Berakhot 62b — the Talmud in English

It was taught: Ben Azzai says: On every bed lie down, except on the ground,

lest you become chilled,

and on every seat sit down, except on a beam,

lest you fall from it.

Samuel said: Sleep at dawn

is beneficial to the body,

just as

it is beneficial

for steel [

steel ]

for iron [

for iron], for it is good to coat an iron vessel with steel in order to strengthen it.

And going out at dawn

is likewise beneficial to the body, like steel for iron!

Bar Kappara would sell sayings [

advice ]

for dinars.

And these were his pieces of advice:

While you are hungry [

while you are hungry ],

eat!

For if you wait until your appetite for eating passes from you, the food will no longer benefit you.

While you are thirsty [

while you are thirsty ],

drink!

While your pot is boiling, pour it out [—

while your pot is boiling, pour it out before it cools ]; this is an analogy: when you need to relieve yourself, do not delay it, but pour it out immediately .

If you hear

the horn [

the sound of a horn ]

sounding in Rome,

which is a sign of the fig merchants who seek to buy figs, and you

are the son of a fig seller [

the son of a fig seller ], and your father is not at home,

sell your father’s figs!

Sell them even without your father’s knowledge, as long as there are people seeking them.

Abaye said to the Sages: When you enter the alleys of Mehoza, in order to leave there

in order to relieve yourselves

in a field [

in the field ],

do not look [

look ]

neither to this side nor to that side, lest there be sitting

there

women

relieving themselves;

and it is not proper conduct to look at them!

Rav Safra entered the lavatory,

and their lavatory had no door, but their custom was that one who wished to enter would snort [make a coughing sound], and if another person was inside, he would snort back at him [for one may not speak in a lavatory ], and through this he would know not to enter.

Rabbi Abba came, and he snorted to him

to Rav Safra

at the door.

He said to him,

Rav Safra

“Let

him enter

the Master!”

After Rav Safra came out,

Rav Safra,

Rabbi Abba said to him:

Rabbi Abba:

“Have you not yet entered Seir [

the Land of Israel, beside which the people of Seir dwell ],

and already you have learned the sayings of

the people of

Seir,

and you conduct yourself without modesty like them [for the Persians who dwelt among them were modest in the lavatory].

But

is this not what we learned: There was a fire-place there

in the Chamber of the Hearth in the Temple

and a lavatory of honor

was there,

and this was its honor—

if

he found

a person

it locked, it was known

to him

that there was a person there,

and he would not enter. And if

he found it open, it was known

to him

that there was no person there,

and he could enter.

Apparently, it is not proper conduct

to speak in a lavatory, and for this reason they established this sign, so that the one sitting inside would not have to announce verbally his presence to one who came to enter after him. If so, you should have snorted back at me, so that I would withdraw and leave, and not tell me to enter with you .

And

Rav Safra, who hurried to say to him, “Let the Master enter,”

he thought

that Rabbi Abba

was in danger

if he did not relieve himself immediately; and in such a case it is permitted to speak with him even from inside the lavatory [and it is likewise permitted to enter there together with him].

For it was taught: Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says:

When a person needs to relieve himself, but nevertheless delays his bodily needs and returns them to his belly, that

returning column

to the body

brings a person to dropsy [

a disease that causes his belly to swell ].

And a

stream

of urine

returning

to the body because he delays casting it out

brings a person to jaundice.

Rabbi Eleazar entered the lavatory; a certain Persian came

and

forced him

from there so that he would come out.

Rabbi Eleazar arose and came out; a dragon came [

a snake ],

and tore out his rectum [

the rectum ] of that Persian.

Rabbi Eleazar applied to him [

Isaiah 43 ]

“And I will give a man in your place”; do not read “adam” but “Edom,”

for this Edomite was given in my place to die.

We find that David said to Saul [I Samuel 24:10]: “Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave,

and he said to kill you, but he had pity on you,

and I said, ‘I will not send my hand against my master, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’”

The Gemara discussed: Why is it stated

“and he said

to kill you”? For

“and I said

to kill you”

should have been required. And likewise, why is it stated

And likewise, why is it stated

“but he had pity

on you”? For

“and I had pity

on you”

should have been required.

Rabbi Eleazar said: David said to Saul: According to Torah, you are liable to be killed, for you are pursuing me

in order to kill me,

and the Torah said, “If one comes to kill you, rise early to kill him,”

and it turns out that the Holy One, blessed be He, “said to kill you.”

Rather, the modesty that was in you had pity on you,

and saved you from death, and concerning this it is said, “but he had pity on you” .

And what was it,

Saul’s modesty? —

As it is written [

there, verse 3 ]:

“And he came to the sheepfolds along the way, where there was a cave, and Saul came to cover his feet,”

meaning that he entered there to relieve himself because of modesty, and even there he conducted himself modestly, as explained below.

A tanna taught:

Saul entered

one enclosure within another enclosure

among the sheepfolds,

and

likewise he entered

one cave within another cave,

and this is exceptional modesty.

And the Gemara explains what is

“to cover

his feet” [which is mentioned in this verse]?

Rabbi Eleazar said: This teaches that Saul covered

his

himself

with his garments,

like a sukka,

because of the modesty that was in him.

It is further said there [verse 4]:

“And David arose and secretly cut off the corner of the robe that belonged to Saul.”

Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Hanina said: Anyone who humiliates garments

ultimately

does not benefit from them

. For

David humiliated Saul’s garments, and in the end

it was stated

about him [I Kings 1:1]:

“Now King David was old, advanced in days, and they covered him with garments, but he was not warmed.”

David said to Saul, who wished to kill him:

“If the Lord has incited you against me, let Him accept an offering”

—if the Lord decreed this punishment upon me, I will offer Him an offering, and it will be a pleasing fragrance to Him, and He will atone for me.

Rabbi Eleazar said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to David: “You called Me ‘inciter’; therefore I will cause you to stumble over a matter that even the schoolchildren know,

that you would stumble in the sin of counting the Children of Israel without their giving the ransom for their souls. And it is an explicit verse,

as it is written [

Exodus 30:12 ]:

“When you take the census of the Children of Israel according to their numbers, each man shall give

the ransom for his soul

to the Lord when counting them, and there will be no plague among them when counting them”—thus, without the ransom for their souls, it is forbidden to count them.

Immediately

it was stated [I Chronicles 21:1]:

“And Satan stood against Israel,

and incited David to count Israel.”

And

so

it is written [

II Samuel 24:1 ]:

“And the anger of the Lord continued to burn against Israel, and He incited David against them, saying, ‘Go, count Israel

and Judah,’” and as a result he was punished for saying that the Holy One, blessed be He, had incited him; measure for measure, Satan was sent to incite him to do this.

And once he counted them,

he should have taken a ransom from them, but he did not do so,

and he did not take a ransom from them,

and Israel was punished for this with a plague, as

it is written, “And the Lord sent

a

p

l

a

g u e upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time.”

What is “the appointed time”?

Shmuel the Elder, the son-in-law of Rabbi Hanina, said in the name of Rabbi Hanina: From the time of the slaughtering of the tamid

which is in the morning,

until the time of its sprinkling

of its blood.

Rabbi Yohanan said: Until midday

of the day

literally!

for that is the end of the time for offering the morning tamid.

After the Lord struck Israel with the plague, it is stated [II Samuel, there 16]: “And the Lord relented concerning the evil,

and said to the angel who was destroying among the people

now withdraw your hand.”

The Gemara explains: What is “the one destroying among the people”? —

Rabbi Elazar said: The Holy One, blessed is He, said to the angel: Take for Me

a person

great

and distinguished

among them, who has in his death

by his death

to exact payment from them

from Israel

many debts [sins], and to atone for them, for “the death of the righteous atones.”

[sins], and thereby atone for them, because “the death of the righteous atones.”

At that time Avishai son of Zeruiah died, who was equal to

opposite

the majority of

the

Sanhedrin,

and thereby “great” was fulfilled, in the sense of majority.

It is further stated concerning that matter in Chronicles [there]: “And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it,

and as he was destroying, the Lord saw and relented

concerning the evil.”

The Gemara explains:

What did He see

that caused the Lord to relent? —

Rav said: He saw

the Holy One, blessed is He, at that time,

Jacob our father,

and we find concerning Jacob an expression of “seeing,”

as it is written [Genesis 32:2]:

[Genesis 32:3]:

“And Jacob said when he saw them.”

And Shmuel said:

He saw

the ashes of Isaac,

that is, the thought of Isaac, who was prepared and ready to be sacrificed upon the altar and become ashes .

Concerning whom an expression of “seeing” was stated

an expression of “seeing,” in the verse [Genesis 22:8]:

“God will see for Himself the lamb

for a burnt offering, my son,” and by his merit the Lord stopped the destroyer who stood at Mount Moriah, which is the place of the binding.

Rabbi Yitzhak Nappa said:

He saw

the money

of the

atonements

that Israel gave in the wilderness ,

he saw it!

And that money also atoned for the counting in the days of David. For the half-shekel was also given as a remembrance for future generations,

as it is stated [Exodus 30:16]:

[Exodus 30:16]:

“And you shall take the money of the atonements from the children of Israel

and give it for the service of the Tent of Meeting, and it shall be for the children of Israel as a remembrance before the Lord, to atone for your souls,” and in the days of David this money was mentioned, and it served to atone for them.

Rabbi Yohanan said:

He saw

the Temple

which would be built in the place where the destroyer had stood,

he saw,

and concerning it too an expression of seeing was stated,

as it is written [Genesis 22:14]

[Genesis 22:14]:

“On the Lord’s mountain it will be seen!”

And concerning this matter,

Rabbi Yaakov bar Idi and Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani disagreed: one said, He saw the money of atonements, and one said, He saw the Temple. And it is reasonable according to the one who said, He saw the Temple, as it is stated: “As it is said today, on the Lord’s mountain it will be seen.”

We learned in the Mishna:

A person may not enter the Temple Mount with his staff

or with his shoe, or with his purse, or with the dust upon his feet, and he may not make it a shortcut.

The Gemara inquires:

What is “kafandarya”?

Rava said: “Kafandarya,” according to

the meaning of the word, so is the explanation of

its name!

That is, according to its translation, it is a shortcut.

And Rav Hana bar Ada said in the name of Rav Sama son of Rav Mari:

The translation does not express the meaning of the word; rather, it is an acronym, and

like a person who says

when he wishes to shorten his way:

“While I go around the rows of houses, I shall enter here” [—

while I go around the row of houses, I shall enter here and shorten my way], and all this is included in the acronym “kafandarya.”

Rav Nahman said in the name of Rabbah bar Avuha: One who enters a synagogue with the intention not to make it a shortcut

but in order to remain there, or in order to perform a mitzva there, and afterward changes his mind to continue and go outside does not need to return to the entrance through which he entered; rather,

it is permitted

for him

to make it a shortcut,

and to leave through another entrance in order to shorten his way.

Rabbi Abahu said: If there was a path

passing through the synagogue

from the outset [

before it was built],

it is permitted

to make it a shortcut.

Rabbi Helbo said in the name of Rav Huna: One who enters a synagogue to pray

and afterward wishes to leave it does not need specifically to return through the entrance by which he entered; rather,

it is permitted

to make it a shortcut

and to leave through another entrance.

As it is stated concerning those ascending for the pilgrimage who come to the Temple [Ezekiel 46:9]:

concerning those ascending for the pilgrimage who come to the Temple [Ezekiel 46:9]:

“And when the people of the land come before the Lord on the festivals,

the one who comes through the northern gate to bow shall leave through the southern gate, and the one who comes through the southern gate shall leave through the northern gate; he shall not return through the gate by which he came, for he shall leave opposite it,” thus, one must not leave through the same entrance by which he entered, but specifically through another entrance.

We learned in the Mishna:

And

he shall not perform in it

spitting—kal va-chomer!

Rav Bibi said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: Anyone who spits on the Temple Mount

nowadays

it is as though he spits into the pupil of the eye

of the Holy One, blessed is He, as it were,

as it is stated concerning the Temple [I Kings 9:3]:

concerning the Temple [I Kings 9:3]

“And My eyes and My heart shall be there all the days.”

Rava said: Spitting in a synagogue is permitted,

and its law is not like that of the Temple,

just as is the case with a shoe

with which it is permitted to walk in a synagogue.

Just as a shoe is forbidden on the Temple Mount

to walk in it, and nevertheless

in a synagogue it is permitted,

so too spitting

so, and specifically

on the Temple Mount it is forbidden

to spit, but

in a synagogue it is permitted.

Rav Pappa said to Rava—and some say

that

Ravina

said to him

to Rava—and some say

that

Rav Adda bar Mattana

said to him

to Rava: Instead of deriving

spitting

from a shoe

which is permitted in a synagogue, why should we not

derive

spitting

from making a shortcut

to prohibit it even in a synagogue?

He said to him: A tannai

in a beraita

derives

the very prohibition of spitting [even in the Temple]

from a sandal, and you say

that it is learned

from making it a shortcut

in order to forbid it even in a synagogue?! But since the source for forbidding spitting is learned from a sandal, it is sufficient for what comes from the law to be like the subject from which it is derived.

And

what is it

the beraita that learned the prohibition of spitting from a sandal? —

For it was taught: A person shall not enter the Temple Mount, neither with his staff in his hand nor with his sandal on his foot,

nor with money tied to him in his cloak, nor with his wallet

a hollow belt in which they put money

slung behind him, nor shall he make it

a shortcut. And spitting

is forbidden there

by a kal va-chomer from a sandal: Just as a sandal, which does not involve a manner of disgrace,

and nevertheless it is forbidden, for

the Torah said

to Moses when he stood at the place of the Divine Presence [Exodus 3:5]:

“Remove your shoes from upon your feet,”

spitting, which is a manner of disgrace, all the more so

that it is forbidden in the Temple?!

Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda says: It is not necessary

to use a kal va-chomer in order to forbid spitting,

for he says

Esther 4:2:

“For no one may enter the gate

of the king wearing sackcloth,” and are these not matters of a kal va-chomer: Just as sackcloth, which is not repulsive,

nevertheless, the one wearing it is not fit to come

before

a king

of flesh and blood, so,

spitting, which is repulsive,

and the person is in the Temple, which is

before the King of kings, all the more so

that it should be forbidden to spit in it?!

In any event, it is explained in this beraita that the source of the prohibition of spitting is not learned from making it a shortcut, and therefore it should not be forbidden in a synagogue.

He said to him

Rav Pappa to Rava:

I am saying this

that it is learned to forbid spitting:

Let us say, here

on the Temple Mount

for stringency, and here

in a synagogue

for stringency,

and let us learn in each of them from the law in which they were more stringent, in order to impose upon it an additional law of stringency: