Eruvin 53a — the Talmud in English

And

likewise, if there were there

bridges and monuments [

a monument—a structure over a grave],

which contain a dwelling house

for guards who live there.

One extends the measurement opposite them

that is, one draws a line parallel to the city at this distance, seeing it as though on the other side of that direction there is also such a projection, and one draws a line between them.

B.

And they make them,

the city’s techumot,

like a square table, so that one gains

through this

the

walking-space of the place

of the corners.

For example, in a square city that is two thousand cubits by two thousand cubits, one first gives it on every side a techum that is a square of two thousand cubits by two thousand cubits. Between the four squares surrounding the city there are four corners of two thousand cubits by two thousand cubits, and one squares all the area around the city and includes all four corners within the large square.

Gemara:

Rav and Shmuel

disagree:

One

of them

teaches in the Mishna, “How

in the Mishna: “How

do they extend.”

And one

of them

teaches “How

do they

make limb-like,” with an alef.

That is, the word is written with an aleph.

And we explain:

the one who teaches “make limb-like”

is using an expression of

limb, limb, as though they add limbs to the city. That is, if there is a limb protruding from one side of the city, one sees it as though a limb also protrudes on the other side, parallel to it, and one measures the city from there.

as though limbs are added to the city. That is, if there is a limb projecting from one side of the city, it is considered as though a limb also projects from the other side, parallel to it, and the city is measured from there.

And the one who teaches “extend”

uses the expression

“like a pregnant woman,”

pregnant, as though the city “becomes pregnant” through the addition of the houses, by thereby enlarging the city.

And the Gemara brings additional examples in which Rav and Shmuel disagreed concerning the meaning of various words.

“The Cave of the Double” —

they disagree concerning it,

Rav and Shmuel:

One said:

there were in it

two houses, one within the other.

And one said:

there was in it

a house, with an upper room above it.

And we raised an objection concerning this:

Granted, according to the one who says

that it was built as a house and an upper room

one above the other—

this is

why it is called

“Double,”

because it is doubled with two ceilings.

But according to the one who says: two houses, one within the other—

what is “Double”?

After all, each house is a house in itself, and the expression of doubling is not applicable to this.

And we answer: It is called so because

it is doubled in pairs.

Pairs of a man and his wife were buried there, as he explains and proceeds:

“Mamre, Kiryat Arba

is Hebron” .

Rabbi Yitzhak said: Why is it called this? Because it is

Why is it called this? Because it is

the city of the four pairs

that were buried there:

Adam and Eve; Abraham and Sarah; Isaac and Rebecca; Jacob and Leah .

“And it was in the days of Amraphel”

they disagree concerning it,

Rav and Shmuel.

One said: Nimrod was his name.

And why was his name called Amraphel?

Because

he said and cast Abraham our father into the fiery furnace.

And one said: Amraphel was his name.

And why was his name called Nimrod?

Because

he rebelled against the entire world against Him [

an expression of honor toward Heaven]

with his kingdom .

“And a new king arose over Egypt”

they disagree concerning it,

Rav and Shmuel.

One said: Literally new.

And one said: His decrees were renewed.

And we explain:

the one who says: literally new

brings proof for his words

from the fact that it is written “new.”

And the one who says: his decrees were renewed

brings proof for his words

from the fact that it did not write

“And the death of

a certain king

and he reigned,”

a certain king,” implying that a literally new king did not arise.

And we raised an objection concerning this:

And according to the one who says that his decrees were renewed,

it is difficult:

is it not written “who did not know Joseph”?

And this implies that he was a literally new king?

And we answer:

What is “who did not know Joseph”? —

He was like one who

made himself

as one who did not know Joseph at all!

(We learned eighteen and twelve in David, “And he built.”)

Rabbi Yohanan said: For eighteen days I was raised in the presence of Rabbi Hoshaiah the Great [

a title for a great person of his generation],

and I learned from him only one thing in our Mishna,

for we recite in it:

“How do they make the cities limb-like”—

with an alef.

And we challenge this:

I do not know;

this is not so.

For

Rabbi Yohanan surely said: Rabbi Hoshaiah the Great had twelve students, and for eighteen days I was raised among them, and I learned

to recognize

the heart of each and every one

how sharp and acute he was,

and the wisdom of each and every one

how much he had learned .

Thus, he learned much Torah from Rabbi Hoshaiah, whereas above he said that he learned only one thing from him?

And we answer: Indeed,

the heart of each and every one and the wisdom of each and every one

from among his students

he learned,

but

the Gemara,

the reasoning behind the reasons of the Mishna,

he did not learn

except for one thing in our Mishna.

If you wish, say:

Indeed,

from them

from Rabbi Hoshaiah’s students

he learned

much, but

from him

from Rabbi Hoshaiah himself

he did not learn

except for one thing.

And if you wish, say: He said this concerning our Mishna

Rabbi Yohanan said that he learned only one thing from Rabbi Hoshaiah, but in other places in the Talmud he learned many beraitot and gemarot from him.

And Rabbi Yohanan said: When we were learning Torah from Rabbi Hoshaiah, we would sit four by four

students

in one cubit!

Because we were pressing close to Rabbi Hoshaiah in order to hear from his mouth.

Rabbi said: When we were learning Torah from Rabbi Eleazar ben Shamua, we would sit six by six in a cubit !

Rabbi Yohanan said: Rabbi Hoshaiah the Great in his generation

was

like Rabbi Meir in his generation—

just as Rabbi Meir in his generation his colleagues could not stand upon the end of his understanding,

for he would say of the impure that it was pure, and of the pure that it was impure, and would give a proper reason for his words, and his colleagues could not know when he was stating a correct halakha and when he was stating an incorrect halakha in order to sharpen the students,

so too Rabbi Hoshaiah his colleagues could not stand upon the end of his understanding.

Rabbi Yohanan said: The heart of the early ones was like the entrance of the Hall

of the Temple before the Sanctuary, which was twenty cubits wide.

And

their heart

of the later ones was like the entrance of the Sanctuary,

which was only ten cubits wide. That is to say, they were smaller than them in wisdom in this proportion.

And

if only

we

our heart were

like the size of the hole

of a “needle for split-sewing,”

with which one sews garment tears, whose hole is exceedingly narrow.

And we explain:

The early ones

are

Rabbi Akiva.

The later ones

are

Rabbi Eleazar ben Shamua.

There are those who say: The early ones—

Rabbi Eleazar ben Shamua. The later ones—

Rabbi Hoshaiah the Great.

And we, [

Rabbi Yohanan]

like the hole of a sewing needle.

Abaye said: And we, like a peg in a wall,

like a peg that one drives into a small hole in a wall, into which it barely enters, so are we

with regard to the Gemara.

For we understand only a little of what we hear, and even that with difficulty.

Rava said: And we, like a finger in wax—

with regard to reasoning.

Like a finger placed into hard wax, into which it cannot enter, but merely adheres to it slightly, so do we struggle with reasoning.

Rav Ashi said: We are like a finger in a pit—

with regard to forgetfulness.

Just as a finger enters easily into the mouth of a pit, so we are quick to forget .

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: The people of Judah, who were exacting concerning their language

to speak in refined language and not in disgraceful language,

their Torah was preserved in their hands.

But

the people of the Galilee, who were not exacting concerning their language, their Torah was not preserved in their hands.

And we raised an objection concerning this:

Is it something

that is, does it

depend

on being exacting

concerning the language?

Rather,

there is another reason for the matter:

the people of Judah, who were precise about the language,

to repeat in the same language that they heard from their teacher,

and they made signs for themselves,

for precision in their teacher’s language enabled them to make fine mnemonic signs for the halakhot that they heard orally, so that they would not be forgotten. And therefore

their Torah was preserved in their hands.

But

the people of the Galilee, who were not precise about the language and did not make signs for themselves, their Torah was not preserved in their hands.

And another reason:

the people of Judah—

they learned from one teacher

from one rabbi,

their Torah was preserved in their hands .

The people of the Galilee, who did not learn from one teacher,

but heard from each person in a different language, did not

have their Torah preserved in their hands.

Because a change of language confuses and causes forgetfulness, even though the entire matter is one matter.

Ravina said: The people of Judah, who disclosed the tractate,

taught it to others [another interpretation: they explained their teaching and examined the reason for the matter carefully until it settled upon their hearts]

their Torah was preserved in their hands .

The people of the Galilee, who did not disclose the tractate, did not have their Torah preserved in their hands.

David—

disclosed the tractate!

For David labored in Torah and issued rulings to the public, and he would consult in every matter with Mephibosheth, his teacher, whether he had ruled according to law.

Saul—

did not disclose the tractate.

And therefore,

concerning David, who disclosed the tractate, it is written, “Those who fear You—

will see me and rejoice,”

for they rejoiced in him over his rulings, which were directed according to the truth of Torah.

Concerning Saul, who did not disclose the tractate, it is written, “And in all that he turns ![](pamud.bmp "

Exact folio position")

he causes wickedness,”

for he did not merit to issue rulings according to the halakha.