Pesachim 112b (קיב:) — the Talmud in English

According to

the fingers are not all [

organ of intercourse]

equal,

and since intercourse with this one is not as comfortable for her as with the first, she will disparage him and hate him.

d.

A mitzva and a substantial gain:

if you wish to perform a mitzva and also profit from it, thereby increasing your wealth—

you eat the produce, and he receives [

the reading of the Ya'avetz and the Rashash]

the benefit.

Lend your fellow money with which to conduct a business, and take his field as collateral, eating its produce in exchange for deducting a small amount from the loan [there is no concern of interest in this, since this is a permitted mashkanta de-Sura, as explained in Bava Metzia 67b]. In this manner, the lender gains substantially, since he eats the produce cheaply, and it is also a mitzva, since the borrower receives a benefit [profit] by earning in his business through the money that he borrowed from him.

e.

A mitzva and a pure body—

he marries a woman, and he has children.

For he thereby both fulfills the mitzva of procreation and keeps his body pure from impurity resulting from an involuntary emission.

Four things Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi commanded his sons.

a.

Do not live in Shakhnetziv [

a place-name]

because they are scoffers, and they will draw you into scoffing.

Perhaps you will be drawn after them to mock as they do.

b.

And do not sit on an Aramean bed.

Several opinions were stated in explanation of this:

Some say: Do not sleep

so that you do not lie down to sleep

without reciting the Shema,

which is the practice of the Arameans.

And some say: Do not marry

a woman

who is a convert.

For, as stated in Sanhedrin 97a, for ten generations after a convert, one may not denigrate a gentile in his presence, since he still considers himself close to him.

And some say: An Aramean woman literally.

That one should not sit on the bed of a gentile woman,

because of the incident involving Rav Pappa,

for a certain gentile woman owed him money, and he would enter her house every day to collect his debt. One day she strangled her son and placed him on the bed. When Rav Pappa entered, she told him to sit on that bed until she brought the money. When she returned, she said to him: “You killed my son!” Rav Pappa was forced to flee the country because of this.

c.

And do not evade yourself from the customs official, lest they catch you

they seize you,

and take from you everything that you possess,

taking from you all that you have.

d.

And do not stand before an ox when it rises from the lake, because the Satan dances between its horns,

meaning that it is insane at that time.

Rabbi Shmuel said:

Specifically

a black ox

and during the days of Nisan,

when the plants sprout, its spirits rise, and it gores.

Rav Oshaya taught: Keep fifty cubits away from a harmless ox.

From an ox accustomed to goring, as far as the eye can see.

A tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Meir: If the ox’s head is in a basket,

when the ox’s head is inside the basket from which it eats—that is, even when it is preoccupied with eating—

go up to the roof,

go up onto the roof,

and remove the ladder from beneath you,

removing the ladder from beneath you, lest it climb up after you.

Rav said: The charm for an ox,

the incantation recited over an ox so that it will not gore [another explanation: a rebuke shouted at the ox to drive it away or to make it work; Rashbam]:

“Hen hen.”

The charm for a lion: “Ze ze.”

The charm for a camel: “Da da.”

The charm for a ship,

a ship:

“Hileni heya, heila, vehilok holya.” [According to Rashi, this is an incantation. According to Rashbam, it is a sound used to rouse the people pulling the ship by rope in order to bring it into the river.]

According to Rashi, this is an incantation. According to the Rashbam, it is a sound to awaken the people who pull the ship by rope in order to bring it into the river.]

Abaye said: Skin, fish, a cup, hot water, eggs, and white lice—all of these are difficult with regard to the other matter [

leprosy].

And the Gemara explains:

Skin: one who sleeps on the skin of a tanning vat,

one who sleeps on a hide in the tannery before the tanning process has been completed.

Fish: shibuta,

one who eats shibuta fish

during the days of Nisan.

A cup,

one who eats

the remnants of

“the cup of fish hash.” [

a type of food made from small fish]

Hot water: one who pours very hot water over himself,

who is accustomed to pouring very hot water over himself.

Eggs: one who treads on eggshells,

one who steps on eggshells.

White lice: one who whitens his garments,

washing his garments

and does not guard them for eight days,

not waiting eight days from the time he removed them until he washed them [another explanation: he did not wait eight days from washing them until wearing them; Rashbam],

and afterward puts them on, the

aforementioned lice

return, and they eat his flesh,

and are difficult with regard to the other matter [

leprosy].

Rav Pappa said: In a house in which there is a cat

a cat,

a person should not enter it without shoes,

he should not enter there barefoot.

What is the reason?

Because the cat kills a snake and eats it,

the cat kills the snake and eats it.

And there are small bones in a snake,

and sometimes a snake has small bones,

and if a bone of the snake enters his foot,

if a bone from the snake enters his foot,

it will not come out,

it will not come out,

and it endangers him.

And this endangers him.

Some say: In a house in which there is no cat, a person should not enter it in darkness

in the dark.

What is the reason?

Perhaps a snake will coil around him,

perhaps a snake will coil around him,

and he will not know, and be endangered.

But in a house where there is a cat, it kills the snakes.

Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, commanded Rabbi three things.

a.

Do not create a defect in yourself.

What does this mean?

Do not have litigation with three people,

so that you should not have a legal dispute with three men, lest, because of their hatred, they conspire against you,

with one being your litigant and two

of them being

witnesses

against you. They will then divide the money among themselves.

b.

And do not stand over merchandise

to examine it

when you do not have money

to purchase it, since you thereby cause a loss to the seller, for no other customer will buy it, once he sees that you are examining it and trying to purchase it.

c.

Your wife immersed in a ritual bath; do not engage in intercourse with her on the first night.

Rav said: And

this ruling applies specifically

to a “Torah menstruant.”

According to Torah law, when a woman sees blood at the time appropriate for menstruation, even if she saw blood for seven consecutive days, if she stopped seeing it on the seventh day before sunset, she may immerse immediately that night, and she is pure.

The Sages were stringent: even if she saw only one drop of blood, even one as small as a mustard seed, she must count seven clean days, as a zava; she begins counting those seven clean days on the day after she stopped seeing blood, and only after the seven clean days does she immerse and become pure.

However, when people followed Torah law, she was permitted by Torah law to immerse upon completing the seven days of menstruation, immediately that night, at the beginning of the eighth day, even if she had seen blood throughout all seven days, until shortly before sunset on the seventh day. Nevertheless, even then there was reason to be stringent and not engage in intercourse with the woman on the eighth night after her immersion,

since she had been established

on the seventh day as having

“an open spring,”

for she had still been seeing blood that day until before sunset. Therefore, one should be stringent and be concerned

that perhaps the discharge continued,

perhaps she would continue to see blood during the night following the seventh day, the time appropriate for ziva, despite having stopped seeing blood before sunset. One should therefore wait and ascertain that she did not see blood during the beginning of the eighth day as well; she may then be with her husband without concern.

Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Yehuda, commanded Rabbi three things: (the mnemonic is “Kaf-Shin-Mem”).

a.

Do not go out alone at night.

b.

And do not stand naked before a lamp.

c.

And do not enter a new bathhouse, lest it collapse,

lest the floor of the bathhouse collapse and you fall into the cavity beneath, filled with boiling water.

And the Gemara explains:

How long

is a bathhouse considered “new”?

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: For up to twelve months.

And this statement that we said,

“And do not stand naked before a lamp,”

is because

it was taught: One who stands naked before a lamp becomes afflicted with epilepsy,

one who suffers from the falling sickness.

