Berakhot 54b (נד:) — the Talmud in English

When the Israelites were passing

the

Israel

through the valley of the Arnon River,

the Amorites came

and made caves

[caves] in the mountains alongside the river,

and hid

[they concealed themselves]

in them. They said: When the Israelites pass here,

we will emerge from the caves in the heights of the mountain and

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

[going]

before the Israelites, and it was lowering the mountains before them

[flattening the mountains before them, in order to level the way for them].

Once the Ark came

to the mountains of Arnon,

the mountains adhered to one another

and the projections of one mountain entered the caves in the mountain opposite it,

and killed

the Amorites who had hidden there,

and their blood flowed down into the streams of Arnon. When

the lepers

“At” and “Hev”

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

they saw blood emerging from between the mountains. They came and told this to the Israelites, and the Israelites said

a

song; this is what is written

[there, verse 15]:

“And the pouring

[the outpouring]

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

and they interpreted this as referring to the outpouring of the Amorites’ blood, caused by the mountain on the Amorites’ side turning from its place toward the mountain on the Moabite side.

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

“the stones of Elgabish,”

which we find mentioned in the Bible only in connection with 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 great stones, fire and brimstone I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many peoples that are with him.”

The Gemara clarifies:

What are “the stones of Elgabish”? —

The tanna taught: “Stones that stood

in the air

by means of

[on account of]

a man, and descended upon a man.”

The Gemara explains the tanna’s intention:

“They stood by means of a man” —

this is Moses, as it is written

of him that he was “a 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 Moses spread forth his hands to the Lord”:

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

meaning that even what was already in the air did not reach the ground.

“They descended upon a man” —

this is Joshua, as it is written

of him that he was “a 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

concerning his war with the Amorites [Joshua 10]:

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

It follows that the “stones of Elgabish” are the “great stones,” and they were so called because they descended “upon a man”; 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 Bashan, sought to throw at Israel.”

The Gemara explains that this matter is known by tradition —

it was transmitted as an established teaching.

This is what

Og said

:

How large is the Israelite camp? —

Three parasangs. I will go and uproot a mountain

[a mountain]

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

[upon the mountain]

ants

[ants ],

, which bored through it, and it descended

the mountain

onto his neck. He sought to remove it,

but a miracle occurred and

his teeth stretched to this side and to that side, and he was unable to remove it.

And this is what is written

[Psalms 3]:

“You have broken the teeth of the wicked,” and this is 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 it as “shibarta” [you have broken], but as “shirbavta” [you have stretched],

meaning the teeth of Og, which were stretched outward.

And this was the end of Og:

How tall was Moses

in height? —

Ten cubits. He took an ax

[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.” The Gemara explains the miracle that occurred through it:

as it is written

[Exodus 17:12]:

“But 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.”

The Gemara relates that she became a pillar of salt through a miracle,

as it is stated

[Genesis 19:26]:

“And his wife looked back from 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.”

The Gemara relates the miracle that occurred to it:

as it is written

[Joshua 6]:

“And the wall fell beneath it.”

The Gemara asks:

Granted, with regard to all the others,

we find that

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

— it is

a calamity!

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

says: “Blessed is the true Judge.”

The Gemara objects:

But

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

thanks and praise”?

The Gemara answers:

Teach: “For Lot and for his wife, one recites two blessings. For his wife, he says: ‘Blessed is the true Judge,’

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

because God remembered Abraham and, on his account, 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 He sent Lot out from the midst of the overthrow, etc.”

The Gemara returns to clarify the miracle that occurred to

“the wall of Jericho that was swallowed.”

The Gemara asks:

And

when

the wall of Jericho was swallowed, but it fell —

as

it is stated

[Joshua 6]:

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

The Gemara explains:

Since its width

[breadth]

and its height

[altitude]

were equal,

if it had fallen onto its side, the fall would not have been perceptible, since its height would have remained as it was when it stood.

For this reason it was swallowed into the earth,

and this is called “a fall” with regard to such a wall.

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Four must

give thanks

when they emerge from circumstances in which danger is common. These are: a.

Those who descend to the sea;

b.

those who traverse deserts;

c.

one who was ill and recovered;

d.

and one who was imprisoned in a prison and was released.

The Gemara explains:

From where do we derive that “those who descend to the sea”

must give thanks? —

As it is written

[Psalms 107:23–24]:

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

[there, verses 25–26]:

“For He commands and raises the stormy wind; they rise to the heavens, they descend to the depths.”

And it says

further [there, verse 27]:

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

further [there, verse 28]:

“Then 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 stills the storm to a calm,” and it says

further [there, verse 30]:

“And they rejoice when it is quiet,” and it says

at the conclusion of the passage [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 traverse deserts”—from where

must they give thanks? —

As it is written

[there, verses 4–8]:

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

Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.

And they cried out to the Lord

from their distress He rescued them.

And He guided them on a straight way

to go to a city of habitation.

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 do we derive 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 loathed

and they reached the gates of death.

And they cried out to the Lord in their distress

from their straits He saved them.

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

do we derive that he must give thanks? —

As it is written

[there, verses 10–11]:

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

prisoners in affliction and iron ,

because they rebelled against the words of God

and despised the counsel of the Most High,

and it says

further [there, verse 12]:

“He humbled their heart through toil; they stumbled, and there was no one to help,” and it says

further [there, verse 13]:

“And they cried out to the Lord in their distress

from their straits He saved them

,” 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 sacrifice offerings of thanksgiving, and recount His deeds with song.”

The Gemara discusses:

What blessing does he recite? —

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

Abaye said: And he must give thanks before

ten,

as it is written [there, verse 32],

there, Psalms 107:32 ]

“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 [of the ten before whom he recites the blessing]

of the ten before whom he recites the blessing ]

scholars, as it is stated [there],

there ]

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

Rav Ashi challenged this: But say

there must be

all

ten

scholars?

Mar Zutra replied: Is it written

“in the congregation of elders”?

For

“in the congregation of the people” is written,

which indicates that the members of the “congregation” are from the “people,” and only some “assembly of elders”—that is, scholars—must also be among them.

And

Rav Ashi still asks: If so,

say: among ten—

the rest of the people, and

they must add to them another

two scholars?

The matter remains unresolved!

Rav Yehuda became ill and recovered,

he fell ill and became well.

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

among ten.

There is still a difficulty:

But he himself did not give thanks?—

It was not necessary,

since

he answered “Amen” after them.

Rav Yehuda said: Three require protection

because of the harmful forces that provoke them, and they should not go alone but only accompanied by another person:

and these are:

1.

A sick person,

whose fortune has deteriorated; 2.

a groom ;

3.

and a bride,

because the harmful forces envy them.

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

a woman after childbirth—

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

whose fortune has also deteriorated ,

and some say: even Torah scholars at night,

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

And Rav Yehuda said: Three things [

one who prolongs them ]

extend a person’s days and years:

1.

One who prolongs his prayer,

in order to concentrate during it ; 2.

one who prolongs his time at his table,

so that poor people come and sustain themselves through him; 3.

and one who prolongs his time in the lavatory,

which benefits his health. The Gemara asks:

And

does

one who prolongs his prayer—is that advantageous? But Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yohanan said: