Pesachim 112a (קיב.) — the Talmud in English

One who

has had blood drawn,

from the shoulders,

and does not wash his hands,

does not wash his hands afterward—

it frightens him for seven days.

One who

cuts his hair

—who has his hair cut—

and does not wash his hands—

it frightens him for three days.

One who

cuts his nails,

cuts his fingernails,

and does not wash his hands—

it frightens him for one day, and he does not know what is frightening him.

A hand to the nose,

one who is accustomed to place his hand over his lips near his nostrils—

a ladder to fear,

it is like placing a ladder for fear to come upon him. That is, he prepares a path for the evil spirit to rest upon him.

A hand to the forehead,

one who places his hand on his forehead—

a ladder to sleep,

he brings sleep upon himself.

A tanna taught: Food and drink beneath a bed—even

if they are

covered with iron vessels—

an evil spirit rests upon them.

The Sages taught: A person should not drink water, neither on Wednesday nights nor on Shabbat nights,

in the dark [Rashbam].

And if he drank—

his blood is upon his head because of the danger.

And we explain:

What danger?

An evil spirit!

And if he is thirsty

and wants to drink—

what is his remedy?

How should he drink?

Let him say

the

seven voices that David said concerning water, and then drink,

and afterward he may drink.

As it is stated:

a.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the Lord is over abundant waters.

b.

The voice of the Lord is with strength.

c.

The voice of the Lord is with majesty.

d.

The voice of the Lord breaks cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.

e.

The voice of the Lord hews flames of fire.

f.

The voice of the Lord makes the wilderness tremble; the Lord makes the wilderness of Kadesh tremble.

g.

The voice of the Lord makes the does calve and strips the forests bare, and in His Sanctuary all say: Glory.

And if not,

if he did not say the seven voices—

let him say this: “Lul, shafan, anigron, anirdafon”

[this is an incantation]—

“I sit among the stars; I walk among the lean and the fat.”

There are thin and fat people around me—choose from them and take what you need, and leave me alone.

And if not,

if he did not say this—

if there is another person with him

[and that person is asleep],

let him awaken him

and wake him from his sleep,

and say to him: “So-and-so son of So-and-so”

that is, me, so-and-so son of so-and-so—

“I am thirsty for water,

I am thirsty for water,

and then I will drink.”

And if not,

if there is no other person with him—

let him rattle the cover of the jug against the jug,

striking the jug with its cover [so that the demon will think that another person is with him, Rashi, Avoda Zara 12b, s.v. vekirkeish],

and then drink.

And if not, let him throw something into it,

throw something into the water,

and then drink.

The Sages taught: A person should not drink water at night, neither from rivers nor from ponds. And if he drank—

his blood is upon his head because of the danger.

And we explain:

What danger?

The danger of “Shavriri,”

which is a demon appointed over the affliction of impaired vision.

And if he is thirsty

[thirsty]—

what is his remedy?

If there is another person with him, let him say to him: “So-and-so son of So-and-so”—

“I am thirsty for water!”

I am thirsty for water.

And if not, let him say to himself

let him say to himself:

“So-and-so,”

that is, I, so-and-so,

“my mother said to me: Beware”

beware

of Shavriri, shavriri, briri, riri, yiri, ri.”

[This is an incantation that diminishes the letters of the demon’s name, and then the demon departs when it hears fewer and fewer syllables of its name, from “shavriri,” one letter at a time, until “ri.” Rashi, ad loc., s.v. izdahar].

“I am thirsty for water in white cups,”

I am thirsty to drink from white earthenware cups.

We learned in the Mishna: “And they must not give him fewer than four cups,”

even from the charity dish.

And we raise a question:

Is it obvious

that they must give him four cups from the charity dish?!

And we answer:

It was necessary only even according to Rabbi Akiva, who says: “Make your Shabbat like a weekday,”

that one should reduce the Shabbat meal,

“and do not become dependent upon others.”

Here, because of publicizing the miracle—

he concedes

that Rabbi Akiva must become dependent upon others, provided that he drinks four cups.

The tanna of the school of Elijah taught: Although Rabbi Akiva said, “Make your Shabbat like a weekday and do not become dependent upon others,” nevertheless, he does

for the honor of Shabbat

a small thing within his home.

What is it?

What is this small thing?

Rav Pappa said: “A cup of fish relish,”

small fish fried in their oil.

As we learned

in tractate Avot:

Rabbi Yehuda ben Teima says: Be bold as a leopard

to strengthen oneself in performing a mitzva beyond one’s ability [and here too, one must strengthen oneself and honor Shabbat beyond his means].

And light as an eagle, swift as a deer, and mighty as a lion—

to do the will of your Father in Heaven!

The Sages taught: Rabbi Akiva instructed Rabbi Yehoshua his son in seven matters: My son—

a.

Do not sit in the heights of a city

where the residents of the city pass back and forth,

and study,

so that they will not interrupt you from your learning.

b.

And do not live in a city whose leaders are Torah scholars,

because they are occupied with their study and do not devote themselves to the needs of the community.

c.

And do not enter your home unexpectedly,

but make your voice heard beforehand, lest they be engaged in a private matter.

All the more so your fellow’s home.

d.

And do not deprive your feet of shoes,

for it is disgraceful for a Torah scholar to walk barefoot.

e.

Rise early and eat in the summer because of the heat, and in the winter because of the cold.

f.

Make your Shabbat like a weekday and do not become dependent upon others.

g.

And make an effort to associate with a person whose fortune is smiling upon him.

Rav Pappa said: Not to buy from him or sell to him,

the intention is not that one should make an effort to sell to or buy from him; on the contrary, since his fortune is smiling upon him, he will profit in the transaction and you will not.

Rather, to form a partnership with him,

so that through his good fortune you too will profit.

And now that Rav Shmuel bar Yitzhak said: What is the meaning of that which is written

in the Book of Job, which the Satan said about Job,

“The work of his hands You bless,”

its meaning is:

Whoever takes a peruta from Job—

is blessed!

If so,

even to buy from him

from a person whose fortune is smiling upon him

and to sell to him—

it is well,

as he is blessed through that as well.

Rabbi Akiva instructed Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai in five matters, when he was

Rabbi Akiva

imprisoned in the prison

[as detailed below].

He said to him

Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai:

“Teach me Torah!”

He said

to him, Rabbi Akiva:

“I will not teach you!”

because he was concerned for Rabbi Shimon, since Rabbi Akiva himself had been imprisoned for engaging in the study of Torah.

He said to him

Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai:

“If you do not teach me, I will tell my father Yohai, and he will hand you over to the authorities”

[so that he will report something about you that is considered by the authorities more serious than Torah study. Maharsha].

He said to him

Rabbi Akiva:

“More than the calf wants to suck, the cow wants to nurse!”

That is, I want to teach you Torah more than you want to learn, but I am afraid of the authorities.

He said to him

Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai:

“Who is in danger?

Is it not the calf that is in danger?”

What concern is that of yours?

Rabbi Akiva agreed to teach him and

said to him:

a.

If you wish to avoid strangulation—

hang your words upon a great tree.

That is, if you wish to say something that people will accept from you, say it in the name of a great person.

b.

And when you teach your son, teach him from a corrected book.

And the Gemara explains:

What does this mean?

Rava said, and some say Rav Mesharsheya: With a new one,

when the child begins to learn, for then one must be especially careful that he not learn from an uncorrected book, because

“once an error has entered, it has entered!”

It is difficult to remove an error that has taken root in a child.

c.

Do not cook in a pot in which your fellow has cooked.

What does this mean?

Do not marry

a divorcee during her husband’s lifetime.

For the Master said: When a divorced man marries a divorced woman, there are four opinions in the bed

during intercourse, for each of them also has his or her first spouse in mind. And the Sages said that a person should not have intercourse with his wife while directing his eyes toward another woman, because children born under such circumstances are close to being mamzerim.

And if you wish, say instead: Even with a widow

he should not marry her.