Berakhot 64a — the Talmud in English

And the source for this is from what

is stated

[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,

Phelet the eighth.”

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

“for God blessed him,”

which implies that afterward additional sons were added to him, and these are the ones stated there afterward:

“All these were of the sons of Obed-edom; they and their sons and their brothers, men of valor 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, and together with his first eight sons, there were sixty-two.

Rabbi Avin the Levite said: Whoever presses the hour,

such as Absalom, who sought to reign by force,

the hour presses him,

and he dies before his time.

And whoever

is pushed aside because of the hour

and does not press the hour to seek authority for himself,

the hour is pushed aside because of him;

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

And proof of the matter is

from Rabbah and Rav Yosef. For Rav Yosef

was

“Sinai”

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

and Rabbah

was

“one who uproots mountains”

[sharp in dialectical analysis].

The Sages needed

to appoint one of them as head of the academy at that

for them

that

hour,

to appoint one of them as head of the academy,

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

They sent to them: “Sinai takes precedence,

because

everyone needs the master of wheat

[the owner of the wheat ], and it is a parable: everyone needs one in whose hands the traditions are gathered. Therefore it is preferable to appoint Rav Yosef as head of the academy. And

even so, Rav Yosef did not accept upon himself

the appointment, because

the Chaldeans told him

[astrologers] to Rav Yosef:

“You will reign two

[two]

years!”

And he feared that if he reigned now, he would die at the end of two years.

And since Rav Yosef was not appointed,

Rabbah reigned

first

twenty-two years,

and after his death

Rav

Yosef reigned for two and a half years,

it follows that because he was pushed aside because of the hour, the time of his death was pushed aside.

And all those years that Rabbah reigned,

Rav Yosef exercised no authority, and

even a bloodletter

[one who lets blood]

he did not call to his house,

but would go himself to the doctor’s house and did not send to summon him to his own.

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.”

And is the Holy One, blessed be He, called

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

but

from here

one learns that he must

“have the bearer of the beam enter into the thickness of the beam,”

for if it is necessary to carry it from one place to another, proper conduct is that its owner raise its thick side, which is heavier, and allow the one carrying it with him to carry the thin side, which is lighter. And it is a parable to Jacob our father, for the Children of Israel were not called by the name of any of the other patriarchs, but by his name, and he labored in raising them, and therefore he must ask mercy for them.

And

further

Rabbi Avin the Levite said: Whoever partakes of a meal in which a Torah scholar is present

is

as though he partakes of 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 is to tell you: Whoever partakes of a meal in which a Torah scholar is present is as though he partakes of the radiance of the Divine Presence.

And

further

Rabbi Avin the Levite said: One who takes leave of his fellow should not say to him, “Go in peace,” but rather, “Go to peace,”

for Jethro, who said to Moses

when he went from his house to return to Egypt [Exodus 4:18]

“Go to peace,” ultimately Moses rose

Moses

and succeeded,

whereas

David, who said to Absalom

[II Samuel 15:9]

“Go in peace,”

ultimately

went

Absalom

and was hanged.

And

furthermore

Rabbi Avin the Levite said: One who takes leave of the dead [

when they would transport the coffin of the dead person for burial in another city, the people of his city would accompany him until the neighboring city, and return to their place; and the people of the second city would accompany him until the next city, and so on. Those who returned would request permission from the dead person to take leave of him],

should not say to him, “Go to peace,” but rather, “Go in peace,” as it is stated concerning Abraham regarding his end [Genesis 15:15]:

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

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

Rabbi Levi bar Hiyya said: One who leaves the synagogue

after his prayer,

and enters the beit-midrash (house of study)

to study,

and engages in Torah,

he

merits and receives the Presence of the Divine שכינה. As it is stated [Psalms 84:8]:

Psalms 84:8:

“They go from strength to strength; they appear before God in Zion,”

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

Rabbi Hiyya 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; they appear before God in Zion!”

for they go from academy to academy and from study hall to study hall.

Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Hanina 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 it had already been stated, “And all your children,” it would have been appropriate to conclude, “And great shall be their peace.” And the reason that the verse returned and said, “And great shall be the peace of your children,”

do not read

in it

“banayikh,” but rather “bonayikh.”

For they are Torah scholars, who are called “builders” [Shabbat 114a] because they engage in the building of the world; and through this 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 they have no stumbling block,”

for the lovers of Torah increase peace, and since there is peace among them, they study in a group, and as a result they do not come to a stumbling block.

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

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

And it is further said 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 good for you.”

And it is further said [there, 29:11]:

“The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.”

We have returned to you, chapter Ha-Ro'eh, and the tractate Berakhot is concluded.