Gittin 58a (נח.) — the Talmud in English

Forty se’a

tefillin boxes

A tefillin box without its strap is called a ketzitza]

were found on the heads of those slain at Beitar,

as this is how the Romans killed them, while they were wearing tefillin; and from the battlefield, an amount of forty se’a of tefillin boxes was collected. The continuation of the matter clarifies whether these were arm-tefillin boxes or head-tefillin boxes.

Rabbi Yannai bar Rabbi Yishmael said:

They collected from the battlefield

three baskets, each containing forty se’a

Each basket contained forty se’a] of tefillin boxes.

But

in the Matnita it was taught

We learned in a beraita]:

There were forty baskets

there,

each containing three se’a

of tefillin boxes.

It follows that according to both Rabbi Yannai and the Matnita, there were one hundred and twenty se’a; but according to Rabbi Yohanan, there was only one-third of this amount there, namely, forty se’a.

And they do not disagree,

Rabbi Yohanan and Rabbi Yannai, because:

This—

the statement of Rabbi Yannai—concerns head-tefillin boxes,

of the head

which are three times larger than arm-tefillin boxes, since they are divided into several compartments, and space must be left between them].

This—

the statement of Rabbi Yohanan—concerns arm-tefillin boxes,

of the arm

the tefillin placed on the arm], which are only one-third the size of head-tefillin boxes.

Rabbi Asi said: Four kav of brains

of crushed heads

were found

in the destruction of the First Temple

on a single stone.

Ulla said: Nine kav

were there.

Rav Kahana said, and some say: Sheila bar Marei: What is the verse

that indicates that the Babylonians crushed heads against the rocks?

As it is written [Psalms 137:8–9]: “

Daughter of Babylon, the despoiled one; happy is he who repays you

for the recompense with which you repaid us;

happy is he who seizes and smashes your infants against the rock,”

just as you did to us.

It is written [Lamentations 4:2]: “

The precious children of Zion, esteemed as fine gold

, how they are regarded as earthen vessels, the work of the hands of the potter.”

And we interpret it:

What is meant by

“esteemed as fine gold”?

If you say

Perhaps you will say]

that the

children of Zion

were covered with gold

covered and adorned with gold and golden jewelry]?

This cannot be said, for:

The scholars of the house of Rabbi Sheila said: Two measures of gold—

were lowered into the world, one in Rome and one in the entire world.

For in the study hall of Rabbi Sheila they said: Two small ingots of fine gold

descended into the world: one descended in Rome, and only one corresponding to it descended in the entire world.

It follows that the children of Zion were not particularly distinguished by their wealth in gold, since this distinction belonged to Rome in contrast with the entire world.

Rather,

they were so distinguished by their beauty that

their beauty disgraced fine gold,

meaning that fine gold was disgraced in comparison with their beauty.

At first, the distinguished Romans would hold images of a seal and serve their beds.

At first, when the prominent Romans engaged in intercourse, they would place before their eyes beautiful forms engraved with a seal, so that their wives would conceive children as beautiful as those forms.

From then—

from the time the Romans captured the children of Zion, who were esteemed as fine gold—

onward:

They would

bring

the

children of Israel

whom they had taken captive,

and

they would

bind

them

to the legs of their beds, and

in this manner they would

engage in intercourse

with their wives. [They would bring them and bind them to the legs of their beds and in this manner they would engage in intercourse].

One said to the other,

who was imprisoned like him:

And where is this written

in the Torah? [One said to the other, who was imprisoned like him: Where is this calamity alluded to in the Torah?]

He said

in answer

to him, his companion: It is alluded to in this verse from the passage of rebuke, as it is stated [Deuteronomy 28:61]: “

Also every illness and every plague that is not written in the scroll of this Torah,

the Lord will bring upon you until you are destroyed,” [and therefore it was not written explicitly, because it is disgraceful to mention it].

He said,

He said,

the recipient of the answer asked the one who had given it:

How far am I from a certain place

How far is the place I have reached in my study from the place where this verse is written]?

He said to him,

the one citing the verse: You are not far; it is only

a little

a small amount],

a page and a half

a folio and a half].

He said to him,

the questioner to the one citing the verse:

If I reached it, I would not need you. [If I had indeed reached that point in my studies, I would not need your words, because I would have understood your point on my own.]

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Shmuel, in the name of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel:

Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said in the name of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel:

What is the meaning of that which is written [Lamentations 3:49]: “

My eye has afflicted my soul, because of all the daughters of my city,”

[My eye has disfigured my face through the abundance of tears, because of what happened to the people of my city]?

There were four hundred synagogues in the city of Beitar.

There were four hundred synagogues in the great city of Beitar.

And in each and every one of them, there were four hundred teachers of young children.

And when an enemy entered there,

And each and every teacher had four hundred schoolchildren before him.

And when an enemy entered there,

they did not fear him because of their great numbers, for

they would stab them with their styluses

with their pens].

And

however,

when

sin caused

the

enemy to

prevail,

they could not stand against him,

and he captured them, wrapped them in their books, and set them on fire.

The Sages taught:

There was an incident involving Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hanania, who went to a great city in Rome.

They said to him: There is one child

a Jewish child]

in the prison, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance, and his locks

the locks of his hair]

are arranged in curls.

He went and stood at the entrance of the prison.

He said,

[in the form of a question] this verse [Isaiah 42:24]: “

Who gave Jacob over to plunder and Israel to the despoilers?”

The child justified the judgment brought upon him, and

that child answered and said

the continuation of the verse]: “

Is it not the Lord

against whom we have sinned, and they would not walk in His ways, nor did they heed His Torah?”

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hanania said:

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hanania said:

I am certain of him,

this child,

that he

will be

a decisor of halakha in Israel.

[an oath]!

By the Divine Service

an expression of an oath]!

I will not move from here until I redeem him for whatever sum they demand for him.

it was said: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hanania did not move from there

Indeed,

they said: He did not move from there

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hanania

until he redeemed

that child

for a large sum of money.

And

indeed,

it was not

it was not long]

before only a few days had passed, and he issued a ruling

that child

in Israel.

And who was he

Who was that child]? He was the tanna

Rabbi

Yishmael

ben Elisha.

[the one who had captured the son]

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said:

There was an incident involving the son and daughter of Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha, who were captured by two masters.

After some time, the two of them happened to meet in one place

After a period of time, these two masters happened to be in the same place]—

This one

the one who had captured the son]

said: I have a slave whose beauty has no equal in the entire world.

And this one

the one who had captured the daughter]

said: I have a maidservant whose beauty has no equal anywhere in the entire world.

They said,

both of them, then:

Come, let us marry them to each other,

since because of their great beauty, their offspring will be distinguished and fetch a high price,

and we will divide the

offspring

between us.

They brought them

at night

into

one room.

He

moved away

and sat in one corner, and she

moved away and

sat in the other corner.

He said

to himself:

I am a kohen, the son of High Priests,

how can I

marry a maidservant!?

And she said

to herself:

I am a kohenet, the daughter of High Priests;

how can I

marry a slave!?

And they wept

each separately

the entire night.

When dawn broke,

and daylight appeared,

they recognized

the brother and sister

one another, and they fell upon each other and wept bitterly until their souls departed.

“

And concerning them Jeremiah lamented

in his prophecy of the destruction: “A solemn assembly has been proclaimed against me [the masters assembled] to break [the purity of] my young men. The Lord has trodden the winepress for the virgin daughter of Judah.

For these things I weep; my eye, my eye, sheds water

because the comforter who restores my soul is far from me; my children are desolate, because the enemy has prevailed” [Lamentations 1:16].

Reish Lakish said: There was an incident involving a certain woman, whose name was Tzofnat bat Pniel. “

Tzofnat”

was the name she was called because

everyone gazed at

her because of her

beauty. And

“daughter” of

Pniel

was what she was called because she was

the daughter of a High Priest who served in the innermost sanctuary.

The captor abused her

the

captor

who had taken her captive

the entire night.

The next day, he dressed her in seven garments

for modesty and her honor, in order to enhance her value,

and brought her out to sell her.

A certain man came who was extremely ugly.

He said to him,

that man:

Show me her beauty

so that I may take her.

The seller said to him:

the seller said to him:

Fool

idiot],

if you want to take her, take her, for there is no one like her beauty in the entire world.

He said to him: Nevertheless,

I want to see her beauty!

She removed six garments, and tore the seventh

herself,

and rolled in ashes.

She prayed and

said before Him

before the Holy One, blessed be He]:

Master of the Universe, if You did not have mercy on us,

because we sinned,

then for the sake of the sanctity of Your mighty Name, why do You not have mercy

and avenge Your vengeance!?

And concerning her Jeremiah lamented

[Jeremiah 6:26]: “

Daughter of My people, gird yourself with sackcloth and roll in ashes; mourn as for an only child, make a bitter lamentation, for suddenly the despoiler will come upon us.” “

Upon you”

in the singular, referring to the daughter of My people,

was not said; rather

“upon us,”

in the plural,

as though, upon Me

above]

and upon you the despoiler has come,

because the Divine Name has been profaned through this.

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said:

What is the meaning of that which is written

[Micah 2:2]: “

They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance”?

There was an incident involving a certain man who set his eyes on his teacher’s wife, and he was a carpenter’s apprentice

he was not his teacher in Torah, but in the craft of carpentry].

Once, his teacher needed to borrow

money.

He said to him,

the apprentice:

Send

send]

your wife to me, and I will lend you the money.

He sent his wife to him,

and

the apprentice remained

with her

for three days.

When he saw that his wife had not returned,

the teacher went ahead

the teacher

and came to him

to the apprentice], and

said to him: Where is my wife whom I sent to you?

He said to him,

the student:

I released her immediately

I sent her away at once], and

I heard that some children abused her on the way.

and I do not have the means to pay her.”

He said to him,

the teacher to his student:

What shall I do?

He said to him,

the student:

If you heed my advice, divorce her!

He said to him,

the teacher: I want to divorce her, but what shall I do, since

her marriage settlement is large

and I do not have the means to pay it?

He said to him: I will lend you the money, and you can give her the payment of her marriage settlement.

This one arose

the husband, the teacher]

and divorced her,

and

he

the student

went and married her.

When the time came

to repay the debt,

he did not have the means to repay it.

He said to him,

the student:

Come and work with me

at a craft

in

the

place of your debt.

And they,

the student and his wife [the teacher’s former wife],

would sit, eat, and drink.

And he

the teacher, her first husband]

would stand and pour drinks for them.

And tears would fall from his eyes and drop into their cups.

And at that time,

over this injustice,

the sentence was sealed.

And some say:

the sentence was sealed

over two wicks in a single lamp,

a metaphor for two men who have relations with one woman.

The Maharsha explains: The two formulations refer to the same incident. According to the first formulation, when the apprentice was with his master’s wife, he did not commit a transgression with her. Rather, it was concerning that time when they conspired to persuade him to divorce her and to enslave him through her ketubba that the sentence was sealed. According to the second formulation, “that time” is not the principal transgression; rather, when she remained with him for three days, he committed a transgression with her. This is what they meant by “two wicks in a single lamp,” for she was a married woman, and because of the adultery she became forbidden to the apprentice even after she was divorced, in accordance with the law of a sotah with regard to the man who had relations with her.

We learned in the Mishna:

One who purchased from a sikarikon

and then returned and purchased from the owner of the property, his purchase is void, etc.; one who purchased from the husband and then returned and purchased from the wife, his purchase is void.

Rav said: They taught

“his purchase is void,” according to the first Mishna,

only when he said to him

the owner said to the purchaser:

Go, take possession, and acquire,

meaning: Go and acquire the field for yourself through an act of taking possession.

Since the owner performed no action but merely spoke, it may be said that he did not intend to transfer ownership to him; rather, he intended only to rid himself of the sikarikon [or of the woman—when he purchased from the woman], because it is easier for him to sue the purchaser than to litigate with the sikarikon.

But if

for example, he wrote him a

deed,

then

he acquired

the property, for he certainly transferred it to him willingly. For if he had not intended an outright sale, he would not have needed to trouble himself to write a deed, and could have sufficed with acquisition through an act of taking possession.

And Shmuel said: Even if

he wrote him a

deed, he likewise did not acquire the property

the purchaser,

until he writes him a guarantee,

so that if the land is seized from him, he will be able to return and collect the value of the land from the seller. For only then is it certain that he is transferring it to him willingly, and that his intention is not merely to free himself from the sikarikon.