Chagigah 5a (ה.) — the Talmud in English

And it would become heated

and would cool -

the oven

[it was sweeping the oven],

she took it and placed it on the back of her foot

[she took the poker and placed it on the back of her foot].

It became inflamed, her fortune deteriorated, and she brought her

[her foot was burned, and her fortune deteriorated, as she died, and I brought you her soul].

Rav Bibi bar Abaye said

to the Angel of Death: Does

your authority extend to doing this

[were you granted permission to do so]?!

He said to him

the Angel of Death said to Rav Bibi:

And

does

it not say: “And there are those who perish without justice”?!

He said to him

Rav Bibi said to the Angel of Death:

But it is written: “One generation goes, and another generation comes”?!

This indicates that each person completes the years of a “generation,” meaning the years allotted to him, and that they are not cut short in the middle without justice.

He said

the Angel of Death said to Rav Bibi: I am able to cut short a person’s years even without justice. And the meaning of the verse “One generation goes, and another generation comes” is as follows:

I shepherd them

[I shepherd and guard their souls with me, and they wander and revolve with me until the years of the generation are completed],

and

only

afterward I hand him over to Dumah

[afterward I transfer the souls to the guardian of the dead, whose name is Dumah].

Rav Bibi said to him

to the Angel of Death:

Ultimately, what do you do with the second one

[what becomes of the years of life allotted to this person]?!

The Angel of Death said

to Rav Bibi:

If there is a Torah scholar who is forgiving of affronts, I add the other person’s years to him, and this is his replacement

[if there is a Torah scholar who is forgiving of affronts, I add this person’s years to him, so that he lives in place of the deceased].

When Rabbi Yohanan reached this verse, he wept

[when he reached this verse, he would weep].

It is written at the beginning of the Book of Job: “

The Lord said to the Satan: Have you paid attention to My servant Job? For there is none like him on earth, a blameless and upright man.

The Satan answered the Lord and said: Is Job’s fear of God for nothing?! But now, please stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has—surely he will blaspheme You to Your face!

The Lord said to the Satan: Behold, all that he has is in your hand.”

After the Satan attempted to cause Job to stumble and failed, it is stated: “

The Lord said to the Satan: Have you paid attention to My servant Job? For there is none like him

! And you incited Me against him to destroy him for no reason.”

Rabbi Yohanan said in his grief:

A servant whose

master

there are those who incite against him

is

and

[against the servant],

and

his master indeed

is incited—

does

he have any remedy?!

When Rabbi Yohanan reached this verse, he wept,

as it is written:

“Behold, He places no trust in His holy ones.”

When he said:

If He places no trust in His holy ones,

in whom

[in whom] does He

trust?!

Until

one day he was walking

Rabbi Yohanan

along the road

[once he was walking along the road], and

he saw a certain man who was gathering figs

[he saw a man gathering figs], and he was

leaving those that had reached ripeness and taking those that had not reached ripeness

[the man was leaving the figs whose time had arrived, which had ripened, and gathering those that had not ripened].

He said to him

Rabbi Yohanan said to that man:

Are these not better

[are not the ripe ones better]?!

He said to him

that man said to Rabbi Yohanan:

These—

we need them for the road

[I am gathering them to take with me on the road].

These will keep, whereas those will not keep

[the unripe ones remain preserved and do not rot, whereas the ripe ones do not remain preserved].

Rabbi Yohanan said

:

This is what is written: “Behold, He places no trust in His holy ones.”

For the Holy One, blessed be He, fears that the righteous young men will decay, and they are taken in death lest they sin.

And we raise an objection to this:

Is that so?! But there was a certain student who lived in the neighborhood of Rabbi Alexandri, and he died while still young

[there was a certain student who lived near Rabbi Alexandri and died in his youth].

And

Rabbi Alexandri

said concerning this:

If this Torah scholar had wished, he would have lived

[had that student chosen to follow the path of the good, he would have lived].

But if it is so

[if this is as you say], that people die in their youth so that they will not sin, how could he have lived had he followed the path of the good?

Perhaps

that student

was one of those concerning whom it is stated, “He places no trust in His holy ones”

[he was among those of whom Scripture says, “Behold, He places no trust in His holy ones”—meaning, perhaps he died before his time so that he would not become wicked]?!

And we answer:

That

student

was one who rebelled against his teachers!

And concerning him it is stated: “It shall not be well with the wicked, nor shall he lengthen his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.” The Sages interpreted this as referring to one who does not honor the Sages.

When Rabbi Yohanan reached this verse, he wept: “And I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner

the widow and the orphan, and those who wrong the convert, and do not fear Me.”

He said:

A servant whose master brings him near to judge him

[“I will draw near for judgment”],

and hastens to testify against him

[“a swift witness”]—does

he have any remedy?!

Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai said

about this verse:

Woe to us! The verse equated a lenient matter against us

[those who oppress the wage earner]

with severe matters

[sorcerers and adulterers].

Reish Lakish said: Anyone who perverts the judgment of a convert is considered as though he perverts the judgment of Above.

As it is stated

there:

“And who wrongs

[with a tzeirei]

the convert.”

But

the word

“wrongs”

[with a ḥiriq]

is written

, as this is the received reading. And it means: “He wrongs Me.”

Rabbi Hanina bar Pappa said: Anyone who does something and then regrets it is forgiven immediately.

As it is stated

there:

“And do not fear Me”—if they fear Me,

they are forgiven immediately.

When Rabbi Yohanan reached this verse, he wept: “For every deed, God will bring into judgment, concerning every hidden thing

, whether good or evil.” And this refers to an inadvertent act.

He said:

A servant whose master reckons his inadvertent acts as willful acts—

does

he have any remedy?!

The Gemara explains the continuation of the verse:

What

does it mean, “He will bring into judgment”

concerning “every” hidden thing

, implying even something minor?

Rav said: This refers to one who kills a louse in the presence of another person, and his fellow is disgusted

by

it.

And Shmuel said: This refers to one who spits in the presence of another person, and his fellow is disgusted

by it.

The Gemara continues explaining the verse:

What does

“He will bring into judgment concerning every hidden thing,

whether good or evil”

mean? If for evil he will be paid according to his deed, then for good he will certainly be paid according to his deed, since the measure of good exceeds the measure of punishment?!

The scholars of the academy of Rabbi Yannai said:

This good contains an element of evil, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring it into judgment on account of the evil within it [Iyyun Yaakov]:

This refers to one who gives charity to a poor person

, which is a good act, and does so

in public

, which is an evil act, since the poor person is embarrassed by it.

As in the case of Rabbi Yannai, who saw a certain man giving a dinar to a poor person in public

[he saw a man giving a dinar to a poor person in public],

he said to him

Rabbi Yannai said to that man:

It would have been better had you not given it to him than now that you gave it to him and embarrassed him.

It would have been better had you not given it to him than to give it to him and embarrass him.

The scholars of the academy of Rabbi Sheila said: This refers to one who gives charity to a woman

, which is a good act, and does so

in secret

, which is an evil act, because

he brings her into suspicion

[there is suspicion of wrongdoing involving him].

Rava said: This refers to one who sends his wife

food to prepare for the Shabbat meal, which is a good act [Maharsha],

uncut meat

, not trimmed of forbidden fat and sinews, and sends her the meat

on the eves of Shabbat

, when time is then short, and it is possible that she will not take care to see that it is not kosher. Since she is not expert and time is pressing, she relies on her husband, assuming that he certainly trimmed it [Iyyun Yaakov].

And we ask:

Is that so?! But Rava

himself

would send

[he would send] uncut meat to his wife?!

And we answer:

The case of

Rava’s wife was different, as she was

the daughter of Rav Hisda, concerning whom it was clear to him

Rava

that she was expert

[Rava knew that she was expert], and she would easily recognize that the meat he sent her had not been trimmed.

When Rabbi Yohanan reached this verse, he wept: “And it shall be, when many evils and troubles befall them.”

He said:

A servant whose master brings evils and troubles upon him

—does

he have any remedy?!

What are “evils and troubles”?

Rav said: Evils that become

[joined together, like rival wives who dwell in one house]

with one another.

For example, a snakebite

[the bite of a snake]

and a scorpion sting

[and the sting of a scorpion], Rashi.

The Gemara continues explaining the verse, “whether good or evil”:

And Shmuel said: This refers to one who provides

[who regularly provides, Rashi]

money to a poor person

only

when he is in distress

, and not before the time of distress. For had he provided for him earlier, the poor person could have requested his provisions and purchased them when prices were low.

Rava said: This is what people say: A dinar for grain

, to purchase grain,

is not readily available

to the poor person. Whereas

for bread

, to purchase bread, which is more expensive than purchasing grain,

is readily available

to the poor person.

It is written:

“And My anger shall burn against them on that day, and I shall forsake them, and I shall hide My face from them

, and they shall become prey.”

The word “from them” can be expounded both before and after [Iyyun Yaakov]:

Rav Bardela bar Tavyumi said in the name of Rav: Anyone who is not subject to the hiding of the Divine countenance

, who does not cry out over the troubles that befall him and pray without being answered, necessarily

is not one of them

, from the seed of Israel, for Scripture says concerning them, “And I shall hide My face from them.”

And likewise,

anyone who is not subject to “and they shall become prey”

[whose property is not taken by the nations],