Nedarim 50b (נ:) — the Talmud in English

5.

And from the wife of Turnus Rufus —

the wicked Turnus Rufus would challenge Rabbi Akiva concerning the verses of the Torah, and Rabbi Akiva would defeat him, embarrass him before the emperor, and taunt him with words.

Once, Turnus Rufus came home angry and upset.

His wife asked him, “Why are you upset?” He said to her, “Because Rabbi Akiva taunts me with words every day.”

She said to him, “Their God hates licentiousness. Give me permission, and I will cause Rabbi Akiva to stumble in a sinful matter.”

The wicked Turnus Rufus gave her permission. She adorned herself and went to Rabbi Akiva.

When Rabbi Akiva saw her, he spat, laughed, and cried.

She said to him, “What are these three things that you did?”

He said to her, “I will explain two of the things that I did, but I will not explain the third. I spat because you came from a putrid drop. And I cried over that beauty which is destined to decay and rot in the earth.”

And the reason he laughed was that he saw through ruaḥ ha-kodesh that she was destined to convert and marry him, but he did not want to tell her.

She said to him, “Is it possible for me to repent?”

He said to her, “Yes.”

She went and converted, and she married Rabbi Akiva, bringing him a great deal of money.

6.

And from Keti’a bar Shalom —

he was sentenced to death because he had argued with the emperor in defense of the Jews, and the emperor ordered, at his execution, that all his property be given to Rabbi Akiva and his students.

Rav Gamda gave

four dinars

to sailors

in order that they bring him

something in exchange for them

some valuable object.

They did not find

any valuable object, and instead of such an object

they brought him with them

having purchased for him with the money

a monkey

.

It escaped

from them,

went into a hole

in the ground.

They dug after it

, and

found it crouching on precious stones

.

They brought all of them to him

all the precious stones to Rav Gamda.

Although by strict law they were not required to give him the precious stones, nevertheless they gave them to him beyond the letter of the law, since the treasure had been revealed through the monkey’s wanderings.

The emperor’s daughter said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya,

whose skin was dark in color:

“How is it that

splendid Torah

is found

in an unattractive vessel?”

He said to her

Rabbi Yehoshua answered her:

Learn

this matter

from your father’s household!

In what do they place

the

wine

in your father’s household?

She said to him, in earthenware vessels

.

He said to her, everyone

places wine

in

vessels of

earthenware

, and

you

also use

earthenware vessels?

It is inappropriate for an emperor to use such simple and unattractive vessels. Rather,

you should place it in vessels of silver

and gold

.

The emperor’s daughter went

and

placed

the

wine

in

vessels of silver and gold

, and

the

wine

spoiled.

He said to her

Rabbi Yehoshua:

The Torah is likewise

like wine,

which is enhanced only when contained in a person who is like an earthenware vessel and is not as attractive as a silver or gold vessel.

The emperor’s daughter challenged him:

But there are attractive people who are learned

and great in Torah.

He said to her: If they were unattractive

,

they would be more learned

and greater in Torah.

A certain woman who came

before

him

Rabbi Yehuda of Nehardea

for judgment, and was found liable according to the law

.

She said to him

the woman to Rabbi Yehuda, who had judged her:

“This is how your master Shmuel would judge!”

—this is how your teacher Shmuel used to judge?

He said to her

Rabbi Yehuda:

“Do you know him?”

Do you know Shmuel, such that you know how he would judge?!

She said to him, “Yes”

I know Shmuel; he is

short

,

with a large belly

,

dark-skinned

,

and with many teeth

.

He said to her:

“Is it on account of

coming to disparage him

that you have come?

Let that woman be placed under a ban

for having insulted a great Torah scholar!”

She burst, and died.

We learned in the Mishna: One who vows concerning cooked food

is permitted to eat a beitza turmita:

What is a beitza turmita?

Shmuel said: A slave who can prepare it

properly

is worth one thousand dinars.

And how is a beitza turmita prepared?

They place it

an egg

one thousand times in hot water and one thousand times in cold water

alternately,

until it shrinks enough that it can be swallowed

whole.

This egg is intended for the sick.

And if there is an ulcer

if a sick person has a wound in his intestines, when he swallows the egg whole,

it adheres to it

some of the discharge from the wound clings to the egg.

And when it emerges and comes out

of the body,

the physician knows what medication is needed

based on the appearance of the egg,

and by what the illness will be cured

.

Shmuel would examine himself

with

a kolḥa

a beitza turmita , and the egg would probe all his intestines, causing him to grow weak and faint,

until the members of his household tore out their hair over him

from the distress and worry .

We learned there

in tractate Ma’asrot (2:8): A laborer who is working for a homeowner may eat from the produce that he gathers for the homeowner, as it is stated: “When you come into your fellow’s vineyard, you may eat grapes according to your desire, to your satisfaction, but you shall not put any into your vessel” (Deuteronomy 23:25). The verse is speaking of a laborer. And it is explained in tractate Bava Metzia that he may eat only from the same species that he is gathering for the homeowner.

Therefore, the law is that if the laborer

was working

with

a

species of figs called

kalopsin, he may not eat from

another, more superior species of figs called

benot Sheva.

Likewise, if he was working

with benot Sheva, he may not eat kalopsin.

The novelty of this ruling is that although both kalopsin and benot Sheva are species of figs, nevertheless they are considered two different species, and the laborer may eat only from the exact species with which he is working.

What are kalopsin?

A species of figs from which they make

a cooked dish called

lefadi.

A certain man gave his slave to another

,

to teach him one thousand types of lefadi

.

In the end,

he taught him eight hundred

types of lefadi.

He summoned him to judgment

because he had not taught his slave all one thousand types that he had agreed to teach him

before Rabbi.

Rabbi was astonished that they were so expert in so many types of delicacies.

Rabbi said: “Our forefathers said, ‘We have forgotten goodness.’”

As it is stated in the book of Lamentations (chapter 3), “I have forgotten goodness.” But

we, even with our own eyes, have not seen

goodness from the beginning, for we do not know how to prepare so many types of food.

Rabbi,

who was extremely wealthy,

made a wedding feast for Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi

.

He wrote on the marriage pavilion

a commitment for the “marriage pavilion” in the sum of

twenty-four thousand ten-thousands of dinars, which would be spent

on

this marriage pavilion

for its expenses.

But he did not summon

Rabbi

Bar Kappara

to the wedding, because Bar Kappara was a humorist, and Rabbi feared that he might do something amusing.

Bar Kappara said to him

Rabbi, concerning the fact that he had not invited him:

“If to those who transgress His will

the Holy One, blessed be He, grants so

much, how much more so to those who perform His will

will the Holy One, blessed be He, grant goodness.”

In the end,

he summoned him

Rabbi.

Bar Kappara began praising Rabbi because he had invited him, and

said:

“If

to those who perform His will

there is

in this world

so

much

goodness, then

in the World to Come, how much more so.”

On the day when Rabbi laughed

,

calamity would come upon the world

, because Rabbi was the leader of the Jewish exile and ought to have grieved over the destruction of the Temple and the exile. Since he was extremely wealthy, when he laughed it appeared as though he neither cared about nor grieved over the matter.

Rabbi said

to

Bar Kappara: “Do not amuse me”

,

and I will give you forty se’ah of wheat

in exchange for your not amusing me.