Bava Metzia 86a — the Talmud in English

He said to him

Shmuel to Rabbi:

Let the Master not suffer;

do not suffer over this.

I myself saw the book of Adam the first,

for I saw the book of Adam the first, to whom the Holy One, blessed is He, showed “each generation and its scribes, each generation and its expounders, each generation and its providers

”. And it is written in it

and written there concerning me “

Shmuel Yarchinaah! ![](pamud.bmp "

exact page location")

shall be called a sage,”

they shall call him “a sage

”. “ but Rabbi shall not be called,”

he shall not be ordained for issuing rulings until they call him “Rabbi

”. “ And the healing of Rabbi shall be through him.”

And he will heal Rabbi from his illness.

And it is written there further: “

Rabbi and Rabbi Natan, the end of Mishna.”

They are the end of the tannaim, for until their days every tannai would teach his words in the beit-midrash, and they gathered all the words of the tannaim of all the generations and arranged them according to tractates, and after them they would add only a little. “

Rav Ashi and Ravina, the end of instruction.”

They are the end of all the amoraim. For until their days there was no Gemara arranged in order; rather, whenever a question was asked in the beit-midrash concerning the reason of the Mishna, or a practical question, each amora would state his opinion. And Rav Ashi and Ravina arranged all the words of the amoraim and established them according to the order of the tractates, each matter beside the appropriate Mishna, in the style of “he raised an objection to him,” “he raises an objection,” “and we cast it,” “they asked them

”. And your sign

a sign for the matter that Rav Ashi and Ravina are the end of instruction, from the verse in Psalms [73:17]: “

Until I come to the sanctuaries of God; I shall understand their end”— “

‘My sanctuaries’ hints to Rav Ashi.” “

‘I shall understand’ hints to Ravina. ‘Their end’ hints that they are the end of instruction.”

Rav Kahana said: He related

He told

me Rav Hama, son of the daughter of Hasa

who was the son of Hasa’s daughter:

Rabba bar Nahmani

who was the well-known Rabba, the disputant of Rav Yosef,

because of the persecution his soul came to rest

he died because of fear of the authorities.

And this was the incident:

They slandered him to the king

they informed against him to the king and

said: There is one man among the Jews

there is one man among the Jews

who is causing twelve thousand men of Israel to be idle

who is causing twelve thousand men of Israel to be idle

one month in summer and one month in autumn

one month in summer and one month in autumn, in Nisan and Tishrei, when they gather to hear homilies concerning Passover and the festivals,

from the king’s proclamation,

and through this they evade paying the monthly tax, for when the king’s agents come to collect the tax, they are not found in their homes.

They sent the king’s agent after him,

the king sent an agent to seize Rabba bar Nahmani,

but he did not find him

and did not succeed in finding him.

He fled and went

because he fled from place to place

from Pumbedita to Akra,

and

from Akra to the lake,

and

from the lake to Shihin,

and

from Shihin to Tzarifa,

and

from Tzarifa to Ein Demei,

and

from Ein Demei

back

to Pumbedita.

In Pumbedita he found him

there he found him.

And this was the incident:

The king’s agent happened to come to that inn of Rabba,

the king’s agent who was searching for Rabba happened upon that inn in which Rabba had hidden,

they brought a table before him,

and the owners of the inn brought a table before the agent,

and they gave him two cups to drink

and they gave him two cups of drink to drink,

and they removed the table from before him,

and immediately took the table away from him, and they did not know that there was danger in the matter, for demons harm one who drinks “pairs

”, his face turned backward

and indeed the agent was harmed, for his face became distorted and turned backward.

They said to him

the owners of the inn said to Rabba:

What shall we do for him

how can we save him, for we are afraid, since

he is the king’s man

the king’s agent

he.

He said to them

Rabba:

Bring the table before him

return the table before him

and give him one cup to drink

and give him another cup to drink in order to nullify the “pairs

” and remove the table before him

and immediately take the table away from him

and he will be healed

and through this he will be healed.

They did this for him, and he was healed

they did this for him, and he was indeed healed.

He said

the agent:

I know for certain that the man whom I am seeking is here

I know that the man whom I am seeking is hiding here.

He searched after him and found him

he searched for him in the inn and found him.

He said

the agent to the owners of the inn:

I am leaving from here

I am returning from here

If they kill that man, I will not reveal

and because Rabba saved me, I will not reveal his location even if they kill me. But

but if they flog me

if they torture me with afflictions and I cannot withstand them

I will reveal it

only then will I reveal it.

They brought him before him

they brought Rabba before the agent

he brought him into a chamber

he brought Rabba into a room

and shut the door in his face

and locked the door before him so that meanwhile he would not flee.

He requested mercy

Rabba prayed and requested mercy

and a miracle occurred for him, and the wall of the room collapsed

he fled and went to the lake

and he fled to the lake.

He was sitting on the stump of a palm,

Rabba sat on the trunk of a cut palm

and was studying

and learning.

They were disputing in the academy on high

at that time a dispute arose in the academy on high concerning one law in the laws of lesions:

For the law is that although the appearance of white hair within the lesion is a sign of impurity, this is only if the lesion of

bright spot

was

prior to the white hair

then it is

impure.

But,

and if

the

white hair

was

prior to the bright spot

it is

pure.

And so it is explicit in the Torah: “And behold, the white hair has turned in the bright spot,” implying that the bright spot preceded the white hair.

