avraama.

A chto vynudilo ikh lгать? Ved' Avraam

prorok

byl

i velikiy mudrets , chtoby raspoznavat' obraz deystviy lyudey, pogruzivshikhsya v strasti i pritvoryayushchikhsya, budto oni porodochnye lyudi, postupayushchie iskrenne.

On ved' uzhe uchil

zakonam pravil'nogo povedeniya: kak postupat'

s

gostem, prikhodyashchim v gorod; a vy postupili nepravильно.

Ved'

u stranstvuyushchego

[gostya],

prishedshego v gorod,

sprashivayut li

o pishche i pit'e,

nuzhna li emu pishcha i napitok,

ili sprashivayut o ego zhene,

kto eta zhenshchina, kotoraya s nim:

ego li eto zhena

ili

ego sestra?!

And since your servants asked Abraham about his wife, instead of asking him about matters of eating and drinking, Abraham concluded that the people of your city were steeped in lust. In order that they not kill him because of his wife, Abraham was forced to say about Sarah that she was his sister and not his wife.

Therefore, you are judged as a “sinner” and not as one who acted under duress, for had you studied the laws of proper conduct, you would have known how people behave, and you could have understood that you could not rely on what Abraham and Sarah told you—that she was his sister.

And

from here—

from the fact that Abimelech was punished despite his lack of knowledge concerning proper conduct.

It can be learned:

with regard to a Noahide

who transgresses a prohibition forbidden to the Noahides because of lack of knowledge,

that

he

is killed

as though he had transgressed this prohibition knowingly, and he cannot defend himself by saying: “I did not know,”

for he was required [

to learn it]

but did not learn it,

and this too is negligence; he is not judged as one who acted under duress.

It is stated [Genesis 20:17–18]: “And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and his wife and his maidservants, and they gave birth. For the Lord had surely closed every womb of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.”

And we explain it:

“For the Lord had surely closed”: Rabbi Elazar said: What are these two acts of closing [

the doubled wording of the verse]

for? One in the man: seminal emission

that could not emerge from its place;

two in the woman: seminal emission,

which she had received from the man and which was in her womb, but she could not expel it,

and childbirth—

their wives were unable to give birth to their fetuses, whose time of delivery had arrived.

In a baraita [

baraita]

a tanna taught: “For the Lord had surely closed His wombs”— —

two in the man: seminal emission and urine

[

three in the woman:

seminal emission

that she had received from the man,

urine, and childbirth.

Ravina said: Three in the man: seminal emission, urine, and the anus

[

the opening for evacuating feces];

four in the woman: seminal emission, childbirth, urine, and the anus.

“For the Lord had surely closed every womb,”

and we explain it:

The scholars of the house of Rabbi Yannai [

said in the academy of Rabbi Yannai]: “Every womb” comes to include that

even

the womb

of a chicken belonging to the household of Abimelech

was closed and

it did not lay its egg.

The Gemara now brings several statements of the Sages and popular proverbs for which a source and example are to be found, in the biblical verses.

1.

Rava said [

asked]

to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter that the Sages said: Anyone who seeks mercy for his fellow,

who requires salvation in some matter,

and he requires

salvation and mercy in

that same matter,

that

is answered first?

He said to him

, Rabba bar Mari said to Rava: It is written concerning Job [Job 42:7–10]: “And the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: My anger is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer them up as a burnt offering for yourselves; and My servant Job shall pray for you … And the Lord restored Job’s fortunes when he prayed for his friend, and the Lord added all that Job had twofold.”

And from

that which is written: “And the Lord restored Job’s fortunes

when he prayed for his friend,”

it is apparent that the Lord saved Job and had mercy on him, rescuing him from his afflictions and troubles because he prayed for his friend.

Rava said to him,

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari:

You said it from there [

from a verse in Job, which is in the Writings],

but I say it from here [

from the Torah]: “

And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and his wife and his maidservants

and they gave birth” [Genesis 20:17].

And it is written [

there, 21:1]:

“And the Lord remembered Sarah as He had said

and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.”

And this is the meaning of the verse: “And the Lord remembered Sarah,”

as Abraham had said to [

on behalf of]

Abimelech.

That is, the Lord remembered Sarah because Abraham had prayed on behalf of Abimelech.

And since it is stated, “And the Lord remembered,” rather than “And He remembered Sarah,” it indicates that He had already remembered her—before Abimelech. 2.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter expressed in the popular saying: “Together with the thorn, the cabbage is stricken” [

when the thorn growing beside the cabbage is uprooted, the cabbage is sometimes uprooted with it, and is consequently stricken because of it]? That is, the neighbors of a wicked person are stricken along with him.

He said to him: It is written [

Jeremiah 2:29]:

“Why do you contend with Me

[

how can you come to argue and say: We have not sinned],

you have all transgressed against Me, says the Lord,” since He says “all of you,” which includes the prophet as well. But did the prophet sin?! Rather—together with the thorn, the cabbage is stricken.

Rava said to him,

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari:

You said it from there [

from the Prophets],

but I say it from here [

from the Torah]: It is written [Exodus 16:26–28]: “Six days you shall gather it [the manna], and on the seventh day, Shabbat, there shall be none in it. And it came to pass on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they did not find any. And the Lord said to Moses:

How long will you refuse to observe My commandments and My teachings?”

Yet Moses and Aaron did not refuse to observe the commandments and teachings of the Lord. Why, then, did the Holy One, blessed be He, say, “How long will you refuse,” including Moses and Aaron as well?! Rather—together with the thorn, the cabbage is stricken.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari:

It is written [

Genesis 47:2]

“And from among his brothers he took five men,”

and they were the weak ones among Joseph’s brothers. Joseph presented them before Pharaoh and selected the weak ones so that Pharaoh would not choose them to be army commanders and burden them.

And

who were

those

five?

He said to him,

Rabba bar Mari said:

This is what Rabbi Yohanan said: Those whose names were doubled

in Moses our teacher’s blessing, as follows. They were doubled because they were weak and required strengthening, and the repetition strengthened them so that the evil eye would not prevail over them.

And these are the ones whose names were doubled: In the blessing of Zebulun it is stated [Deuteronomy 33:18]: “And of Zebulun he said: Rejoice, Zebulun, when you go forth.”

And in the blessing of Gad it is stated [there, verse 20]: “And of Gad he said: Blessed is He who enlarges Gad.”

And in the blessing of Dan it is stated [there, verse 22]: “And of Dan he said: Dan is a lion cub.”

And in the blessing of Naphtali it is stated [there, verse 23]: “And of Naphtali he said: Naphtali is satisfied with favor.”

And in the blessing of Asher it is stated [there, verse 24]: “And of Asher he said: Blessed among sons is Asher.”

Rava raised an objection:

But Judah’s name was also doubled

, as it is written [there, verse 7]: “And this is for Judah, and he said: Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah.” Judah was mighty and not weak, so why did Scripture need to double his name?!

He said [

he answered]

to him,

Rabba bar Mari answered Rava:

For his particular matter [

for the purpose of his special concern],

Judah’s name was doubled

in Moses’ blessing.

All the tribes’ bones were brought out of Egypt and buried in the Land of Israel.

As Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said [

in the name of]

Rabbi Yonatan: What is the meaning of that which is written [

Deuteronomy 33:6–7]: “

May Reuben live and not die, and may his men be counted. And this is for Judah

and he said: Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people; his hands shall contend for him, and You shall be a help against his enemies”?

For

during all those forty years that Israel was in the wilderness, Judah’s bones were rolling about in the coffin

[

his bones were not joined in their proper places, so that the skeleton would remain intact and upright as though he were alive ]. Until Moses came and pleaded for mercy

on Judah.

He said before Him [

before the Holy One, blessed be He]:

“Master of the Universe, who caused Reuben to confess

that he had disturbed his father’s couch?

Judah.

If so, it is fitting to have mercy on Judah as well.”

And this is what Moses said:

“Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,”

and indeed Moses’ prayer was accepted, and

his limbs were restored [

every limb and every bone entered the place from which it had become detached].

But still

did not

Judah merit that they

were taking

him

to the heavenly academy [

they did not admit Judah to the academy above in Heaven]. Moses continued to pray for him:

“And bring him to his people,”

and indeed his prayer was accepted and they admitted him to the heavenly academy.

But still

Judah did not know

Judah

what the Sages were saying, and

he was unable

to engage in give-and-take with the Sages [

he did not understand the words of the Sages and could not debate Torah matters with them].

Moses continued to pray for him:

“His hands shall contend for him” —

that he should be able to wage the battle of Torah. And indeed his prayer was accepted, and he was able to engage in give-and-take in Torah.

But still

did not

Judah merit that

his teaching should come out according to the halakha [

he did not merit saying something that would be accepted as halakha].

And concerning this Moses added a prayer for Judah:

“And You shall be a help against his enemies”—

that he should be able to defeat his enemies.

3.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter expressed in the popular saying: “Poverty follows the poor” [

the lot of the poor person is that poverty clings to him and follows him]—that is, one upon whom it has been decreed that he should be poor suffers additional losses because of his poverty?

He said to him

Rabba bar Mari:

as we learned: The wealthy bring first fruits in baskets of gold and silver,

[vessels plated with gold and silver],

while the poor

bring them

in wicker baskets of peeled willow

[baskets made from peeled willow branches].

The baskets and the first fruits

of the poor

are given

to the priests,

whereas the wealthy would not give their baskets to the priests, so the poor, on account of their poverty, lose even the vessel in which the first fruits were placed, while the wealthy would take the vessel for themselves. Thus, poverty follows the poor.

Rava said to him

Rava:

You cited it from there

[from what we learned in the Mishna],

but I say it from here

[from the verse written in the Torah]: