Pesachim 50a — the Talmud in English

And Rabbi Judah holds:

the measure of

bringing it back

they based it upon the

same as

the measure of

its prohibition.

Just as its prohibition [the prohibition against eating it] of the leaven and of consecrated matter that became disqualified by being taken outside is

? It is

an olive-bulk—

so too its being brought back

to its place in order to burn it, the Sages obligated him

with an olive-bulk.

It was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Natan says: Both this and that [leaven and consecrated matter],

one does not bring them back in order to burn them unless there is in them

approximately two egg-bulks.

But the Sages did not agree with him.

And since our Mishna deals with an item taken outside the boundaries of Jerusalem, we expound the following passage, which at its end deals with the boundaries of Jerusalem.

It is written:

“And it shall be on that day: There shall not be precious light and congealing.”

And we inquire concerning it:

What is “precious light and congealing”?

Rabbi Elazar said: This is the light

of the sun in its strength,

which

is

precious

and esteemed

in this world, and

will be

“floating”

in the World to Come!

“Floating” is an expression for something light, and it is the translation of “floating,” for every light thing floats upon the surface of the water.

And the meaning of the verse is that in the future a great light will shine, in comparison with which the light of the sun now will be light and insignificant.

Rabbi Yohanan said: These are

the laws of

leprosy-afflictions and impurity of tents.

For they are precious in this world, and floating in the World to Come.

For in this world they are stringent and difficult laws. But in the World to Come they will be easy and simple for everyone, because then the earth will be filled with knowledge [and see the Maharsha].

And Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said: These are people

who are wealthy but are not favorable before the Omnipresent.

Who are precious

and esteemed

in this world, but floating,

light and insignificant,

in the World to Come.

As in the case of Rav Yosef, son of Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, who became ill and his soul departed [he became ill and died. For his spirit departed upward].

he became ill and died; his spirit ascended above].

When it returned [when his spirit returned to him],

when his spirit returned to him],

his father said to him: What did you see

there in the upper world?

Rav Yosef

said to him:

I saw an inverted world.

People who are

superior

and esteemed in this world are found

below

in the upper world.

And

those who are

inferior

and insignificant here are found there

above.

He said to him,

Rabbi Joshua ben Levi:

My son, you saw a clear world!

For those who are above there are truly the esteemed ones.

And they asked further:

And what of us,

who are Torah scholars,

how

are we found

there?

He said to him:

Just as we are here—

so are we there!

Just as we are esteemed and honored in this world, so are we in the upper world.

He related further:

And I heard that they were saying

there:

Fortunate is the one who comes here with his learning in his hand!

And

further

I heard that they were saying: With regard to those executed by the government, no person can stand within their partition.

And we inquire concerning it:

And who are

“those executed by the government”?

If you say that it refers to Rabbi Akiva and his companions [the Ten Martyrs],

is all their greatness only

because they were executed by the government,

they

and nothing more?

And we answer: Rather, this was said concerning

those executed at Lod,

and so it was said.

For once it happened that the king’s daughter was found murdered. And they said that the Jews had killed her. And two brothers [Lulinus and Papus] confessed to killing her and handed themselves over to be killed. Through this they saved all Israel.

And it is written in that passage, at its end:

“On that day there shall be upon the bells of the horse, ‘Holy to the Lord.’”

And we inquire concerning it:

What is

“the bells of the horse”?

Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said: In the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will add to

the boundary of

Jerusalem

and enlarge it,

until

the distance

that the horse runs and casts a shadow [casts its shadow]

beneath itself.

That is, the distance of the horse’s running from morning until midday.

For until midday, the sun is in the east, and the horse’s shadow falls toward the west. And after midday, when the sun is in the west, the shadow falls toward the east. But at midday, the sun is in the middle of the firmament, and the horse’s shadow falls beneath it.

Rabbi Elazar said:

this is the meaning of this verse:

All the bells [cymbals, an ornament]

cymbals, an ornament]

that are hung on the horse between its eyes shall be holy to the Lord,

for Israel will donate them for the donation of the Temple.

And Rabbi Yohanan said: All

the

plunder that

will be

plundered by Israel

from the gentiles in one day,

until the time when the horse runs and casts a shadow [that is, from morning until midday, when the horse casts its shadow beneath itself],

that is, from morning until midday, when the horse casts its shadow beneath it],

shall be

donated by Israel

as holy to the Lord.

And we inquire concerning it:

Granted, according to the one who says

that the meaning of the verse is

“All the plunder that Israel plundered

shall be holy to the Lord,” it works out well;

this is what is written

after it,

“And the pots in the House of the Lord shall be like basins before the altar.”

For because of the great amount of gold and silver that will be in the Temple on account of the abundant plunder that will be consecrated to the Lord, all the pots in the Temple will be made of silver and gold, like the basins of the altar.

But according to the one who says

that “the bells of the horse”

refer to those two

matters—enlarging the boundaries of Jerusalem, or consecrating the bells of the horse—

what is

“And the pots in the House of the Lord”?

But the ornaments of the horse are not of such a great quantity as to suffice for making all the pots of the Temple from silver and gold.

And we answer: This verse is

a different matter,

and does not refer to the preceding verse.

And it is a separate statement, for

it says that Israel will become wealthy [will become rich]

and

and will donate and bring

much for the donation of the Temple. And because of the abundance of donations, they will make all the pots in the Temple from silver and gold.

And further we inquire:

Granted, according to the one who says

that “the bells of the horse” means “all the

plunder

that Israel will plunder in one day until midday, they will consecrate to the Lord,” it works out well;

this is what is written

after it,

“And there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the House of the Lord of Hosts

on that day.”

For because of the great wealth that will be in the Temple, the treasurers will not need to trade in consecrated property.

But according to the one who says

to interpret “the bells of the horse”

as those two

other matters—

what is

“And there shall not be a Canaanite”?

Rabbi Yirmeya said:

It is a separate statement: There will be no poor people there. And “there shall not be a Canaanite” is an abbreviation of

“There is no poor person here.”

And according to what we established initially, that “there shall not be a Canaanite” means that the treasurers will not need to trade in consecrated property, evidently “Canaanite” means a merchant.

And we inquire concerning it:

And “Canaanite”

from where do we know

from Scripture

that he is called a merchant [a trader]?

And we answer:

As it is written

“And Judah saw there the daughter of a Canaanite man

and his name was Shua, and he took her and came to her.” And it proceeds to explain:

What is

“Canaanite”?

If you say that he was an actual Canaanite,

this cannot be said. For

is it possible that Abraham came and warned

Eliezer not to take

for Isaac

a wife from the daughters of Canaan,

and Isaac came and warned Jacob

about this,

and Judah went and married

a Canaanite woman?!

Rather, Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: She was the daughter of a merchant,

and “Canaanite” means a merchant,

as it is written: “Canaan has deceitful scales in his hand.” And if you wish, say: From here

we derive that “Canaanite” means a merchant, as it is written:

“Whose merchants are princes, whose Canaanites are the honored of the earth.”

It is written there:

“And the Lord shall be King over all the earth; on that day the Lord shall be one and His Name one.”

And we wonder:

Is it so that nowadays [now],

now],

He is not one? Rav Aha bar Hanina said: The World to Come is not like this world

it is

the World to Come.

This world

has good tidings and bad tidings.

For good tidings a person says

a person:

“Blessed is He who is good and does good!” And for bad tidings

he

says: “Blessed is the true Judge!”

But

in the World to Come,

there will be no bad tidings there at all, and

all of it will be “He who is good and does good!”

And this is what is written: “On that day the Lord shall be one.”

And further we inquire: Regarding that which is written

“and His Name one”—

is it so that

nowadays His Name is not one?

Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak said: The World to Come is not like this world

it is

the World to Come.

This world

the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He,

is written with

the letters

yod-hei, and is read with

the letters

alef-dalet.

But in the World to Come,

the Name

will be entirely one,

and there will be no difference between its reading and its writing. Rather, it will be

written with yod-hei and read with yod-hei. He thought [he wished]

to

Rava to expound it

the explicit Name of yod-hei

in a public lecture [on Shabbat, when he expounded before the public],

and to explain the homilies and reasons dependent upon this Name.

A certain elder said to him:

It is not proper to expound it publicly. For “This is My Name

forever”

is written,

with a missing vav, which is an expression of concealment. Evidently, it must be concealed and not publicized.

Rav Avina posed a contradiction: It is written, “This is My Name forever,”

which implies concealment.

And on the other hand it is written:

“This is My memorial from generation to generation,”

which implies that it is to be mentioned and not concealed. And these are contradictory.

Rather, this is its meaning:

The Holy One, blessed be He, said

to Moses, and taught him a Name for writing and a Name for reading:

Not in the form

the form

in which I am written am I read.

I am written with yod-hei.

And this Name will be concealed.

And I am read with alef-dalet.

And this Name of Mine will be mentioned and read.

We shall return to you, chapter “These passers-by.”

Mishna:

The prohibition against performing work on the eve of Pesach before midday is not a matter of law. Rather, it is a custom, so that they will not be occupied with work and forget to remove the leaven, slaughter the Pesach-offering, and prepare the matzot,

for it is a mitzva to trouble oneself from the daytime with all the needs of the night, so that one may recline immediately when it grows dark, so that the children will not sleep.

And this custom obligates only in a place where they practiced it.

1.

A place where they practiced doing

work

on the eves of Pesach until midday

of the day, they do so.

But

a place where they practiced not doing

work then,

they do not do so.

2.

One who goes from a place where they do

work there before midday,

to a place where they do not do

work there.

Or one who goes from a place where they do not do

work there,

to a place where they do.

In every case, he must not perform work there.

For

they impose upon him

both the

stringencies of

the

place from which he departed, and

both the

stringencies of

the

place to which he went.