Bava Metzia 59a — the Talmud in English

It is preferable for a person that he come upon the uncertainty of a married woman and not whiten the face of his fellow in public,

for we find that King David said that whitening the face is more severe than the incident of Bathsheba.

From where do we know it? From what Rava expounded:

For Rava expounded: What is the meaning of that which is written:

[Psalms 35]

“And at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves; they tore, and were not silent.”

David said before the Holy One, blessed is He: Master of the world, it is revealed and known before You that

when they whiten my face,

if they were tearing

my

flesh, my blood would not have flowed to the earth,

for because of the great shame the blood departed from its place.

And furthermore,

not only when they are idle do they spill my blood,

but even when

they study and

are engaged in

the difficult passages of

leprosy and tent impurity,

which have no connection with matters of a married woman, they interrupt their study and

say to me: David, one who comes upon a married woman, what is his death?

And their intention is to whiten my face.

And I say to them

One who comes upon a married woman

his death is by strangulation. And

nevertheless,

he has a portion in the World to Come. But one who whitens the face of his fellow in public has no portion in the World to Come.

It follows that my deeds are better than yours.

(And he said)

He said:

Mar Zutra bar Tuvia said in the name of Rav, and some say Rav Hanna bar Bizna said in the name of Rabbi Shimon the Pious, and some say Rabbi

Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai: It is preferable

for a person to throw himself into a fiery furnace and not whiten the face of his fellow in public,

From where do we know

this law,

from

what we find in the incident of Judah and

Tamar,

who had intercourse with Judah without recognizing him, and when she became pregnant by him she was suspected of harlotry. Even though she could have said to Judah, “I became pregnant from you,” she refrained from saying so, in order not to shame him, and gave over her life for this.

As it is written

[Genesis 38]:

“And Judah said, Bring her out, and let her be burned,”

she was being brought out, and she sent

to her father-in-law,”

to hint to him that she had not committed adultery under him, until he said, “She is more righteous than I.” And it is proven that had Judah not admitted, she would have gone out to be burned. From here, proof that it is preferable for a person to be burned rather than whiten the face of his fellow in public.

Rabbi Hanina, son of Rav Idi, said: What

is this

that is written

[Leviticus 25]

“And you shall not wrong each man his fellow”?

The verse teaches that only

“the people who are with you” in Torah and mitzvot,

one who observes mitzvot,

you shall not wrong him.

For the word “his fellow” is expounded as though it said, “the people who are with him.”

Rav said: A person should always be careful with wronging

[from distressing]

his wife, for

if he distresses her

because her tear is readily shed,

the punishment that comes because of

her wronging is near

to come upon him.

Rabbi Elazar said: From the day the Temple was destroyed, the gates of prayer were locked, as it is stated

[Lamentations 3]

“Even when I cry out and plead, He has shut out my prayer.”

The Holy One, blessed is He, closed the windows of the firmament against it.

And even though the gates of prayer were locked, the gates of tears were not locked.

For whoever sheds tears in his prayer, his prayer is heard.

As it is stated

[Psalms 39]

“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not be silent toward my tears.”

And it implies: I am certain that You will not be silent toward my tears, because the gates of tears were not locked.

And Rav said: A person who follows the counsel of his wife always falls into Gehinnom. As it is stated

[I Kings 21]

“But he was not like

Ahab,

whom Jezebel his wife incited.”

Rav Pappa said to Abaye:

How did Rav say this?

But people say,

the way of the world is to say:

“Your wife is short,”

if your wife is short,

“bend down and whisper to her,”

bend toward her in order to speak with her and hear her words.

And we answer:

It is not difficult. This

which Rav said, that he falls into Gehinnom, refers to one who listens to his wife’s counsel

in worldly matters. And this

which people say, to listen to your wife’s counsel, refers

to household matters,

which concern the management of the household.

Another version: This

which Rav said, that he falls into Gehinnom, refers to one who listens to his wife’s counsel

in heavenly matters. And this

which people say, to heed a woman’s counsel, refers

to worldly matters.

Rav Hisda said: All the gates

of prayer

are locked except the gates of wronging,

for the prayer of the wronged one is accepted,

as it is stated

[Amos 7]

“Behold, the Lord

was standing upon a wall made with a plumb line, and in His hand was a plumb line.”

Amos saw a wall built straight by means of a plumb line. This is an analogy for the world, which was created straight according to law and justice, and the Lord stands upon the wall—the world—to watch over the world that injustice and wronging should not be done in it. And in the hand of the Lord is the plumb line, to judge the sinners. From here, that the Lord watches especially over acts of wronging and accepts the prayer of the wronged one.

Rabbi Elazar said:

For

everything,

for all other transgressions, the Holy One, blessed be He,

takes retribution

from the sinner

through an agent,

and does not need to punish him Himself,

except for mistreatment,

for the Holy One, blessed be He, in His own glory and person, takes retribution from the sinner.

As it is stated: “And in His hand is a plumb line,”

which implies that He did not entrust the plumb line to an agent, but judges the one who mistreats another Himself.

Rabbi Abbahu said: Three

things

the curtain,

the partition separating between the Divine Presence and the heavenly host,

is not locked before them,

but the Holy One, blessed is He, watches and observes the sinner in them until He takes retribution from them.

And these are:

wronging, robbery, and idolatry,

wronging, as it is written, “And in His hand was a plumb line,”

and it implies that He holds the plumb line in His hand to see for Himself those who sin through wronging.

Robbery, as it is written

[Jeremiah 6]:

“Violence and plunder are heard in it; before Me continually.”

Idolatry, as it is written

[Isaiah 65]:

“The people who anger Me continually before Me,”

and so on.

Rav Judah said: A person should always be careful that

there should be

produce

available

inside his house,

because

the

quarrel is found inside a person’s house only over matters of produce.

For if he has no produce in his house, he comes to quarrel with his wife,

as it is stated

[Psalms 147]

“He makes your border peaceful; He satisfies you with the fat of wheat.”

And it implies: peace will be in your border when the fat of wheat satisfies you.

Rav Pappa said: This is what people say: When the barley is finished from the jug, knocking comes and quarrel comes into the house.

When the barley is finished from the jug in the house, so that the vessel makes a hollow sound when it is knocked, strife, quarrel, is created in the house.

And Rav Hinena bar Pappa said: A person should always be careful that

there should be

produce

available

inside his house,

because

Israel were called poor only over matters of produce.

As it is stated

[Judges 6]:

“And the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian,”

“And it would be, when Israel sowed,”

and Midian and Amalek would rise against it,”

and so on; and it is written

[further there]

“And they encamped against them,

and destroyed the produce of the land,”

and so on; and it is written, “And Israel was brought very low because of Midian.”

And it implies that Israel were called poor because their produce was taken from them.

(And Rabbi said)

Rabbi

Helbo said: A person should always be careful concerning the honor of his wife,

because

the

blessing is found inside a person’s house only on account of his wife, as it is stated

[Genesis 12]

“And He benefited Abram on her account,”

on account of Sarah his wife.

And this is what Rava said to the people of Mahuza: Honor your wives,

honor your wives,

so that you may become wealthy!

Through this blessing will rest in your houses, and you will become wealthy.

And now the Gemara brings an incident concerning Rabbi Eliezer, about distress through words.

And the Gemara first relates how the Sages placed Rabbi Eliezer under a ban because of the dispute concerning the laws of impurity and purity, when Rabbi Eliezer did not accept the opinion of the Sages.

Vessels made from cow dung or from earth do not contract impurity. But an earthenware vessel made from clay that was fired in a kiln contracts impurity, and it has no possibility of becoming pure from its impurity except through breaking.

The oven in their time was made of sections of earthenware, placed one upon another, which were fired in a kiln until they became one piece.

We learned there:

An earthenware oven that became impure—according to the law it must be demolished in order to purify it. But if he did not demolish it, but rather

cut it,

and it became

sections,

round parts that can be placed one upon another, and then rebuilt the oven,

and put sand between one section and another.

Rabbi Eliezer declares it pure,

because cutting it into sections is considered as though he demolished it in accordance with the law of the Torah, and now it is a new vessel.

And the Sages declare it impure,

since all ovens are made section by section, this is not considered demolition by cutting it into sections.