Chullin 60a — the Talmud in English

I see him.

I truly wish to see him.

He went

Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah,

and set him

the sun

opposite the day

opposite the sun

during the period of Tammuz.

He said to him

Rabbi Joshua to the emperor:

Look at it,

look at the sun.

He said to him

the emperor:

I cannot!

I am unable to look at the sun.

He said to him

Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah:

The sun, which is one of the servants,

the sun, which is one of the servants,

which stand

which stand

before the Holy One, blessed is He—you said

about it

“I cannot look at it,”

that you are unable to look at it.

The Divine Presence

itself,

all the more so

that you are unable to see it?!

The emperor said to Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah: I desire

I wish

to prepare bread for your God.

to prepare a feast for your God.

He said to him

Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah to the emperor:

You cannot

prepare a feast for Him.

The emperor asked him:

Why?!

Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah said to the emperor:

His forces are numerous!

Because His forces are numerous, and you cannot prepare a feast for all of them.

He said to him

the emperor:

Indeed,

in truth, I wish to prepare a feast for Him.

He said to him

Rabbi Joshua to the emperor:

Go out and prepare,

go out and prepare the feast for Him

by the bank of the Ravita,

on the bank of the river whose name is Ravita,

where the world is spacious,

for the place there is spacious for all His forces. His intention was that he should make the feast in a place where the wind prevails.

The emperor exerted himself

the emperor

for six summer months,

during the six summer months, in order to prepare the feast.

A blast of wind came,

a strong wind blew,

and swept it,

it swept away the entire feast,

to the sea,

to the sea.

The emperor exerted himself

the emperor

for six winter months,

during the six winter months, in preparing the feast.

Rain came,

rain,

it drowned it,

and drowned the entire feast

in the sea.

The emperor said to Rabbi Johanan:

What is this,

for what purpose did the wind and the rain come, which took away the feast?

He said to him

Rabbi Johanan:

These,

these are

the sweepers,

the ones who clean the house, and

the rinsers,

the ones who wash the house with water,

who come before Him.

For they come before the King to prepare the place, and they were the ones who destroyed the feast.

He said to him

the emperor:

If so,

that His forces are so numerous,

I cannot!

It is impossible for me to prepare a feast for Him.

The emperor’s daughter said to Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah: Your God—

is a carpenter!

Your God is a carpenter.

For it is written

in Psalms [104] “

He roofs His upper chambers with water,

” so it is evident that He made a ceiling for His upper chamber. And therefore,

tell Him that He should make one for me,

that He should make for me

one spindle,

a spindle on which wool threads are wound after they have been spun.

He said

to her:

Certainly!

Indeed, I shall ask for this.

Rabbi Joshua requested

Rabbi Joshua

mercy concerning her, and she was afflicted,

the emperor’s daughter became ill with afflictions.

They seated her

they seated her

in the Roman marketplace, and gave her a spindle

a spindle, since

it was their practice

it was their practice among them in Rome

that anyone who was afflicted,

who became ill with afflictions,

they gave him,

they would give him

a spindle, and he would sit

and he would sit

in the marketplace, and spin flax fibers,

and perform his work with them using threads.

And they did this

so that

in order that

people should see,

so that people should see her afflictions,

and should request mercy for her,

and ask mercy for her.

One day, Rabbi Joshua was passing by

Rabbi Joshua

there. The emperor’s daughter was sitting

the emperor’s daughter

and spinning flax fibers,

after they had seated her

in the Roman marketplace.

He said to her

Rabbi Joshua:

Is the spindle beautiful,

does the spindle please you

that your God gave you!?

She said to him

the emperor’s daughter:

Tell Him

say

to your God—

let Him take what He gave me!

Let Him take what He gave me.

He said to her

Rabbi Joshua:

Our God gives and gives,

but

He does not take!

He gives and does not take.

And Rabbi Judah said: An ox

is accustomed to be

pot-bellied,

with a broad belly,

and broad-hoofed,

with broad hooves.

Its head is large,

its head is large,

and its tail is large,

and its tail is large.

And the reverse

and the opposite of these matters is

with a donkey,

with a donkey, which is accustomed to have a narrow belly, narrow hooves, and a small tail.

And we explain:

What difference does it make

to us what the ox is accustomed to be, and what the donkey is accustomed to be?

For buying and selling.

For one who sells an ox or a donkey to his fellow must give him such an ox and such a donkey.

And Rabbi Judah said: The ox that Adam the first man sacrificed —

it had one horn on its forehead.

As it is stated in Psalms, which King David said to the Holy One, blessed is He [chapter 29]: “

And it will be pleasing

[my praise]

to Hashem, more than an ox, a bull bearing horns and hooves”—

the one that Adam the first man sacrificed.

And we raise an objection concerning this: Behold, “

bearing horns”

which is written in this verse

is two,

it indicates two horns, as is the way of other oxen. And from where did you learn that Adam the first man’s ox had one horn?

Rav Nahman said: “From a horn”

it is written defectively,

it is written

in the verse, “from an ox, a bull, from a horn having hooves,” which indicates “a horn,” in the singular.

And Rabbi Judah said: The ox that Adam the first man sacrificed,

was created complete, with its horns. [In contrast to other oxen, whose hooves are born with them and whose horns grow later, when the ox grows], and it follows

that its horns preceded its hooves,

for when the first ox emerged from the earth, its head emerged first with its horns, and only afterward did its hooves emerge.

As it is stated: “And it will be pleasing to Hashem”—

“more than an ox, a bull, bearing horns and hooves.”

Which indicates

“bearing horns,”

that its horns emerged

first. And afterward, having hooves,

that afterward its hooves emerged.

And the Gemara continues that the words of Rabbi Judah

support Rabbi Joshua ben Levi.

For Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said: All the works of Creation—

were created in their full stature.

Their entire stature was completed already at the time of their creation, and therefore its horns preceded its hooves. For they were created with it and emerged first from the earth. And this is what is written, “more than an ox, a bull,” for on the first day, when it was an ox—that is, on the day of its birth—it was already as large as a bull [an ox on the day of its birth is called an ox, as it is written, “an ox when it is born.” Whereas regarding a bull, it is established for us that beginning at age three it is called a bull].

And likewise, all the works of Creation

were created with their consent.

The Holy One, blessed is He, informed them that they would be created, and they agreed to this.

They were created according to their chosen form,

in the form that they chose for themselves.

As it is stated

in Genesis 2, “

And the heavens and the earth and all their host were completed.” Do not read “their host,” but rather “their chosen form.”

Which indicates that they were created in their chosen form.

Rabbi Hanina bar Pappa expounded:

that which is written in Psalms [104], “

May the glory of Hashem be forever; may Hashem rejoice in His works.” This verse—

the minister of the world,

the angel appointed over the world, who is Metatron,

said it.

When the Holy One, blessed is He,

and commanded regarding the creation of the grasses and the trees, He said

“according to its kind” with regard to the trees,

as it is written, “a fruit tree making fruit according to its kind,” but with regard to the grasses, “according to its kind” was not said, as it is written, “Let the earth produce grass, herb yielding seed.”

The grasses raised

and reasoned

a kal va-chomer for themselves: If the will of the Holy One, blessed is He, was that the creation should be mixed together, why did He say

“according to its kind” with regard to the trees?!

And furthermore,

the grasses raised

a kal va-chomer:

As for trees, which are not accustomed to emerge mixed together,

the Holy One, blessed is He, said

about them

“according to its kind,”

so that each tree should emerge by itself, one distant from the other.

We,

the seeds, whose practice is to emerge mixed together—and if we are not careful to emerge with each grass by itself and not mixed together, no seed will be recognizable by itself—

all the more so

must we emerge each one separately!

Immediately, each and every one

of the seeds

emerged according to its kind,

as it is written, “And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed according to its kind.”

The minister of the world began and said: “May the glory of Hashem—

be forever; may Hashem rejoice in His works!”

For all of them are careful with His mitzvot.

Ravina raised a question: If one grafted two kinds of grasses one upon the other—