Eruvin 54b — the Talmud in English

Just as a fig tree [

fig tree]

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whenever a person feels it

he

finds figs,

because they do not ripen all at once, but little by little.

So too with words of Torah: whenever a person studies them, he finds

in them flavor.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: What is the meaning of that which is written, “A loving hind and a graceful doe

may her breasts satisfy you at all times; with her love may you be intoxicated always”

—why were words of Torah compared to a hind?

To tell you:

just as a hind has a narrow womb, and is beloved by her mate at every hour and every hour

as at the first hour, so too words of Torah are beloved by those who study them at every hour and every hour as at the first hour.

“And a graceful doe”—

for she bestows grace upon those who study her.

For everyone exalts him on account of his Torah.

“May her breasts satisfy you at all times”—

why were words of Torah compared to a breast?

Just as with this breast, whenever a baby feels it, he finds milk in it, so too with words of Torah: whenever a person studies them, he finds flavor in them.

“With her love may you be intoxicated always”—

that you should make yourself erring and foolish for the sake of the Torah. That you should leave your occupation to run to discuss a matter of halakha,

such as Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat—

They said about Rabbi Elazar

ben Pedat,

that he would sit and engage in Torah in the lower market of Tzippori, while his cloth

his upper garment

was lying in the upper market of Tzippori,

for he had forgotten it there because he was so absorbed in Torah.

Rabbi Yitzḥak ben Elazar said: Once a man came to take it,

to steal his cloth,

and found a serpent

snake

in it.

The tanna of the house of Rav Anan said: What is the meaning of that which is written in the Book of Judges, in Deborah’s song, “My heart is for the legislators of Israel [to love the sages of Israel] ...

those who ride white donkeys, who sit in judgment, and who walk along the way speaking”?—

“Those who ride donkeys”—

these are Torah scholars who travel from city to city and from country to country to learn Torah.

“White”—

for they make it

clear

as midday.

“Who sit in judgment”—

for they judge a true judgment according to its truth.

“And who walk”—

these are masters of Scripture

who walk in the Torah.

“Along the way”—

these are masters of Mishna

which is a way to the Torah.

“Speaking”—

these are masters of Talmud, for all their speech is words of Torah.

Rabbi Shizbi said in the name of Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya: What is the meaning of that which is written, “The deceitful one will not roast his catch”? -

We expound it as a notarikon:

the deceitful hunter will not live and will not have long days.

One who learns much and does not review his learning, and deceives people by showing how wise he is, that he knows much.

Rav Sheshet said:

one who does this is not deceitful but foolish. And the verse speaks in praise: one who learns a little and immediately reviews it until he remembers it well, and only afterward continues learning, he is the deceitful one, that is, wise in this matter, like

the deceitful hunter,

as it explains below, and he

will roast it,

that is, his learning will endure in his possession.

When Rav Dimi came, he said: This is like a hunter who hunts birds: if, one by one,

immediately upon catching it,

he breaks its wings

so that it will not flee, it

is preserved. But if not, it is not preserved,

for the first one flees from him while he is occupied with catching the second.

And this is the explanation of the verse: Will he not roast—that is, will he not roast birds and eat them—whose catch is deceitful?

Rav Seḥora said in the name of Rav Huna: What is the meaning of that which is written, “Wealth from vanity dwindles, but one who gathers little by little increases”?—

If a person makes his Torah into bundles of bundles,

learning much at once,

his learning diminishes

his study.

But if not,

rather he

gathers little by little,

learning a little at a time and reviewing it,

he increases.

Rava said: The Sages know this matter, and

nevertheless

they transgress it.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: I have done it

I did so

and it was fulfilled in my hands!

The Sages taught: What is the order of Mishna?

How did Israel learn the Oral Torah from Moses our teacher?—

Moses learned Torah from the mouth of the Mighty One.

a.

Aaron entered, and Moses taught him his chapter.

Aaron withdrew

from before Moses after he finished teaching him [for during his learning he would sit facing him, as it is written, “Your eyes shall see your teachers,” and likewise everyone during his learning],

and sat to the left of Moses,

for this is the manner of proper conduct, that the greater one should be on the right.

b.

Aaron’s sons entered,

Aaron’s

and Moses taught them their chapter,

the very same chapter that he had taught Aaron.

His sons withdrew

from before Moses.

Elazar,

who was the greater,

sat to the right of Moses, and Itamar to the left of Aaron.

Rabbi Yehuda says: Aaron would always return to Moses’ right.

For now, when there was someone sitting to Moses’ left, it was honor for Moses and Aaron that Aaron, the greater, should sit to Moses’ right .

c.

The elders entered, and Moses taught them their chapter.

The elders withdrew.

d.

All the people entered, and Moses taught them their chapter.

It follows:

a.

In Aaron’s possession, four

times .

b.

In the possession of his sons, three.

c.

And in the possession of the elders, two.

d.

And in the possession of all the people, one.

Moses withdrew, and Aaron taught them his chapter,

to his sons, to the elders, and to all the people.

Aaron withdrew, and his sons taught them their chapter,

to the elders and to all the people.

His sons withdrew, and the elders taught them their chapter,

to all the people.

It follows that in the possession of everyone there were four.

From here Rabbi Eliezer said: A person is obligated to teach his student four times.

And a kal va-chomer

it

is:

Just as Aaron, who learned from Moses, and Moses from the mouth of the Mighty One,

thus

was required to do so,

an ordinary person

who learns

from an ordinary person—

all the more so

that he must teach him four times.

Rabbi Akiva says: From where is it derived that a person is obligated to teach his student until he teaches him,

that is, until he understands well, and four times are not sufficient?

As it is stated, “And teach it to the children of Israel” .

And from where

that he is obligated to teach them

until it is ordered in their mouths,

so that they remember well?

As it is stated, “Place it in their mouths.”

And from where is it derived that he is obligated to show him the reasons,

to explain to him the reason for the matter, and not say to him, “Thus I heard; understand the reason for the matter yourself”?

As it is stated, “And these are the ordinances that you shall place before them”,

and it is not written, “You shall teach them.” And it implies that you must arrange and place before them the reason for the matters.

And we raise an objection to it:

Let them all enter

at once—Aaron, his sons, the elders, and all the people—

and let them all learn from Moses

four times?

And we answer:

In order to give honor to Aaron,

who heard before everyone,

and to his sons,

who heard before the elders and the people,

and honor to the elders,

who heard before all the people.

And we raise an objection to it:

Let Aaron enter, and let him learn from Moses,

he alone, four times;

let his sons enter and learn from Aaron,

four times;

let the elders enter and learn

learn

from his sons,

four times;

and let them go,

the elders,

and let them teach all Israel

four times?

And we answer:

Since Moses learned from the mouth of the Mighty One—

his matter is assisted,

for they will succeed more in their learning if everyone hears from Moses himself.

The master said: Rabbi Yehuda says: Aaron—

returns to Moses’ right.

And we raise an objection to it:

In accordance with whom does this teaching go: Three who were walking on the road—the teacher

walks

in the middle, the greater one on his right, and the lesser one on his left?

Let us say that it is Rabbi Yehuda and not the Rabbis?

For according to the Rabbis, Aaron remained to Moses’ left, despite being the greater.

And we answer:

You may even say it is the Rabbis.

Indeed, initially the greater one must be to the teacher’s right.

Rather,

because of the exertion of Aaron,

for he had already sat beforehand to Moses’ left when he was alone with Moses, they did not require him to rise from his place and go sit to Moses’ right.

Rabbi Perida had a certain student to whom he taught [the lesson] four hundred times, and he learned it.

That is, he taught him four hundred times until the student understood.

One day, they required him for a matter of a mitzva,

they asked Rabbi Perida to attend to a matter of a mitzva outside the beit-midrash.

He taught it to him

four hundred times, as was his practice,

but he did not learn it,

and still did not succeed in understanding.

He said to him,

Rabbi Perida:

Today,

now,

what is different

that you do not understand?

He said to him,

his student:

From that hour,

from that moment,

when they said to the master: There is a matter of a mitzva

to engage in—

I diverted my mind,

I diverted my mind from my learning,

and every hour I would say,

thinking to myself at every moment:

Now the master is standing; now the master is standing.

And therefore I did not succeed in understanding.

He said to him,

Rabbi Perida:

Set your mind, and I will teach you

again.

He then taught it to him another four hundred times!

A voice went forth and said to him,

to Rabbi Perida: What do you prefer as your reward:

is it preferable to you that they add

that they add

four hundred years to you, or that you and your generation merit

that you and your entire generation merit

the World to Come

the world to come?

Rabbi said,

Perida: I prefer

that I and my generations merit

and all my generations

the World to Come!

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: Give him

also

this and

also

this!

Rav Ḥisda said: Torah is acquired only through signs,

in the manner in which there are signs in the Talmud before consecutive statements concerning one matter, or according to the names of the sages who stated those statements. All this is so that they should not be forgotten.

As it is stated, “Place it in their mouths”—

do not read “place it,” but “its sign”!

Rav Taḥlifa heard it from the West,

from the Land of Israel.

He went and said it before Rabbi Abbahu,

in the Land of Israel.

He said

to him:

You

in Babylonia,

from there you teach it,

from “Place it in their mouths.”

We teach it from here:

as it is written,

“Set up for yourself signs; place for yourself

markers”—

make signs

signs

for the Torah.

And from where is it apparent that this “sign”

is the language of a “sign”

?

For it is written, “And you see a human bone, and build a sign beside it”,

to mark a sign that there is here the bone of a dead person, so that passersby should not become impure.

Rabbi Elazar said: From here

we learn to make signs in the Torah: as it is written,

“Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and call understanding ‘acquaintance.’ Make

acquaintances

signs

for the Torah.”

Rava said: This is what the verse says:

Make appointed times,

set fixed times,

for the Torah.