And how much is the minimum quantity of dates referred to? Rava said: Up to three se'a. Rav Pappa said: Had I not made beer, if I had not occupied myself with making beer, I would not have become wealthy. ! Some say: Rav Hisda said: Had I not made beer, I would not have become wealthy. What does sudana mean, why is beer called sudana? Rav Hisda said: “A fine secret,” “a fine secret,” it is good advice, for one becomes wealthy through it, and acts of kindness, since one can give some of the beer as a gift to the poor and perform charity and kindness [because one invests little capital, while the profit from making beer is substantial; Rashbam]. Rav Pappa said: Every “ incidental,” anything for which a document must be written, such as a loan, still requires collection! It still has to be collected, and doing so entails trouble. Every credit sale is uncertain whether it will come or whether it will not come. It is uncertain whether the money will be paid or not. And what is certain, even what comes into your possession when they pay, is bad money, since they pay little by little, in installments. Rabbi Yohanan said three things in the name of the people of Jerusalem: a. When you go out to war, do not go out first; rather, go out last, so that if you flee, you will enter first. b. Make your Shabbat like a weekday and do not require aid from others. c. And make an effort to associate with one whom fortune favors, to do business and form a partnership with him. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said three things in the name of the people of Jerusalem: a. Do not increase your activity on rooftops [the Maharsha’s version has a gimel instead]. Do not conduct your affairs excessively in public, in an exposed place, because of an incident that occurred, the incident of David and Bathsheba, who bathed on the roof. b. When your daughter reaches maturity, free your slave and give him to her! That is, he should hasten to marry her off, even to his slave. c. And be wary of your wife with regard to her first son-in-law. What is the reason? Rav Hisda said: Because of forbidden relations, so that she will not commit adultery with him. Rav Kahana said: Because of money, for she will squander your money on him. And the Gemara says: Both of these are present, both reasons are valid. Rabbi Yohanan said: Three are among those who inherit the World to Come. Three among those who inherit the World to Come are they. These are they: a. One who resides in the Land of Israel. b. One who raises his sons to Torah study. c. One who recites the blessing over wine at the conclusion of Shabbat. And the Gemara explains: What is this? What exertion is involved in reciting the blessing over wine? He saves some from Kiddush for Havdala. When he has only a little wine, he sets aside what remains from the wine of Kiddush for Havdala, and does not drink it during his meal. Rabbi Yohanan said: The Holy One, blessed be He, proclaims the praise of three people every day every day: in praise: a. A bachelor who resides in a metropolis and does not sin. b. A poor person who returns a lost object to its owner. c. A wealthy person who tithes his produce privately, and does not reduce his tithes, despite the considerable loss this entails for him. Rav Safra was a bachelor who resided in a metropolis. K Y G - B A tanna taught [ the amora who taught the baraitot recited] before Rava and Rav Safra the baraita cited above, which states that the Holy One, blessed be He, proclaims the praise of three people every day, among them a bachelor who resides in a metropolis and does not sin. Rav Safra’s face brightened, because he was happy, since he was a bachelor who resided in a metropolis. Rava said to him: It is not someone like you! Rather, it is someone like Rav Hanina and Rav Oshaya, who were shoemakers shoemakers in the Land of Israel, and they would sit in the marketplace of prostitutes, and make shoes for them, they made shoes for the prostitutes. And they would bring them in, and bring the shoes to them. They, the prostitutes, would look at them. But they Rav Hanina and Rav Oshaya would not raise their eyes to look they would not raise their eyes to look at them. And they would make them swear, and the prostitutes were accustomed to swear by the lives of Rav Hanina and Rav Oshaya as follows: “By their lives, by the lives of the holy Sages of the Land of Israel!” ! There are three whom the Holy One, blessed be He, loves: a. One who does not become angry. b. One who does not become intoxicated. c. One who does not insist on his own measure, to repay evil to one who caused him distress. There are three whom the Holy One, blessed be He, hates: a. One who speaks one thing with his mouth and another in his heart. b. One who knows testimony concerning his fellow that could benefit him, but does not testify for him. c. One who sees an immoral matter involving his fellow and testifies against him alone. As in the case of Tuvya, who sinned in an immoral matter, and came And one who engages in marital relations by candlelight will have children afflicted with epilepsy.

The Sages taught: One who engages in marital relations on a bed upon which an infant is sleeping, that infant will be afflicted with epilepsy.

And we said this only when he is not yet a year old,

that is, younger than one year.

But if he is already a year old, we have no concern.

And we said this only when he sleeps alongside the feet,

that is, the infant is sleeping beside the feet.

But if he sleeps alongside the head,

if he is lying beside the head,

we have no concern.

And we said this only when he does not place his hand upon him,

that is, he did not place his hand upon him.

But if he places his hand upon him, we have no concern.

And this statement

that we said, “Do not go out alone at night,”

is based on

as it was taught in a beraita: One should not go out alone at night—not on Wednesday nights and not on Friday nights—because of Agrat bat Mahlat

[a name of a female demon],

who, together with one hundred eighty thousand destructive angels, go out, and each one of them has permission to cause harm independently.

Initially, they were prevalent all day,

every day.

On one occasion,

once,

she encountered

the female demon

Rabbi

Hanina ben Dosa.

She said to him: If it were not for the fact that they proclaim concerning you in Heaven, “Take care with Hanina and his Torah!”—

I would have endangered you,

I would have harmed you.

Rabbi

Hanina ben Dosa

said to her:

If I am truly important in Heaven,

I decree upon you that you shall never again pass through an inhabited area!

She said to him: Please,

I beg you,

leave me a little leeway,

leave me a short period during which I will be able to pass through an inhabited area.

He left her Wednesday nights and Friday nights.

And once again she encountered him,

that same female demon,

with Abיי.

She said to him: If it were not for the fact that they proclaim concerning you in Heaven, “Take care with Naḥmani and his Torah!” I would have endangered you.

His name, Abיי, was “Naḥmani.” However, since his teacher raised him [Rabba bar Naḥmani], Rabba bar Naḥmani did not wish to call him by the name “Naḥmani,” which was also his father’s name, and therefore called him “Abיי.”

He said to her,

Abיי:

If I am important in Heaven, I decree upon you that you shall never again pass through an inhabited area!

And we raised an objection:

But we see that they do pass through inhabited areas?