Bava Metzia 86b (פו:) — the Talmud in English

However,

if he stipulated provisions for them,

if the employer or his agent explicitly promised his workers provisions, although he is obligated to provide them by custom even without an explicit undertaking, nevertheless

he increased it for them,

he intended to give them more than the customary amount.

The Mishna brings proof for this:

And there was also an incident involving Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Matya, who said to his son: Go hire workers for us! He went and stipulated provisions for them.

And when he came to his father, he said to him: My son!

Since you stipulated provisions for them, although you were not required to do so, and you did not specify the amount, therefore

even if you provide them with a meal like the meal of Solomon in his time, you have not fulfilled your obligation toward them.

Because

they are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The meal of Abraham our forefather was greater than the meal of Solomon in his time.

The Gemara raises a question:

Does this mean that the meal of Abraham our forefather was superior to that of Solomon,

was the meal of Abraham our forefather greater than that of King Solomon!?

But it is written in the Book of Kings [I Kings 5:2]:

“

And Solomon’s provisions for one day were thirty kor of fine flour and sixty kor of meal, ten fattened cattle

[fattened from the stall]

and ten cattle from the pasture

[grazing in the pasture]

and one hundred sheep.

Besides the deer, gazelles, and fattened fowl.”

And Guryon ben Astyon said in the name of Rav:

These flour and meal

mentioned

were only

for the cooks’ paste,

to make a dough with which to cover the mouth of the pot, so that it would absorb the impurity of the dish.

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said:

These cattle and sheep

mentioned

were only

for pots’ stew

[for preparing a dish called pots’ stew].

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Solomon had one thousand wives,

the king,

and each one prepared this for him in her home,

preparing all these foods for him in her own home.

What is the reason?

Because

this one thought: Perhaps he will dine at my home today.

And this one thought

[perhaps]

he will dine at my home today.

Whereas concerning Abraham it is written [Genesis 18:7]:

“

And Abraham ran to the cattle and took a tender and choice calf.”

And Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav:

He prepared three calves for the angels, as

“a calf” means

one;

“tender” means

two; and

“choice” means

three.

Thus, was Solomon’s meal much greater than that of Abraham our forefather?

The Gemara answers:

There,

in the case of Abraham, there were indeed only

three oxen,

three oxen, but this was only

for three men,

for only three people, whereas

here,

in the case of King Solomon, the meal had to suffice

for all Israel and Judah.

As it is written [I Kings 4:20]:

“

Judah and Israel were numerous, like the sand by the sea

in abundance, eating and drinking and rejoicing.”

Thus, relative to each individual diner, the meal of Abraham our forefather was indeed greater than that of King Solomon. The Gemara now explains the aforementioned verse concerning the meal of King Solomon.

What are

“fattened fowl”?

Rav said:

Chickens

that are force-fed,

with food pushed into their mouths.

And Shmuel said: They are fattened and remain so on their own.

Chickens that became fat on their own.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said:

When one force-feeds an ox or a chicken,

he brings an ox from its pasture that has not been forced,

bringing an ox that has not performed labor from the pasture,

and a hen from its refuse heap that has not been forced,

one that has not been burdened by raising chicks. Only these are force-fed.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The choicest of animals—

the ox.

The choicest of birds—

the chicken.

Ameimar said:

The explanation of “fattened fowl” is

black zagta

a black hen

with a belly,

a large-bellied one,

that is found among the winepresses,

wandering among the winepresses [where grapes are crushed for wine] and eating grape seeds,

unable to take even a reed-length step,

because of its excessive fat.

The Gemara now explains the verses at the beginning of the portion of Vayera: “

And Abraham ran to the cattle

and took a tender and choice calf”—

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: “

A calf” means

one; “

tender” means

two; and “

choice” means

three.

The Gemara raises a question:

But say

there was only one calf,

one

alone. And what is written “tender and choice” means

as people say: tender and good,

the calf itself was tender and good?

The Gemara answers:

If so, it should have written

“tender, good”

without a vav,

why

“and good”?

Learn from this: It is for exposition,

to expound the superfluous vav, indicating an additional calf.

The Gemara raises a question:

Say there were two,

since there is only one superfluous element?

The Gemara answers: From

“good”

being for exposition,

“

tender”

is also for exposition.

Just as the word “and good” does not refer to the calf but is expounded independently, so “tender” is expounded independently, indicating that there was a third calf.

Rabba bar Ulla objected.

And some say it was Rav Hoshaya.

And some say it was Rav Natan, son of Rabbi Hoshaya:

It is stated: “

And he gave it to the lad, and he hastened to prepare it,”

in the singular, indicating that there was only one calf!

The Gemara answers:

For each one, he gave one to a lad.

The verse means that he gave each calf to a different lad. In fact, there were three calves.

The Gemara challenges this: It is stated, “

And he took curd and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and placed it before them.”

This indicates that there was only one calf!

The Gemara answers:

As each one became ready, he brought it before them.

Abraham our forefather brought them one at a time, each one when its cooking was complete.

The Gemara raises a question:

And why did he need three? Let one suffice!

Why did Abraham our forefather really need to prepare three calves for them instead of being satisfied with one?

The Gemara answers:

Rav Ḥanan bar Rava said: In order to feed them three tongues with mustard,

which is a delicacy of kings and ministers.

Rabbi Tanḥum bar Ḥanilai said: A person should never deviate from the custom! For Moses ascended on high and did not eat bread,

while

the ministering angels descended

below

to Abraham

and ate bread.

The Gemara challenges this: “

And they ate”—is that conceivable!?”

Did the angels eat?

The Gemara answers:

Rather, say: They appeared

as though they had eaten and drunk.

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Everything that Abraham did for the ministering angels himself, the Holy One, blessed be He, did for his children himself;

and everything that Abraham did through an agent, the Holy One, blessed be He, did for his children through an agent.

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav explains: It is written, “

And Abraham ran to the cattle,”

he ran himself; therefore,

“And a wind traveled from the Lord,”

“and it drove quail from the sea”—the Holy One, blessed be He, himself brought the meat to them. “

And he took curd and milk,” therefore, “

Behold, I will rain down bread for you from heaven.” “

Behold, I shall rain down bread for you from heaven.” “

And he stood over them beneath the tree,”

therefore, “

Behold, I shall stand before you there upon the rock.” “

And Abraham went with them to escort them,”

therefore, “

And the Lord went before them by day.” “

Let a little water be brought”

by an agent; therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “

Strike the rock, and water will emerge from it, and the people will drink.”

He gave them water through an agent.

This disagrees with Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina.

Rav Yehuda in the name of Rav disagrees with Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina, since he expounds differently the reward Israel received for Abraham’s deeds.

For Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said—and so too was it taught in the school of Rabbi Yishmael: In the merit of three, they merited three:

a.

In the merit of the curd and milk, they merited the manna.

b.

In the merit of “

And he stood over them,”

they merited the pillar of cloud,

which constantly stood over them, as it is stated: “And Your cloud stands over them.” [This disagrees with Rav Yehuda in the name of Rav, who said that in this merit they received “Behold, I shall stand before you there upon the rock.”]

c.

In the merit of “

Let a little water be brought,”

they merited Miriam’s well

[which is essentially the same as Rav Yehuda in the name of Rav’s exposition: They merited “Strike the rock, and water will emerge from it,” namely, Miriam’s well]. “

Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet”—

Rabbi Yannai, son of Rabbi Yishmael, said: The angels said to him,

the angels said to Abraham:

Did you suspect us of being Arabs,

that we are Arabs,

who bow to the dust of their feet,

and that is why you told us to wash our feet?

Ishmael has already emerged from him!

Ishmael has emerged from you, and he is accustomed to doing this; why, then, do you suspect us? “

And the Lord appeared to him in the terebinths of Mamre, while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day”—

What is the meaning of

“in the heat of the day”?

On the day

that the angels came, it was the third day after Abraham’s circumcision,

when he was in the greatest pain.

And the Holy One, blessed be He, came to inquire after

the welfare of

Abraham.

The Holy One, blessed be He, brought out the sun from its sheath,

causing the sun to shine intensely, so that travelers would not be present,

so that that righteous man would not be troubled by guests,

while he was ill. This is the meaning of “in the heat of the day.”

He sent Eliezer to go outside.

Abraham sent Eliezer his servant to see whether there were travelers outside.

He went out, but found none.

He went out and found no travelers.

He said,

Abraham said:

I do not believe you!

I do not believe you that there are no travelers outside.

This is what they say there,

in Eretz Yisrael:

There is no trustworthiness in servants,

servants cannot be trusted.

He went out himself,

Abraham himself went out to see whether there were travelers.

He saw the Holy One, blessed be He, standing at the entrance.

He saw the Holy One, blessed be He, standing at the entrance.

This is what is written,

as Abraham said to the Holy One, blessed be He: “

Please do not pass from before Your servant.”

Once He saw that he was tying and loosening,

when the Holy One, blessed be He, saw Abraham tying and loosening the bandage over his circumcision and suffering,

He said: It is not proper conduct to stand here!

It is not fitting to remain here at such a time.

Therefore Abraham asked Him not to pass from before him.

This is what is written: “

And he lifted his eyes and saw, and behold, three men were standing over him. And he saw, and he ran toward them.”

At first glance, this is difficult: At first it says that they were standing over him, implying that they stood beside him, whereas afterward it says that he ran toward them. Rather,

at first, they came and stood beside him.

At first they truly stood beside him.

When they saw that he was suffering,

when they saw that he was distressed by his pain,

they said: It is not proper conduct to stand here,

and they moved away from him, so that he had to run toward them.

Who are they

those

three men

who came to Abraham?

Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.

a.

Michael, who came to announce to Sarah

that she would bear a son.

b.

Raphael, who came to heal Abraham.

c.

Gabriel went to overturn Sodom.

He went from there to overturn Sodom.

And we raise an objection:

And it is written “

And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening,”

which indicates that two angels arrived in Sodom to overturn it, and not Gabriel alone?

And we answer:

Michael went with him to save Lot.

The angel Michael accompanied Gabriel in order to save Lot, but he was not sent to overturn Sodom.

This is also precise,

as the verse indicates that only one angel overturned Sodom.

As it is written “

And He overturned these cities”

in the singular.

And it is not written “

and they overturned”

in the plural.

This proves it!