Chullin 91b — the Talmud in English

as it is written that Naomi said to Ruth:

“Look, he is winnowing the barley at the threshing floor

at night ... and it shall be when he lies down.” After Boaz finishes winnowing the barley, he will not go home; rather, he will lie down in the field, because a Torah scholar does not go out alone at night.

Rabbi Abbahu said: From here:

as it is written:

“And Abraham arose early in the morning and saddled his

donkey,” and he did not go out at night.

And the Sages say: From here:

as it is written:

“Please go and see whether your brothers are well and whether the

flocks are well,” which indicates that one should set out at a time when it is possible to see.

Rav said: From here:

as it is written:

“And the sun rose for him

when he passed Penuel.”

Rabbi Akiva said: I asked Rabban Gamliel and Rabbi Yehoshua in the marketplace of Emmaus,

at the time

when they went to buy an animal for the feast of Rabban Gamliel’s son:

regarding that which is written,

“And the sun rose for him”: -

Did the sun rise only for him,

for Jacob,

and not for the whole world?!

Rabbi Yitzḥak said:

this is what the verse is saying:

The sun, which had set for him—

it had previously set for him before its proper time—

rose

now

for him

before its proper time!

And where do we find that the sun set for him?

As it is written: “And Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran,”

which indicates that he had already reached Haran.

But

afterward

it is written: “And he encountered the place,”

which is Bethel, indicating that he had still not reached Haran. How can this be?

Rather,

when he reached Haran, he said: “Is it possible that I passed by

Bethel, which is

the place where my forefathers prayed, and I did not pray there?!”

When he resolved to return

to Bethel,

the earth contracted for him

and he arrived there

immediately.

And this is what is written:

“And he encountered the place,”

meaning that the place came toward him,

like a person who encounters his fellow when the fellow comes toward him. [The word “encountered” also carries the meaning of prayer.]

When he prayed,

after he completed his prayer,

he wished to return

to Haran.

The Holy One, blessed be He, said: “Will this righteous man come to My lodging place and depart without spending the night?” Immediately, the sun set,

that is, it set before its proper time. This is also indicated by that which is written: “And he spent the night there, because the sun had set”: since the sun suddenly set, he was forced to spend the night there and could not continue on his way to Haran.

We now examine the verses stated in the section “And Jacob left”:

it is written: “And Jacob took from the stones of the place,”

which indicates many stones,

but it is also written

on the other hand,

“And he took the stone,”

which indicates one stone.

And we answer:

Rabbi Yitzḥak said: This teaches that all those stones gathered into one place, and each one said: “Let this righteous man place

his

head upon me!”

And

a tannaitic source taught: They were all swallowed

into

one stone,

and therefore it says: “And he took the stone,” because in the end they all became one stone.

“And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder stood on the earth.”

A tannaitic source taught: How wide was the

the

ladder? Eight thousand parasangs!

As it is written: “And behold, angels of God were ascending and descending on it.”

“Ascending”

indicates

two

ascending at the same time, side by side.

And

likewise

“descending”

indicates

two

descending at the same time.

And when they encountered one another

when the ascending and descending angels met in the middle of the ladder—

there were four of them

across the width of the ladder.

And it is written regarding an angel: “And his body -

was like Tarshish,”

meaning that the angel’s dimensions were like those of the sea called Tarshish.”

And there is a tradition

that the sea

Tarshish -

was two thousand parasangs!

It follows that the width of four angels was eight thousand parasangs, and this was the width of the ladder.

A tannaitic source taught:

The angels were

ascending

on the ladder,

and looking at the image

the form

—

our forefather Jacob, which was engraved on the Throne of Glory above,

and they were descending and looking at the image of

Jacob

below.

They sought

the angels

to harm

Jacob out of jealousy.

Immediately -

“And behold, the Lord stood over him,”

to protect him.

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: Were it not written in a verse, it would be impossible to say this!

For the Holy One, blessed be He, stood to protect him

like a person who waves

a fan

over his son,

to cool him from the heat.

We raise a question concerning that which is written:

“The land upon which you are lying

I will give to you and to your descendants.”

What is the greatness

in the promise to give him the small area upon which he was lying?!

And we answer:

Rabbi Yitzḥak said: This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, folded the entire Land of Israel and placed it beneath our forefather Jacob,

so that

it would be easy for his descendants to conquer,

as though it were only the four cubits upon which he was lying.

It is written:

“And he said: Let me go, for dawn has risen.” He said to him,

Jacob said to the angel: “Are

you a thief or a kidnapper

who steals people,

that you are afraid of dawn?”

He said to him: “I am an angel! Since the day I was created, my time to recite praise had not yet arrived; it has arrived only now,”

and therefore I ask you to let me go.

And this statement, that angels recite praise only once,

supports the opinion of Rav Ḥananel, who said it in the name of Rav.

As Rav Ḥananel said in the name of Rav: Three groups of ministering angels recite praise every day. One says, “Holy”; one says, “Holy”; and one says, “Holy, Lord of Hosts.”

They raise an objection from a source

against Rav Ḥananel from that which was taught in a beraita, a tannaitic source not included in the Mishna:

The Jewish people are dearer before the Holy One, blessed be He, than the ministering angels! For the Jewish people recite praise at every moment, whereas the ministering angels recite praise only once a day.

And some say: Once a week

each week.

And some say: Once a month.

And some say: Once a year.

And some say: Once every seven years

every seven years.

And some say: Once in a jubilee.

And some say: Only once in all of history!

And they are also dearer than the ministering angels for this reason:

the Jewish people mention the Name after only two words

alone,

as it is stated: “Hear, Israel: the Lord.” But

whereas

the ministering angels mention the Name only after three words

of praise,

as it is written

in the angels’ song:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts.” And the ministering angels above do not recite praise until the Jewish people below have recited it, as it is stated:

first,

“When the morning stars sang together,”

referring to the Jewish people, who are compared to stars.

And afterward

it is written -

“and all the sons of God shouted for joy,”

referring to the angels.

It follows that the angels mention the Name only after three words, which is difficult for Rav Ḥananel, who said in the name of Rav that they say, “Holy, Lord of Hosts.”

And we answer:

Rather,

this is what Rav Ḥananel said in the name of Rav:

One says, “Holy”; one says, “Holy, holy”; and one says, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Hosts.”

The difficulty nevertheless remains:

But there is also the phrase, “Blessed be the

glory of the Lord,” in which the angels mention the Name after only two words.