Moed Katan 16b — the Talmud in English

Even the words of Torah are in concealment,

and the words of Torah were likened in this verse to the thigh, at the conclusion of the verse, where it is written, “the work of a craftsman,” and the intention is to the Torah, which is “the work of the craftsmanship of the Holy One, blessed be He” [the wording of Rashi].

Rabbi Hiyya went out, and taught the two sons of his brothers in the marketplace, Rav [

who was the son of Rabbi Hiyya’s brother and the son of Rabbi Hiyya’s sister],

and Rabba bar bar Hana [

who was the son of his brother but was not the son of his sister].

Rabbi heard

that Rabbi Hiyya had taught them in the marketplace, and

was angry

with Rabbi Hiyya, because he had taught words of Torah outside .

Came

Rabbi Hiyya

to appear before him,

to present himself before Rabbi.

He said to him

Rabbi:

Hiyya! [

a derogatory appellation] See

who is calling you outside!?

That is, go outside!

He understood

Rabbi Hiyya from Rabbi’s words

that he had taken a matter into his mind,

that he was angry with him and intended to rebuke him.

Rabbi Hiyya conducted

Rabbi Hiyya

a rebuke upon himself for thirty days,

thirty days.

On the thirtieth day,

on the thirtieth day itself, before thirty full days of rebuke had been completed,

he sent him

Rabbi to Rabbi Hiyya:

Come,

come to me!

He sent him again,

he sent to inform him

not to come,

that he should refrain from coming to him.

And the Gemara explains:

Initially,

at first, when Rabbi called Rabbi Hiyya on the thirtieth day to come to him—

what did he think?

Why did Rabbi think that Rabbi Hiyya was permitted to come to him, although the thirty days of rebuke had not ended—

and finally,

when he told him not to come,

what did he think?

What was his reasoning for changing his mind?

Initially,

at first,

he thought

Rabbi that

part of the day

is considered

as all of it,

as though the thirty days had already ended.

But finally he thought

Rabbi that

we do not say that part of the day is as all of it.

In the end,

indeed

Rabbi Hiyya came

on the thirtieth day to Rabbi.

He said to him

Rabbi Hiyya:

Why did you come,

why did you come now?

He said to him

Rabbi Hiyya: I came because

my master sent to me that I should come,

that I should come.

Rabbi said to him:

But I sent to you

afterward a messenger to inform you

not to come!

He said to him

Rabbi Hiyya:

This one,

the first messenger,

I saw, and this one,

the second messenger,

I did not see.

He recited concerning him

Rabbi, concerning Rabbi Hiyya, the verse from Proverbs [chapter 16]: “

When the Lord favors a man’s ways—

even his enemies will be at peace

with

him.” For he came against his will, at Rabbi’s instruction, although Rabbi himself had sent him a second messenger not to come.

And Rabbi asked Rabbi Hiyya:

“

For what reason did my master do this,

to teach words of Torah outside!?”

He said to him

Rabbi Hiyya:

As it is written [

Proverbs 1]: “

Wisdoms—

in the outside she raises her voice

and

calls” .

Rabbi said to him

Rabbi:

If you have read—

you have not reviewed,

for you did not repeat your learning. Had you reviewed and taught your learning again, you would not have come to the point of error.

And if you have reviewed—

you have not

reviewed and

repeated it a third time.

And if you have repeated it a third time,

and nevertheless you erred, it is a sign that

they did not explain to you

this verse properly.

Since this is the meaning of the verse, “

Wisdoms raise their voice in the outside”—

as

the words of

Rava:

For Rava said: Anyone who engages in Torah from within,

in private—

his Torah proclaims him from outside.

And we object: Why is it not permitted to teach words of Torah outside?

But it is written [

Isaiah 48]:

“I have not spoken from the beginning in concealment”!

And it is demonstrated that one should not teach words of Torah in concealment; rather, on the contrary, one should teach them openly, outside.

And we answer:

That

verse speaks

of the days of the assembly,

of a public discourse to which everyone gathers to listen, which is open and before a great multitude, but is not outside.

And we inquire about it:

And Rabbi Hiyya,

who taught outside—this verse, “

the hidden places of your thighs,”

which demonstrates that one should teach within—

how

what does he do with it,

how does he expound this verse?

And we answer:

He establishes it,

he applies it,

to charity and acts of kindness,

which should be performed in concealment, in private.

