Berakhot 58a — the Talmud in English

Rabbi Jeremiah ben Elazar said:

when

Babylon was cursed, its neighbors were cursed as well

also

its neighbors!

For woe to the wicked and woe to his neighbor. But when

Samaria was cursed [

the kingdom of Israel],

its neighbors were blessed!

When Babylon was cursed, its neighbors were cursed—

for

the verse

states: “And I shall make it a possession of the bittern and pools of water”!

And it likewise states concerning it: “And the pelican and the bittern shall possess it, and the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.” When harmful animals and birds come, they harm the neighboring lands as well.

When Samaria was cursed, its neighbors were blessed—

for

the verse

states: “And I shall make Samaria into a ruin of the field, into places for planting vineyards, etc.”

That it should become ruins suitable for planting vineyards, and not for settlement. And there is blessing in this for the neighboring lands. But for the inhabitants of Samaria itself it is a curse, for settled land is preferable for them to fields and vineyards. [Maharsha].

And Rav Hamnuna said: One who sees a population of Israel

when they are in a great force of six hundred thousand,

says: “Blessed is the Sage of secrets”!

The reason will be explained below.

And one who sees

a population of gentiles says: “Your mother is exceedingly ashamed

your mother who gave birth to you is disgraced; behold, the end of the nations is a wilderness, a dry and desolate land”!

The Sages taught: One who sees a population of Israel says: “Blessed is the Sage of secrets”!

Because

their minds are not similar to one another, and their faces are not similar to one another !

And the Holy One, blessed is He, knows what is in the heart of each one of them.

Ben Zoma saw a population

of Israel

on top of

the

ascent

that

was on the Temple Mount. He said: “Blessed is the Sage of secrets, and blessed is He who created all these [

in order]

to serve me”!

For they plow and sow, and through this I find my sustenance prepared.

Further,

he would say: How many labors did the first man labor until he found bread to eat? He plowed, sowed, reaped, gathered, threshed, winnowed, selected, ground, sifted, kneaded, and baked, and

only

afterward did he eat. But

if

I

were to rise early, I would

find all these prepared before me!

And how many labors did the first man labor until he found a garment to wear? He sheared

wool,

bleached

it,

fluffed it,

spun it, and wove

it

and

only

afterward found a garment to wear. But

if

I,

I would

find all these prepared before me.

Because

all [

the masters of]

crafts hasten and come to the entrance of my house, and I rise early and find all these before me!

For he was wealthy, and everyone came to him to sell merchandise.

Further,

he would say: What does a good guest say?—

“How many efforts the master of the house made for me! How much meat he brought before me! How much wine he brought before me! How many loaves he brought before me! And all that he labored, he labored only for me”!

But what does a bad guest say?—

“What effort did this master of the house make?

After all,

one loaf

alone

I ate.

And

one piece

of meat

one

alone

I ate.

And

one cup

alone

I drank.

I have no need for all the quantity that he brought before me. If so, certainly

all the effort that this master of the house made, he did not make

for me,

but for his wife and his children!

Concerning a good guest,

the verse

what does it say?—

“Remember that you magnify His work, which men sing”!

And we expound it concerning a guest, who must remember the deeds of the master of the house, and magnify and praise the work that he did for your sake.

And

concerning a bad guest, it is written: “Therefore men fear Him,

all the wise of heart do not see”!

It is written concerning Jesse,

“And the man in the days of Saul, old, came among men.”

What is “came among men”?

Rava said, and some say Rav Zevid, and some say Rav Oshaya: This is Jesse, the father of David, who went out with a population,

and entered with a population, and expounded before a population!

For he was commander over six hundred thousand of Israel. [Rashi, Yevamot 76].

Ulla said: We have received by tradition: There is no

population

of Israel

in

Babylonia!

A tanna taught: A population is no fewer than six hundred thousand!

The Sages taught: One who sees the sages of Israel says: “Blessed is He who has apportioned of His wisdom to those who fear Him”!

And one who sees

the sages of the gentiles says: “Blessed is He who gave of His wisdom to His creatures” ! [

And the reading of the Rosh is

“to flesh and blood”].

One who sees the kings of Israel says: “Blessed is He who has apportioned of His glory to those who fear Him”!

And one who sees

the kings of the gentiles says: “Blessed is He who has apportioned of His glory to His creatures”! [

And according to the reading of the Rosh,

“to flesh and blood”].

Rabbi Yohanan said: A person should always exert himself to run toward the kings of Israel. And not only toward the kings of Israel, but even toward the kings of the gentiles. For if he merits

the World to Come, in the honor of the King Messiah,

he will distinguish between the kings of Israel and the kings of the gentiles!

For he will see how much greater is the honor of the reward for mitzvot than was the honor of the nations in this world.

Rav Sheshet was blind. Everyone was going to greet the king [

to receive the king’s face],

and

he

went with them

also

Rav Sheshet. A certain Sadducee found

Rav Sheshet, and

said to him: Whole jugs [

jars] go

to the river

to draw water. But

like broken jugs, [

the broken jars],

where can they go [

where can they go]?! And he said this to him by way of a parable: You, who are blind, will not see the king in any case; why are you going?

He said to him: Come, see [

come and see]

that

although I am blind,

I know more than you do

about the arrival of the king.

The first troop passed [

group]

before

the king, which was going before the king.

When it made noise [

when noise was made from it],

that certain Sadducee said

to Rav Sheshet: Now

the king is coming!

Rav Sheshet said to him:

It is not so. The king

has not yet come

.

The second troop passed. When it made noise, he said to him

that certain Sadducee: Now the king is coming!

Rav Sheshet said to him:

Still

the king is not coming!

Afterward

the

troop

third

passed, and the Sadducee said nothing [after he had been shown mistaken in the first two instances]. When the king’s forces were silent and did not make further noise,

Rav Sheshet said to him: Certainly now the king is coming!

That certain Sadducee said to him: From where do you know this,

that the king is coming? After all, you are blind.

He said to him

Rav Sheshet: I knew this from the fact that the noise ceased. And the king arrives only amid silence and stillness, as we find with the Holy One, blessed is He. And we have established,

that the earthly kingdom

is

like the heavenly kingdom.

And concerning the heavenly kingdom

it is written: “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, and behold, the Lord passes by; and a great and mighty wind, splitting mountains and breaking rocks before the Lord—but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, fire—but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, a sound of a thin silence”!

When the king came, Rav Sheshet opened and blessed him: “Blessed is He who has apportioned of His glory to His creatures”!

“Blessed is He who has apportioned of His glory to His creatures.”

That certain Sadducee said to him:

But you are blind; is it so that

you bless one whom you have not seen?!

And what became of that certain Sadducee?—

Some say: His companions [“companions,” a wicked nation that existed in their days]

[“the companions,” a wicked nation that existed in their days]

blinded his eyes

[they gouged out his eyes]! And he was punished measure for measure for having taunted Rav Sheshet over his blindness.

And some say: Rav Sheshet cast his eyes upon him,

and the Sadducee became

a

heap of bones!

Rav Shila flogged [

he struck]

that man who had intercourse with an Egyptian woman.

That man went

and

informed against

Rav Shila

to the king [

he informed against him to the government]. And so

he said: There is a certain man among the Jews who judges judgment without the authorization [

permission]

of the king!

The king sent

against

him

Rav Shila

an officer.

When

the king’s messengers came to Rav Shila,

they said to him: What is the reason you flogged this

man?

He said to them:

I flogged him because

he had intercourse with a she-donkey [

a female donkey]!

They said to him: Do you have witnesses

who testify to this?

He said to them: Yes!

I have witnesses to the matter.

Elijah came,

the prophet, and

appeared [

was disguised]

to him as a person, and testified

that that man had intercourse with a she-donkey.

They said to him,

the king’s messengers to Rav Shila:

If so, he is liable to death,

this man!

He said to them

Rav Shila:

We, from the day we were exiled from our land, have no authority to kill!

For from the day the Sanhedrin was exiled from the Chamber of Hewn Stone, capital cases ceased.

You,

the king’s men,

do with him whatever you wish

with this man.

While

the government’s men were examining

the case

of that man,

Rav Shila opened and said: “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the might

and the triumph and the glory, for everything in heaven and on earth”!

They said to him: What are you saying?

He said to them: This is what I am saying: Blessed is the Merciful One who gave kingship on earth,

which is

like the heavenly kingdom [

as is implied by what is written, “for everything in heaven and on earth”],

and gave you authority [

dominion]

and love of justice [

and love of judgment]!

They said,

the government’s men:

So beloved by him

is Rav Shila

the honor [

glory]

of the kingdom!

And as a reward for this they appointed him judge over them,

and gave him a club [

a staff with which to chastise], and

said to him: Judge the case!

That man said [

whom they wished to judge to death] to Rav Shila: Is it so that

the Merciful One performs a miracle for such liars?

After all, you told them a lie, that I had intercourse with a she-donkey. And why did the Holy One, blessed is He, send Elijah the prophet to support this lie?!

