Berakhot 58b (נח:) — the Talmud in English

The Sages taught: One who sees the houses of Israel

after they were destroyed and then restored to their inhabited state [for example, in a settlement that existed during the Second Temple period] ,

says: “Blessed is He Who establishes the boundary of a widow!”

],

And when one sees them

in their state of ruin, one says: “Blessed is the true Judge!”

One who sees

the houses of idolaters in their inhabited state says: “The house of the proud will be uprooted by the Lord,

and He establishes the boundary of a widow.”

And when one sees them

in their state of ruin, one says: “God of vengeance, Lord, God of vengeance, appear!”

Ulla and Rav Ḥisda were traveling along the road. When they reached the entrance of the house of Rav Ḥana bar Ḥanilai,

which had been destroyed,

Rav Ḥisda stood opposite it and sighed

and groaned].

Ulla said to him: “Why are you sighing?”

But Rav said: “A sigh breaks half of a person’s body, as it is stated: ‘And you, son of man, sigh with breaking of the loins, and so on’!”

And the loins are at the midpoint of the body.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan

added further concerning this and

said:

A sigh

even

breaks

a person’s entire body, as it is stated: “And it shall be when they say to you: For what do you sigh? Then you shall say: Because of the report that has come, and every heart shall melt,

and every hand shall be feeble, and every spirit shall grow faint, and all knees shall flow with water, and so on!”

Rav Ḥisda said to him:

And is it that

I should not sigh?

For

the house

of Rav Ḥana bar Ḥanilai was a house

in which there were sixty bakers

baking

by day and sixty bakers by night, and they baked for anyone who needed

to eat.

And the owner of this house did not take

[take out] the owner of this house

his hand from his purse,

because

he thought: Perhaps a distinguished poor person will come

to request charity,

and by the time his

hand

reached the purse,

the poor man would have to wait, and

he would be embarrassed.

Furthermore, this house had

for this house

four entrances

gates

to the four directions of the world. And every

person

who entered

there

hungry

[hungry] would

leave satiated. And they would place in

this house

wheat and barley outside during years of famine

[outside], so that

anyone who was embarrassed

to

take

grain

by day would come and take it by night

in secret. And

now

that

this house has fallen

this house

into a heap of ruins

, [which became a mound of ruins],

and

how could I

not sigh?!

Ulla said to him:

Ulla:

This is what Rabbi Yoḥanan said: From the day the Temple was destroyed, a decree was issued that the houses of the righteous would be destroyed, as it is stated: “In the ears of the Lord of Hosts: Surely many houses shall become desolate, even great and good, without inhabitant!”

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will restore them

to the houses of the righteous

to their inhabited state. As it is stated: “A Song of Ascents, of David: Those who trust in the Lord

are like Mount Zion,

which shall not falter; it abides forever.”

Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future restore Mount Zion to its inhabited state, so too will the Holy One, blessed be He, in the future restore the houses of the righteous to their inhabited state!

Ulla saw

Ulla saw Rav Ḥisda

that

he still

was not comforted. He said to him: “It is enough for a servant to be like his master!”

For if the house of the Lord is destroyed, it is fitting that the houses of the righteous should also be destroyed.

The Sages taught: One who sees Jewish graves says: “Blessed is He Who formed you through judgment, sustained you through judgment, nourished you through judgment, gathered you through judgment, and will in the future raise you through judgment!”

Mar, son of Ravina,

would

conclude it

with the aforementioned blessing,

in the name of Rav Naḥman: “And He knows the number of all of you, and He will in the future revive you and sustain you. Blessed is He Who revives the dead!”

One who sees

the graves of idolaters says: “Your mother is greatly ashamed,

your mother who bore you is deeply humiliated; behold, the destiny of the nations is a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.”

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: One who sees his fellow after thirty days

during which he had not seen him

says: “Blessed is He Who has given us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this time!”

And if he did not see him

until after twelve months,

when he sees him

he says: “Blessed is He Who revives the dead!”

For during this period, Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur have passed over him, when it is judged whether he will live or die. Therefore he says “Who revives the dead,” because he was spared the judgment of death in that year.

Rav said: The dead is not forgotten from the heart until after twelve months, as it is stated: “I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind; I have become like a lost vessel!”

And ordinarily, a lost vessel is forgotten from the heart after twelve months, and its owner despairs of recovering it. As it is stated in Bava Metzia 28b, one must announce a lost object for three pilgrimage festivals. This can extend until a year [for example, if it was found immediately after Sukkot, so that it must be announced at Pesaḥ, Shavuot, and the following Sukkot], but no longer.

Rav Pappa and Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, were traveling along the road. They encountered Rav Ḥanina, son of Rav Ika. They said to him: “When we saw you

[at the time that we saw you],

we recited two blessings over you

blessings: the blessing

“Blessed is He Who has apportioned of His wisdom to those who fear Him,”

and

the blessing

“Who has given us life”!

Because he was one of the Sages of Israel, and they had also not seen him for thirty days.

Rav Ḥanina said to them

Rav Ḥanina:

“I too, since I saw you, considered you

[you were considered by me]

as equivalent to the six hundred thousand of the house of Israel, and I recited three

blessings over you.

The two

that you recited over me,

and

another blessing,

“Blessed is He Who knows the secrets,”

which one must recite over a multitude of Jews !

They said to him: “Have you become so wise!”

For in your great wisdom you have innovated this halakha . And

they directed their eyes toward him,

and through the evil eye that they cast upon him,

he died

[died] .

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: One who sees people afflicted with white spots

[who have white patches on their skin],

says: “Blessed is He Who makes different kinds of creatures!”

An objection was raised: If one saw a black person, or an exceedingly red person,

[a person who is extremely red],

or an exceedingly white person

[who is extremely white],

or one with a large belly

[whose great bulk makes his stature appear stunted; and some say, one who is exceedingly tall],

or a dwarf, or one afflicted with warts

[who is covered with warts; and some say, one whose mouth is crooked],

he says: “Blessed is He Who makes different kinds of creatures!”

And if one saw

one whose hands had been severed

[whose hands had been cut off],

a blind person, one with matted hair

[whose hair is stuck together like felt. Rashi. And the Arukh explained it as one whose head is broad rather than oval],

one whose legs had been severed

[whose legs had been cut off],

one afflicted with boils, or one with white spots, he says: “Blessed is the true Judge!”

As one says upon hearing bad news. This is difficult for Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, who said that over people with white spots one recites: “Blessed is He Who makes different kinds of creatures!”

And we answer:

It is not difficult. This

that of one who says “Blessed is He Who makes different kinds of creatures” concerns one who has white spots

from his mother’s womb.

And

that

of one who says “Blessed is the true Judge” concerns one who became afflicted with white spots

after he was born !

And the Tur in section 225 cited in the name of the Raavad that one recites the blessing specifically over someone whose condition causes him distress, similar to one who sees beautiful creatures, over whom he recites a blessing because he takes pleasure in seeing them. The Beit Yosef wondered about him: One recites this blessing even over an elephant and a monkey; what relevance could distress at seeing them have? And the Bach wrote that the Raavad did not intend the blessing “Who makes different kinds of creatures,” but rather the blessing “the true Judge,” which one recites over someone whose condition changed after birth. That blessing applies specifically where one feels distress.

And we demonstrate:

This is also precise,

as the beraita is discussing this case.

For

this is taught together with “one whose hands were severed,” and

it teaches

it specifically concerning one who became afflicted with white spots after birth, which is

similar to “one whose hands were severed.”

For in the case of one whose hands were severed, his hands too were cut off after he was born.

And we conclude:

Infer from this!

The Sages taught: One who sees an elephant

or

a monkey

or

a kipof

[an owl],

says: “Blessed is He Who makes different kinds of creatures!”

Because all of these are exceedingly different from other animals.

One who sees beautiful creatures or beautiful trees says: “Blessed is He Who has such as these in His world!”

We learned in the Mishna:

Regarding shooting stars

and so on, one says: “Blessed is He Whose strength and might fill the world.”

And we ask:

What are “shooting stars”?

Shmuel said: A comet!

It is a star that descends through the firmament from place to place like an arrow, and it is elongated like a staff. [The Arukh explained that it appears like a staff descending and striking the firmament.]

And Shmuel said: “The paths of heaven are as clear to me as the paths of Nehardea

[which was Shmuel’s city].

except for a comet, for I do not know what it is!”

And it is a tradition that

a comet

does not pass

over

Kesila

[the constellation called Kesil].

And if

it should happen that

a comet passes

the comet over

Kesila, the world will be destroyed.

And we challenge this:

But we see that

a comet passes over Kesil.

And we answer:

Its radiance

of the comet

is what passes

over Kesil, not the comet itself.

And it appears as though

it were as if

it itself passed

itself.

Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, said:

What are shooting stars?

It is the “curtain” that is torn

[that rolls open],

and the light of the firmament is seen

through this tear! There are seven firmaments, and Vilon is the lowest of them all. When it opens, the light of the firmaments above it becomes visible.

Rav Ashi said:

The challenge raised above—“But we see that a comet passes over Kesil”—is not correct. What we see is only that

a star is uprooted

from this side of Kesila, and its fellow

[another star]

from the other side

of Kesila

is frightened

[becomes frightened] and trembles because of it .

And

therefore

it appears

to us

as though

the trail

passed

over Kesil.

Shmuel raises a contradiction: It is written: “He makes Ash, Kesil, and Kimah!”

All of these are names of constellations; thus the constellation Kesil is mentioned before the constellation Kimah.

And it is written: “He makes Kimah and Kesil.”

And Kimah is mentioned before Kesil.

How is this to be understood?

For the verses contradict one another.

And he answers: They are equal, and therefore sometimes one is mentioned first and sometimes the other. However, during the summer, Kesil rules, while during the rainy season, Kimah rules.

Were it not for the heat of Kesil,

the

world could not endure the cold of Kimah.

And were it not for the cold of Kimah,

the

world could not endure the heat of Kesil.

And it is a tradition: Were it not for the tail of the constellation

the constellation

Scorpion

[that is, Kimah, which is part of the constellation Aries. So wrote Rashi. The Maharsha already wondered about this, since Aries is a constellation in its own right and Scorpio is a constellation in its own right]

that rests in the River of Fire,

and thereby weakens the power of Scorpion,

anyone whom

[its sting]

a scorpion stung

[here, in our world],

would not live!

For the scorpion below is influenced by the constellation Scorpio above. Since the River of Fire weakens the power of the constellation Scorpio, the power of the scorpion in our world is likewise weakened. Therefore it is possible to be saved from its sting.

And this is what the Merciful One said to Job: “Can you bind the bonds

[the bonds]

of Kimah, or can you loosen the reins

of Kesil?”

That is: Are you able, like Me, to bind the tail of Kimah with the River of Fire?

And we ask:

What is “Kimah”?

Shmuel said:

It is an acronym for

“about one hundred stars”!

For there are about one hundred stars in the constellation Kimah.

There are those who

say it: That

these one hundred stars

are clustered

[grouped] together!

And

there are those who

say it: They are scattered

[scattered]—the stars of Kimah!

It is written: “He makes Ash, Kesil, and Kimah.”

And we ask:

What is “Ash”?

Rav Yehuda said: “Yota”!

And we ask:

What is “Yota”?

There are those who

say it:

It is

the tail

of the constellation

“Aries”!

And

there are those who

say it:

It is

the head of the calf

which rises in the zodiac after the constellation Aries.

And we conclude:

It stands to reason in accordance with the one who says that

“Ash” is

the tail of Aries.

For

here

it is written: “And Ash comforts her children.”

This is from the expression “to guide,” for the Holy One, blessed be He, guides Ash following her children that have been lost from her, as will be explained below.

Thus, “

Ash”

is missing

two of its stars, which were taken from it and given to Kimah.