Now, after the Gemara has explained the dispute between Rabbi and Rabbi Hiyya, it asks:

It follows that their rebuke is three days!

And we answer:

The rebuke of a Nasi is different .

And the Gemara explains:

And our rebuke—

how much is it?

One day!

As we find a rebuke of one day:

As in the incident of Shmuel and Mar Ukva:

Shmuel was great in Torah, while Mar Ukva was like a student before a teacher in relation to him, whereas Mar Ukva was the head of the court. Therefore:

When they were sitting

Shmuel and Mar Ukva and

were studying a teaching,

they studied sugiyot—

Mar Ukva would sit

he would sit

before Shmuel

like a student before his teacher,

at a distance of four cubits.

And when they were sitting in judgment—

Shmuel would sit before Mar Ukva,

who was the head of the court,

at a distance of four cubits,

for the honor of Mar Ukva, the head of the court.

And they would carve out for him

they would carve out and lower

a place

a place

for Mar Ukva

when he sat in judgment,

in a mat,

a mat,

and he would sit upon it, so that his words would be heard,

so that the words of Shmuel, who was his teacher in Torah, would be heard.

Every day he would accompany him,

he would accompany

Mar Ukva would accompany Shmuel to his lodging,

and the practice of one who accompanies another for his honor is that he walks after the person whom he accompanies, until Shmuel’s dwelling place, because of Shmuel’s honor.

One day he was distracted

Mar Ukva

with his judgment,

he was preoccupied with his thoughts about the matter he had judged, and did not remember to walk after Shmuel to accompany him; instead, he walked along while going first, and

Shmuel was walking

after him,

after Mar Ukva.

When he reached

when Shmuel reached

his house

of Mar Ukva,

he said to him

Shmuel to Mar Ukva: Is it that

it is not late for you!?

Is it not enough for you that I walked after you until your house? Now

let my master release me from his dispute!

Permit me to return, and I will go to my place!

He understood

Mar Ukva

that Shmuel had taken

Shmuel

a matter into his mind,

that he intended to rebuke him because he had walked after him, and Mar Ukva had not walked after him.

Mar Ukva conducted

Mar Ukva

a rebuke upon himself for one day.

And the Gemara brings another incident in which Rav Nahman instructed that a rebuke of one day be observed.

There was a certain woman who was sitting in the path.

There was a woman who sat in the middle of a path through which people passed,

she was stretching out her leg

she was stretching out her leg,

and was waving vegetables,

a type of vegetable.

And a Torah scholar was passing and walking, and she did not yield before him

to clear the passage for him.

He said: How insolent is that woman!

She came

the woman

before Rav Nahman,

to clarify the meaning of his words toward her and whether she needed to observe excommunication.

He said to her: Did you hear

that the Torah scholar uttered

excommunication from his mouth?

She said to him: No.

He said to her

Rav Nahman:

Go, observe a rebuke of one day upon yourself.

Zutra bar Tuvia was reciting the order of the sections,

teaching passages from Scripture

before Rav Yehuda.

When he reached this verse [

II Samuel 23] “

And these are the last words of David,”

and the wording “words” indicates words of prophecy.

He said to him,

Zutra asked Rav Yehuda: “The words of David

last”—

does it follow that there are “the words of David

“David’s

first”? “

The words of David

first”—

what are they?

Where do we find that David uttered words of prophecy apart from the last words?

Rav Yehuda was silent

over his question,

and did not say anything to him.

He said to him again,

and Zutra again asked him: “

Last”—

does it follow that there are first.” “

First”—

what is it!?

Rav Yehuda was particular that he had asked him again after he had remained silent and had not answered him:

He said to him

Rav Yehuda to Zutra:

What is your opinion,

do you think

that

one who

does not know the explanation of this verse—

is he not a great man!?

Zutra understood

Zutra

that Rav Yehuda had taken

Rav Yehuda

a matter into his mind.

He observed a rebuke upon himself for one day.

And the Gemara says:

And concerning what we have come to,

since we have brought this question of Mar Zutra,

at least,

in any event, let us discuss it:

This is what the verse said: these are “the last words of David.”

Last—

does it follow that there are first!

And if so, the words of David

first—

what are they?

And the Gemara explains: These are David’s words written in the Book of II Samuel [chapter 22]: “

And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord saved him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.”