And what is the law in a case of

doubt

where it is not known whether the bright spot preceded or the white hair?

Concerning this they disputed in the academy on high:

The Holy One, blessed is He, says: Pure.

And the entire academy on high

and the entire academy on high

say: Impure.

And they said

they said in the academy on high:

Who will be present

who will come here and decide this question?

Let there be present

let him come

Rabba bar Nahmani

and decide.

For Rabba bar Nahmani said: I am singular in [the laws of] lesions! I am singular in [the laws of] tents!

They sent an agent after him

they sent from Heaven the Angel of Death to bring Rabba bar Nahmani to the academy on high.

He was unable

he was unable

for the Angel of Death to approach him

to approach him

because

because his mouth did not cease from his learning

for he was occupied with Torah all the time.

Meanwhile, a wind blew and rustled among the reeds

suddenly the wind blew and caused the branches of the trees to rustle.

He thought

Rabba

it is a troop of cavalry

that the noise was from a troop of cavalry searching for him.

Rabba said:

Rabba said:

Let the soul of that man come to rest, and let him not be delivered into the hand of the authorities

it is preferable to die rather than fall into the hands of the authorities.

And then, when he paused for a moment from his study because of fear of the authorities, the Angel of Death succeeded in taking his soul, as the Gemara says above.

When his soul was coming to rest

at the time when Rabba died

he said

concerning the question in the laws of lesions that was being discussed in the academy on high:

Pure! Pure!

A heavenly voice went forth and said: Fortunate are you, Rabba bar Nahmani, for your body is pure and your soul went forth with “pure”!

That is, while you were saying “pure

” A note fell from Heaven

a note fell from Heaven

in Pumbedita

where Rabba had been the head of the academy, and it was written in it

Rabba bar Nahmani has been summoned to the academy on high.

Abaye and Rava and all the sages went out to attend to him

Abaye and Rava and all the sages of Pumbedita went out to attend to Rabba’s burial

they did not know his place

and did not know where his body was.

They went

they went

to the lake; they saw birds hovering and standing

they saw there birds standing in the air and making shade with their wings

They said: Infer from this: “

He is there!

Certainly he is there.”

They eulogized him for three days and three nights

they eulogized him for three days and three nights, and they wished to stop the eulogies

a note fell

from Heaven:

Anyone who withdraws

from the eulogies

shall be under excommunication!

They eulogized him

they continued to eulogize him until

seven days.

A note fell: Go to your homes in peace!

On that day on which his soul came to rest

on the day that Rabba died

a storm arose

a storm wind blew

and carried

and it lifted that Arab rider when he was riding a camel

and it threw the Arab rider of the camel

from this side of the Pappa River and cast him on the other side

from this side of the Pappa River to the opposite side.

He said: What is this

why is the wind storming so greatly?

They said to him

they said to him:

The soul of Rabba bar Nahmani has come to rest

because Rabba died.

The camel rider said

the camel rider

before Him: Master of the

world

the entire world is Yours

the entire world is Yours

and Rabba bar Nahmani is Yours

he too is Yours.

You are Rabba’s, and Rabba is Yours

You love Rabba and Rabba loves You

why are You destroying the world?!

why are You destroying the world?!

The storm subsided

the wind became still.

Rabbi Shimon ben Halafta was a man of flesh

he was corpulent

One day it was hot for him

one day he was hot

he went up and sat on the slope of the mountain

he went up and sat on the side of the mountain

he said to his daughter

to his daughter:

My daughter! Fan me with a fan

make wind for me with a fan

and I shall give you

for this

loaves of nard

bundles of aromatic wood.

Meanwhile, a wind blew

meanwhile the wind blew.

Rabbi Shimon ben Halafta said

Rabbi Shimon ben Halafta:

How many loaves of nard

amount

to the master of this

to the master of this wind!

We learned in the Mishna: In a place where it is customary to provide food, he shall provide food; to provide delicacies, he shall provide delicacies.

Everything follows the custom of the country.

And we raise the question concerning it: “

Everything,”

to include what?

What does the Mishna come to include with the word “everything,” which is an expression of inclusion?

And we answer:

To include: In a place where it is customary to wrap bread and drink anpaka.

The Mishna comes to say that if the custom of the place is that the workers eat bread and drink from a vessel containing a quarter-log [“anpaka”] before beginning to work

for if he says to them

if the employer says to them:

Come early, and I will bring it to you

come early at dawn, and then I will give you food, so that you will finish eating before sunrise, and not at the expense of the work time, which begins at sunrise,

they can say to him

they can say to him:

You do not have the power!

You cannot obligate us to rise at dawn and eat before sunrise; rather, you must give us food at sunrise, which is the beginning of the work time, and only afterward will we begin to work. We learned in the Mishna:

There was an incident involving Rabban Yohanan ben Matya, who said to his son: Go out and hire

workers for us. He went and fixed food for them. And when he came to his father, he said to him: My son, even if you make for them a meal like Solomon’s in his time, you have not fulfilled your obligation toward them.

And we raise the question concerning it:

Does the incident contradict [the preceding statement]?!

But this incident that the Mishna brings contradicts what was said previously, that concerning the food that the employer is obligated to provide to his workers, everything follows the custom of the country. Yet the incident was that he said to his son that even [if he provided] a meal like Solomon’s in his time, it would not suffice?

And we answer:

The Mishna is deficient

a passage is missing here,

and this is what it teaches:

indeed, ordinarily one follows the custom.