Gittin 60b — the Talmud in English

6.

and the passage of those intoxicated by wine

which is in the passage “Shemini” [Leviticus 10:9]: “Wine and strong drink you shall not drink, you and your sons with you, when you enter the Tent of Meeting]]”.

7.

and the passage of the lamps

which is in the passage “Beha'alotekha” [Numbers 8:2]: “When you kindle the lamps, toward the face of the menorah shall the seven lamps give light]]”.

8.

and the passage of the red cow

which is in the passage “Hukkat” [Numbers 19:2]: “Speak to the Children of Israel, and let them take for you a red cow, perfect, in which there is no blemish]]”.

Rabbi Elazar said:

5.

the Torah is mostly in writing,

that is: most of the “Oral Torah” depends upon exposition of the verses: through “generalization, specification, and generalization,” and gzera shava, and the other hermeneutical principles through which the Torah is expounded.

and a minority

was given to Moses

orally,

which have no allusion in the Torah.

as it is stated: “

I would write for him the multitudes of My Torah; they would be considered like something foreign,”

thus, most of the Torah is written.

And Rabbi Yohanan said: most

of the Oral Torah was transmitted to Moses

orally,

and has no allusion in the Torah,

and a minority

of it has an allusion

in writing.

As it is stated: “

For according to these words

I have made a covenant with you,” and since the covenant was made concerning oral matters, necessarily they are the majority.

And we raise an objection:

And the other one—

Rabbi Yohanan—

also, it is written: “

I would write for him the multitudes of My Torah

they would be considered like something foreign,” thus, most of the Torah depends upon writing.

And we answer:

that verse is expressing astonishment [

it is stated in the language of astonishment: Is it so that

I would write for him the multitudes of My Torah,

that is: Was I supposed to write for them the multitudes of My Torah!?

They would surely be considered like something foreign,

for even that which I wrote for them was considered by them like something foreign.

And the other one—

Resh Lakish—

also, it is written: “

For according to these words

I have made a covenant with you,” and it implies that the principal part of the Torah was given orally!?

And we answer:

that verse,

that is: the covenant was made concerning these oral matters not because they are numerous, but

because they are difficult to learn [

there is difficulty in learning them].

Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Nahmani, the translator of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, expounded: [

the amora who would stand beside Resh Lakish during his discourse and translate it for the public]:

It is written [

Exodus 34:27]: “

Write for yourself these words,”

thus it implies that the Torah is written.

And it is written

immediately afterward: “

For according to these words,”

thus it was not written.

How is this

reconciled by these two verses?

Matters that are in writing, you are not permitted to recite them [

to transmit them to Israel]

orally.

Matters that are oral, you are not permitted to recite them in writing,

that is, to write them.

The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught

another source for this law:

for it is written: “Write for yourself these

,”

in order to teach:

these you write, but you do not write halakhot [

the Oral Torah].

Rabbi Yohanan said:

The Holy One, blessed be He, made a covenant with Israel only for the sake of oral matters, as it is stated: “

For according to these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

We learned in the Mishna:

One establishes the eruv in an old house, for the sake of the ways of peace:

And we explain:

What is the reason?

If you say, because of the honor

of the householder—and this is “for the sake of the ways of peace”

? This cannot be said,

but what of that shofar [

a shofar that they would blow on the eve of Shabbat to warn the people],

which was originally in the house of Rav Yehuda [

it was initially in the house of Rav Yehuda, who was head of the academy in Pumbedita],

and ultimately—

when Rav Yehuda died and Rabbah became head of the academy—they placed it

in the house of Rabbah, and ultimately

they placed it

in the house of Rava,

when he became head of the academy after Rav Yosef and Abaye, who held that position after Rabbah.

Thus, one need not be concerned for the honor of the householders from whom it is taken.

Rather,

for this reason they do not move the eruv from its usual place,

because of suspicion,

so that people will not suspect the residents of the courtyard that they do not make an eruv of courtyards and carry objects, for one who enters that house where they were accustomed to place the eruv and does not see it thinks in his heart that they did not make an eruv.

We learned in the Mishna:

A cistern that is close to the channel

is filled first, for the sake of the ways of peace:

It was stated:

The people of the river [

people who have fields on the banks of the river: who irrigates first?]:

Rav said: The lower ones drink the water first [

the lower ones, who are farther from the river’s source, irrigate first].

And Shmuel said: The upper ones drink the water first, [

the upper ones, who are closer to the river’s source, irrigate first].

And the Gemara explains in what manner they disagree:

When it flows

the river [when the river proceeds in its usual manner, so that it is unnecessary to dam it in order to irrigate from it, but one draws from it and irrigates],

everyone—

both Rav and Shmuel—

does not disagree;

everyone who wishes to draw from the river may come and draw.

When they disagree

Rav and Shmuel:

when damming and irrigating [

when there is a need to dam the river in order to irrigate].

And the reason of

Shmuel

who

said: “The upper ones drink the water first,”

is because

they say,

the upper ones:

We are closer [

we are closer].

And

the reason of

Rav

who

said: “The lower ones drink the water

first,”

is because

they say,

the lower ones:

Let the river go according to its usual course [

let the river go as it normally does], that is: You have no right to stop the river from its course, and it will reach us.

The Gemara raises an objection from our Mishna against Rav, for

we learned

in our Mishna:

A cistern close to the channel,

it

is filled first, for the sake of the ways of peace,

and the same should apply that they irrigate first; and this is difficult for Rav!?

Shmuel interpreted it in accordance with Rav [

Shmuel explained our Mishna according to the view of Rav, his disputant in this matter]:

Our Mishna deals with

a channel that flows alongside his cistern,

that is: the cistern fills by itself, and it is unnecessary to dam the channel in order to fill it.

And we wonder about this:

If so, what is it teaching us,

what novelty is there in the matter, when he performs no action that harms his fellow!?

And we answer:

Lest you say: they can say to him [

I would have thought to say: the lower ones can say to the owner of the upper cistern]:

Dam it completely [

close the opening of your cistern, so that the water will not enter there and its flow will cease],

and irrigate with a bucket [

and irrigate your fields according to what you will be able to draw from the river’s flow, as we do].

It teaches us

our Mishna that they cannot say this to him.

Rav Huna bar Taḥlifa said: Now that the halakha was not stated neither in accordance with this master nor in accordance with that master [

the halakha was not ruled in accordance with either Rav or Shmuel]—

then

whoever is stronger—

prevails, [

whoever is stronger prevails].

Rav Shimi bar Ashi came before Abaye [

he came before Abaye] and

said to him

to Abaye:

Let my master seat me at a fixed time [

let my master establish a fixed time during the day to study with him]!

He said to him

Abaye to Rav Shimi:

I have a time for myself [

that is: I have no free time, because I am occupied with Torah for myself].

Rav Shimi said to him:

And

if so,

let my master seat me at night [

set a time with me to study at night]!

Abaye said to him

Abaye to Rav Shimi:

I have water to irrigate, [

at night I am occupied with irrigating my fields].

Rav Shimi said to him

Rav Shimi to Abaye:

I shall irrigate water for my master during the day, and let my master seat me at night, [

I shall irrigate my master’s fields during the day, and he should set a time with me to study at night].

Abaye said to him

Abaye to Rav Shimi:

Agreed,

that is: I agree!

Rav Shimi acted cunningly and

went to the upper ones [

he went to the upper ones] and

said to them:

This is the law:

The lower ones drink the water first [

the lower ones irrigate first], and you must not dam the river.

And again

Rav Shimi went

Rav Shimi

to the lower ones [

to the lower ones], and

said to them

in the opposite manner:

The upper ones drink the water first [

the upper ones irrigate first], and you must not dam the river.

Meanwhile [

in the meantime]

Rav Shimi dammed

Rav Shimi

and irrigated [

Rav Shimi dammed the river and irrigated Abaye’s fields].

When he came before Abaye,

when Rav Shimi came before Abaye:

Abaye said to him

Abaye to Rav Shimi:

Have you acted for me according to two masters!?

You acted for me according to the view of two: both according to Rav and according to Shmuel!?

And

as a result

Abaye did not taste the produce of that year [

Abaye did not wish to taste throughout the year from the produce of his fields, which had been irrigated improperly], and this was so that they would not say that Rav Shimi had acted on his instruction.

Those residents of Bei Ḥarmekh [

the residents of that place called thus],

who went and dug at the beginning of Shunvata [

the name of the river]

and returned it and cast it at the end [

at the end]

of the river, [

they dug a canal at the river’s source, surrounded their fields with the canal, and then returned the canal to the river’s continuation].

The upper ones came [

the upper ones, who were near the river’s source]

before Abaye,

and

said to him

to Abaye:

It is obstructing our river [

those who dug the canal obstruct the flow of the river’s water, and the river’s waters rise and inundate our fields], for such is the way of a river: its waters do not run swiftly when it has a bend in its course.

Abaye said to them

Abaye to those who dug the canal:

Dig alongside them a little more [

deepen the canal so that the water will flow].

They said to him

the diggers of the canal to Abaye: if we do so,

the produce will dry up [

the produce in our fields will dry up], for the water will deepen and will not flow in the channels that we made so that the water would be drawn through there to our fields.

Abaye said to them

Abaye to the diggers of the canal:

Go, remove yourselves from there,

that is: Go and close your canal.

We learned in the Mishna:

Traps for animals, birds, and fish

have an element of robbery, for the sake of the ways of peace; Rabbi Yose says: complete robbery: