Menachot 53b — the Talmud in English

“Beloved son” —

this is Abraham, as it is written: “What has My beloved to do in My house?”

as will be explained below.

“And he will build for the beloved” —

this is the Temple, as it is written: “How beloved are Your dwelling places.”

“For the beloved” —

this is the Almighty, as it is written: “Let me sing now for my beloved.”

“In the portion of the beloved” —

this is Benjamin, as it is stated: “Of Benjamin he said: —

‘The beloved of the Lord, he will dwell in security upon him.’”

“And through him the beloved will attain atonement” —

these are Israel, as it is written: “I have given the beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.”

Rabbi Ezra further expounded:

“Let the good come and receive good from the Good” —

for the good!

“Let the good come” —

this is Moses, as it is written: “And she saw him, that he was good.”

“And receive good” —

this is the Torah, as it is written: “For I have given you a good teaching.”

“From the Good” —

this is the Almighty, as it is written: “The Lord is good to all.”

“For the good” —

these are Israel, as it is written: “Do good, O Lord, to the good.”

Rabbi Ezra further expounded:

“Let this one come and receive this from This One” —

for this people!

“Let this one come” —

this is Moses, as it is written: “For this Moses, the man.”

“And receive this” —

this is the Torah, as it is written: “And this is the Torah that Moses placed.”

“From This One” —

this is the Almighty, as it is written: “This is my God, and I will glorify Him.”

“For this people” —

these are Israel, as it is stated: “This people You acquired.”

Rabbi Isaac said: When the Temple was destroyed, the Almighty found Abraham, who was standing in the Temple. He said to him

the Almighty said to Abraham:

“What has My beloved to do in My house?” He said to him

Abraham said to Him:

“I have come concerning the affairs of my children.” He said to him

the Almighty said to him:

“Your children sinned —

and they were exiled!”

He said to him

Abraham said to Him:

“Perhaps they sinned unintentionally?!”

He said to him

the Almighty said to him:

“The one who did the scheme,”

for their deeds were done with scheme and intention.

He said to him

Abraham said to Him:

“Perhaps

only

a minority of them sinned?”

He said to him

the Almighty said to him:

“The majority

sinned.”

Abraham said to Him:

“You should have remembered the covenant of circumcision.”

He said to him

the Almighty said to him: “

And holy flesh has passed away from you.”

He said to him

Abraham said to Him:

“Perhaps, if You had waited for them, they would have repented?!”

He said to him

the Almighty said to him: “

For when I reproach you —

then you rejoice,” when they are tranquil and joyful, they cling even more strongly to their evil deeds; therefore, waiting would only cause them to sin more.

Immediately

he placed

Abraham’s

hands upon his head, and he cried out and wept. And he said to

the Almighty:

“Perhaps, Heaven forbid, there is no remedy for them?!”

A Divine Voice went forth and said to him: “A fresh olive tree, beautiful with handsome fruit, the Lord has called your name” —

just as this olive tree has its end at its conclusion,

it is planted, and after a long time it produces many fruits,

so too Israel has their end at their conclusion,

their end is that they will repent.

And now the Gemara expounds the continuation of those verses in the Book of Jeremiah.

This is what is written: “

At the sound of a great tumult He kindled fire against it, and its branches were ravaged” —

Rabbi Ḥinnana bar Pappa said: At the sound of the words of the spies —

the branches of Israel were broken.

That is, the pride of their strength was broken.

For Rabbi Ḥinnana bar Pappa said: The spies spoke a great thing

at that time: “

For he is stronger than us” —

do not read it ‘than us’ but ‘than Him,’ as though even

the Almighty, who is

the master of the house, cannot remove His vessels from there,

because they are stronger than He.

Rav Aḥa the son of Rabbi Ḥinnana raises an objection to this: What is the meaning of this phrase, “At the sound of a great tumult”?!

Why is it written in this wording, for according to this exposition,

“At the sound of a word” —

it should have been necessary

to write!?

Rather,

this verse is expounded as follows:

The Almighty said to Abraham: I have heard your voice, and I have had compassion on them. I said that they would be subjugated under four kingdoms,

and the subjugation of

each and every one

of the four kingdoms would continue

for the measure of the four kingdoms

that now exist. But

now,

now that the Almighty has heard the voice of Abraham our father and had compassion upon us, the subjugation under each kingdom will not be as long as the measure of four kingdoms, but

each one and each one

will subjugate us according to

what was allotted to it,

that is, for the duration of one kingdom.

And some say: I said

that the four kingdoms would subjugate you

one after the other; now,

after the Almighty heard the voice of Abraham our father, the exile under all four kingdoms will be

at one time,

through the children of Israel being dispersed among all four kingdoms [Babylonia, Persia, Greece, Rome].

Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said: Why were Israel compared to an olive tree?

To say

to you: Just as the leaves of an olive tree do not fall, neither

in the days of summer nor in the days of winter, so too Israel have no cessation ever, neither in this world nor in the World to Come!

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Why were Israel compared to an olive tree? To say to you: Just as an olive tree produces its oil only through crushing, so too Israel return to what is proper only through suffering!

We learned in the Mishna:

Rabbi Meir says: The leaven —

he fashions for them from within it, and leavens them.

Rabbi Judah says: He brings the leaven from his house and places it inside the measure.

They said to him: This too was deficient or excessive.

And we raised the matter:

What does this mean,

when was it

deficient, or

when was it

excessive?

And we answer:

Rav Ḥisda said: If the

dough of the

leaven

that he brought from his house was

thick, because he made it in his house when it was mixed with a small amount of water, and thus the leaven became thick and hard, then in its volume it now contains more flour than if it had been unmixed fine flour; therefore, if he measures this leaven together with the fine flour within the measure of an issaron,

because he made it in his house with only a small amount of water, and thus the leaven became thick and hard, then its volume now contains more flour than the volume of an equal measure of semolina that has not been mixed with water. Therefore, if he measures this leaven together with the semolina in the tenth-measure,

it is found to be excessive

the measure of fine flour for the meal-offering that was measured within

the measure of an issaron.

For since the fine flour mixed into the thick and hard leaven is compressed in its volume, more fine flour can be placed in the measure of an issaron than would have been placed in it had he not mixed the leaven.

And if the dough of the leaven was

soft,

because of the great amount of water placed in it, and through this the volume of the leaven is broader than unmixed fine flour,

it is found

that the fine flour placed in the measure of an issaron is

deficient,

for had the dough of the leaven not been mixed, he would have placed more fine flour in it.

And the Gemara discusses Rav Ḥisda’s answer: What do we care about the measure of the fine flour as it would have been had he not mixed the dough of the leaven? And why can he not now measure the leaven together with the flour in the measure of an issaron, for

in the end, when he measures

now, when he measures the fine flour and the leaven together —

is he not measuring for an issaron?!

And we answer:

Rabba and Rav Joseph both say: It is impossible to measure the leaven as it is now without taking into account its volume as it was when it was fine flour, because

невозможно измерять закваску в ее нынешнем виде, не учитывая ее объем, каким он был, когда она была мукой, потому что

“according to what they were, it is assessed.”

The measure of the dough of the leaven must be as it was when it was flour, and not in its present state, when it is leaven mixed with water.

Rather, there still remains a difficulty according to both Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Judah:

let him weigh a little

of fine flour from the vessel of the issaron, after it has been measured,

and let him leaven it

that small amount well

from outside,

outside the vessel [in a warm place, or by burying it within leavened dough until it becomes well leavened],

and let him bring it,

to the well-leavened leaven, and return it to the measuring vessel in which the fine flour is placed,

and let him knead it

and knead the fine flour

with it,

together with the leaven. Why, then, did Rabbi Meir say that he fashions the leaven within the issaron itself, and why did Rabbi Judah say that he brings leaven from his house?

And we answer: The reason they do not do this is because of

a decree, lest he come,

lest the observer who sees how they bring leaven from outside and insert it into the vessel without measuring it come to err, thinking that it is possible to add the leaven onto the issaron, and that the leaven is not included in the measure of the issaron, and he will come

to bring

leaven

from elsewhere,

and add it to the issaron.

Therefore, according to Rabbi Meir it is preferable that he fashion it from within, and according to Rabbi Judah it is preferable that he bring it from his house.