Bava Kamma 92b — the Talmud in English

And as for the person with the tzaraat affliction, his garments shall be torn, his head shall be unkempt, and he shall cover his upper lip",

"and he shall call out: Impure, impure" [Leviticus 13:45], for the person afflicted with tzaraat [and anyone who is impure] must inform everyone that he is impure, so that they will not touch him and become impure; and it is not enough for the person afflicted with tzaraat to be afflicted by his affliction, but he also brings shame upon himself, because the verse imposed upon him the obligation

to publicize his impurity against his will.

4.

He said

asked]

Rava to Rabbah bar Mari: From where is this matter that the Rabbis said:

Rise early and eat,

that is, take care to eat morning bread, and through this you will be saved

in summer—

from the heat, and in winter

you will be saved by morning bread

from the cold. And

he further asked him: From where is this matter that

people say: Sixty runners ran but did not reach the man who ate in the morning

sixty men ("runners") ran but did not overtake that man who ate in the morning ] that is, one who eats morning bread has great strength, and it is impossible to overtake him.

He said to him,

Rabbah bar Mari to Rava:

As it is written [Isaiah 49:10]:

"They shall not hunger or thirst, neither shall heat nor sun strike them,"

"They shall not hunger and they shall not thirst, and heat and sun shall not strike them,"

and we interpret the verse in this manner: "Heat and sun shall not strike them" because "they shall not hunger and they shall not thirst."

He said to him,

Rava:

You said it from there

from the words of the Prophets],

but I say it from here

from the Torah], as it is written [Exodus 23:25]:

"And you shall serve the Lord your God"—

this is the recitation of the Shema and prayer.

"And He shall bless your bread and your water"—

this is bread with salt

and a jug of water; from this point onward

through the merit of "And you shall serve" ... and through bread with salt and a jug of water]:

"And I shall remove illness from your midst."

And it was taught

in a beraita:

"Illness"—this

mentioned here—is the illness of the

gallbladder; and why is its name called "illness"

without qualification!?

Because eighty-three illnesses

[types of illnesses]

are in it

in the gallbladder], and

"illness" in gematria is this number

[eighty-three],

and

all

of them

all those illnesses]

bread with salt

in

the morning and a jug of water

nullify them.

5.

Rava said to Rabbah bar Mari: From where is this matter that the Rabbis said: If your fellow calls you a donkey, put a saddle upon yourself

if your fellow calls you “donkey,” take a saddle and place it upon yourself as donkeys do], that is, concede his words and do not argue with him.

He said to him: As it is written

Genesis 16:8]:

"And he said

the angel]:

Hagar, maidservant of Sarai, from where have you come and where are you going?"

Thus the angel called her a maidservant.

And it is written:

"And she said: I am fleeing from Sarai my mistress,"

even though Hagar thought that she had already been freed from Sarai and was no longer a maidservant; nevertheless, Hagar accepted the angel’s words that Sarai was her mistress. And 6.

Rava said to Rabbah bar Mari: From where is this matter that people say: A disgraceful matter that is in you, say it first

a disgraceful matter that is in you, be the first to say it] yourself, before others mention this matter to your face.

He said to him: As it is written

concerning Eliezer in the house of Bethuel, the father of Rebecca [Genesis 24:34]:

"And he said

Eliezer, at the beginning of his words]—

I am Abraham’s servant."

7.

Rava said to Rabbah bar Mari: From where is this matter that people say: Walk bent over and go, son of geese, while your eyes look upward

a gosling walks with its head lowered, yet its eyes are raised upward so that it can see far away and find its food]? That is, a person should not be ashamed to ask for something he needs, whether in Torah, for his livelihood, or to demand his debt.

Nabal rebelled against David, and Abigail, Nabal’s wife, appeased David, so that he would not judge her husband as one who rebels against the kingdom, since Saul was still alive.

When Abigail appeased David, she prophesied through the holy spirit that her husband Nabal would not live long; on the other hand, she mentioned that David was destined to be king over Israel.

Rabbah bar Mari said to him:

Rabbah bar Mari:

As it is written

I Samuel 25:31, at the conclusion of Abigail’s appeasement]:

"And the Lord shall do good to my master

[that he will reign]

and you shall remember your maidservant"—

she hinted to him that he should remember her beauty and marry her. Thus, in the midst of her appeasement, her eyes were looking far ahead, to care for her future.

8.

Rava said to Rabbah bar Mari: From where is this matter that people say: Sixty pains reach the teeth of one who hears his fellow eating but does not eat [

sixty pains come to a person who hears his fellow while he is eating, while he himself does not eat]?

Rabbah bar Mari said to him:

Rabbah bar Mari:

As it is written

I Kings 1:26, concerning the feast that Adonijah made]:

"But for me, your servant, and for Zadok the priest, and for Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and for Solomon your servant, he did not call."

Thus he complained against him that he had not invited him to the feast.

Rava said to him:

Rava:

You said it from there

from the Prophets],

but I say it from here

from the Torah]:

"And Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother, and he took Rebecca, and she became his wife, and he loved her, and Isaac was comforted after his mother"

Genesis 24:67].

And it is written afterward

and took a wife, whose name was Keturah."

"And Abraham added,

for he became jealous of Isaac,

and he took a wife, and her name was Keturah."]

9.

Rava said to Rabbah bar Mari: From where is this matter that people say: The wine belongs to its owner; gratitude belongs to its pourer.

That is, indeed, the wine belongs to its owner, but those who drink show gratitude and give thanks to the one who pours the drink and gives it to them.

Rabbah bar Mari said to him:

Rabbah bar Mari:

As it is written

concerning Joshua [Numbers 27:18, 20]:

"And you shall place your hand upon him ... so that the entire assembly of the children of Israel shall hear," and it is written

Deuteronomy 34:9]:

"And Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had placed his hands upon him, and the children of Israel listened to him,

and they did as the Lord had commanded Moses." Thus he attributed the wisdom and greatness to Moses, as though he were giving it to Joshua, although it is only from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed is He.

10.

Rava said to Rabbah bar Mari: From where is this matter that people say: A dog in its hunger swallows dung

a starving dog swallows even stones ]]?

He said to him: As it is written

Proverbs 27:7]: "

A satisfied soul—

it tramples honeycomb

[it tramples with its foot even the honeycomb of honey],

but a hungry soul—

every bitter thing is sweet"

to it.

11.

Rava said to Rabbah bar Mari: From where is this

matter that people say: A bad palm tree strolls and goes beside a grove of barren trees

the nature of a poor palm tree is to grow beside a barren tree]?

Rabbah bar Mari said to him:

Rabbah bar Mari:

This matter is written in the Torah, repeated in the Prophets, and tripled in the Writings, and we learned it in the Mishna and taught it in a beraita.

That is, there are many examples of this, and we find them in the Torah, in the Prophets, in the Writings, in the Mishna, and in the beraita:

Written in the Torah, as it is written

Genesis 28:9]:

"And Esau went to Ishmael"

and took Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, the sister of Nebaioth, in addition to his wives, for a wife."

Repeated in the Prophets, as it is written

Judges 11:3]:

"And worthless men gathered themselves to Jephthah and went out with him."

Plain wooden vessels” are pure; that is, wooden vessels that have no receptacle do not become impure, unless they are used for lying down or sitting.

And tripled in the Writings, as it is written:

Every bird dwells with its kind, and human beings with one like themselves. "

Plain wooden vessels" are pure; that is, wooden vessels that have no "receptacle" do not receive impurity, unless they serve for lying down or sitting.

We learned in the Mishna

Kelim 12b]: A hook of a dargesh and of a table is impure, while that of a wooden lamp is pure, this is the rule:

Everything attached to something impure—

Rabbi Eliezer holds [Hullin 62a] that the starling is an impure bird, as it is stated [Deuteronomy 14:12, 14]: “And these are the ones that you shall not eat among them ... and every raven according to its kind.” The phrase “according to its kind” comes to include the starling. And we learned in a beraita: Rabbi Eliezer says: It was not for nothing that the

is impure; everything attached to something pure—

is pure.

Rabbi Eliezer holds [Chullin 62a] that the zarzir is an impure bird, as it is stated [Deuteronomy 14:12, 14]: “And this is what you shall not eat from them ... and every raven according to its kind,” and what the verse said, “according to its kind,” comes to include the zarzir.

And we also taught in a beraita: Rabbi Eliezer says: It was not for nothing that

the

zarzir

went to dwell and reside

beside

the

raven, but because it is of its kind,

and it is impure like it.

12.

Rava said to Rabbah bar Mari: From where is this matter that people say: You called your fellow and he did not answer you; cast a great wall upon him

throw a wall over him]. That is, if you called your fellow in order to admonish him and he did not answer you, leave him and let him fall in his wickedness, and even push him down with your hands.

He said to him

Rabba bar Mari:

as it is written [

Ezekiel 24:13 ]:

“Because I purified you [

I sent prophets to you to rebuke you ],

but you were not purified [

to return in repentance ],

from your impurity you shall not be purified any further,”

until I have placed My wrath upon you". 13.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter that people say: “The well from which you drank, do not throw a clod into it” [

the pit from which you drank when you were thirsty, do not throw clods of earth into it ]. That is to say, something that was needed by you once, do not again disgrace it.

He said to him

Rabba bar Mari:

as it is written [

Deuteronomy 23:8 ]

“You shall not abhor an Edomite —

for he is your brother, and you shall not abhor an Egyptian —

for you were a sojourner in his land,”

and they were a place of lodging for you in a time of distress.

14.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter that people say: “If you lift and carry the burden with me, I will carry it, but if not, I will not carry it alone” [

if you raise and bear the burden with me, I will bear it, but if not, I will not bear it alone ]?

And it is a proverb concerning a person who does not wish to accept upon himself a burden and a responsibility, or to take a financial risk upon himself, unless his fellow participates with him.

He said to him

Rabba bar Mari:

as it is written [

Judges 4:8 ]:

“And Barak said to her: If you will go with me

I will go, but if you will not go with me

I will not go.”

15.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter that people say: “When we were small —

we were considered men; now that we have grown old —

we are like children” [

when we were small, we were considered men; now that we have grown old, we are lowly like infants ]?

He said to him

Rabba bar Mari: From here: for

at first it is written [

Exodus 13:21 ]:

“And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to guide them on the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light for them,” and ultimately it is written [

Exodus 23:20 ]: