Berakhot 64a (סד.) — the Talmud in English

And the source for this is from what

is stated [1 Chronicles 26:4]: “And to Obed-edom were sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, and so on; Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh,

[I Chronicles 26:4]: “And to Obed-edom were sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, and so on; Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh,

Peullethai the eighth.”

And after his eight sons had been counted, it is stated again,

“For God blessed him,”

which indicates that additional sons were born to him afterward. And these are the ones mentioned there later:

“All these were of the sons of Obed-edom, they and their sons and their brothers, able men with strength for the service,

sixty-two belonging to Obed-edom,”

meaning that his wife and his eight daughters-in-law each gave birth to six sons, and together with his first eight sons, there were sixty-two.

Rabbi Avin the Levite said: Anyone who forces the moment,

such as Absalom, who sought to rule by force,

the moment forces him,

and he dies before his time.

And anyone

who is pushed aside by the moment

and does not force the moment by seeking authority for himself,

the moment is pushed aside before him;

the time of his death is postponed, and years of life are added to him as a result.

And there is proof of this

from Rabbah and Rav Yosef. For Rav Yosef

was

“Sinai”

[expert in Mishnayot and beraitot, which are the sources of halakha],

whereas Rabbah

was

“one who uproots mountains”

[sharp and penetrating in pilpul].

It was necessary

for the Sages

for them

at that

moment

to appoint one of them as head of the yeshiva.

They sent there: “Sinai” and “one who uproots mountains”—which of them takes precedence?

They sent them: “Sinai takes precedence,

because

everyone needs the master of wheat

[the owner of the wheat]. This is a metaphor: everyone needs one in whose hands the traditions are collected. Therefore, it was preferable to appoint Rav Yosef as head of the yeshiva. But

even so, Rav Yosef did not accept the appointment

because

the Chaldeans told him

[astrologers] to Rav Yosef:

“You will reign for

two

years!”

and he feared that if he ruled then, he would die at the end of two years.

And since Rav Yosef was not appointed,

Rabbah ruled

for

twenty-two years,

and after his death

Rav

Yosef ruled for two and a half years.

It follows that because he had been pushed aside by the moment, the time of his death was postponed.

And throughout all those years that Rabbah ruled,

Rav Yosef exercised no authority.

Even a bloodletter

[one who performed bloodletting]

he did not summon to his home;

rather, he would go himself to the physician’s home and did not send for him to come to him.

And

further,

Rabbi Avin the Levite said: What is the meaning of that which is written

[Psalms 20:2],

“May the Lord answer you on the day of distress; may the name of the God of Jacob set you on high”?

Is the Holy One, blessed be He, called

“the God of Jacob,” and not “the God of Abraham and Isaac,”

? Rather,

from here

we learn that one should

“let the owner of the beam enter into the thickness of the beam.”

For if it is necessary to transport it from one place to another, proper conduct dictates that its owner lift the thick end, which is heavier, and allow the person carrying it with him to carry the thin, lighter end. This is a metaphor for Jacob our forefather: The Children of Israel were not called after any of the other forefathers, but after him; he labored to raise them, and therefore he must plead for mercy on their behalf.

And

further,

Rabbi Avin the Levite said: Anyone who partakes of a meal at which a Torah scholar is present

is

as though he has enjoyed the radiance of the Divine Presence. As it is stated

[Exodus 18:12]:

“And Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.” Did they eat before God? Surely, they ate before Moses! Rather, this comes to tell you: Anyone who partakes of a meal at which a Torah scholar is present is as though he has enjoyed the radiance of the Divine Presence.

And

further,

Rabbi Avin the Levite said: When parting from one’s fellow, one should not say to him, “Go in peace,” but rather, “Go toward peace,”

for Jethro, who said to Moses

when he left his home to return to Egypt [Exodus 4:18],

“Go toward peace,” ultimately Moses rose

Moses

and prospered,

whereas

David, who said to Absalom

[II Samuel 15:9],

“Go in peace,”

ultimately

went

Absalom

and was hanged.

And

further:

Rabbi Avin HaLevi said: One who takes leave of the deceased

(When they would transport the coffin of the deceased for burial in another city, the residents of his city would accompany him as far as the adjacent city and then return to their place, while the residents of the second city would accompany him as far as the next city, and so on. Those who returned would take leave of the deceased.)

should not say to him, “Go to peace,” but rather, “Go in peace,” as it is stated

with regard to Abraham concerning his end [Genesis 15:15]:

“And you shall come to your fathers in peace.”

Rabbi Levi bar Ḥiyya said: One who leaves the synagogue

after his prayer,

and enters the beit-midrash

to study,

and engages in Torah study,

he

merits receiving the face of the Shekhinah, as it is stated

[Psalms 84:8]:

“They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion,”

and “from strength to strength” means from communal prayer to Torah study in a group.

Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Ashi said that Rav said: Torah scholars have no rest, neither in this world nor in the World-to-Come,

as it is stated: “They go from strength to

strength; each one appears before God in Zion”!

For they go from one academy to another and from one beit-midrash to another.

Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Ḥanina said: Torah scholars increase peace in the world, as it is stated

[Isaiah 54:13]

“And all your children shall be disciples of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children,”

and since “all your children” has already been stated, it would have been appropriate to conclude, “and great shall be their peace.” Why, then, does the verse repeat and say, “and great shall be the peace of your children”?

Do not read

it

as “your children” but as “your builders.”

For they are Torah scholars, who are called “builders” [Shabbat 114a] because they engage in building the world; thereby they increase peace in the world and bring it to its perfection.

And likewise we find in the verse [Psalms 119:165]:

“Great peace have those who love Your Torah, and there is no stumbling block for them,”

indicating that those who love Torah increase peace; and because there is peace among them, they study in a group, and as a result they do not come to stumble.

And likewise it is stated concerning peace [Psalms 122:7]:

“May there be peace within your strength, tranquility within your palaces.”

And it is further stated there concerning peace:

“For the sake of my brothers and companions, I shall now speak of peace within you. For the sake of the House of the Lord our God, I shall seek your good.”

And it is further stated [ibid. 29:11]:

“The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.”

We shall return to you, chapter “The One Who Sees,” and the tractate Berakhot is concluded.