Bava Metzia 85b — the Talmud in English

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The Sages said it, but did not explain it.

The Sages asked why the Land of Israel was destroyed in the destruction of the First Temple [as it is stated, “Who is the wise man”]].

The prophets said it, but did not explain it.

The prophets, too, asked this [as it is stated, “which the mouth of the Lord spoke to him”]].

until the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself explained it

the reason for the destruction.

As it is stated [ [ [שם יב]]there, 12] “

]: “

And the Lord said: Because they abandoned My Torah which I placed before them.”

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Because they did not recite a blessing over Torah first.

The punishment came because they did not recite the blessing over Torah before study, thereby revealing their opinion that the Torah was not an important gift to them, such that they should thank God for it.

Rav Hama said: What is the meaning of that which is written

in the Book of Proverbs [14:33], “

In the heart of the understanding person wisdom rests, and among fools it becomes known.” “

”beforehand: They did not first bless themselves and take pride in Torah, but first did so regarding the other branches of wisdom. The truth is expressed in the verse, “Toward the face of the menorah shall the seven lamps give light”: Opposite the light of Torah, all seven branches of wisdom should shine, serving it as assistants, as Maimonides wrote. Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach, of blessed memory, asked: If the sin was something that even the Sages and Prophets did not discern, then what claim can be made against ordinary people for failing to realize that they were sinning in this way? He answered that since the soul of a person is “a portion of God above,” whatever the Holy One, blessed be He, recognizes as taking place in a person’s soul, a person can and is able to recognize within himself as well. For what a person knows about himself is in the category of “And the Lord said...”

! “

In the heart of the understanding person wisdom rests”—

this is a Torah scholar who is the son of a Torah scholar.

For wisdom dwells in his heart peacefully, and he does not make it known to one who is unworthy of it. “

And among fools it becomes known”—

this is a Torah scholar who is the son of an ignoramus.

For he is from a family of fools, and he makes it known to everyone and takes pride in the crown of Torah.

Ulla said: This is what people say: A single coin in a jug cries, “clink, clink.”

When there is only one coin inside the jug, it rattles and makes a sound, but if it were full of coins it would not make a sound. So too that Torah scholar, who is the only Torah scholar in his family, makes his wisdom known to everyone.

Rabbi Yirmeya said to Rabbi Zeira: What is the meaning of that which is written

in the Book of Job [3:18], “

Small and great are there” [

for there, in the World to Come, it is recognizable who is important and who is lowly],

“and a slave is free from his master.”

And it is difficult:

Do we not know

that we do not know

that small and great are there?

Rather, anyone who makes himself small regarding words of Torah in this world becomes great in the World to Come.

And anyone who makes himself like a slave regarding words of Torah in this world becomes free in the World to Come.

Reish Lakish used to mark the burial caves of the Sages,

he would habitually mark the burial caves of the Sages so that kohanim would not stumble by passing over them and becoming impure, and thus a mishap would occur through the righteous.

When he reached the vicinity of Rabbi Chiya’s cave,

when he reached the vicinity of Rabbi Chiya’s cave,

it disappeared from him,

it disappeared from him, and he could not find its location.

His mind was weakened

Reish Lakish’s mind was weakened.

He said: Master of the Universe!

Is it that

I did not engage in dialectical Torah analysis like him

to the point that I am not worthy of finding the place of his burial?

A Divine Voice went forth and said to him: Torah like his you indeed analyzed dialectically!

However,

Torah like his you did not spread

you did not teach to others. Therefore you are not worthy of finding the place of his burial.

When Rabbi Chanina and Rabbi Chiya would dispute,

when they would argue with one another,

Rabbi Chanina said to Rabbi

Chiya: Are you arguing with me?

Do you think you are arguing with me? But surely,

God forbid, if it were forgotten,

if it were forgotten,

I could restore it to Israel through my dialectical analysis

I can restore it through my dialectical analysis!

Rabbi Chiya said to Rabbi Chanina: Are you arguing with me?

I act so that Torah will not be forgotten from Israel.

I ensure that Torah will not be forgotten from Israel!

What do I do?

How do I act so that Torah will not be forgotten from Israel?

I go and sow flax

I sow cotton,

and make nets from it,

and weave nets from the cotton,

and hunt deer,

and catch deer,

and feed their meat to orphans,

and feed their meat to orphans,

and prepare scrolls,

and from the hide I make parchment,

and I write

and I write on the parchment

five Books of the Torah,

one Book on each parchment.

And I go up to a town

and I go to a place where there are no teachers of children,

and teach five children

and teach five children

in the five Books,

one Book to each child,

and teach six children by heart

and teach by heart to six children

six

six

orders

of Mishna, a different order to each child.

And I say to them,

and I say to them:

Until I return and come back

until I return to you,

read to one another

in the meantime, teach one another, each his Book,

and teach one another

teach one another, each his order of Mishna.

And this is what I do

and this is how I act

for Torah not to be forgotten from Israel!

This is what Rabbi meant when he said: How great are the deeds of Chiya!

Rabbi Yishmael son of Rabbi Yosei said to him

to Rabbi: Are Rabbi Chiya’s deeds greater

even than

the deeds of

the Master,

your deeds?

He said to him

Rabbi: Yes!

He asked him again:

Even

than the deeds of

Father

Rabbi Yosei?

He said to him

Rabbi:

God forbid! Let such a thing not be in Israel!

One should not say such a thing in Israel—that is, I will never say such a thing [that Rabbi Chiya’s deeds are greater than your father’s deeds].

Rabbi Zeira said: Last night I saw

in a dream

Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Chanina.

I said to him: With whom are you attached

with whom do you sit in the heavenly academy?

He said to me: With Rabbi Yochanan.

I said to him:

And Rabbi Yochanan, with whom

is he attached?

He said to me:

With Rabbi Yannai.

I said to him:

And Rabbi Yannai, with whom?

He said to me:

With Rabbi Chanina.

I said to him:

And Rabbi Chanina, with whom?

He said to me:

With Rabbi Chiya.

I said to him: And Rabbi Yochanan is not with Rabbi Chiya

is Rabbi Yochanan not worthy of sitting with Rabbi Chiya?

He said to me:

In a place of fiery sparks and burning torches,

in a place of sparks and torches of fire,

who can bring Bar Nafcha there!?

How can Rabbi Yochanan, who is called “Bar Nafcha,” enter there?

Rav Chaviva said: Rav Chaviva

related

to me: I saw one of the Sages

I saw one Torah scholar

with whom Elijah was regularly present,

with whom Elijah the prophet was regularly present,

for in the morning his eyes were beautiful,

in the morning his eyes were beautiful,

but in the evening they appeared as though burned in fire,

and in the evening his eyes looked as though they had been burned in fire.

I said to him,

I asked him:

What is this?

Why do your eyes appear this way?

And he said to me: Because I said

because I said

to Elijah: Show

show

me

the

Sages when they ascend to the heavenly academy

when they enter the heavenly academy.

He said to me

Elijah:

You can look at all of them

you can look at all the Sages there

except for the throne

except for the chair

of Rabbi Chiya, which you may not look at

for you have no permission to look at it.

What is its distinguishing sign

and what is the sign of Rabbi Chiya’s chair?

With all of them angels go when they ascend and descend.

All the Sages are accompanied by angels when they enter and leave the heavenly academy,

except for Rabbi Chiya’s chair, which ascends and descends by itself.

Except for Rabbi Chiya, who enters and leaves the heavenly academy alone.

That Torah scholar continued and related to Rav Chaviva bar Surmakai:

I could not restrain myself

I could not restrain myself,

and I looked at it

and I looked at Rabbi Chiya.

Two sparks of fire came

Two sparks of fire appeared,

and struck that man

and struck me,

and blinded his eyes

and blinded my eyes.

The next day I went and prostrated myself at the cave

the next day I prostrated myself at Rabbi Chiya’s grave,

I said

and I said:

I teach the master’s Tosefta

I constantly teach the master’s Tosefta [which Rabbi Chiya arranged], and by this merit I pray that I should be healed in my eyes.

And I was healed

my prayer was accepted and I was healed.

Elijah was regularly present in Rabbi’s academy

Elijah the prophet was accustomed to come to Rabbi’s academy.

One day, it was the New Moon

one day, on the New Moon,

he was delayed and did not come

Elijah the prophet was late in coming to the academy.

He said to him

Rabbi said to Elijah:

Why was the Master delayed

why were you late coming today?

He said to him

Elijah:

I was occupied with raising Abraham

for I was occupied with raising Abraham our father,

washing his hands and praying

and I washed his hands and he prayed,

and then putting him back to sleep

and afterward I laid him down again.

And likewise

I did

for Isaac, and likewise

I did

for Jacob,

and therefore I was late. Rabbi said to him:

Why not raise them together

why did you raise them one after another and not together?

Elijah said to him:

Do you think

for I feared lest

they become intense in prayer,

they increase their prayer,

and bring the Messiah before his time,

and they would bring the Messiah before his time. Therefore, I do not have permission to raise them together.

Rabbi said to him:

And

if

there are counterparts of them

of the Patriarchs

in this world

whose prayer would be heard?

He said to him,

Elijah:

There are

indeed there are

Rabbi Hiyya and his sons.

Rabbi once decreed a fast

Once Rabbi decreed a fast over a withholding of rain,

he brought down

and placed before the ark as public prayer leaders

Rabbi Hiyya and his sons.

Rabbi Hiyya

Rabbi Hiyya

“Who causes the wind to blow”

during the repetition of the Eighteen Benedictions,

and the wind blew,

and immediately the wind blew.

He said:

“Who causes the rain to fall,”

and rain came,

and immediately rain fell.

When he reached the point of saying

when he reached the end of the blessing, to say

“Who revives the dead”

the world was shaken,

the world trembled, for the time of the revival of the dead had not yet arrived.

They said in heaven

they asked in heaven:

Who revealed the secret in the world

who revealed the secret in the world, that the power of Rabbi Hiyya and his sons in prayer was so great?

They said

they answered:

Elijah!

They brought Elijah

they brought Elijah

and struck him with sixty blows of fire,

they lashed him with sixty blows of fire.

Elijah came

Elijah came

and appeared to them as a bear of fire

and assumed the appearance of a bear of fire

among them

and entered among them in the middle of the prayer

and disrupted them,

and disturbed the order of their prayer.

Shmuel Yarchina’ah

he was Shmuel, Rav’s companion, who was expert in the secret of intercalating the months

he was Rabbi’s physician,

he was Rabbi’s physician.

Rabbi became ill in his eyes,

Rabbi’s eyes became ill.

Shmuel said to him

Shmuel said to Rabbi:

Shall I place medicine for you

shall I put medicine into your eyes?

Rabbi said to him,

Rabbi:

I cannot,

I cannot because of the pain.

Shmuel said to him:

Shall I apply ointment for you,

perhaps I shall place ointment upon the eye?

Rabbi said to him,

Rabbi:

I cannot,

I cannot do this either.

He would place it in a tube of medicines and put it beneath his pillow,

Shmuel put the medicine into a hollow tube and placed it beneath Rabbi’s pillow, so that the power of the medicine would penetrate the skull and the brain and reach the eyes.

and he was healed,

Rabbi was healed.

Rabbi was exerting himself to ordain him,

Rabbi labored and endeavored to ordain Shmuel with rabbinic ordination, so that he would be called “Rabbi,” because he was a great scholar,

but the matter did not succeed,

and he did not succeed in this, because there were always various impediments, or the scholars did not assemble.