Ketubot 62b — the Talmud in English

Rather,

all of them:

they said this concerning all craftsmen, that if he prohibited his wife by vow for more than one week, he must divorce her and give her the marriage settlement.

And the Gemara asks:

but

the conjugal interval of a sailor,

he said is once every six months

the tannai. And if so, it is impossible to say that a sailor who prohibited his wife for one week must divorce her and give her the marriage settlement, for he does not cancel his conjugal interval at all!?

And the Gemara explains Abaye’s answer: in his view, even a husband who is not required to visit his wife within the time of the prohibition, if he prohibits her from marital relations, must divorce her and give her the marriage settlement. For such a situation is worse for the woman than when the husband is not in his home and therefore does not visit her. For if the husband does not visit her because he is not at home, the woman hopes that perhaps he will come and visit her; whereas now, since he prohibited her, he certainly will not visit her. It is like the following proverb—

One who

fasts and

has bread in his basket is not like one who

fasts and

does not have bread in his basket.

And so, this woman whose husband has gone away is like one who has a husband, for perhaps he will come and visit her; but when he prohibits her, she is like one who has no husband.

Said

Rabba bar Rav Hanan

asked Abaye:

One who married a woman while he was a

donkey-driver,

whose conjugal interval is once a week and whose earnings are meager,

and became

wishes to change his occupation as a donkey-driver and become a

“camel-driver,”

one who leads camels, whose conjugal interval is once every thirty days, but whose earnings are greater,

what

is the law? Is he permitted to do so, after the conjugal obligation of a donkey-driver took effect upon him at the time of the marriage? Shall we say that a better livelihood is preferable for the woman, or that a more frequent conjugal interval is preferable for her?

He said to him

Abaye said to Rabba bar Rav Hanan: He is forbidden to become a “camel-driver” without his wife’s permission, because:

She wants

the

woman is satisfied with a kav

alone of food,

and

only that there should be

“frivolity”

with her—that her husband should be with her,

rather than

that she should have

ten kav

of food

and separation

from her husband!

We learned in the Mishna: The conjugal interval stated in the Torah—

sailors once every six months, the words of Rabbi Eliezer:

Rav Bruna said that Rav said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Eliezer

in everything that he said in our Mishna.

Rav Adda bar Ahava said that Rav:

This

that we learned in our Mishna: Students may leave without permission for thirty days—

is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer

;

but the Sages

disagree with him and

say: Students may leave for Torah study

even

two or three years

without permission.

Rava said: The Sages relied

the students relied

on Rav Adda bar Ahava

to separate from their wives for two or three years—

and they performed an act at the cost of their lives [that is, this act cost them their lives]!

As with Rav Reḥumi, who was regularly present before Rava in Meḥoza

[he was accustomed to separate from his wife and be with Rava in his city, Meḥoza].

He was accustomed

Rav Reḥumi

to come to his home every eve of Yom Kippur

[to come to his home every eve of Yom Kippur].

One day,

on the eve of Yom Kippur,

the teaching drew him

Rav Reḥumi was drawn somewhat into his study and was late in going to his home.

His wife was watching

and waiting [she was waiting, and thinking in her heart]:

Now he is coming, now he is coming

[Now he is coming! Now he is coming!].

But finally

he did not come

[Rav Reḥumi did not arrive].

Her mind was weakened

[of his wife],

a tear fell

from her eye

[a tear fell from his wife’s eye].

He was sitting

Rav Reḥumi

in the attic

[Rav Reḥumi was sitting in the upper room],

the attic collapsed beneath him

of Rav Reḥumi [the upper room collapsed beneath him],

and his soul came to rest

[Rav Reḥumi died].

Rav Reḥumi died.

And the Gemara asks:

The conjugal interval of Torah scholars—

when

is it?

Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel:

The conjugal interval of Torah scholars is once a week, and its time is

from Friday evening to Friday evening,

since it is a night of pleasure, cessation, and bodily enjoyment!

And the Gemara expounds concerning this the statement of the verse in Psalms: “Rather, his desire is in the Torah of the Lord, and in His Torah he studies day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted beside streams of water, which gives its fruit in its time”—

Rav Yehuda said, and some say Rav Huna

[some say that Rav Huna expounded thus],

and some say Rav Naḥman:

“Which gives its fruit in its time”—

this

is a

man who engages in marital relations from Friday evening to Friday evening.

Yehuda, son of Rabbi Ḥiyya,

who was

his son-in-law

the son-in-law

of Rabbi Yannai, would go and sit in the house of study

[he would go to sit in the academy all week].

And every Friday eve

[Friday eve]

he would come to his home

[he would return to his home every Friday eve].

And when he would come

[before he would come],

Rabbi Yannai would see

before him a pillar of fire

[Rabbi Yannai would see a pillar of fire],

[which would precede his coming before his son-in-law].

One day, the teaching drew him

to Yehuda [he was drawn into his study] and he did not go to his home at the time fixed for him.

When he did not see

Rabbi Yannai

that sign

[when Rabbi Yannai did not see the pillar of fire],

Rabbi Yannai said to them

to the members of his son-in-law’s household:

Turn over

, turn over

his bed

of Yehuda, as mourners do, for he surely died,

for if Yehuda were alive, he would not have canceled his conjugal interval.

It was

the words of Rabbi Yannai

like “an error that proceeds from before the ruler” ,

and his soul came to rest

[Yehuda, son of Rabbi Ḥiyya, died].

Rabbi arranged a betrothal for his son with the daughter of Rabbi Ḥiyya

[he betrothed his son to the daughter of Rabbi Ḥiyya].

When it came time to write the marriage contract

[when they reached the point of writing the marriage contract],

the young woman died

[the young woman, the bride, daughter of Rabbi Ḥiyya, died].

Rabbi said:

But

God forbid, is there a disqualification

[is there some disqualification in this match]?

They sat and examined the families

[the two sides sat to examine the family of the groom and the family of the bride], and they found that

Rabbi descends

[Rabbi’s origin]

from Shephatiah son of Abital,

David’s wife, and thus his son was descended from kings,

whereas

if

Rabbi Ḥiyya descends

[his origin]

from Shimei, brother of David—

And this was the disqualification: she was not the daughter of kings, and she was not fitting for the son of kings.

Rabbi went

Rabbi,

arranged a betrothal for his son

[he betrothed his son, after his bride died]

with the family of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra

[to the daughter of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra].

They set for him

for Rabbi’s son

twelve years

to go to the house of study

[the bride’s family agreed with the groom that he had permission to go to the academy for twelve years before marrying his bride].

Afterward

they passed her before him

[they brought the bride before the groom], and because of his great affection for his bride,

he said to them

the groom said to the bride’s family:

Let there be

only

six years

[six years that I go to the academy before I bring her into my home will suffice for me].

Again

they passed her before him

[they brought her before him again], and

he said to them

the groom:

I will marry her and afterward go

[I will first marry my bride and afterward go to the academy].

The groom was ashamed

the groom

before his father

[the groom was ashamed before Rabbi, his father, because he had changed his mind].

He said to him

Rabbi said to his son:

My son, your Creator’s character

[the Holy One, blessed be He]

is in you,

for He too first said to delay the time of His wedding with the Congregation of Israel, and then brought it closer because of His great affection for His bride, for:

At first it is written

[at the beginning it is written]:

“You shall bring them and plant them

[the children of Israel]

on the mountain of Your inheritance

[in the Land of Israel, and only afterward],

the place of Your dwelling

You made, O Lord; the Sanctuary, O Lord, Your hands established”—

And ultimately it is written,

while Israel was still in the wilderness:

“And they shall make Me a Sanctuary, and I shall dwell among them.”

Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, returned and brought closer the time of His wedding with Israel because of His great affection for them.

And indeed Rabbi’s son married her, and

went,

went after his wedding and

sat twelve years in the house of study

[he sat twelve years in the academy].

By the time he came, his wife had become incapable of bearing children

[by the time Rabbi’s son returned from the academy, his wife had become incapable of bearing children], as happens to women who sit ten years without a husband.

Rabbi said: What shall we do,

what should his son do now?

If

we divorce her

his wife, who had become incapable of bearing children, and he marries another in her place so that he will have children, then

people will say

the people:

This poor woman waited in vain

[she waited] for her husband!

And if he does not divorce her, but

marries

and takes

another wife,

another woman in addition to her, then

people will say

the people:

This

woman whom he has now married is

his wife, and

whereas

this

woman whom he married first is

his prostitute!

He sought

Rabbi requested in prayer

for

his daughter-in-law

mercy, and she was healed,

and she was cured of her infertility.

Rabbi Ḥananya ben Ḥakhinai was going to the academy

[he went to study in the academy]

at the end of the wedding celebration of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai

[at the end of the seven days of festivity for Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai’s wedding].

He said to him

Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said to Rabbi Ḥananya ben Ḥakhinai:

Wait for me until I come with you

[wait for me until my wedding days are completed, and I will come with you].

He did not wait for him

[Rabbi Ḥananya ben Ḥakhinai did not accede to his request and did not wait].

He went

Rabbi Ḥananya ben Ḥakhinai,

and sat twelve years in the house of study

[he sat in the academy for twelve years].

By the time he came, the paths of the city had changed

[by the time Rabbi Ḥananya returned, the paths of the city had changed],

and he did not know

how

to go to his home

[and he did not know by which road he should go to his home].

He went and sat on the bank of the river

[he went and sat on the riverbank],

he heard that young woman whom they were calling

[Rabbi Ḥananya heard how they were calling to a certain young woman]:

Daughter of Ḥakhinai, daughter of Ḥakhinai, fill your jug

and come, let us go

[fill your vessel with water, and come, let us go].

He said

Rabbi Ḥananya:

From this infer that this young woman

is ours

[I understand from this that she is my daughter].

And when his daughter went to her home,

he went after her

[Rabbi Ḥananya went after her].

His wife was sitting and sifting flour

[his wife was sitting at the entrance of her home and sifting flour],

she raised her eyes and saw him

[his wife raised her eyes and saw her husband],

her heart rejoiced,

[her heart saw]

her spirit departed.

It seemed suddenly to her heart that this was her husband, and her spirit departed from her, and she died.

He said

Rabbi Ḥananya

before Him,

blessed be He:

Master of the world, this poor woman,

who agreed that I should go to the house of study for so long, and is

this her reward,

that she died when I returned to her?

He requested

Rabbi Ḥananya

mercy for her

his wife,

and she lived.

Rabbi Ḥama bar Bisa went and sat twelve years in the house of study

[he went after the birth of his son to sit twelve years in the house of study].

When he came

[when he returned to his home],

he said

Rabbi Ḥama in his heart:

I will not act as the son of Ḥakhinai acted

[I will not do as the son of Ḥakhinai did]—to appear suddenly before his wife!

Rather,

he entered and sat in the study hall

[he went to sit in the study hall of his city],

he sent to his home

[Rabbi Ḥama sent to inform his household that he had arrived].

Meanwhile,

Rabbi Oshaya his son came and sat before him

[Rabbi Oshaya his son came and sat before him], and they did not recognize one another.

He was asking him

Rabbi Oshaya was asking his father

a teaching

[he was asking him questions concerning words of Torah].

He saw

Rabbi Ḥama saw his son

that his teachings were sharp

[Rabbi Ḥama saw that he was sharp in halakha],

his mind was weakened

[Rabbi Ḥama’s mind was weakened].

And

he said

Rabbi Ḥama in his heart:

If I had been here, I would have had a son like this

[if I had remained here, I too would have had offspring like this], for I would have taught Torah to my son, whereas I left him alone when he was small.

And since Rabbi Ḥama had sent to inform them of his arrival,

he entered his home

[he went to his home],

his son entered

[while he was sitting in his home, his son, who had spoken with him earlier, entered, and Rabbi Ḥama still did not know that this was his son]—

Rabbi Ḥama rose

Rabbi Ḥama

before him

before Rabbi Oshaya, his son.

He

Rabbi Ḥama

thought,

that Rabbi Oshaya had come,

because he wished to ask him teachings

[he wished to ask him additional questions].

His wife said to him

[his wife said to Rabbi Ḥama]:

Is there a father who stands before his son

[is there a father who stands before his son]!?

Rami bar Ḥama applied to him

Rami bar Ḥama recited concerning his son the verse:

“The threefold cord shall not quickly be broken”—

this is Rabbi Oshaya, the son of Rabbi Ḥama bar Bisa.

Since Rabbi Oshaya was the third generation after Rabbi Bisa, to fill the place of his ancestors in wisdom, for the three generations were scholars: Rabbi Bisa, Rabbi Ḥama, and Rabbi Oshaya.

Rabbi Akiva was the shepherd of Ben Kalba Savua

(Rabbi Akiva, before he learned Torah, was the shepherd of the flocks of the man who was called “Ben Kalba Savua”).

She saw him, that he was modest and of good character

(The daughter of Ben Kalba Savua saw Rabbi Akiva, who was modest and good).

She said to him

the daughter to Rabbi Akiva:

If I become betrothed to you, will you go to the study hall

(If I become betrothed to you, will you go to the yeshiva to learn)?

He said to her

Rabbi Akiva:

Yes,

indeed I will go to learn.

She became betrothed to him secretly, and sent him,

she became betrothed to him secretly—in such a way that her father did not know of it—and sent him to learn Torah.

When

her father

heard

this, he expelled her from his house

and

he forbade her by vow from benefiting from his property

(he forbade her by vow from benefiting from his property).

He went and sat for twelve years in the study hall

(Rabbi Akiva went and sat for twelve years in the yeshiva).

When he came, he brought with him twelve thousand students

(When Rabbi Akiva returned from the yeshiva, he brought with him to his city twelve thousand students).

And when he reached his house,

he heard a certain old man saying to her

(he heard an old man saying to his wife):