Berakhot 28a — the Talmud in English

Perhaps they will remove you

from your position of leadership afterward.

He said to her: Let a person use it,

it is preferable for a person to use even

one day a precious glass [

an expensive glass cup],

and

even if

tomorrow it will break,

this cup will break. And it is a parable: it is worthwhile to take advantage of the position granted to him today, even though it may soon be taken from him.

His wife said to him:

And how will you become the Nasi? After all,

you do not have any white hairs [

white hairs] indicating old age, and it is fitting for a preacher to be old.

That day, eighteen [

eighteen]

years old was

Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah.

A miracle occurred for him, and eighteen rows of white hairs were restored to him [

eighteen rows of white hair].

And

this is what

Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said in the Mishna above [12b]:

“I am like a seventy-year-old, and he did not

say

“seventy years old,”

because he was young in years, but he appeared “like a seventy-year-old.”

The tanna taught: That day

on which Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah was appointed,

they removed the gatekeeper

of the beit-midrash,

and permission was given to the students to enter.

For as long as

Rabban Gamliel was

Nasi, he would

announce and say: Any student whose inside is not like his outside [

who engages in Torah but does not possess fear of Heaven, Yoma 72b],

may not enter the beit-midrash!

And

that day

on which permission was given for everyone to enter,

several benches were added

in the beit-midrash.

Rabbi Yohanan said: Abba Yosef ben Dostai and the Rabbis disagreed about this,

regarding the number of benches that were added that day.

One said: Four hundred benches were added!

And one said:

seven hundred benches were

added!

And when Rabban Gamliel saw that many students had been added,

Rabban Gamliel became distressed,

and he was worried that he would be punished for having prevented them from entering.

He said: Perhaps, Heaven forbid, I prevented Torah from Israel!?

They showed him

they showed Rabban Gamliel

in his dream white jugs filled with ashes [

white jugs filled with ashes], thereby hinting to him that he was correct, because one whose inside is not like his outside is unworthy of the beit-midrash, and he resembles a beautiful jug whose inside contains something lowly, like ashes.

And the Gemara concludes:

It is not so,

for it is not proper to prevent any person from the beit-midrash.

And

that

which they showed him in his dream in this manner—it was in order

to settle [

to set at rest]

his mind that they showed it to him.

The tanna taught:

The tractate

Eduyot

was taught on that day

on which Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah was appointed,

it was reviewed.

And wherever we say

in the Mishnayot

“on that day,”

it was that day.

And there was no halakha that was pending [

uncertain]

in the beit-midrash that they did not explain,

because as the students increased, sharpness and dialectical analysis increased.

And Rabban Gamliel, too, did not prevent

himself

from the beit-midrash

under the leadership of Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah,

even for a single hour.

As we learned [

Yadayim 4:4]:

On that day Judah came,

who was

an Ammonite convert, before them in the beit-midrash.

He said to them: What is my status regarding entering the congregation?

Rabban Gamliel said to him: You are forbidden to enter the congregation!

Rabbi Yehoshua said to him

to Judah, the Ammonite convert:

You are permitted to enter the congregation!

Rabban Gamliel said to him

to Rabbi Yehoshua:

But was it not already stated [

Deuteronomy 23:4]

“An Ammonite and a Moabite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord,”

and how did it occur to you to permit him?

Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: Are Ammon and Moab dwelling in their places? Was not Sennacherib, king of Assyria, already exiled and mixed up all the nations, as it is stated

in Sennacherib’s words [

Isaiah 10:13]

“I removed the boundaries of peoples, and their treasures I plundered [

I looted],

and I brought down those who sit like a mighty one,”

that he moved all the inhabitants of the lands from their places to another place, so that they would not become strong and rebel against him.

And

even so, they rely on the principle that

anything separated from the majority is separated from the majority .

Rabban Gamliel said to him: But was it not already stated [

Jeremiah 49:6]

“And afterward I shall return the captivity of the children of Ammon, says the Lord,” and they have already returned

to their place. Therefore, anyone who comes from the land of Ammon has the presumptive status of an Ammonite, and is forbidden to enter the congregation.

Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: But was it not already stated [

Amos 9:14]

“And I shall return the captivity of My people Israel.”

And nevertheless, this prophecy has still not been fulfilled,

and they have still not returned.

Likewise, the prophecy concerning the return of the children of Ammon has still not been fulfilled, and they have still not returned to their land.

Immediately

they acted in accordance with Rabbi Yehoshua’s words, and

they permitted him

Judah, the Ammonite convert,

to enter the congregation.

Rabban Gamliel said: Since this is how it was,

that the halakha was decided in accordance with him,

I will go and appease Rabbi Yehoshua!

When

Rabban Gamliel

reached his house

of Rabbi Yehoshua,

he saw the walls [

walls]

of his house—

blackened.

He said to him: From the walls of your house you are recognizable, that you are a charcoal-maker [

blacksmith]

!

He said to him,

Rabbi Yehoshua:

Woe to the generation of which you are the leader,

because

you do not know the suffering of Torah scholars—

by what they earn their livelihood and by what they are nourished!

For until now you did not know from what I supported myself.

He said to him,

Rabban Gamliel:

I have offended

and said

to you

words that were not proper to say.

Forgive me!

He paid no attention to him,

Rabbi Yehoshua.

He pleaded with him:

Do it for the honor of Father [

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, Nasi of Israel ] and forgive me!

Then

he appeased

Rabbi Yehoshua, and he forgave him.

Rabban Gamliel and Rabbi Yehoshua said:

Rabban Gamliel and Rabbi Yehoshua:

Who shall go and tell the Rabbis

that we have reconciled, and that the position of Nasi should be returned to Rabban Gamliel?

That launderer said to them: I will go

to tell this to the Sages!

Rabbi Yehoshua sent to the Rabbis

in the

beit-midrash

with the launderer:

Whoever has been wearing

until now

the cloak [

cloak] should continue and

wear the cloak,

but

whoever has not been wearing the cloak

why should he

say to the one wearing the cloak, “Remove your garment, and I shall wear it”?!

And it is a parable: Rabban Gamliel, who was accustomed to the position of Nasi, is fit to be Nasi, and not Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, who was not accustomed to it.

Rabbi Akiva said to the Rabbis: Lock the doors [

close the door], in order

that the servants of Rabban

Gamliel should not come and distress the Rabbis,

because he thought that the launderer was a servant of Rabban Gamliel.

And when he saw this,

Rabbi Yehoshua said: It is better that I rise and go myself to the Rabbis

and inform them.

Rabbi Yehoshua came

to the beit-midrash and

knocked [

struck]

on the door.

He said to them,

to the Rabbis:

One who sprinkles, the son of one who sprinkles [

a priest, the son of a priest, who is fit to sprinkle the water of purification]

shall sprinkle

the water of purification to purify the impure.

And

if someone

is neither one who sprinkles nor the son of one who sprinkles,

should he

say to one who sprinkles, the son of one who sprinkles:

Your sprinkling is not a sprinkling, because

your water is cave water [

and it is not living water]

and your ashes are ordinary ashes [

ordinary ashes of an oven or stove, and not the ashes of a red heifer]?! And it is a parable: it is not proper for Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah to remove Rabban Gamliel from his position of leadership.

Rabbi Akiva said to Rabbi Yehoshua:

I see that

you have reconciled

with Rabban Gamliel, and since that is so, he should be reinstated. After all,

did we do what we did [

to remove him from his position of leadership]

except for your honor

Therefore,

tomorrow

we will go,

you and I, and rise early at his entrance

of Rabban Gamliel!

Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yehoshua said:

Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yehoshua:

What shall we do?

If we reinstate Rabban Gamliel and

remove

Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah from the position of leadership, this cannot be done, because

it is a received tradition

as a halakha:

One elevates in holiness and does not lower!

But to establish that

we shall lecture, Master, [

Rabban Gamliel]

one Shabbat, and Master [

Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah]

one Shabbat—

this too is not proper, because

Rabban Gamliel will come

to

be jealous of him

if he is made equal to him.

Rather, Rabban Gamliel should lecture three Shabbatot

and Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah one Shabbat.

And this is what the Master said

in connection with a certain halakha stated on Shabbat in the beit-midrash:

“Whose Shabbat was it?

Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah’s!”

And that student

who asked Rabban Gamliel and Rabbi Yehoshua, “Is the evening prayer optional or obligatory?” and through whom that incident occurred—

it was Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai.

We learned in the Mishna:

And that of Musaf, the entire day.

Rabbi Yohanan said:

If he delayed and

and

prayed Musaf after seven hours, although he fulfilled his obligation,

he is called a sinner!

The Sages taught: If two prayers were before him

which he was required to pray,

one of Minhah and one of Musaf, he prays

first

that of Minhah, and afterward he prays that of Musaf .

For the time of the Musaf prayer does not pass. And if you say that because one who delays Musaf is called a “sinner,” it has already been delayed beyond seven hours, and in any case he is called a “sinner.” Therefore, he should precede Minhah, because

this one,

Minhah,

is regular [

which is practiced every day],

whereas this one,

Musaf,

is not regular [

which is only on Shabbatot, festivals, and new moons], and that which is regular takes precedence over that which is not regular.

Rabbi Yehuda says: He prays

first

that of Musaf, and afterward he prays that of Minhah.

And Rabbi Yehuda follows his own view, as he holds that the time for the additional prayer is until the seventh hour. Therefore, it should be recited earlier, because

it is a mitzva whose opportunity passes

and one will not be able to fulfill it after the seventh hour,

whereas

if

this

—the afternoon prayer—

is a mitzva whose opportunity does not immediately pass,

for its time extends until pelag haMinha.

Rabbi Yohanan said:

The halakha is in accordance with the Sages. And

he recites the afternoon prayer, and afterward he recites the additional prayer!

When Rabbi Zeira became weak from his studies

and was unable to engage in Torah study,

he would go and sit at the entrance of the house of study of Rabbi Natan bar Toviy.

He said:

When

the Sages pass by, I will rise before them and receive reward [A0031][at least a reward] for this mitzva of honoring Torah scholars.

[вознаграждение] по крайней мере за эту заповедь — почитание знатоков Торы.

He went out,

and

Rav Natan bar Toviy came.

He said to him,

Rabbi Zeira:

Who

among the members of the academy

said

that the

halakha

is in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda [with regard to the case of “if two prayers were before him”], in the

beit-midrash?

Rav Natan said to him:

Rav Natan

This is what Rabbi Yohanan said: The halakha is not in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda, who said: A person recites the additional prayer and afterward recites the afternoon prayer,

but the halakha is in accordance with the Sages, and he recites the afternoon prayer first.

Rabbi Zeira said to him:

Did

Rabbi Yohanan say it

as a ruling?

He said to him: Yes!

Rabbi Zeira learned it from him

Rav Natan, this matter in the name of Rabbi Yohanan,

forty times.

Rav Natan said to him:

Why do you pursue this ruling so intensely? Is it because

it is the one

[the sole one]

you have,

and you have not heard any other halakhic teaching in the name of Rabbi Yohanan, which is why it is so dear to you?

Or

is it because

it is a novel teaching

[a new insight]

for you,

because you had thought that another Sage had said it?

Rabbi Zeira said to him:

Rabbi Zeira

It is a novel teaching

[a new insight]

for me, because I was uncertain

about who had stated this ruling, and I had thought that

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi

!

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Anyone who recites the additional prayer after seven hours—

according to

the view of

Rabbi Yehuda,

for its time has already passed—

the verse says about him [A0090][Zephaniah 3:18]:

[Цфания 3:18]:

“Those afflicted by the appointed time I gathered

from you,”

because they caused the appointed times of the prayers to pass, they will be afflicted, gathered together, and brought to an end.

The Gemara discusses:

What

[from where]

indicates that this word “afflicted”

is an expression of breaking

[shattering]

?!

The Gemara explains:

As Rav Yosef translated

a verse with regard to another matter:

“Destruction will come upon the enemies of the house of Israel”

[that is, upon Israel, expressed as a euphemism],

“because they delayed the times of the festivals in Jerusalem!”

And they expounded it both with regard to delaying the times of prayer and with regard to delaying the times of the festivals.

Rabbi Elazar said: Anyone who recites the morning prayer after four hours—

according to

the view of

Rabbi Yehuda,

for its time has already passed—

“the verse says about him: ‘Those afflicted by the appointed time I gathered from you.’”

And “afflicted” is an expression of distress: they will be sorrowful because they caused the appointed times of the prayers to pass.

What indicates that this word “afflicted” is an expression of distress?—

As it is written [A0122][Psalms 119:28]:

[Псалмы 119:28]:

“My soul drips away from grief.”

Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak said: From here—

it is demonstrated that it is an expression of distress—

as it is written [A0127][Lamentations 1:4]:

[Плач 1:4]:

“Her maidens are sorrowful, and she is bitter for her.”