Pesachim 109b — the Talmud in English

And how much are they? -

One cubit by one cubit, with a height of three cubits,

which is the measure of the human body.

And the Sages measured the measure of the water of a mikveh

according to this calculation, which are

forty se'ah.

And according to that same proportion, two fingers by two fingers, with a height of two fingers, and half a finger, and a fifth of a finger, contain a quarter-log.

And this is the calculation:

A cubit = six handbreadths.

A handbreadth = four fingers.

It follows that there are twenty-four fingers in a cubit.

A se'ah = six kav.

A kav = four log.

It follows that there are twenty-four log in a se'ah.

Let us first divide the height of three cubits [which are seventy-two fingers] into sixteen.

There are thus four and a half fingers for each part.

And correspondingly, let us also divide the forty se'ah into sixteen.

And we obtain two and a half se'ah.

That is to say, four and a half fingers of height [in a square of one cubit by one cubit] contain two and a half se'ah.

And now let us take the four and a half fingers and divide them into fifths of a finger.

And we obtain twenty-two and a half “fifths of a finger” [four = twenty fifths. Half = two and a half fifths].

Let us divide the twenty-two and a half fingers into five parts.

And we obtain in each part four and a half fifths of a finger.

Correspondingly, let us also divide the two and a half se'ah by five. And we obtain half a se'ah.

Let us multiply everything by three.

We obtain thirteen and a half fifths of a finger of height [in a square of one cubit by one cubit] that contain one and a half se'ah, which are thirty-six log.

Now let us divide the square of one cubit by one cubit into squares of one handbreadth by one handbreadth.

We obtain thirty-six squares.

Correspondingly, let us also divide the thirty-six log by thirty-six.

It is found that each square of one handbreadth by one handbreadth [with a height of thirteen and a half fifths of a finger] contains one log.

Let us divide the surface of this square into four.

We obtain in each part of the surface two fingers by two fingers [each handbreadth is four fingers], with a height of thirteen and a half fifths of a finger.

Correspondingly, let us also divide the log into four.

We obtain a quarter-log.

In summary: a square of two fingers by two fingers, with a height of thirteen and a half fifths of a finger, which are two fingers [ten fifths], and half a finger [two and a half fifths], and a fifth of a finger, contain a quarter-log!

Rav Ashi said: Ravin bar Hinnana said to me: The Table of the Temple

that Moses made

was sectional.

For the Table came apart into two lengthwise.

For if it enters your mind that it was tightly fastened,

that it did not come apart, behold, the dimensions of the Table were: two cubits its length, one cubit its width, and one and a half cubits its height. And if so, when the Table became impure, how did they immerse it?

For the mikveh that was in the Temple courtyard was one cubit by one cubit in a square.

And if so,

the cubit

of the width of the Table

in the cubit

of the width of the mikveh,

how did they immerse it?

For it was impossible to press one into the other.

Rather, certainly the Table came apart lengthwise into two, and each part was only half a cubit wide.

[And the legs also came apart from the Table. And they immersed the Tabletop separately, and the height of the mikveh was greater than the length of the Table.]

And we reject this:

What difficulty is this?

Perhaps in the Sea,

a large mikveh

that Solomon made

in the Temple for the immersion of the priests,

they would immerse it

the Table. And in fact, it did not come apart.

For Rabbi Hiyya taught: The Sea that Solomon made

was

capable of holding

water in the measure of

one hundred and fifty purifying mikvaot,

for it contained water in the measure of one hundred and fifty mikvaot, when the measure of the water in each mikveh is forty se'ah.

We learned in the Mishna:

And they must not give him fewer than four

cups of wine.

And we raised a difficulty concerning it:

How did the Sages institute something that leads to danger?

For anything that is a “pair” involves danger.

But it was taught in a beraita: A person should not eat two

two of one type of food, and the same applies to four or any other even number.

And he should not drink two, and he should not wipe himself two

times,

and he should not attend to his needs

intercourse

twice.

And we answer:

Rav Naḥman said: The verse says

concerning the night of Passover,

“a night of watching.”

And we expound:

A night that is guarded and comes from the harmful forces!

Therefore, on that night there is no concern regarding pairs.

Rava said: The cup of blessing

of the Grace after Meals, which is the third cup,

joins for good.

For example, if he drank two cups apart from it, it joins to nullify the pairs.

But it does not join for bad

to complete a pair. For example, here, when apart from it there are only three, it does not join so that they should be considered pairs on its account.