Berakhot 54b — the Talmud in English

When the

sons of

Israel passed

through the valley of the Arnon stream,

the Emorites came ![](pamud.bmp "

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and made caves

[in the mountains] alongside the stream,

and hid

[themselves]

in them. They said: When Israel passes here,

let us leave the caves that are at the height of the mountain and

kill them! But they did not know that the Ark was proceeding

[going]

before Israel, and was lowering the mountains before them

[lowering the mountains before them, in order to level the road for them].

When the Ark came

to the mountains of Arnon,

the mountains became attached to one another

and the projections in this mountain entered the caves in the mountain opposite it,

and killed them

the Emorites who had hidden in them,

and their blood descended into the streams of Arnon. When

the lepers

“At” and “Hav”

came to the place of the stream, which had returned to its former state after the Israelite camp passed over it,

they saw blood issuing from between the mountains, came and told Israel, and Israel said

Israel

a song; this is what is written

[there, verse 15]:

“And the pouring

[the spilling]

of the streams, which turned to dwell at Ar, and leaned against the border of Moab,”

and they expounded it as referring to the spilling of the blood of the Emorites, which was caused by the mountain on the side of the Emorites turning from its place toward the mountain on the side of Moab.

We learned in a beraita that one recites a blessing upon seeing

“the stones of Elgabish,”

and we find these stones in Scripture only with regard to the war of Gog and Magog, as it is stated [Ezekiel 38:22]: “And I will contend with him with pestilence and with blood, and overflowing rain and stones of Elgabish, fire and brimstone I will rain upon him and upon his wings and upon the many peoples who are with him.”

And the Gemara clarifies:

What are “the stones of Elgabish”? —

A tanna taught: “Stones that stood

in the air

by means of

[by]

a man, and descended upon a man.”

And the Gemara explains the intention of the tanna:

“They stood upon a man” —

this is Moses, as it is written

of him “man” in the verse [there, 12:3]:

“And the man Moses was exceedingly humble,” and it is written

that the hail in Egypt was halted through his prayer, as it is stated [Exodus 9:33]: “And he spread out his hands to the Lord”:

“And the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain did not reach the earth,”

that is, even what was already in the air did not reach the earth.

“They descended upon a man” —

this is Joshua, as it is written

of him “man” in the verse [Numbers 27:18]:

“Take for yourself

Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom there is spirit,” and it is written

in his war with the Emorites [Joshua 10]:

“And it came to pass when they fled from before Israel, they were at the descent of Beth-horon, and the Lord cast down upon them great stones,”

it is found that “the stones of Elgabish” are the “great stones,” and they were so called because they descended “upon a man,” while the other hailstones that remained are destined to fall in the war of Gog and Magog.

We learned in a beraita that one recites a blessing upon seeing

“the stone that Og, king of the Bashan, sought to throw at Israel.”

And the Gemara explains that this matter —

the Gemara has received it as an established tradition.

Thus

said

Og:

How large is the camp of Israel? —

Three parasangs; I will go and uproot a mountain

[a mountain]

three parasangs long, and throw it upon them, and kill them. He went, uprooted a mountain three parasangs long, and brought it upon his head, and the Holy One, blessed be He, brought upon it

[upon the mountain]

ants

,

and they pierced it, and it descended

the mountain

upon his neck; he wanted to remove it,

and a miracle occurred and

his teeth stretched to this side and to that side, and he could not remove it.

And this is what is written

[Psalms 3]:

“You have broken the teeth of the wicked,” and in accordance with Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, for Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: What is the meaning of that which is written, “You have broken the teeth of the wicked”? —

Do not read “shibarta” [you have broken], but “shirbavta” [you have stretched],

that is, Og’s teeth were stretched out.

And this was Og’s end:

How tall was Moses

in height? —

Ten cubits. He took an axe

[a staff]

ten cubits long, jumped

[leaped]

ten cubits, and struck him

[Moses struck Og]

on his ankle,

and killed him.

We learned in a beraita that one recites a blessing upon seeing

“the stone

upon which Moses sat

and sought mercy for Israel when Joshua waged war against Amalek.” And the Gemara explains the miracle that occurred through it:

as it is written

[Exodus 17:12]:

“And Moses’ hands were heavy, and they took a stone and placed it beneath him, and he sat upon it …”

and Joshua weakened Amalek. We learned in a beraita that one recites a blessing upon seeing

“Lot’s wife.”

And the Gemara brings that she became a pillar of salt through a miracle,

as it is stated

[Genesis 19:26]:

“And his wife looked behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”

We learned in a beraita that one recites a blessing upon seeing

“the wall of Jericho that was swallowed up.”

And the Gemara brings the miracle that occurred through it:

as it is written

[Joshua 6]:

“And the wall fell beneath it.”

The Gemara raises an objection:

Granted, with regard to all of them,

we find that a

miracle occurred to them, but “Lot’s wife”

— surely it is

a punishment?

The Gemara answers: With regard to Lot’s wife, the intention is

that he says, “Blessed is the Judge of truth.”

The Gemara wonders:

But

at the end of the beraita it teaches: “He must give

thanks and praise”?

The Gemara answers:

Teach: “For Lot and for his wife, two blessings are recited; for his wife he says, ‘Blessed is the Judge of truth,’

and for Lot he says, ‘Blessed is He who remembers the righteous,’”

for the Lord remembered Abraham and through his merit saved Lot.

Rabbi Yohanan said: Even at the time of the anger of the Holy One, blessed be He, He remembers the righteous, as it is stated

[Genesis 19:29]:

“And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out from the upheaval, etc.”

The Gemara returns to clarify the miracle that occurred to

“the wall of Jericho that was swallowed up.”

The Gemara wonders:

A

for

the wall of Jericho was swallowed up, but it fell —

as

it is stated

[Joshua 6]:

“And it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the shofar, that the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell beneath it”?

The Gemara explains:

Since its width

[breadth]

and its height

[elevation]

were equal to one another,

if it had fallen onto its side, its fall would not have been perceptible, for its height would have remained as it had been while it stood;

therefore it was swallowed into the ground,

and this is called “a fall” for such a wall.

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Four must

give thanks

when they leave a situation in which danger is common. And these are they: 1.

Those who descend to the sea

2.

Those who travel through deserts

3.

One who was ill and recovered

4.

One who was imprisoned in a prison and went out .

And the Gemara explains:

“Those who descend to the sea”—from where

that they must give thanks? —

As it is written

[Psalms 107:23–24]:

“Those who go down to the sea in ships, etc., they saw the works of the Lord.” And it says

further [there, verses 25–26]:

“He raises up a storm wind; they ascend to the heavens, they descend to the depths.”

And it says

further [there, verse 27]:

“They reel and stagger like a drunken man.” And it says

further [there, verse 28]:

“They cry out to the Lord in their distress

and He brings them out of their straits,” and it says

further [there, verse 29]:

“He makes the storm a calm,” and it says

further [there, verse 30]:

“And they rejoice because they are quiet,” and it says

at the end of the matter [there, verses 31–32]:

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His kindness

and His wonders to the children of man,” “and let them exalt Him in the congregation of the people, and praise Him in the assembly of the elders.”

The Gemara continues to explain:

“Those who travel through deserts”—from where

that they must give thanks? —

As it is written

[there, verses 4–8]:

“They wandered in the wilderness, in a desolate way; they found no settled city.

Hungry and also thirsty, their soul fainted within them;

and they cried out to the Lord

and He brought them out of their straits,

and He guided them on a straight road

to go to a settled city,

let them give thanks to the Lord for His kindness

and His wonders to the children of man.”

“One who was ill and recovered,”

from where is it known that he must give thanks? —

As it is written

[there, verses 17–19]:

“Fools, because of the way of their transgression

and because of their iniquities they were afflicted; every food their soul detested

and they reached the gates of death,

and they cried out to the Lord in their distress

and He saved them from their straits,

He sent His word and healed them

and delivered them from their destruction,

let them give thanks to the Lord for His kindness

and His wonders to the children of man.”

“One who was imprisoned in a prison”—from where

that he must give thanks? —

As it is written

[there, verses 10–11]:

“Those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,

prisoners of affliction and iron ,

because they rebelled against the words of God

and spurned the counsel of the Most High,

and it says

further [there, verse 12]:

“And He humbled their heart with toil; they stumbled and there was no helper,” and it says

further [there, verse 13]:

“And they cried out to the Lord in their distress

and He saved them from their straits

,” and it says

further [there, verse 14]:

“He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death

and broke their bonds

,” and it says

further [there, verses 15–16]:

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His kindness

and His wonders to the children of man,” “and let them slaughter thanksgiving sacrifices and recount His deeds with song.”

The Gemara discusses:

What does he recite as a blessing? —

Rav Yehuda said: “Blessed is He who bestows good kindnesses.”

Abaye said: And he must give thanks before

ten,

as it is written [

there 32]

“And let them exalt Him in the congregation of the people, etc.,”

and “congregation” means ten people.

Mar Zutra said: And

there must be

two of them [

from the ten before whom he recites the blessing]

scholars, as it is stated [

there]

“And let them praise Him in the sitting of the elders.”

Rav Ashi challenged him: But say

there must be

all of them

the ten

scholars?

Mar Zutra replied: And is

“in the congregation of elders” written?

For

“in the congregation of the people” is written,

and this implies that the members of the “congregation” are from the “people,” and only it is necessary that there also be among them a “sitting of elders” consisting of scholars.

And

Rav Ashi still asks: If so,

say: among ten—

the rest of the people, and

to them it is necessary to add another

two scholars?

The matter is difficult!

Rav Yehuda became ill and recovered,

he became ill and became healthy.

Rav Hana of Baghdad and the Sages came in to him and said to him, “Blessed is the Merciful One who gave you to us and did not give you to the dust.”

He said to them: You have exempted me from giving thanks.

The Gemara asks:

But Abaye said: He must give thanks before ten?

The Gemara answers:

They were

the visitors

in the presence of ten.

And it is still difficult:

But he himself is not giving thanks?—

It is not necessary,

since

he answered after them, “Amen.”

Rav Yehuda said: Three require protection,

because of the harmful beings who provoke them, and they do not go alone but accompanied by a person,

and these are:

1.

a sick person

whose fortune has deteriorated, 2.

a groom

3.

and a bride,

whom the harmful beings envy.

In a baraita it was taught: A sick person, a woman who has given birth—

a woman who has given birth—

a groom and a bride. And some say: also a mourner,

whose fortune too has deteriorated ;

and some say: also Torah scholars at night,

because the harmful beings envy them, and without protection there is concern that they may harm them.

And Rav Yehuda said: Three things [

one who prolongs them]

prolong a person’s days and years:

1.

one who prolongs his prayer

in order to concentrate in it ; 2.

one who prolongs his meal

and as a result poor people come and are supported through him;

3.

one who prolongs himself in the lavatory, which benefits his health. The Gemara asks:

And

is

one who prolongs his prayer an advantage? But Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yohanan said: