Chagigah 15a — the Talmud in English

For Shmuel said: ![](pamud.bmp "

exact location on the page")

I can

bend during intercourse, and

have intercourse several times without

emitting

the blood

of virginity.

And since this is so, one must be concerned lest she had intercourse by means of bending, and she thereby became forbidden to the High Priest; and for that reason her virginity was not damaged.

Or perhaps:

the possibility of intercourse in the manner

of Shmuel is uncommon.

And since we see that her virginity was not damaged, we attribute it to her having conceived without intercourse, as he proceeds to explain.

Ben Zoma said to them:

the manner

of Shmuel

indeed

is uncommon—

and

therefore

we are concerned,

we rely on this in order to be lenient by saying:

perhaps in a bath

a vessel in which the entire body is washed

she conceived.

For a man bathed in that vessel before she bathed in it, and emitted semen into it, and the semen entered the woman’s body when she bathed in its waters, and she conceived from it; she is still a virgin, since she did not have intercourse, and she is permitted to the High Priest.

And we raise an objection against this:

But Shmuel said: Any semen that does not shoot like an arrow does not impregnate,

and presumably, when the semen left him into the bath it did not shoot like an arrow, and it cannot impregnate; so how can we attribute it to her having conceived in a bath and permit her to the High Priest? And we answer:

Perhaps initially also

it is possible that even at the beginning, when it left him,

it did shoot like an arrow,

and therefore she is permitted.

The Sages taught:

There was an incident involving Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah, who was standing on the upper step on the Temple Mount, and Ben Zoma saw him and did not stand

Ben Zoma

before him,

before Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah.

And from this Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah understood that Ben Zoma was preoccupied.

He said to him,

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah to Ben Zoma:

From where

are you coming,

and to where

is your heart preoccupied,

Ben Zoma!

He said to him,

Ben Zoma to Rabbi Yehoshua:

I was observing,

I was contemplating the work of Creation, and I looked

between the upper waters and the lower waters, and between one and the other there is

at the place where the dome of the firmament joins the earth

only three fingerbreadths.

As it is stated: “And the spirit of God was ‘hovering’ over the face of the waters!”

“Moving” over the face of the waters is not written here, but rather “hovering,” to teach you:

l

ike

a dove that hovers over its young, but

nevertheless

does not touch

them [Genesis Rabbah].

Rabbi Yehoshua said to his students: Still

Rabbeinu Hai reads

already

Ben Zoma is outside

as regards settling his mind, for it is impossible to learn this from the verse that he cited:

Now,

behold,

“And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters”—

when was this

that is, when did this occur? Behold, it was

on the first day,

as is explained in the verse.

But

the separation

between the waters and the waters occurred only

on the second day, for it is written

in the account of the second day of Creation:

“And let it separate between the waters and the waters.”

And

since Ben Zoma’s words have been rejected, it is necessary to know

how much

the measure between the waters and the waters actually is.

Rav Aha bar Yaakov said: like the fullness of a hair

a hair, that is, like a hair’s breadth.

And the Sages say: like a bridge’s plank

the surface of a bridge. When planks are arranged next to one another, it is impossible that there should not be a slight space between them; and the space between the waters and the waters is of this measure.

Mar Zutra, and some say Rav Asi, said: like two garments spread beside one another

like two garments spread beside one another, between which there must be a slight space.

And some say: like two cups overturned beside one another

like two cups overturned beside one another.

We learned in the beraita above:

Another cut down the saplings:

Concerning him,

concerning Another,

the verse says: “Do not let your mouth bring your flesh into sin!”

For Another sinned with his mouth, as he proceeds to explain.

And we explain:

What is it

that is, what was the incident?

For

he saw

Another, when he ascended to the firmament, an angel whose name was

Metatron, that permission had been given to him for one hour each day to sit and write the merits of Israel

permission had been given to him to sit for one hour each day in order to write the merits of Israel.

A spirit of heresy entered Another, and he

said:

behold,

it is received

a tradition is in our hands

that above

in heaven

there is not:

neither sitting,

for no one sits there besides the Holy One,

nor rivalry, nor “back”

for on all sides of the angels they have faces,

nor weariness

fatigue.

And if so, how is Metatron sitting?!

Perhaps, Heaven forbid, there are two authorities in heaven,

and Metatron is not an angel, but rather another lordship, Heaven forbid.

Immediately they brought out Metatron and struck him with sixty fiery lashes

a blow with a stick, Rashi

of fire

they brought him out and struck him with sixty blows of fire.

For

they said to him

to Metatron:

Why, when you saw him, did you not rise before him

when you saw Another, you did not rise before him, and you caused him to err and say: There are two authorities, Heaven forbid.

And

permission was given to him to erase the merits of Another

because he had cut down the saplings.

A Divine voice went forth and said: “Return, wayward sons, except for Another! For

behold,

he knew My glory

when he entered the orchard

and

nevertheless

rebelled against Me.

Another said

Another:

Since that man has been driven

he said this of himself

from that world

since I have been driven from the World to Come,

let me go out and enjoy this world.

I will leave and enjoy this world.

Another went out to an evil culture.

He found

Another found

a prostitute,

and

requested

to engage in immorality with her!

She said to him,

that prostitute to Another:

And

for is it not so that

“you are Elisha ben Avuya, whose name has gone out throughout the entire land?!”

Another uprooted

Another

a radish from the garden-bed

a radish from the garden-bed

on Shabbat, and gave it to her

and gave it to her, in order to show her that he was violating the prohibition of labor on Shabbat.

She said,

that prostitute: If so,

he is Another,

that is, he has gone out to an evil culture!

Another asked Rabbi Meir after he had gone out to an evil culture:

[He said to him],

superfluous.

What is the meaning of that which is written: “This also, corresponding to this, God has made”?

He said to him,

Rabbi Meir to Another:

Everything that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world, He created something corresponding to it

a thing equal to it; that is, “this corresponding to this,” Maharsha.

For

He created mountains—

He created

corresponding to them

hills.

He created seas; He created

corresponding to them

rivers.

He said to him,

Another to Rabbi Meir:

Your teacher Rabbi Akiva did not say

explain

this way, but rather: He created the righteous,

and

He created the wicked. He created the Garden of Eden

and

He created Gehinnom.

That is, corresponding to the righteous He created something equal to them, namely the Garden of Eden, and corresponding to the wicked He created Gehinnom [Maharsha].

And

each and every one has two portions, one in the Garden of Eden and one in Gehinnom; if the righteous merits,

behold,

he takes his portion and his fellow’s portion in the Garden of Eden; if the wicked is found liable,

behold,

he takes his portion and his fellow’s portion in Gehinnom.

Rav Mesharsheya said: What is the verse

from where do we know from Scripture the words of Rabbi Akiva?

Regarding the righteous it is written:

“And you shall be called the priests of the Lord; ‘servants of our God’ shall be said of you.”

Therefore, in their land they shall inherit “double”

a double inheritance; “everlasting” joy shall be theirs, that is, in the World to Come [Maharsha].

Regarding the wicked it is written:

“Let my pursuers be ashamed, but let me not be ashamed; let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed; bring upon them the day of evil”

and double destruction

double ruin

destroy them

with the vocalization kamatz and tzere. That is, in the World to Come, in Gehinnom.

Another asked Rabbi Meir after he had gone out to an evil culture:

What is the meaning of that which is written:

“And wisdom, from where shall it be found, and where is the place of understanding?”

“It cannot be valued against gold and glass, and its exchange is not a vessel of fine gold”

and its exchange is not with a vessel of fine gold, Rashi on Job?

He said to him,

Rabbi Meir to Another:

These are words of Torah, which are difficult to acquire like vessels of gold and vessels of fine gold, and easy to lose

through forgetfulness

like glass vessels

which are quickly lost through breaking.

He said to him,

Another to Rabbi Meir:

Your teacher Rabbi Akiva did not say so!

Rather:

Just as these vessels of gold and glass, even though they have broken, have a remedy, so too a Torah scholar, even though he has sinned, has a remedy

He said to him,

Rabbi Meir to Another:

You too,

who have sinned,

return from your way

to repent!

He said to him,

Another to Rabbi Meir:

But I have already heard

in heaven

from behind the partition: “Return, wayward sons, except for Another.”

The Sages taught: There was an incident involving Another, who was riding a horse on Shabbat, while Rabbi Meir was walking behind him to learn Torah from his mouth.

When he reached the Shabbat boundary

Bach,

he said to him

Another:

Meir! Turn back, for I have already measured by the footsteps of my horse

that

the Shabbat boundary extends only this far.

He said to him,

Rabbi Meir to Another:

You too, return from your way! He said to him,

Another to Rabbi Meir:

Have I not already said to you: I have already heard from behind the partition: “Return, wayward sons, except for Another”?

Rabbi Meir seized him

Rabbi Meir seized Another and

b

r

ought him into the beit-midrash

he held him and brought him into the house of study, perhaps he would return from his way and repent [Maharsha].

He said to him,

Another [Rabbeinu Hananel]

to a child: Recite your verse for me!

He said to him,

the child:

“There is no peace, said the Lord, for the wicked,”

that is, repentance will not benefit him [Maharsha].

Again

he brought him

Rabbi Meir brought Another

into another synagogue

he brought him into another house of study,

and said to him: Recite your verse for me!

He said to him,

the child:

For

even

if you wash yourself with natron

a kind of soft earth with which one washes

and increase for yourself soap

the name of a cleansing plant

your iniquity is stained before Me

your iniquity is still before Me like a stain!

That is: Repentance will not benefit him.

Again

he brought him into another synagogue

he brought him into another house of study.