Berakhot 20a — the Talmud in English

But he does become impure for a met mitzva

for there is no one who will bury it, because this is “the honor of creatures,” and it overrides the Torah prohibition, “He shall not come in contact with a dead person.”

According to your words, it is difficult:

Why? Let us say: “There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel, against the Lord.”

And the Gemara answers:

There it is different,

with regard to the obligation to become impure for a met mitzva,

as it is written, “and for his sister,”

to teach that the mitzva is overridden on account of his honor.

And the Gemara raises an objection:

Let us derive from it,

from “and for his sister,” that the honor of creatures overrides a Torah prohibition also with regard to kilayim, so that he need not take them off in the marketplace.

And the Gemara answers:

Remaining seated and doing nothing is different.

For the Paschal offering is overridden by the honor of creatures of a met mitzva, because he does not transgress a prohibition through the very act of becoming impure through contact with the dead, but only that, as a result, he is prevented from making the Paschal offering. But when wearing kilayim, at every moment he actively performs a prohibition, and therefore the permission on account of “the honor of creatures” is not effective .

Rav Pappa said to Abaye: What is different

about the earlier

generations, that miracles occurred for them, and what is different

about us,

our generations,

that miracles do not occur for us?

If it is because of study,

that they studied more Torah than we do, behold,

in Rav Yehuda’s academy all the study

was only

in Nezikin,

for they were not great in all the Gemara of the four Orders, but in the three tractates of the Order of Nezikin

. And

whereas

we study six Orders.

This, and more.

And when Rav Yehuda would reach the

mishnayot dealing with the matters of

Uktzin,

such as the Mishna [Toharot 2:1]:

“The woman who pickles vegetables in a pot,” and some say,

when he reached the Mishna [Uktzin 2:1]:

“Olives that he pickled with their leaves are pure,”

he said

then, Rav Yehuda:

“I see here the difficulties of Rav and Shmuel!”

That is, I find it difficult to understand the reasons for these mishnayot, like the difficulties over which my teachers Rav and Shmuel would toil throughout the Gemara.

And

whereas

we study in Uktzin thirteen academies.

In thirteen different versions of mishnayot and beraitot, as in the other Orders of the Mishna.

But when Rav Yehuda would remove one of his sandals,

at the moment when he removed his one shoe because of affliction, so that rain would come, and before he had managed to remove his second shoe—

immediately rain came [

as explained in Ta’anit 24b].

But we—

we afflict ourselves, and cry out repeatedly, and there is no one who pays attention to us,

and in what are we inferior to the earlier generations?

He said to him,

Abaye:

The earlier ones—

they would give over their lives for the sanctification of the Name,

in every matter, even in a matter in which there was no obligation of self-sacrifice, as follows, and therefore they were answered in a manner contrary to nature; whereas

we—

we do not give over our lives for the sanctification of the Name.

And Abaye brought examples of the self-sacrifice of the earlier generations:

As in the case of Rav Adda bar Ahava, who saw a certain non-Jewish woman who was wearing a karbalta,

a distinguished garment,

in the marketplace. He thought she was a Jewish woman,

and Jewish women do not customarily walk in such a distinguished garment without an upper covering over it

. He arose and tore it from her; it became clear that she was a non-Jewish woman, and they assessed him

to pay her damages—

at four hundred zuz.

He said to her,

Rav Adda bar Ahava:

“What is your name?”

She said to him: “Matun.”

He said to her: “Matun, matun,”

that is, your name is “Matun,” which is an expression of matayim—[two hundred]

it was worth four hundred zuz!

You caused me to lose twice two hundred, which are four hundred zuz.

Rav Giddel was accustomed to go and sit at the entrance to the immersion area,

to teach women the laws of immersion.

He would say to them,

to the women,

“Immerse in this manner, and immerse in that manner.”

The Sages said to him:

But

is the Master not afraid of the evil inclination?

He said to them: “They appear to me like white geese”—

like white geese.

Rabbi Yohanan was accustomed to go and sit at the entrance to the immersion area.

He said: “When the daughters of Israel ascend and come

back after ascending and returning

from the immersion, they will look at me, and they will have beautiful offspring like me,”

for he was handsome

. The Sages said to him:

But

is the Master not afraid of the evil eye?

He said to them: “I come from the offspring of Joseph, over whom the evil eye has no power. As it is written

[

Genesis 49:22] ‘Joseph is a fruitful son, a fruitful son beside the eye.’”

And Rabbi Abahu said: Do not read, “beside the eye,” but rather, “those who rise above the eye”—

removed from the eye, so that the evil eye has no power over them

. Rabbi Yosei bar Rabbi Hanina said:

The source that the evil eye has no power over them is learned

from here:

[

Genesis 48:16] “And let them multiply like fish in the midst of the land.” Just as fish in the sea—

the waters cover them, and

therefore

the evil eye has no power over them,

and they are fruitful and multiply,

so too the offspring of Joseph—

the evil eye has no power over them!

And if you wish, say:

the reason that the evil eye has no power over the descendants of Joseph is based on reasoning: Joseph had

an eye that did not wish to feed

—to derive benefit—

from what was not his

in the incident with Potiphar’s wife; therefore

the evil eye has no power over him.

Mishna:

Women and Canaanite slaves

Canaanite

and minors are exempt from the recitation of Shema.

For it is a positive commandment whose performance is time-bound , and women are exempt by Torah law from all positive commandments whose performance is time-bound; the slave’s obligations in mitzvot are only like those of a woman; and the obligation of minors depends on their fathers, who are obligated to educate them, but they exempted him from educating them in the recitation of Shema, because the minor is not always with him when the time for the recitation of Shema arrives .