Megillah 6a (ו.) — the Talmud in English

:

:

“Hamat”—

this is Tiberias. And why was it called

in the biblical text

Hamat? Because of the hot springs of Tiberias.

But as for the city called in that same verse

“Rakkath”—

this is Sepphoris. And why was it called

in the biblical text

Rakkath? Because it is elevated

[for it is high, situated at the summit of the mountain]

like the bank of a river

[for it is higher than the river].

“Chinnereth”—

this is Gennesaret. And why was it called Chinnereth?

Because

its fruits are as sweet as the sound of a lyre

[for its fruits are sweet like the sound of a lyre] .

Rava said:

How could Rabbi Yohanan say that Rakkath is Sepphoris,

is there anyone who says

that

Rakkath—

is not Tiberias?

But when a person dies here

in Babylonia,

there

in Tiberias—

they eulogize him as follows: “He is great in Sheshakh”

[which is Babylonia, since “Bavel” transformed through the atbash substitution is “Sheshakh”] \-

it is “Sheshakh”

and there

there emerges

for him—

in Rakkath.

And when they bring the coffin

of a deceased person from Babylonia

there

the eulogizers

to bury him there ,

eulogize him and call out in the marketplaces, so that people will go out to greet the deceased—

as follows: “Lovers of the remnant

Israel ,

inhabitants of Rakkath, go out and receive those slain in the depths

[that is, Babylonia, which is deep]!

When the soul of

Rabbi Zeira departed

[who had ascended from Babylonia to Eretz Yisrael and died there],

that eulogizer began his eulogy

as follows:

“The land of Shinar conceived and gave birth, the land of the gazelle

Eretz Yisrael

raised its delight

of Shinar ,

“Woe to her,” said Rakkath, “for she has lost her precious vessel” .

In any event, we see that Rakkath is Tiberias, and not as Rabbi Yohanan said, that Rakkath is Sepphoris and Hamat is Tiberias!?

Rather, Rava said:

this is the explanation of the names of the places in that verse:

Hamat—

this is the hot springs of

Gerar. Rakkath—

this is Tiberias. Chinnereth—

this is Gennesaret. And why was the name

of Tiberias

Rakkath?

Because

even the empty ones among them—

are filled with mitzvot like a pomegranate .

Rabbi Yirmeya said: Rakkath

is

the name

of Tiberias.

And why is its name now called

now

Tiberias ?

Because

it sits at the navel

the center

of Eretz Yisrael.

Rabba

also

said

in accordance with Rabbi Yirmeya, that in fact

Rakkath is its name. And why was its name called Tiberias?

Because

its appearance is beautiful

since it has gardens and orchards [Tosafot]'] .

Zeira said: Kitron—

this is

the city now called

Sepphoris. And why was its name called Sepphoris?

Because

it sits at the summit of the mountain—

like a bird.

And we raise an objection:

Is Kitron Sepphoris? But Kitron was in the portion of Zebulun, as it is written: “

[The tribe of]

Zebulun did not dispossess

\[did not destroy]

the inhabitants of Kitron and the inhabitants of Nahalol.”

[These places fell to Zebulun in the division of the land, and the descendants of Zebulun violated the command of the Holy One, blessed be He, who said, “You shall not leave alive any soul.” They did not destroy them; rather, they allowed them to dwell among them and to pay them a tax.]

And Zebulun complained about his lot—

concerning the measure that Heaven allotted him, that these places fell into his portion—

that is what happened.

As it is stated in the Song of Deborah, concerning the war with Sisera: “Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to die, and Naphtali upon the heights of the field.” And we interpret the verse as follows:

Zebulun—

a people who risked their lives to die.

And

for what reason

did they wish to die then, in that war? Because when Israel gathered for war at that time, the people of Zebulun saw the inheritance of the people of Naphtali, where they had assembled. And when they saw

that

the portion of

Naphtali—

was upon the heights of the field, a place of fields and vineyards, Zebulun risked his life to die over his bad fortune, since seas, mountains, and hills had fallen into his portion .

a place of fields and vineyards, Zebulun jeopardized its life to the death over its bad fortune, since seas, mountains, and hills had fallen within its portion .

And so

Zebulun said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, You gave my brothers fields and vineyards, whereas

if only

You had given me mountains and hills! You gave my brothers lands, while You gave me seas and rivers!?

He said to him

the Holy One, blessed be He:

all of them,

all your brothers will be

dependent upon you—

through the chilazon, which rises from the sea to the mountains in your portion, and whose blood is used to dye tekhelet, which is sold for a high price.

which rises from the sea to the mountains in your portion. They will dye wool sky-blue with its blood, and it will be sold for a high price.

As it is stated in that verse:

“Peoples shall call to the mountain”—

all the tribes will gather at your mountains,

“and the hidden treasures of the sand”—

in order to purchase the hidden treasures of the sand.

And what are those “hidden treasures of the sand”?

Rav Yosef taught: “Shufunei”—

this is the chilazon

[which is a valuable substance, for safun means valuable in the language of a beraita].

“Temunei”—

this is terita

\[a type of fish] .

“Sand”—

this is white glass,

for the sand in Zebulun’s portion is more valuable than other sand and is suitable for white glass.

Zebulun said before Him

Zebulun:

Master of the Universe! Who will inform me

to demand payment from those who take these things?

He said to him

the Holy One, blessed be He:

“There they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness!”

You shall have this sign: Whoever takes from you without payment—

will gain nothing from his commerce.

This is analogous to a sacrifice: Just as a stolen offering accomplishes nothing, so one who takes without payment will have the dye and the sand spoil and they will be of no use to him.

We return to our objection, which we raised against Zeira, who said that Kitron is Sepphoris:

And if it enters your mind

that

Kitron is Sepphoris, why

was

Zebulun complaining

Zebulun

about his lot? But

the city

Sepphoris

was in his portion, and it is

something far superior

to that of his brothers!

And if you would say

that he complained because

it did not have

\[in Kitron] this excellent feature of

a land flowing with milk and honey

[where goats eat figs, honey drips from them, and milk flows from the goats, forming something like a stream]?

But

it did have it!

For Reish Lakish said: I myself saw the flow of milk and honey of Sepphoris

[which is Kitron],

and it was

an area of

sixteen mil—

by sixteen mil!?

And if you would say that

although there was indeed a flow of milk and honey there, as Reish Lakish said, nevertheless

the flow of milk and honey

was not greater than

his

[that of Zebulun]—

than that of his brother

[that is, than that of his brothers, whose flow of milk and honey was greater, and for this reason he complained],

Rabba bar bar Hana said that Rabbi Yohanan said: I myself saw the flow of milk and honey of the entire Land of Israel, and all of it, when combined, was

all of it, if you combine it,

like

the place called

Bei Kovei, until

the place called

Akra de-Tulbaknei,

whose measurement is

twenty-two parasangs in length, and its width

its width]

is six parasangs.

And if it were divided among all the tribes, each one’s portion would be less than four parasangs .

If so, Zebulun’s flow of milk and honey should have been greater than theirs, since sixteen mil are four parasangs!?

We answer:

Even so, fields and vineyards—

were preferable to him

than what Zebulun had.

This too is precise, as it is written: “And Naphtali upon the heights of the field.”

We see that this was his principal complaint: that he did not have fields like his other brothers.

And we conclude:

Conclude from it.

Rabbi Abbahu said:

concerning that which is written in the prophecy of Zephaniah:

“And Ekron shall be uprooted”—

this is Caesarea, the daughter of Edom.

For its actual name is Caesarea , and it is called “Ekron” in Scripture because it will be uprooted.

For it sits among the sands ,

and before it was uprooted, it was

before its uprooting

a stake firmly planted

for harm

to Israel in the days of the Greeks.

And when the Hasmonean dynasty prevailed—

and defeated them, they called it: “The captured

\[conquered]

Tower of Shir.”

Rabbi Yosei bar Hanina said: What is

this

that is written

in Zechariah’s prophecy concerning Tyre, which was the chief city of Edom:

“And I shall remove his blood from his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth, and he too shall remain for our God,

and he shall be like a chief in Judah, and Ekron like a Jebusite”?

This is the explanation of that verse:

“And I shall remove his blood from his mouth”—

this is their house of Bamia.

For there they would cast the blood of their sacrifices to idolatry.

“And his abominations from between his teeth”—

this is their house of Galia

[Bamia and Galia are the names of principal idols in Edom].

“And he too shall remain for our God”—

these are the synagogues and study halls in Edom.

And concerning what is written there, later in the prophecy:

“And he shall be like a chief in Judah, and Ekron like a Jebusite

[which is Jerusalem] "—

these are the theaters and circuses

in Edom, where the leaders of Judah will in the future teach Torah publicly .

Rabbi Yitzhak said:

The city

Leshem,

which is the city conquered by the descendants of Dan—

this is Paneas,

from which the Jordan River emerges.

Ekron shall be uprooted—

this is Caesarea, the daughter of Edom, which was the metropolis of kings

(in the Greek language: the mother of royalty).

And in what way was Caesarea the metropolis of kings?

Some say: because it raises kings

whom they raise there.

And some say: because they appoint kings from it

whom they appoint from among its inhabitants,

kings.

The cities

Caesarea and Jerusalem: If someone tells you, “Both have been destroyed,” do not believe him

.

And likewise, if someone tells you:

“Both are inhabited,”

that both are settled and neither has been destroyed,

do not believe him.

But if someone tells you:

“Caesarea has been destroyed and Jerusalem is inhabited,”

or tells you:

“Jerusalem has been destroyed and Caesarea is inhabited,”

believe him.

As it is stated: “Because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem: ‘Aha, she is broken …

now

I shall be filled from her ruins.’”

For Tyre said: “Now I shall be filled through the destruction of Jerusalem.”

If this one is filled—

that one is destroyed.

And

if this one is filled—

that one is destroyed.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: From here

we learn that if this one is filled, that one is destroyed, as it is written concerning Jacob and Esau:

“One nation shall be mightier than the other,”

we see that they can never be equal in greatness. Rather, when one rises, the other falls

. And

further,

Rabbi Yitzḥak said: What

is the meaning of

that which is written: “May favor be shown to the wicked, yet he has not learned righteousness”?

(And the continuation of the verse is: “In a land of uprightness he acts unjustly, and he does not see the majesty of the Lord.”)

This is the explanation of the verse:

Isaac

our father

said before the Holy One, blessed be He: “Master of the Universe, may favor be shown to Esau!”

And “may favor be shown” is an expression of an undeserved gift; that is, grant him a free gift even though he is not deserving of it.

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

“He is wicked!”

He

Isaac

said to Him: “Has he not learned righteousness?”

Is there no one who can argue merit on his behalf?

The Holy One, blessed be He

said to him:

“In a land of uprightness he acts unjustly.”

That is, he will ultimately destroy Jerusalem and the Land of Israel.

He

Isaac

said to Him: “If so, may he not see the majesty of the Lord.”

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: What

is the meaning of

that which is written: “Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; do not fulfill his design—let them not rise up forever”?

Jacob said before the Holy One, blessed be He: “Master of the Universe! Do not grant wicked Esau the desire of his heart.”