Pesachim 54a (נד.) — the Talmud in English

Rav Yosef applied to him

the verse:

“Deep waters are counsel in the heart of man.

And a man of understanding will draw it out.”

“Deep waters are counsel in the heart of man” —

this is Ulla,

who understood from Rabbi Abba’s words that Rabba bar bar Ḥana had misled him, and he looked at him with an angry countenance. This is the meaning of “counsel in the heart of man”: He kept the matter in his heart and said nothing to him.

“And a man of understanding will draw it out” —

this is Rabba bar bar Ḥana,

who understood from the appearance of Ulla’s face what he held in his heart concerning him.

And we raised a difficulty concerning this:

But they

[Ulla and Rabba bar bar Ḥana], who did not accept Rabbi Abba’s statement that the reason for the blessing at the conclusion of Shabbat is that this was the time when fire was first created —

what opinion did they hold?

And we answer:

They held

in accordance with that which Rabbi Binyamin bar Yefet said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: One recites the blessing over fire both at the conclusion of Shabbat and at the conclusion of Yom Kippur!

And this is the common practice

[of the people].

The Gemara raises an objection:

From that which is taught

in a beraita: One recites the blessing over fire only at the conclusion of Shabbat, since

the time of

its initial creation

was

then.

And as soon as one sees

the fire at the conclusion of Shabbat,

he recites the blessing immediately,

and he should not wait until he recites Havdala over the cup.

Rabbi Yehuda says: He arranges

all the blessings

over the cup.

That is, he recites the blessing over fire together with the blessings of Havdala.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda!

In any event, it is taught that one recites the blessing over fire only at the conclusion of Shabbat. This is difficult for Rabbi Yoḥanan and Ulla, who hold that one recites it both at the conclusion of Shabbat and at the conclusion of Yom Kippur.

And we answer:

It is not difficult.

Here

[in Rabbi Yoḥanan’s statement] —

it is referring to fire that rested!

That is, a lamp that burned during the day while refraining from forbidden labor.

And this is the case, for example, when it was lit on the eve of Yom Kippur, or even when it was lit on Yom Kippur for the needs of a woman in childbirth or a sick person.

One recites the blessing at the conclusion of Yom Kippur over the fire of such a lamp because one refrained from benefiting from its use during the day, and at night one’s benefit from it is renewed, since one can use it for kindling; therefore, one recites a blessing over this renewed benefit.

And here

[in the beraita], it is speaking

of fire emerging from wood and stones

at the conclusion of the day. Since it has only just been produced and did not rest during the day, this is not renewed benefit but rather new fire. Therefore, one recites a blessing over it only at the conclusion of Shabbat, since that was the time when fire was created during the six days of Creation.

One beraita teaches

that even

fire emerging from wood and stones

at the conclusion of the day,

one recites a blessing over it,

and it is not necessary that the lamp have rested.

And one beraita teaches

another beraita: Fire emerging from wood and stones

does not have a blessing recited over it,

but one recites a blessing only over fire that rested. These two beraitot contradict one another.

And we answer:

It is not difficult.

Here

[in the first beraita] —

at the conclusion of Shabbat.

Since this is the time of its creation, one recites a blessing even over fire created at the conclusion of Shabbat.

And here

[in the latter beraita] —

at the conclusion of Yom Kippur.

Since this is not the time of its creation, and the blessing is over the renewal of one’s benefit from the lamp, one recites a blessing only over a lamp that rested.

Rabbi

would

separate

the blessings of the conclusion of Shabbat. As soon as he saw fire, he would recite the blessing over it. And when spices became available to him, he would recite a separate blessing over them.

And Rabbi Ḥiyya

would

combine

all these blessings and recite them over the cup of Havdala.

Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Avdimi said: Even though

Rabbi

would separate them,

afterward he would

return and arrange them over the cup in order to fulfill the obligation of his sons and members of his household

with regard to the blessings over spices and fire.

We learned above: One recites a blessing over fire at the conclusion of Shabbat because it is the time of its initial creation!

And we raised a difficulty concerning this:

But

if

fire was created at the conclusion of Shabbat

[was it created then]? Was it not created on the eve of Shabbat?

But it is taught in a beraita: Ten things were created on the eve of Shabbat at twilight. And these are they:

1.

The well

of Miriam. This was the rock from which water emerged for the Israelites in the wilderness. It was round like a sieve, and it rolled along with them wherever they went.

2.

And the manna

that descended for them for forty years in the wilderness.

3.

And

the

rainbow

in the cloud.

4. And the engraving of the form of

the script

of the Tablets of the Covenant.

5.

And

the

writing implement

[the pen and stylus] with which the engraving of the Tablets was written.

6.

And the Tablets.

7.

And the grave of Moses.

8.

And

the place of

the cave in which Moses stood,

which was the cleft of the rock where Moses stood when God passed before him and showed him His glory.

And

also

Elijah

went there and stayed there overnight.

9.

And the opening of the mouth of the she-donkey

of Balaam.

10.

And the opening of the mouth of the earth, to swallow

Korah and his assembly,

the wicked.

Rabbi Neḥemya says in the name of his father: Even the fire

[the fire]

and the mule

were created on the eve of Shabbat at twilight!

Although the mule is produced through the crossbreeding of a horse and a donkey, there is nothing new under the sun. The first mule was created from the earth and was not produced through crossbreeding.

Rabbi Yoshaya says in the name of his father: Even the ram

of Abraham, which he offered as a burnt offering in place of Isaac, was created on the eve of Shabbat.

And

at that time the worm

shamir

was also created, before which nothing hard can stand. With it they split the stones of the altar and engraved the letters on the stones of the ephod-breastplate.

Rabbi Yehuda says: Even the first pair of tongs

made of iron was created on the eve of Shabbat.

Because

he would say: A pair of tongs,

the iron tongs that blacksmiths make today, is

made with another pair of tongs;

it is

fashioned

by grasping the new tongs with the pair of tongs in his hand and striking it with a hammer until its form is complete.

And since no pair of tongs can be made except by means of the iron tongs in the blacksmith’s hand,

the first pair of tongs, who made it

[how was it made]?

Rather,

indeed,

it is necessarily the case that the first pair of tongs

was created by Heaven!

And it was created on the eve of Shabbat at twilight.

Rabbi Yoshaya said to him:

There is no necessity to say that the tongs must be made only by means of another pair of tongs.

For

it is possible to make them in a mold,

by pouring molten iron into a mold shaped like tongs,

and fixing it as a single unit

[all at once], in the manner in which silver and copper vessels are cast.

Indeed,

the tongs

were created by man.

They were not created at all during the six days of Creation.

This beraita proves that fire [the fire] was created on the eve of Shabbat at twilight. How, then, did you say that it was created at the conclusion of Shabbat?

And we answer:

It is not difficult. This refers to our fire, and that refers to the fire of Gehenna.

Our fire

was created

at the conclusion of Shabbat.

And the fire of Gehenna

was created

on the eve of Shabbat.

And we raise another difficulty:

But

if

the fire of Gehenna was created on the eve of Shabbat,

was it not created before the creation of the world?

As it is taught in a beraita: Seven things were created before the world was created. And these are they: Torah, repentance, the Garden of Eden, Gehenna, the Throne of Glory, the Temple, and the name of the Messiah!

And it proceeds to explain them.

Torah —

as it is written

in it: “The Lord

acquired me at the beginning of His way.”

This means that it preceded the other things involved in the creation of the world.

Repentance —

as it is written, “Before the mountains were born”:

You created the attribute of repentance,

and it is written

after it,

“You return man to dust,

until his heart is crushed before You,

and You say: Return, children of man.”

Thus, repentance preceded creation.

The Garden of Eden —

as it is written, “And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, from before”. “Before” indicates that it preceded the creation of the world.

“In the east” implies that it was established early, before the creation of the world.

Gehenna —

as it is written, “For the Tophet has been prepared from yesterday”.

The Tophet of Gehenna was prepared “from yesterday,” meaning before the creation of the world. Gehenna is called “Tophet” because everyone who is enticed by his evil inclination falls there.

The Throne of Glory and the Temple —

as it is written, “The Throne of Glory, exalted from the beginning, the place of our Sanctuary.”

And this is the explanation of the verse:

The Throne of Glory: It is exalted in the “Arabot,” which is the highest place among all the heavens.

And it is “from the beginning,” from before the world.

Likewise, the place of our Sanctuary was created “from the beginning,” before the creation of the world.

And the name of the Messiah —

as it is written, “May his name endure forever,

before the sun, may his name be Yinnon.” “Yinnon,” which is the name of the Messiah, preceded the creation of the sun.

“Yinnon,” which is the name of the Messiah, preceded the creation of the sun.

In any event, it is taught that Gehenna was created before the world. How, then, did you say that the fire of Gehenna was created on the eve of Shabbat?

And we answer:

They say: It is the cavity

of Gehenna

that was created before the world was created.

But

its fire

[the fire]

was

created

on the eve of Shabbat.

And we raise another difficulty:

But

if

its fire was created on the eve of Shabbat, was it not created on the second day?

its fire was created on the eve of Shabbat, was it? It was created on the second day.

And it is taught in a beraita: Rabbi Yosei says: The fire that the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the second day of the week,

which is the fire of Gehenna,

will never be extinguished. As it is stated: “And they shall go forth and see the corpses of the men who rebelled against Me. For their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be extinguished.”

And

so

Rabbi Bana’a, son of Rabbi Ulla, said: Why was “for it was good” not stated on the second day of the week

of the six days of Creation?

Because the fire of Gehenna was created on it.

And Rabbi Eliezer said: Although “for it was good” was not stated concerning it

on the second day,

He later included it

in the “good” that is written

on

the

sixth day. As it is stated

on that day:

“And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good!”

For ultimately He also called Gehenna “good,” because the wicked are judged in it.

In any event, it is taught that Gehenna too was created on the second day, and not on the eve of Shabbat.

And we answer:

Rather, the cavity

of Gehenna was created

before

the world was created, and its fire

[of Gehenna] was created

on the second day of the week. And the fire

[the fire]

of ours

was created at the conclusion of Shabbat.

And regarding what was difficult for you from the beraita that teaches that fire was created on the eve of Shabbat at twilight, both statements are true. Indeed,

it arose in thought that it should be created on the eve of Shabbat.

But in actuality

it was not created until the conclusion of Shabbat.

And as it is taught in a beraita: Rabbi Yosei says: Two things arose in thought to be created on the eve of Shabbat, but were not created until the conclusion of Shabbat.

They are fire and the mule.

And

at the conclusion of Shabbat the Holy One, blessed be He, granted Adam the first man intelligence, as a semblance

of the intelligence

of Above. And he brought

the man

two stones and ground them

[rubbed them]

against one another, and fire emerged from them.

And he likewise brought

the man then

two animals

of two different species,

and mated them with one another, and a mule emerged from them.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: The mule existed in the days of Anah.

He was the first to mate two species of animals and cause the creation of the mule.

As it is stated: “He is Anah who found the yemim in the wilderness!”

This refers to mules born from the crossbreeding of a horse and a donkey. They are called “yemim” because they inspire fear in people.

Those who expound obscure verses

[veiled biblical passages]

would say: Anah was disqualified

[a mamzer]

he was,

as will be explained shortly.

Therefore he brought forth a disqualified

hybrid

for all time.

As it is stated: “These are the sons of Seir the Horite

who dwelled in the land: Lotan, Shoval, Tzivon, and Anah.” Thus, Tzivon and Anah were brothers.

And it is written

afterward,

“These are the sons of Tzivon: Ayyah and Anah.”

Thus, Anah was the son of Tzivon.

How can this be?

Rather, this teaches that Tzivon had intercourse with his mother, and Anah was born to him from her.

It follows that Tzivon was Anah’s father and also his maternal brother.

And we raised a difficulty concerning this:

Perhaps there were two Anahs,

one of whom was Tzivon’s son and the other his brother.

Rava said: I will state a matter

[I say something] to prove that Scripture is speaking of one person,

which Shavor the king

did not say.

And who is he

— this “Shavor the king”?

Shmuel!

He was called this because he was expert in law, and the halakha follows him in monetary matters; everything that issued from his mouth was like that which issued from the mouth of a king. Shavor the king was the Persian king in Rava’s time.

Some say

that it was

Rav Pappa who said: I will state a matter concerning it, which Shavor the king did not say. And who

was Shavor the king? He was

Rava!

The halakha follows him, like a law issued from the mouth of a king.

And this is what he said: It is impossible to say that there were two Anahs, since

the verse says, “He is Anah.”

And the meaning is

“he is Anah”

of whom it was written

originally,

that he was the son of Seir.

The Sages taught: Ten things were created on the eve of Shabbat at twilight. And these are they: The well; manna; the rainbow; the script; the writing implement; the Tablets; the grave of Moses; the cave in which Moses and Elijah stood; the opening of the mouth of the she-donkey; and the opening of the mouth of the earth to swallow the wicked!

And all of them were explained above.

And some say: Even Aaron’s staff,

with

its almonds and blossoms,

was created on the eve of Shabbat! Aaron’s staff blossomed and produced flowers and buds. It served as a sign that God had chosen him for the priesthood.

And some say: Even the destructive spirits

[the demons] were created at that time!