When he was leaving, he said to him

Rav Shila:

Wicked one,

it is not a lie, for you had intercourse with an Egyptian woman. And are

the Egyptians not called donkeys

the Egyptians?

For

the verse

states

concerning them:

“Whose flesh is the flesh of donkeys.”

Rav Shila saw

that man

going to tell them

the government’s men

that

Rav Shila

had called them “donkeys.”

Rav Shila said

Rav Shila:

This man is a pursuer,

for if he tells them what I said, they will kill me. And anyone who pursues his fellow to kill him is liable to death, for

the Torah said: If one comes to kill you, rise early and kill him first!

As it is written concerning one who comes through a tunnel: “If the thief is found breaking in and he is struck and dies, there is no bloodguilt.” Since he comes concerning matters of life and death, if you find him breaking in, you cannot refrain from saving your property. And he comes with the intention that he will rise against you and kill you. And the Torah said, “there is no bloodguilt”; rise early and kill him.

Therefore,

Rav Shila struck

that man

with the club [

with a staff],

and killed him

before he could hand him over to the government.

Rav Shila said

Rav Shila:

Since a miracle was performed for me through this verse [

through my having said it, they raised me to greatness],

I shall expound it!

And this is how he expounded this verse:

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness” -

This is the work of Creation. For so it says

concerning the work of Creation:

“He does great things beyond investigation.”

“And the might”—

this is the Exodus from Egypt. As it is stated

concerning it:

“And Israel saw the great hand

that the Lord had performed in Egypt”! For since “great” is written concerning “hand,” it indicates might performed by means of a hand [Maharsha] .

“And the glory”—

this is the sun and the moon that stood for

Joshua

in the war against the five kings of the Amorite, and the setting of the sun was delayed.

As it is stated: “And the sun stood still and the moon stood

until a nation took vengeance on its enemies; is this not written in the Book of Jashar? And the sun stood in the midst of the heavens, and did not hasten to come for a full day.”

“And the triumph”—

this is the downfall of Rome. And so it says,

“Who is this coming from Edom, with crimson garments, etc., and I shall trample them in My anger and tread them down in My wrath.

And their lifeblood shall spatter on My garments

and I shall stain all My clothing”! This is a prophecy concerning the vengeance that the Holy One, blessed is He, will in the future carry out against Rome, which is descended from Edom. And “their lifeblood shall spatter,” that is, their blood will be spattered upon the garments of the Holy One, blessed is He, as it were, when He kills them. And Scripture speaks in the language customary among human beings, for when they kill other people, the blood of those killed spatters upon their garments. And “triumph” corresponds to “their lifeblood,” which is written in this verse.

“And the splendor”—

this is the war of the valleys of Arnon,

when the mountains then drew near to one another and crushed the Amorites who had hidden in the caves at the sides of the valley.

As it is stated

there

“Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord: Vaheb in Suphah,

and the valleys of Arnon.”

“For everything in heaven and on earth”—

this is the war of Sisera. As it is stated

concerning it:

“From heaven the stars fought, from their courses

with Sisera.” And “everything in heaven and on earth” is the attribute of Yesod [Maharsha].

“Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom”—

this is the war of Amalek. And so it says

concerning it:

“For there is a hand upon the throne of the Lord”!

For through the Lord’s war against Amalek, His royal throne will be exalted.

“And the One who exalts Himself”—

this is the war of Gog and Magog. And so it says

concerning it:

“Behold, I am against you, Gog, prince, chief of Meshech and Tubal”!

And “the One who exalts Himself” means that He will rise above the princes. That is, above Gog, who is “the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.”

“Above all as head”—

Rav Hanan bar Rava said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan:

Everyone who is appointed to be a head, the Holy One, blessed is He, decrees this and establishes him.

Even the head of the trench [

the one appointed over those who dig water channels]

is appointed for him from Heaven [

they appoint him]

for him.

A tanna taught in a baraita in the name of Rabbi Akiva: “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness”—

this is the splitting of the Red Sea!

For “greatness” means kindness, and through the attribute of kindness they were saved at the Red Sea [Maharsha].

“And the might”—

this is the plague of the firstborn!

For might is the attribute of judgment, and through it they were judged in the plague of the firstborn [there].

“And the glory”—

this is the giving of the Torah!

For the Torah is for Israel a name and a glory [there].

“And the triumph” -

this is Jerusalem!

For it is the triumph of Israel, as it is written: “Jerusalem—mountains surround it” [there].

“And the splendor”—

this is the Temple!