Bava Metzia 107b (קז:) — the Talmud in English

And we answer:

It is not difficult.

Here,

the case in which Rav expounded that there is blessing in a field adjacent to the city, and he was not concerned about the evil eye, concerns a field

around which a wall and stone fence were constructed—

a field enclosed by a wall and stone fence in such a manner that it is impossible to look inside it.

There,

the case in which Rav Yehuda was concerned about the evil eye concerns a field

around which no wall and stone fence were constructed.

The Gemara now cites the source in the Torah for the concept of the evil eye.

It is written [Deuteronomy 7]: “

And the Lord will remove from you every illness.”

Rav said: “

Every illness”—

this is the evil eye, upon which all illnesses depend.

Rav follows his own reasoning, as Rav would go to the cemetery:

he would happen to be in the cemetery,

and he would do what he would do:

he knew how to whisper incantations over the graves and understand, for each and every grave, of what death the person had died, and whether he had died at his appointed time or prematurely due to the evil eye, and

he said: Ninety-nine

of the dead

died by the evil eye,

while

one died by natural means,

having died when his time had arrived.

And Shmuel said:

The meaning of that which the verse says, “And the Lord will remove from you every illness,”

is

an illness brought about by the blowing of

the wind.

Shmuel follows his own reasoning, as Shmuel said: Everyone

becomes ill and dies

through

the blowing of the

wind.

For every person has a particular hour and a particular wind, and if that wind blows upon him at that hour, it harms him.

And

we challenge this:

But according to Shmuel,

who said that everyone dies because of the wind, it follows that everyone dies through the wind and not only the majority;

but there are those executed by the government,

who are killed by the sword and do not die through the wind!

And we answer:

These too,

those executed by the government,

if not for the wind,

which blows over the place of the incision, doctors could heal them;

they would prepare medicine for them,

as, had it not been for the wind that blew upon them, doctors could have prepared a medicinal potion for them,

and they would live.

They would have remained alive. It follows that they died because of the wind.

Rabbi Hanina said:

The meaning of that which is written, “Every illness,”

is chills,

a chill, on account of which most of the world becomes ill.

As Rabbi Hanina said: Everything is in the hands of Heaven except chills and snares!

This refers to the cold that enters a person and kills him.

As it is stated [

Proverbs 22]:

“Chills and snares are on a twisted path; he who guards his soul keeps far from them.”

Rabbi Yosei bar Hanina said: “Every illness,”

this is

an illness caused by

excrement,

as the Master said: Nasal and ear discharge, when plentiful,

that is, when a person has a great deal of it,

is harmful,

causing him to become ill,

while a small amount is beneficial.

Rabbi Elazar said:

“Every illness”

is

an illness of the

bile.

It was taught likewise in a beraita:

It is written [Exodus 23],

“And I will remove illness from your midst,”

“Illness”—this is bile. And why is it called

the illness of the bile

“illness”?—

Because it makes a person’s entire body ill.

Alternatively,

the fact that bile is called

“illness”

teaches

that eighty-three illnesses depend on the bile.

For the numerical value of the word “illness” is eighty-three, and therefore an illness of the bile is called “illness.”

And all of them,

all those eighty-three illnesses, are nullified by eating

morning bread with salt and a pitcher of water,

which dispel them.

The Sages taught: Thirteen things were said

about one who regularly eats

morning bread:

1.

It saves him from the sun.

2.

And from the cold.

3.

And from harmful winds—

an illness brought on by the wind.

4.

And from harmful spirits.

5.

And it makes a fool wise—

his mind is settled.

6. If he has a case against another person, his mind is settled, enabling him to present his arguments clearly before the judges,

and he is victorious in judgment.

7. He merits

studying Torah

with greater concentration, as his mind is settled.

8.

And teaching

Torah to others.

9.

And his words are accepted,

as his opinion is well received by people.

10.

And his learning endures in his possession,

and he does not forget it.

11. And his flesh does not emit vapor,

sweat.

12. And

if he is a person prone to lustful thoughts, then, because his heart is content in the morning after eating morning bread, he desires

and has relations with his wife, and

as a result he

does not desire another woman

whom he sees afterward when he goes out to the marketplace.

13. And it kills lice,

the worms found in the intestines.

And some say: It also removes jealousy,

as his heart is content and he is not quick to anger,

and it brings in love.

Rabba said to Rava bar Mari: What is the source of this statement

—what is the source for that

which people say: Sixty runners run,

sixty people run

but do not reach

their destination,

the man who ate in the morning,

who ate morning bread?

And likewise, what is the source for that which

the Sages said: Rise early and eat in summer because of the sun, and in winter because of the cold?

He said to him,

Rava bar Mari said to Rabba:

As it is written [

Isaiah 49]:

“They shall not hunger or thirst, and heat and sun shall not strike them.”

And we expound:

“Heat and sun shall not strike them”—since they shall not hunger or thirst,

because they have already eaten morning bread.

He said to him,

Rabba said to him:

You told me this from there,

that the virtue of eating morning bread can be derived from that verse,

but

I

will tell you from here,

as it is written [Exodus 23]:

“And you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water.”

And we expound:

“And you shall serve the Lord your God”—this is the recitation of the Shema and prayer. “And He will bless your bread and your water”—this is bread with salt and a pitcher of water

for morning bread. And if you do so,

from that point onward, “I will remove illness from your midst,”

which proves that morning bread has the power to dispel illnesses.

Rav Yehuda said to Rav Adda the surveyor [

he was called “the surveyor” because he dealt with measuring land for brothers and partners who came to divide it; the term derives from measuring with a cord]: When you come to measure land, take care

not to be lax in the measurement,

but measure precisely, so that the division among the brothers and partners will be equal,

for every

portion of land, even

a little,

a small amount here

and a little

somewhere else, is significant and is carefully guarded, since it

is fit

for

the

planting of

saffron,

a turmeric spice whose value is high.

Rav Yehuda said to Rav Adda the surveyor:

Landowners who dug a canal from the great river to run between their fields and irrigate them are required to leave four cubits at the edge of each field facing the canal unplanted, so that the bank of the canal will not be damaged. When you come to measure for each of them those

four cubits of the canal,

at the edge of the canal, do not insist on exactly four cubits, but

be lax concerning them

in measuring them, because even if they are slightly less than four cubits, the canal will not be damaged.

But when you come to measure the four cubits adjacent to the bank

of the river [

the great river], in order to establish a marker for the public so that they will not use the riverbank and damage it,

do not measure it at all

with a measuring cord. Rather, measure according to estimation, so that the riverbanks will remain intact and broad.

Rav Yehuda follows his own reasoning, as Rav Yehuda said:

Those

four cubits of

that must be left at the edge of

the canal,

the canal of the landowners, belong

to the people of the canal,

who dug it for themselves. If damage occurs to the bank of the canal, they can waive claims against one another and repair the bank, and therefore it is not essential that exactly four cubits remain unplanted. But the four cubits adjacent to its bank

of the river

constitute public property,

as everyone

uses the river; therefore, care must be taken not to plant within at least four cubits adjacent to the riverbank.

Rabbi Ami proclaimed:

Anyone who finds a forest or trees belonging to a person planted on the riverbank, since this is a place belonging to the public, must cut down the trees that interfere with public use, without first warning the owners.

And what is the width of the area that must be left for public use?

It is the area needed so that, if a boat travels upstream and it becomes necessary to assist it by having people stand on the riverbank and pull the boat with ropes to help it advance, the area required by those pulling the boat is

the full width of their shoulders,

the width of the shoulders of those pulling the boat,

opposite

the direction of the river’s flow; the trees there must be cut down.

It is not enough to cut down the trees on only one side of the riverbank. Rather,

cut them down on both sides of the river,

because sometimes it is convenient for those pulling the boat to assist it from this side, and sometimes from the other side.

Rav Natan bar Hoshaya

saw trees growing on the riverbank, so he went and

cut down sixteen cubits,

sixteen cubits from the trees growing on the riverbank.

They came upon him,

gathering against him,

the people of Mesharunya,

the owners of the fields surrounding the river,

and they flogged him,

beating him because he had cut down more of their trees than necessary.

And the Gemara explains:

He thought

that it was necessary to leave a path along the riverbank whose measure was

that of public property,

namely, sixteen cubits.

But that is not so!

There,

with regard to public property used for passage and as a public thoroughfare,

we require all that,

sixteen cubits. But

here,

the riverbank is not used as a thoroughfare by the public; rather, it is used only by those walking there, and the need to clear away the trees growing there is only

because they stretch out their ropes,

stretching and pulling the boat’s ropes. For this purpose,

even

if a passage remains measuring

the full width of the shoulders opposite,

the width of the shoulders of those pulling the boat,

it is sufficient,

that is enough.

Rabba bar Rav Huna had a certain forest

—a forest—

on the riverbank,

at the edge of the river.

They said to him,

the owners of the boats traveling downstream:

Let us cut down

the trees on the riverbank, so that it will be possible to pull boats upstream.

He said to them,

Rabba bar Rav Huna said to them: First,

let them cut down

the trees of the landowners who grow trees on the riverbank,

those upstream,

farther along the river,

and those downstream,

below, in the direction of the river’s flow,

and afterward I will cut mine.

For if they do not cut down their trees, the boat owners will in any event be unable to pull their boats with ropes along the river, so why should I cut mine down?

And we raise an objection:

How could Rabba bar Rav Huna act in this manner?

But it is written [

Zephaniah 2]:

“Gather yourselves together and gather,” and Reish Lakish said:

The verse teaches the principle: “

Correct yourself, and afterward correct others.”

If so, Rabba should have repaired his own property and only afterward demanded that the other landowners repair their portions.

And we answer:

There,

in Rabba’s case, there was

a forest

growing farther along the riverbank that belonged to gentiles,

of the house

of

Parzak, the prefect.

He was unable to instruct them, and it was known that they would not cut down their trees. Therefore, Rabba bar Rav Huna said: Only

if they cut down

those gentiles, will I too

cut down

what belongs to me, so that the boat owners will be able to take their boats along the river.

And if they do not cut down

their trees,

why—

for what purpose—

should I cut mine down?

Even if I cut down mine, it will provide no benefit to the boat owners, since those boatmen,

if they can stretch their ropes,

if they are able to stretch

the

ropes and pull the boat from downstream to upstream along the entire length of the riverbank, even without descending to the riverbank,

that suffices for them,

and they do not need my trees to be cut down.