Nedarim 32b (לב:) — the Talmud in English

The Satan, in numerical calculation:

in gematria, is

three hundred sixty-four,

three hundred sixty-four.

The number of days in the solar year is three hundred sixty-five days. It follows that there is one day in the year on which the Satan has no authority to prosecute: on Yom Kippur.

And Rabbi Ami bar Abba said: It is written

at first, when the name of Abraham our forefather was

Abram,

and it is written

afterward, that he was called

Abraham.

At first, the Holy One, blessed be He, made him king

over “Abram”

over two hundred forty-three limbs

alone, corresponding to the numerical value of Abram.

And ultimately,

after Abraham was circumcised,

He made him king

the Holy One, blessed be He,

over

five additional limbs, which would be under his control and would not act on their own, although no person has control over them; and together they are

two hundred forty-eight limbs,

corresponding to the numerical value of Abraham:

And

these are

the five additional limbs:

The two eyes, the two ears, and the head of the genitals.

For hearing and sight are not under a person’s control, and only Abraham merited not to look at or hear anything except a matter of mitzva. Likewise, through the covenant of circumcision, he merited control over the sanctity of the organ of circumcision.

And the Gemara brings another exposition of Rabbi Ami bar Hama:

And Rabbi Ami bar Abba said: What is

the explanation of the parable

that is written

in the book of Ecclesiastes [chapter 9]: “

A small city, and few people

were in it. And a great king came against it, and surrounded it, and built against it siegeworks and snares.

And there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he delivered the city through his wisdom.

But no one remembered that poor man.” “

A small city” —

this is the body

of a person, which is easy to conquer. “

And few people were in it” —

these are the limbs

of a person that are under his control. “

And a great king came against it and surrounded it” —

this is the evil inclination,

whose power is great, and which leads a person around through sins. “

And he built against it siegeworks and snares” —

these are sins.

For when a person commits a transgression, he falls captive to the evil inclination, and he is compared to one caught within a siege ring. “

And there was found in it a poor man,

who had no physical strength,

but

he was

wise” —

this is the good inclination,

which activates a person’s intellect so that he can stand against the seductive power of the evil inclination, which is entirely imagination and has no standing against the intellect, which sees correctly. “

And he delivered it through his wisdom” —

this is repentance and good deeds.

The good inclination makes a person wise enough to perform them, and thereby it delivers him from captivity to the evil inclination.

“And

however,

no one remembered that poor man”” —

the verse teaches

that at the time of the evil inclination,

at the time of committing the transgression, when the evil inclination controls a person —

there is no one who remembers him,

there is no one to remind him

of the good inclination!

That is to say, escape from the evil inclination can occur only when a person has calmed down from the lust for the transgression and is able to think and reflect on his deeds, but not when he is eager to commit the transgression.

King Solomon further said in the book of Ecclesiastes [chapter 7]: “

Wisdom gives strength to the wise man, more than ten rulers.” “

Wisdom gives strength to the wise man” —

this is repentance and good deeds,

which give a person “strength” to overcome the forces of the body that control him.

And when he performs repentance and good deeds, he is stronger

than ten rulers

within his body —

the two eyes, the two ears, the two hands, the two legs, the head of the genitals, and the mouth.”

Rabbi Zechariah said in the name of Rabbi Yishmael: The Holy One, blessed be He, sought to remove the priesthood from Shem, as it is stated [

Genesis 14:18] “

And he was a priest of God Most High.”

But

since he preceded

the

blessing of Abraham

with the blessing of the Omnipresent —

He removed it

the Holy One, blessed be He, removed the priesthood

from Abraham.

As it is stated [

Genesis 12:19–20] “

And he blessed him

Shem first blessed Abraham,

saying: Blessed is Abram to God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth,”

and afterward, “

And blessed be God Most High.”

He said to him,

Abraham

was astonished

at Shem:

Is it proper to place the blessing of a servant before the blessing of his Master?

Immediately, He gave it

the Holy One, blessed be He, gave the priesthood

to Abraham.

As it is stated

in the book of Psalms [chapter 110:1], a verse that describes Abraham’s battle with the kings and his meeting with Shem after his victory — “

The utterance of the Lord,”

the Holy One, blessed be He, said

to my master,

to Abraham, who was called “my master” by everyone

— and so Ephron the Hittite said: “Hear me, my master.” Rashi on Psalms there. And the Rosh, in his commentary here, explains in accordance with the words of the Gemara in tractate Berakhot 7b that Abraham our forefather was the first to call the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master.” You, Abraham, who went to war against the kings,

sit at My right hand,

wait and remain for the salvation of My right hand,

until I place your enemies,

Amraphel and his allies,

as a stool for your feet.”

And afterward,

and later

it is written,

because Abraham became afraid that he might be punished for the people he killed in the war —

The Lord has sworn and will not relent!

You,

Abraham — you will be

a priest forever,

and you will inherit the priesthood and the kingship from Shem, so that your descendants will be priests and kings —

by My word, Melchizedek” —

because of the speech of

Shem, who was called

Melchizedek,

because he placed the blessing of the servant before that of his Master, he was punished, and the priesthood passed from him to Abraham.

And this is what is written

with regard to Shem: “

And he was a priest of God Most High.”

The verse teaches that

he,

Shem alone, was

a priest —

but not

all

his descendants were priests,

but only Abraham our forefather.

We shall return to you, chapter: Four Vows

Mishna:

There is no

distinction

between

a person

who is forbidden by a vow to derive benefit from another,

meaning that he vowed not to derive benefit from the other in any manner, or that the other prohibited him by a vow from deriving benefit from him,

and

one who is

forbidden by a vow to derive benefit from him,

from the other, only with regard to

food, but

the following matters:

1.

Passing through his property,

that is, passing through his courtyard. One who is forbidden by a vow to derive benefit from another is prohibited even from passing through his courtyard, whereas one who is forbidden by a vow from deriving food from him is permitted.

2.

And utensils that are not used in preparing food

[food]. One who is forbidden by a vow to derive benefit from another is prohibited from using them, whereas one who is forbidden by a vow from deriving food from him is permitted. [This applies specifically where such utensils are not rented out, as the Gemara explains].

One who is forbidden by a vow from deriving food from another may not lend him

even

a sieve, a sifter, a mill, or an oven.

Although these utensils do not prepare the food itself, but merely cause the food to be prepared, and are therefore “a cause of a cause,” nevertheless it is prohibited. All the more so, he may not lend him a pot in which the food itself is cooked, or a spit on which meat is roasted.

But he may lend him a garment, a ring, a tallit, or earrings

[and the Gemara will explain whether there is a novel point in mentioning these items, or whether the tanna mentioned them merely in continuation of the wording in the first clause of the Mishna, which states that he may not lend him a sieve, a sifter, and so on].

Gemara:

We raise a discussion concerning this:

Who is the tanna?

Who is the tanna who holds that one who is forbidden by a vow to derive benefit is prohibited even from passing through another’s property?

Rav Adda bar Ahava said: It is Rabbi Eliezer.

As it is taught in a beraita: Rabbi Eliezer says: Even a concession

that is, something that sellers customarily concede to buyers: when customers purchase produce, sellers customarily add one or two fruits to the purchase; even that concession—

is prohibited to one who is forbidden by a vow to derive benefit,

when the buyer is forbidden by a vow from deriving benefit from the seller. Even when the merchandise is something the seller wishes to dispose of, in which case the principal benefit is that of the seller, and there is no prohibition for the buyer to purchase the merchandise itself, nevertheless it is prohibited for him to benefit from the “concession.”

Therefore, even passing through another’s property is prohibited, although people are not particular about it.

But the Rabbis disagree with Rabbi Eliezer and hold that since people are not particular about this, it is not considered benefit , and therefore passing through another’s property is permitted.

We learned in our Mishna:

“One who is forbidden by a vow from deriving food from another may not lend him, etc.”