And concerning these words

the Holy One, blessed be He, said to David:

David,

is it that

you are singing over Saul’s downfall?

For he was more righteous than you. And

if only

if

you

had been

Saul, and he

had been

David—

I would have destroyed several Davids because of him .

And this is what is written

in the Book of Psalms [chapter 7], which David said concerning his error regarding Saul: “

A shigayon” [

words concerning an error] “

of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush the Benjaminite.”

Is Cush his name?

Was not his name Saul!

Rather, just as a Cushite is distinguished in his skin—

so too Saul

was distinguished

for the good from the rest of humanity

in his deeds,

for he was entirely righteous.

In a similar matter you say concerning the words of the verse in the incident of Aaron and Miriam, when they spoke about Moses because he had separated from his wife, Zipporah [Numbers 12]: “

concerning the Cushite woman whom he had taken”:

“Because of the Cushite woman whom he took”:

Is Cushite her name?

Was not her name Zipporah!

Rather, just as a Cushite is distinguished in her skin—

so too Zipporah was distinguished in her deeds.

In a similar matter you say [

Jeremiah 38]: “

And Ebed-melech the Cushite heard.”

Is Cushite his name?

Was not his name Zedekiah!

Rather, just as a Cushite is distinguished in his skin—

so too Zedekiah was distinguished in his deeds.

In a similar matter you say [

Amos 9]: “

Are you not like the children of Cushites to Me, children of Israel.”

Is Cushites their name?

Was not their name Israel!

Rather, just as a Cushite is distinguished in his skin—

so too Israel is distinguished in their deeds from all the nations.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: What is the meaning of that which is written

at the beginning of David’s last words: “

The declaration of David son of Jesse, and the declaration of the man raised on high.”

Its meaning is as follows: “

The declaration of David son of Jesse”—

who established the yoke of repentance .

And David continued with a repetition of the wording: “

He said

to

me, the God of Israel, to me” [

my God] “

who

is

the Rock of Israel:

One who rules over man is righteous; one who rules with the fear of God.”

And the Gemara explains:

What is he saying

David?

Rabbi Abbahu said: This is what David is saying

David:

He said

to

me, the God of Israel, to me

my God,

who

is

the Rock of Israel: I rule over man.

And

who rules over me—

a righteous man!

Because

I decree a decree, and

the righteous man

annuls it! “

These are the names of the mighty men who belonged to David, who sat in the sitting,”

and so on,

what is he saying?

Rabbi Abbahu said: This is what he is saying:

And these are the names of David’s mighty deeds: “

Who sits in the sitting”—

when he would sit in the academy, he would not sit upon cushions and pillows, but upon the ground .

For as long as his teacher was,

of David,

Ira the Jairite, alive—

he would teach

Ira the Jairite would teach

to the Sages

his words while he was sitting

upon cushions and pillows.

When his soul came to rest,

and after Ira the Jairite died,

David would teach

in his place

to the Sages, and he would sit upon the ground,

and he did not sit upon cushions and pillows like his teacher.

They said to him

the Sages to David:

Let

my master sit

upon cushions and pillows!

He did not accept it,

he did not agree to this. “

You make me wise”—

Rav said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, Since you have humbled yourself—

you shall be like Me! I decree a decree—

and you annul it! “

Chief of the three”—

you shall be chief of the three patriarchs,

in that you will go before them to the World to Come. “

He is Adino the Etznite”—

when he would sit and engage in Torah—

he would make himself delicate,

he would bend himself until his hands and feet were together,

like

a

worm.

And

if

at the time when he went out to war—

he would make himself hard

in strength

like a tree,

hard [and this is the explanation of “the Etznite”]. “

Over eight hundred slain at one time”—

he would shoot an arrow and cause eight hundred slain to fall at one time.

And he would sigh over two hundred.

As it is written [

Deuteronomy 32]: “

How could one pursue a thousand?”

A Divine Voice emerged and said: [

I Kings 15] “

Only because of the matter of Uriah the Hittite.”

Because of the incident involving Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah the Hittite, he was prevented from killing one thousand at once .

Rabbi Tanhum, son of Rabbi Hiyya, the man of Kefar Akko, said in the name of Rabbi Yaakov bar Aha, who said in the name of Rabbi Simlai.

And some say: Rabbi Tanhum said in the name of Rav Huna.

And some say: Rav Huna alone said: