Eruvin 53b — the Talmud in English

And Rabbi Yohanan said: From where do we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, forgave

Saul

for that sin

of killing Nob, the city of the priests?

As it is stated

in Samuel’s words to Saul, when he brought him up through the medium of a necromancer:

“Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me.”

And we expound:

“With me

[means] within my partition,”

so that he would merit sitting within Samuel’s partition in the World-to-Come. And necessarily, the Holy One, blessed be He, had forgiven him for that sin.

Rabbi Abba said: If there is anyone who can ask the people of Judea, who are precise in their speech,

let him ask them:

Does

our Mishna teach “me’abberin”

with an alef,

or does it teach “me’avrin”

with an ayin? He should also ask them about that which we learned in Bekhorot [40a]: A firstborn animal that has only one testicle is considered to have a blemish, and it is permitted to slaughter it outside the Temple. Rabbi Akiva disagrees and says that it must be examined by seating it on its buttocks and feeling the scrotum and the flanks; if there is an additional testicle, it will eventually emerge. And if it does not emerge, it is a blemish.

Does

our Mishna teach “akuzo” or “akuzo”? [There is no difference in meaning between the two.]

[Разницы в значении между этими формами нет.]

They knew

there were people who knew members of the Judean community.

They asked them,

they questioned them,

and they said to him,

the people of Judea responded:

Some teach “me’abberin,” and some teach “me’avrin.”

And likewise,

some teach “akuzo,” and some teach “akuzo.”

And we examine the matter: Regarding that which we said, that

the people of Judea are precise in their speech—

what is it?

There was a certain Judean who said to them: “I have a cloak to sell!”

They said to him: What is the color of your cloak?

He said to them: “Like spinach upon the ground,”

it was greenish, like the color of spinach .

And regarding that which we said concerning

the people of the Galilee, who are not precise in their speech—

what is it?

The Gemara brings an example from an actual incident:

There was a certain Galilean who was walking along and said to them:

and he was calling out:

“Who says

[this]?”

“Who says

[this]?”

He wanted to know to whom he should sell something, and expressed this with the word “amar” [as will be explained], but he did not articulate the first letter of the word “amar” properly with his lips.

They said to him: Foolish Galilean!

Are you seeking to buy

hamar

a donkey

to ride, or

perhaps

hamar

wine

to drink,

or perhaps are you seeking to buy

amar,

wool with which to make garments

to wear, or

perhaps

imar,

a sheep

to be slaughtered

and eaten?

The Gemara now brings examples of errors that can result from imprecise pronunciation.

There was a certain woman who wanted to say to her friend: “Come, I will give you milk to eat!”

She meant to say: Come, and I will give you milk to eat.

She said to her: “My intertwined one, may a lioness eat you!”

It sounded as though she were cursing her and saying to her: May a lioness eat you.

And she erred in saying “shelokhti” instead of “sheluvati,” from the language of “intertwined,” meaning “my companion.” And she did not separate each word from the next; rather, she joined the words “come” and “I will give you to eat,” and the het of “milk” to form one word, “may you eat.”

There was a certain woman who came before a judge,

before the judge.

She said to him: “My master, my servant,” [She meant to say “kiri,” meaning “master,” but said “khiri,” meaning “servant”],

[Она хотела сказать «мой господин», но сказала слово, означающее «мой раб»],

“a beam”

a beam [instead of “tabla,” meaning the upper board of the table]

“was mine,”

it was mine,

“and they stole you from me,”

the judge stole you [instead of “they stole it from me,” meaning that they stole it from me],

“and it was thus,” [She meant to say “and it was so great,” but said “and now,” which has no meaning],

[Она хотела сказать: «и настолько большой она была», но сказала слово, означающее «и теперь», которое здесь не имеет смысла],

“that if they stretch you over it,”

if they stretch you over the table,

“your feet will not reach the ground,”

your feet will not reach the ground [and it is foolish to speak this way before the judge].

Rabbi’s maidservant,

the maidservant in Rabbi’s household,

when she wished to speak

when she wanted to speak

in a sophisticated manner, would say as follows: “The alat,”

the name of the utensil with which wine is drawn from the barrel and poured into cups,

“is knocking against the jar,”

knocking against the bottom of the barrel.

That is, the wine in the barrel had run out.

And then

“the eagles will fly to their nests.”

The eagles will fly to their nests.

That is, the students will go to their homes and end their meal, because there is no more wine.

And when she wanted them to remain,

when she wanted the students to linger,

she would say to them: “Let the second one follow the first,”

we shall remove the cover of the other barrel and pour more wine,

“and let the alat float,”

the utensil called

“alat, in the jar”—

“like a ship”

like a boat

“that travels upon the water,”

floating on the sea.

Rabbi Yosei bar Asi, when he wished to speak in a sophisticated manner,

and wanted others not to understand,

would say

to his household:

“Make me an ox with judgment,”

prepare spinach for me [“ox” in Aramaic is “tor,” and “judgment” is “din”]

“upon a poor mountain,”

with mustard [“tor” means mountain; “misken” means poor].

And when he would ask about the inn,

when he would ask passersby about the welfare of the innkeeper,

he would say as follows: “The man, the mouth of this,”

meaning, “the innkeeper” [“gever” means man; “pum” means mouth; “din” means this], is he

alive,

and

“how is this one’s welfare?”

is he well? [According to the Maharsha] .

When Rabbi Abbahu wished to speak in a sophisticated manner, he would say as follows:

“Make the coals like etrogim,”

make the coals burn until they redden like an etrog.

“Spread out the gold pieces,”

spread glowing coals, red like gold, across the top of the stove so that one could warm oneself before them.

“And roast for me upon them

roast upon the coals

two

‘messengers in the darkness.’”

Two chickens that announce the hours of the night.

The Sages said to Rabbi Abbahu: “Show us”

show us [from the language “she observes the ways of her household”]

“where Rabbi Ela’i is hidden,”

concealed.

The students did not know where he had gone.

He said to them: “He rejoiced with the Aharonic, last, wakeful maiden, and she awakened him.”

He had enjoyed the night with the Aharonic maiden, and now he was sleeping .

Some say:

“Maiden” means

“woman.”

And this is what he was saying: He delighted [the expression means “rejoiced”] in an Aharonic maiden [a daughter of a koen], last [his first wife had died, and this was the later one], wakeful [gracious and sharp-witted], and she awakened him [so that he was unable to sleep].

And some say:

“Maiden” means

“tractate,”

for he delighted in the Aharonic tractate [of the Order of Kodashim, which deals with the Temple service of Aaron], last [he had completed another tractate and begun this one], wakeful [deep and difficult]. And she awakened him [for she arouses those who study her, and they do not sleep at night].

They said to Rabbi Ela’i: “Show us where Rabbi Abbahu is hidden,”

concealed?

He said to them: “He consulted with the one who crowns,”

he received permission from the Nasi [who authorizes and crowns the Sages with the title “Rabbi”; from that point he becomes a judge “expert for the public,” so that if he errs in judgment he is exempt from paying the litigant],

“and went south”

he went south

“to Mephibosheth,”

to study before the elders of the South, who were exceedingly wise [and were called by the name of Mephibosheth, who was a great man].

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya said: “Never has a person defeated me”

in an argument

“except for a woman, a little girl, and a little boy!”

What is the incident involving a woman?

Once I was a guest at an inn.

On the first day she prepared beans for me; I ate them and left none of them.

On the second

on the second day she likewise prepared beans for me

“and I left none of them.”

On the third day she overcooked them

she burned them

“with salt.”

That is, she put in too much salt.

When I tasted them,

I withdrew

my

hands from them.

She said to me,

the innkeeper:

“Rabbi! Why are you not eating?”

I said to her: “I have already eaten earlier in the day.”

She said to me:

If so,

“you should have withdrawn your hands from the bread”

and eaten the beans.

She said to me: “Rabbi! Perhaps

the reason you are not eating is that

“you did not leave a portion from the earlier ones?”

One must leave a little of the food for the attendant, and you forgot to leave a portion on the previous two days, so now you are leaving one on their behalf.

And

because

“the Sages did not say: One does not leave a portion in a pan,”

when the attendant pours from the pot into the bowls, he should not leave any of the dish for himself in the pot,

“but one does leave a portion in a bowl,”

each diner should leave some in his bowl for the attendant .

And therefore you are now leaving a portion for the attendant? She defeated him by calling his attention to the fact that he had not observed the words of the Sages .

What is the incident involving a little girl?

Once I was walking along the road, and there was a path passing through a field, and I was walking on it.

A little girl said to me: “Rabbi!”

But

“is this not a field?”

And by walking through it you are damaging it.

I said to her:

But

“is it not a beaten path?”

And by walking on it I am causing no damage.

She said to me: “Robbers

such as you

“beat it down!”

What is the incident involving a little boy?

Once I was walking along the road and saw a little boy sitting at a crossroads, and I said to him: “By which road shall we go to the city?”

He said to me: “This one is short and long” [as he explains below],

[как объясняется далее]

“and this one is long and short”

[it is farther away, but when one reaches the city, one enters it immediately, as it is not surrounded by gardens and orchards].

I took the short and long route.

When I reached the city, I found that it was surrounded by gardens and orchards. I turned back.

I said to him: “My son! Did you not tell me

that it was

short?”

He said to me: “And

why,

“did I not tell you”

that it was also

“long?”

I kissed him on his head and said to him: “Fortunate are you, Israel, for all of you are exceedingly wise, from your greatest to your smallest!”

Rabbi Yosei the Galilean was walking along the road.

He was traveling on the road.

He encountered Beruriah

[the wife of Rabbi Meir].

He said to her: “By which road shall we go to Lod?”

She said to him: “Foolish Galilean!”

But

“did the Sages not say: Do not engage in excessive conversation with a woman?”

You should have said

in a concise manner

“By which to Lod.”

Beruriah encountered a certain student who was ![](pamud.bmp "

precise page location")

studying in a whisper,

studying quietly.

She kicked him,

she kicked him.