Bava Metzia 59b — the Talmud in English

And this is

called

the oven of Akhnai .

What is meant by “Akhnai”?

Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: They surrounded

Rabbi Eliezer’s words with

arguments

and proofs that did not support his view,

like

this

snake,

which puts its tail into its mouth,

and they declared it impure.

A tanna taught: On that day, Rabbi Eliezer offered every possible answer in the world, but they did not accept them from him.

Rabbi Eliezer said to

the Sages:

If

indeed

the halakha is in accordance with my view,

that the oven is pure,

let this carob tree prove it!

The carob tree was uprooted from its place and moved one hundred cubits; and some say, four hundred cubits,

to support Rabbi Eliezer.

They said to him,

the Sages:

One does not bring proof from a carob tree.

He again said to them,

Rabbi Eliezer to the Sages:

If the halakha is in accordance with my view, let the water channel prove it!

The water channel flowed backward.

They said to him,

the Sages:

One does not bring proof from a water channel.

He again said to them,

Rabbi Eliezer to the Sages:

If the halakha is in accordance with my view, let the walls of the house of study prove it!

The walls of the house of study began to collapse.

Rabbi Yehoshua rebuked them,

and

said to them: If

Torah scholars are defeating one another in a halakhic debate, what business is it of yours

to interfere in their dispute?

The walls remained standing, and

did not fall, out of respect for Rabbi Yehoshua

who had rebuked them,

but they did not straighten themselves, out of respect for Rabbi Eliezer,

who had asked them to support him,

and they still remain leaning.

He again said to them,

Rabbi Eliezer to the Sages:

If the halakha is in accordance with my view, let Heaven prove it

that the halakha follows my words.

A Divine voice emerged and said: Why are you disputing with Rabbi Eliezer, for the halakha follows him everywhere!

Rabbi Yehoshua stood on his feet and said:

Even though Heaven agreed with Rabbi Eliezer’s view, the Torah says [Deuteronomy 30:12]

“It is not in Heaven.”

And we explain:

What

was Rabbi Yehoshua’s claim when he said,

“It is not in Heaven”?

Rabbi Yirmeya said:

Since

the Torah was already given at Mount Sinai

to the Children of Israel,

we no longer pay attention to a Divine voice,

because

You already wrote at

Mount Sinai in the Torah [Exodus 23]

“Incline after the majority.”

And for this reason Rabbi Yehoshua said that the halakha does not follow a Divine voice, because the Torah is not in Heaven.

Rabbi Natan encountered Elijah, and

asked him:

What was the Holy One, blessed be He, doing at that moment,

when the Sages did not accept the Divine voice that emerged from Heaven?

He said to him,

Elijah: The Holy One, blessed be He,

was smiling and said: “My children have defeated Me! My children have defeated Me!”

They said: On that day, they brought all the pure objects

that had been baked in this oven or had come into contact with the air inside the oven,

which Rabbi Eliezer had declared pure, and burned them in fire.

And

they also

took a vote concerning him and excommunicated him,

that is, placed him under a ban, because he did not accept their ruling.

And the Sages said

:

Who will go and inform him

that he had been excommunicated?

Rabbi Akiva said to them: I will go

and inform him,

lest an unworthy person go and inform him, with the result that he destroy the entire world,

through Rabbi Eliezer’s distress, as will be explained below.

What did Rabbi Akiva do? He dressed in black, wrapped himself in black, and sat before him,

before Rabbi Eliezer,

at a distance of four cubits,

and remained silent.

Rabbi Eliezer said to him: Akiva, what has happened today, unlike every other day,

that you are behaving this way?

Rabbi Akiva said to him

:

Rabbi, it seems to me that your colleagues are distancing themselves from you.

Rabbi Eliezer himself

then

tore

his

garments and removed his shoes,

as required of one who is excommunicated,

and lowered himself and sat on the ground,

as a sign of distress and mourning.

Rabbi Eliezer’s eyes shed

tears,

and

a third of the world’s olives, a third of its wheat, and a third of its barley

were struck.

And some say: Even the dough in a woman’s hands, a handbreadth in size,

was spoiled.

A tanna taught: The

expression indicates that the

distress was very great on that day,

because

wherever Rabbi Eliezer directed his eyes, it was burned.

And Rabban Gamliel

the Nasi

was also traveling on a ship, and a wave rose over him to drown him

because of Rabbi Eliezer’s distress, since Rabban Gamliel was the Nasi and everything was carried out according to his authority.

Rabban Gamliel said

:

It seems to me that this is only because of

the distress of

Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus. He stood on his feet and said: Master of the universe, it is fully known before You that I did this neither for my own honor nor for the honor of the house of

my father, but for Your honor,

so that

disputes would not multiply among Israel,

and they would learn that one must follow the majority and that an individual may not stubbornly maintain his own opinion.

Immediately,

the sea subsided from its fury.

Imma Shalom

—that was her name—

his wife,

the wife

of Rabbi Eliezer, was the sister

of

Rabban Gamliel,

the Nasi,

she was.

And

from that incident,

when the Sages excommunicated her husband Rabbi Eliezer,

onward, she would not let him,

that is, she did not allow

Rabbi Eliezer to fall on his face,

to fall on his face while reciting Tahanun, so that he would not cry, thereby causing harm to her brother, Rabban Gamliel.

. On that day,

one day,

it was the beginning of the month,

the new month had arrived. She thought that the previous month had consisted of only twenty-nine days, and therefore the thirtieth day of the past month was the beginning of the following month, on which one does not fall on one’s face. But this was a mistake, because the previous month had consisted of thirty days, and the new month was not established until the thirty-first day.

And it became confused for her,

for Imma Shalom, Rabbi Eliezer’s wife,

between

a

full month and a deficient month,

and she thought that the thirtieth day was the beginning of the month. For this reason, she did not go to watch over Rabbi Eliezer on the thirtieth day to prevent him from falling on his face. Indeed, when Rabbi Eliezer reached the Tahanun prayer, he fell on his face.

Some say:

This is what happened: when Rabbi Eliezer reached the falling on one’s face,

a poor man came and stood at the door,

and

she brought him bread,

Imma Shalom took out bread for him.

When she returned,

she found him

—she found Rabbi Eliezer—

fallen on his face.

She said to him,

Imma Shalom to her husband Rabbi Eliezer:

Get up,

surely by now you have

killed

Rabban Gamliel,

my brother.

Meanwhile,

at that very moment,

a shofar blast emerged

announcing

from Rabban Gamliel’s house

that

he had died,

Rabban Gamliel had died.

Rabbi Eliezer said to her,

to his wife:

How did you know

that if I fell on my face, Rabban Gamliel would die?

She said to him: This is what I received as a tradition from my father’s father’s house,

namely, from King David, who was the ancestor of the family of the Nasi:

All the gates are locked except for the gates of oppression

[distress].

The Sages taught: One who verbally oppresses a convert

with hurtful words

violates three prohibitions. And one who pressures him,

by demanding money from him,

violates two.

And we ask:

What is different about one who verbally oppresses

the convert, for which you said

that three prohibitions are written

concerning him,

and they are:

[Exodus 22]

“You shall not oppress a convert.”

[Leviticus 19]

“When a convert resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress him.”

[Leviticus 25]

“You shall not oppress one another.”

And

it is an established principle that

a convert is included within “one another,”

so

one who pressures him also has three

prohibitions

written

concerning him!

[Exodus 22]

“You shall not pressure him.”

[Exodus 23]

“You shall not pressure a convert.”

[Exodus 22]

“You shall not be to him like a creditor.”

And a convert is included within “him”!

And we conclude:

Rather, one case is this—

one who verbally oppresses a convert—

and one case is this—

one who pressures him; both violate

three

prohibitions.

It was taught: Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: Why did the Torah warn in thirty-six places, and some say in forty-six places, concerning a convert

not to distress him!?

Because his inclination is bad,

as he may return to his former ways because he was oppressed.

What is the meaning of that which is written: “You shall not oppress a convert and you shall not pressure him, for you were converts in the land of Egypt”?

(We have already learned this.)

It was taught:

Rabbi Natan says:

Since you were converts in the land of Egypt, it is disgraceful for you to call someone else a convert, for the Sages said:

“Do not point out to your fellow a defect that is in you.”

And this is what people say: When someone has a relative who was sentenced to hanging,

that is, if he has a relative who was sentenced to hanging,

he should not say to his fellow,

do not say to his fellow:

“Hang a fish for me!”

That is, “Hang a fish for me,” because any mention of hanging is disgraceful for him.

Mishna:

A homeowner who says: “I am selling you produce from a certain field,” may not mix into the produce of that field produce from another field, because

one may not mix produce with other produce, even new produce with new produce .