Chagigah 5b — the Talmud in English

is not among them,

of the seed of Israel.

The Sages said to Rava:

Behold,

Master, he is found neither in “the hiding of the face” nor in “and it shall be for food”

[you have neither this nor that, for you are wealthy].

He said to them: Do you know how much I send secretly to the house of Shapur the king

[do you really know how many gifts I must send secretly to the king’s house so that they will not take my money from me]?!

Even so, the Sages cast their eyes upon him

[the Sages cast their eyes upon him, that is, they regarded him as wealthy].

Meanwhile,

in the meantime,

the messengers of the house of Shapur the king sent, and they plundered him

[they sent from the king’s house and plundered Rava’s property].

He said,

Rava:

This is what was taught: Wherever the Sages cast their eyes—

either death or poverty.

It is written:

“And I shall surely hide My face from them on that day”,

and it implies that I shall hide only My face.

He said,

he explained,

Rava: The Holy One, blessed is He, said: Even though I have hidden “My face” from them

[in the manner of that which is said: “And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face], nevertheless

in a dream I shall speak with him,

even during the hiding of the face.

Rav Yosef said:

Even though the Holy One, blessed is He, hides His face from us,

His hand is extended

to protect

us.

As it is said: “And in the shadow of My hand I have covered you!”

And as it is said: “And even with this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I shall not reject them and I shall not abhor them, to destroy them [Iyun Yaakov].

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah was standing in the house of the Caesar

[he was standing in the Caesar’s house] in an argument with one of the apikorsim, who do not believe the words of the Sages, like the Sadducees.

That heretic gestured to him

[that heretic showed Rabbi Yehoshua by a hint]: You are

a people whose Master has turned His face away from them

[a people whose Master has turned His face away from them].

He gestured to him,

Rabbi Yehoshua likewise by a hint: But

His hand is extended over us.

He said,

he asked,

the Caesar to Rabbi Yehoshua

ben Hananiah:

What did he gesture to you

[what hint did he give you], and what did you answer him?

And Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: He hinted to me:

A people whose Master has turned His face away from them.

And I gestured to him

[and I hinted to him]: But

His hand is extended over us.

They said,

they asked,

that heretic:

What did you hint to him

[what hint did you give him], and he answered:

A people whose Master has turned His face away from them.

And what did he hint to you

[and what did Rabbi Yehoshua answer you]?

That heretic said:

I do not know

[I do not know], that is: I did not understand his answer.

They said

in the Caesar’s house:

A man who does not know what they are showing him by a gesture

[a man who does not know what they are showing him by a hint], and would he

show himself before the king

[before the king]?!

They took him out and killed him

[they took out that heretic and killed him].

When the soul of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah was departing

[when Rabbi Yehoshua was about to die],

the Sages said to him

to Rabbi Yehoshua:

What will become of us from the heretics

[what will become of us because of the heretics]? That is: Who will quarrel and debate with them?

He said to them

Rabbi Yehoshua: You have nothing to worry about, for Scripture said:

“Counsel has perished from the sons; their wisdom has become foul”.

Since counsel has perished from the sons, the wisdom of the nations of the world has become foul.

Therefore, when I die, the wisdom of those who stand against me will also become foul, and you will be able to overcome them yourselves.

And if you wish, say: From here: “And Esau said

to Jacob:

‘Let us journey and go, and I shall go opposite you’”—

equally.

Rabbi Ila was ascending the stairs in the house of Rabbah bar Sheila

[he was ascending the stairs of Rabbah bar Sheila].

He heard a child who was reciting

[and he heard a child who was reciting]:

“For behold, He forms mountains and creates wind, and declares to man what is his speech.”

Rabbi Ila said

Rabbi Ila:

A servant whose master declares to him what his speech is,

does

he have any remedy?!

What is “what is his speech”?

Rav said: Even superfluous conversation,

words of jest,

between a man and his wife

before intercourse,

are declared to a man at the time of death,

for a person may not do so.

It is not so,

but Rav himself used to do so?!

But Rav Kahana would lie beneath Rav’s bed

[Rav Kahana lay beneath Rav’s bed in order to learn from him how to conduct himself]

and he heard him converse, laugh, and perform his needs

[he heard Rav speaking and laughing, engaging in idle conversation to encourage intercourse, and afterward having intercourse].

He said,

Rav Kahana [aloud]:

Rav’s mouth appears like one who has never tasted a cooked dish

[it appears that Rav’s mouth has never tasted the taste of a cooked dish! That is: he sounds like one who has never had intercourse, and who conducts himself in this frivolous manner out of lust. Rashi, Berakhot].

He said to him,

Rav to Rav Kahana:

Kahana! Leave; this is not proper conduct

[leave, this is not proper conduct].

Yet Rav himself also jested with his wife?!

And we resolve:

It is not difficult:

Here—

the incident involving Rav—is speaking of

one who needs to appease her

his wife.

There—

the case of superfluous conversation—is speaking of

one who does not need to appease her.

It is written:

“And if you will not hear it, in secret places my soul shall weep because of pride.”

He said,

he explained,

Rav Shmuel bar Inya in the name of Rav: The reason Scripture said “in secret places” and not “in secret” [Maharsha]:

There is a place belonging to the Holy One, blessed is He, and “secret places” is its name.

What is “because of pride”?

Rav Shmuel bar Yitzhak said: Because of the pride of Israel

[the greatness of Israel],

which was taken from them and given to idolaters.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani said: Because of the pride of the kingdom of Heaven, which was taken

and given to idols [Bach; Rashi, Jeremiah].

And we wonder:

Is there weeping before the Holy One, blessed is He

so that Scripture says: “My soul shall weep”?!

But Rav Pappa said: There is no sadness before the Holy One, blessed is He! As it is said: “Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy are in His place”?!

And we resolve:

It is not difficult:

This is in the inner chambers

[in the inner rooms], that is, “secret places”; there is weeping.

—that is, “secret places”—there is weeping.

This is in the outer chambers

[in the outer rooms]: strength and joy.

And

we still wonder: Is it possible that

in the outer chambers there is not

weeping of the Holy One, blessed is He?!

But it is written: “And the Lord, God of Hosts, called on that day

[of the destruction of the Temple]

for weeping and lamentation, for baldness and for girding with sackcloth”?!

And we resolve:

The destruction of the Temple is different, for even the angels of peace wept, as it is said: “Behold, Ariel cried outside; the angels of peace—

bitterly they weep.”

It is written:

“Weeping, she shall weep, and my eye shall flow with a tear, for the flock of the Lord has been taken captive.”

Rabbi Elazar said: These three tears

[“weeping,” “she shall weep,” “and my eye shall flow with a tear”]—

why?

One tear

for the First Temple

which was destroyed.

And

one tear

for the Second Temple

which was destroyed.

And

one tear

for Israel who were exiled from their place.

And there are those who say:

One tear

for the neglect of Torah.

And we object:

Granted, according to the one who says: for Israel who were exiled

from their place,

this is what is written: “For the flock of the Lord has been taken captive.”

But according to the one who says: for the neglect of Torah, what is “for the flock of the Lord has been taken captive”?

And we explain:

Since Israel were exiled from their place, you have no greater neglect of Torah than this.

The Sages taught: The Holy One, blessed is He, weeps over three [types of people] every day:

a.

Over one who is able to engage in Torah and does not engage.

b.

And over one who is unable to engage in Torah,

for he is an ignoramus and understands nothing at all, and nevertheless

engages

in Torah, to learn and to teach with error; and once an error has entered, it has entered [Iyun Yaakov ].

c.

And over a communal leader who acts arrogantly toward the community.

Rabbi was holding a book of Lamentations

[the scroll of Lamentations],

and was reading from it

[he held it and was reading from it].

When he reached this verse

[when he reached this verse]:

“He has cast down from heaven to earth the glory of Israel”—

the

book of Lamentations

fell

from his hand

unintentionally, and as a result he remembered to explain the verse [Maharsha], and

said: How great is this casting down from heaven to earth, which is

from a high roof to a deep pit

[from a high roof to a deep pit].

Rabbi and Rabbi Hiyya were traveling along the road

[they were walking along the road].

When they reached a certain city, they said

[when they reached one of the cities, they asked the townspeople]: Is there

a Torah scholar here

[is there a Torah scholar here],

so that we may go and greet him

[so that we may go to greet him]?

They said

to them:

There is a Torah scholar here, and he is a sightless man

[there is a Torah scholar here, and he is sagi nahor]!

Rabbi Hiyya said to Rabbi: You sit

[remain in your place and do not go], so that

you will not demean your office. I shall go and greet him

[I shall go alone and greet him].

But even so,

he seized him,

Rabbi seized Rabbi Hiyya,

and went with him

[he seized him and went with him] to that Torah scholar.

When they were taking leave of him

[when they took leave of him], that Torah scholar blessed Rabbi Hiyya and Rabbi, and

said to them:

You have greeted faces

of mine,

who appear but do not see

[for he was sagi nahor]; therefore

may you merit to see the face

of the Holy One, blessed is He,

who sees but is not seen!

That is: May you merit to make the pilgrimage.

He said to him,

Rabbi to Rabbi Hiyya:

I nearly would have prevented you from this blessing

[I almost prevented myself from receiving this blessing] when you did not want me to go with you to him.

They said to him,

Rabbi Hiyya and Rabbi to that Torah scholar:

From whom did you hear

that greeting a Torah scholar is so great?

That Torah scholar said to them:

I heard it from the lecture of Rabbi Yaakov.

For Rabbi Yaakov of Kefar Hittaya used to greet his teacher every day

[he used to greet his teacher every day].

When he became old

[when Rabbi Yaakov became old],

his teacher said to him

his teacher to Rabbi Yaakov:

Let the Master not suffer that the Master cannot

[do not be distressed that you cannot greet me].

He said to him,

Rabbi Yaakov to his teacher:

Is that which is written about the Sages a small matter

[is what is written a small matter]:

“And he shall live yet forever; he shall not see the pit, for he sees wise men die”?!

And if one who sees wise men at their death—

shall live,

as it is said, “and he shall live yet forever”—one who sees them

during their lifetime—

all the more so.

Rav Idi, the father of Rabbi Yaakov bar Idi, was accustomed to go three months on the road and [spend] one day in the house of study

[he would leave in Nisan and travel three months to the academy, remain there one day, and leave again, in order to reach his home on Sukkot to gladden his wife].

And the Sages would call him

[the Sages called him]:

a one-day son of the house of study

[a son of the academy for one day].

His mind was weakened.

He recited

Rav Idi

upon himself

[Rav Idi’s mind was weakened, and he recited the verse about himself]:

“I shall be a laughingstock to my companion.”

Rabbi Yohanan said to him

to Rav Idi:

Please, do not punish them

the

Sages

[please, do not cause the Sages to be punished because of you].

Rabbi Yohanan went out to the house of study

[Rabbi Yohanan went out to the house of study]

and expounded

on the verse

“And they seek Me day by day, and desire knowledge of My ways”:

Do they seek Him by day, but do not seek Him by night,

so that Scripture says: “They seek Him day by day”?!

Rather, this is to tell you: Whoever engages in Torah even one day in the year, Scripture considers it for him as though he engaged [in it] the entire year.

And likewise with the measure of punishment

one day is considered as a year,

as it is written

concerning the generation of the wilderness after the sin of the spies: “And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years.

According to the number of the days that you spied out the land.”

Did they sin for forty years?

But it was forty days

only

that they sinned?!

Rather, this is to tell you: Whoever commits a transgression even one day in the year, Scripture considers it for him as though he transgressed the entire year.

We learned in the Mishna:

Who is a minor

[who is exempt from education for the pilgrimage]?

Anyone who cannot ride on his father’s shoulders

and ascend from Jerusalem to the Temple Mount, these are the words of Beit Shammai. And Beit Hillel say: Anyone who cannot hold his father’s hand and ascend from Jerusalem to the Temple Mount:

The discussion below is explained according to the method of Tosafot in the passage beginning “And all.”

Rabbi Zeira raised an objection against this, concerning what is explained in our Mishna, that the minor is obligated in education once he can ascend from Jerusalem to the Temple Mount with his father. And it implies that even a minor who cannot ascend from his home to Jerusalem:

to what is explained in our Mishna: that a minor is obligated in education whenever he can ascend from Jerusalem to the Temple Mount with his father. This implies that even a minor who cannot ascend from his home to Jerusalem is included: