Ketubot 111b (קיא:) — the Talmud in English

Rather, “sitting”——

a standing position with support is more comfortable than one without support.

And they also added words of Torah to their letter:

And likewise Yitzhak, Shimon, and Hoshaya said one and the same thing: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda with regard to mules,

as will be explained.

As it is taught in a beraita: Rabbi Yehuda says: A mule

formed through the mating of a horse and a donkey,

which sought

to mate,

may be mated neither with a horse nor with a donkey, but only with its own kind,

because this involves the prohibition of diverse kinds. This is because Rabbi Yehuda is uncertain whether one must be concerned about the seed of the father or not.

But according to the Sages, one need not be concerned about the seed of the father. Therefore, if the mule was born from a female donkey that was mounted by a horse, it may be mated with a donkey; and if the mule was born from a female horse that was mounted by a donkey, it may be mated with a horse.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: “Yitzḥak”—

this is Rabbi Yitzḥak Nappaḥa;

“Shimon”—

this is Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi;

and some say: Reish Lakish;

“Hoshaya”—

this is Rabbi Hoshaya the son of Rabbi.

We learned above:

Rabbi Elazar said: Ignorant people do not live again.

As it is stated: [Isaiah 26]

“The dead shall not live, etc.”

It is taught likewise in a beraita: “The dead shall not live”—

Could this apply to everyone?

The verse states: “The shades shall not rise up.”

The verse is speaking of one who makes himself lax with regard to words of Torah.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said

to Rabbi Elazar:

“Their Master is not pleased that you speak to them in this manner.”

For

that

verse

is written with reference to one who makes himself lax with regard to idol worship!

He said to him,

Rabbi Elazar:

“I expound another verse,”

as it is written: [Isaiah 26]

“For Your dew is the dew of lights, and the earth shall cast forth the shades,”

Anyone who makes use of the light of Torah—

the light of Torah gives him life;

but anyone who does not make use of the light of Torah—

the light of Torah does not give him life.

When he saw

Rabbi Elazar

that Rabbi Yoḥanan was distressed

by his words,

he said to him: “Rabbi, I have found for them

a remedy for those who are lax in their study of Torah,

from the Torah itself!” [Deuteronomy 4]

“But you who cleave to the Lord your God are alive, every one of you, today”—

but is it possible

for a person

to cleave to the Divine Presence?

But it is written: [Deuteronomy 4]

“For the Lord your God is a consuming fire!”

Rather, with regard to anyone who gives his daughter in marriage to a Torah scholar, who conducts business on behalf of Torah scholars, or who benefits Torah scholars from his possessions, the verse considers it as though he cleaves to the Divine Presence.

Similarly, you say: [Deuteronomy 30]

“To love the Lord your God and to cleave to Him”—

but is it possible for a person to cleave to the Divine Presence?

Rather, with regard to anyone who gives his daughter in marriage to a Torah scholar, who conducts business on behalf of Torah scholars, or who benefits Torah scholars from his possessions, the verse considers it as though he cleaves to the Divine Presence.

Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Yosef said: In the future, the righteous

at the resurrection of the dead

will sprout forth and ascend in Jerusalem.

As it is stated [Psalms 72]:

“And may they blossom forth from the city like the grass of the earth.”

And “city” means none other than Jerusalem.

As it is stated [II Kings 19]

“And I shall protect this city.”

And Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Yosef said: In the future, the righteous will stand

at the resurrection of the dead

in their garments.

This can be derived by means of a kal va-chomer from wheat—

if wheat, which is buried naked,

emerges

from the earth clothed

in several garments,

then the righteous, who were buried in their garments,—

all the more so

will arise from the earth for resurrection in their garments.

And Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Yosef said: In the future, Eretz Yisrael will produce cakes and fine woolen garments.

As it is stated [Psalms 72]

“May there be an abundance of grain in the land.”

The Sages taught:

It is written in the Book of Psalms,

“May there be an abundance of grain in the land, on the tops of the mountains.”

From here

they said

the Sages:

In the future, wheat will rise like a palm tree and grow on the tops of the mountains.

And lest you say that harvesting it will be painful

for the wheat, because of the effort required on account of its height,

the verse states

later in the verse:

“It shall rustle like Lebanon—

its fruit.”

The verse teaches that

the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring a wind from His treasuries, blow upon it, and cause its fine flour to emerge,

as the blowing wind will strip the wheat grains, crush them into flour, and sift out the refuse, leaving pure fine flour.

And a person will go out to the field and bring a full handful

of the fine flour in the field,

and it will provide his sustenance and the sustenance of the members of his household.

And the beraita continues by explaining verses concerning the excellence of the produce of Eretz Yisrael. It is written in Deuteronomy, in the Song of Ha'azinu:

“With the fat of kidneys of wheat.”

From here

they said

the Sages:

In the future, wheat

in Eretz Yisrael

will be as large as the two kidneys of the “great ox.”

And do not be surprised, for a fox made its den in

the middle of

a turnip,

which was so large that the fox bored through it until the hollow of the opening was spacious enough for it to establish its dwelling there and give birth to its young. [Rashi: The term “made its den” derives from the word “nest,” which is built for raising young.]

And they weighed it

the turnip after the place of the fox’s “den” had been removed from it,

and found in it

what remained—a weight of

sixty litrin,

which were measured

by

the measure of

the litra of Tzippori.

It is taught in a beraita: Rabbi Yosef said: There was an incident in Sichin involving one whose father left him three mustard stalks, and one broke

and split

from one of them

from the stem,

and nine kav of mustard were found in it.

And

on

its branches

of that mustard plant—

they roofed a potters’ hut—a hut used by potters.

Rabbi Shimon ben Taḥlifa said: Our father left us a stalk of cabbage, and we would ascend and descend it by ladder.

And it is written later in the passage of Ha'azinu [Deuteronomy 32]:

“And of the blood of the grape you shall drink wine.”

From here

they said

the Sages:

Not like this world—

the World to Come.

In this world—

there is hardship,

for if a person wants wine, he must first

harvest

the grapes from the vineyard, and afterward he must toil

and tread

them in the winepress.

But in the time of

the World to Come—

a person brings

a single grape

in a wagon or on a ship, and places it in a corner of

his house, and obtains from it

wine

like a large petos—a large container holding a kor of wine.

And its branches

of the grape cluster,

are used to kindle

the fire

beneath the cooked dish.

And there is not a single grape that does not contain thirty gerav of wine.

As it is stated: “And of the blood of the grape you shall drink wine.”

And the Sages expounded the words of the verse, “And of the blood of the grape you shall drink,” to mean that the wine will be drunk directly from the grape, without any need to produce it.

And the Sages derived the great quantity of wine that will be obtained from a single grape from the word “wine”—

Do not read it as ḥemer, “wine,” but as ḥomer—a measure of a kor, containing thirty se'a.

When Rav Dimi came, he said: What is the meaning of that which is written: [Genesis 49]

“Binding his foal to the vine”?

There is not a single vine in Eretz Yisrael that does not require an entire city to harvest it,

to place its grape clusters upon it. [Genesis 49]

“And his vine branch to the foal of his donkey”—

there is not a single barren tree in Eretz Yisrael that does not produce a load for two female donkeys;

And lest you say that it does not contain

much

wine,

the verse states: “He washes his garment in wine.”

The wine is as abundant as water, to the extent that it serves as water for washing.

And lest you say that it is not red,

the verse states: “And of the blood of the grape you shall drink wine”;

and lest you say that it does not refresh—

it is not intoxicating—

the verse states: “Sota”;

and lest you say that it has no flavor,

the verse states: “His eyes shall be red with wine,”

everyone whose palate tastes it says:

give

me,

give

me;

and lest you say that it is suitable for the young but not suitable for the elderly,

the verse states: “And his teeth white with milk.”

Do not read it as “whiteness of teeth,” but as “whiteness of years.”

What is the plain meaning of the verse speaking about?

When Rav Dimi came, he said: The assembly of Israel said before the Holy One, blessed be He: “Master of the Universe, hint

to

me in Your eyes,

as friends do,

whose teeth are stained from wine, and show me Your teeth stained from milk.”

This supports the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan.

As Rabbi Yoḥanan said: One who whitens his friend’s teeth with a smile is greater than one who gives him milk to drink, as it is stated: “And his teeth white”—

from milk.

Do not read it as “white teeth,” but as “the whitening of teeth.”

Rav Ḥiyya bar Adda—

was a teacher of young children

in the school of

Reish Lakish.

He was absent

from teaching the children for

three days, and did not come.

When he came,

Reish Lakish

said to him: “Why were you absent?”

He said to him: “My father left me a single vine

of grapes,

and on the first day I harvested three hundred clusters, one cluster to a gerav

of measure.

On the second day I harvested three hundred clusters, two clusters to a gerav; on the third day I harvested from it three hundred clusters, three clusters to a gerav, and I declared more than half of it ownerless.”

He said to him:

You have thereby seen that you receive less each day, and you should have understood that this is punishment for neglecting your Torah study with the children.

Had you not been absent—

it would have produced more.

Rami bar Yeḥezkel happened to come to Bnei Brak.

He saw those goats eating beneath fig trees, while honey was dripping from the figs, and milk was flowing from them and mingling with one another. He said: “This is surely ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’”

Rabbi Yaakov ben Dostai said: From Lod to Ono is three mil. Once I set out early at dusk and walked until my ankles in fig honey.

Reish Lakish said: I myself saw the land flowing with milk and honey of Tzippori, and it extended sixteen mil by sixteen mil.