Shabbat 104a — the Talmud in English

Specifically, when

one opened letter was made closed

it remains valid, because [exact location on the page]

it improves it:

the closed form is more important than the open form.

As Rav Ḥisda said: The mem and samekh on the Tablets—

stood by means of a miracle.

The reference must necessarily be to the final mem and samekh, whose existence there involved a miracle, because the writing was engraved all the way through the Tablets. Consequently, there was empty space surrounding the letters, without the letters being attached to the Tablets.

Thus, there were closed letters on the Tablets, whereas open letters did not yet exist on them, since the writing of those forms had not yet been introduced, as the Gemara now explains.

Rather, if a closed letter was made open,

the law is that it is disqualified, since

he diminishes its quality.

As Rabbi Yirmeya said, and some say Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: The letters mem-nun-tzadi-pe-kaf

which are the letters that have two forms, open and closed—

the prophets instituted them,

the prophets of the generations introduced them; that is, they introduced the open forms, since the closed forms already existed on the Tablets.

But Rav Ḥisda can still be challenged, since we have not found a tannaitic source that says that if a closed letter was made open it remains valid.

The Gemara answers:

Can you really think

that open letters were not given at Sinai?!

But it is written: “These are the commandments

and the laws that the Lord commanded through Moses.” And we derive from this:

A prophet is not permitted to introduce anything new from then on,

and this includes the form in which letters are written in a Torah scroll, tefillin, and a mezuzah.

Rather,

it is unavoidable that

both had existed

both had been given at Sinai; however,

we did not know which

of them

was for the middle of a word and which

of them

was for the end of a word.

Then the prophets came and established them:

the open forms should be used in the middle, and the closed forms at the end.

Since both were equally important, one may say, as at first, that just as Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira holds that when an open letter was made closed it remains valid, so too when a closed letter was made open it remains valid. Rav Ḥisda holds in accordance with this tannaitic source.

But still

there is a difficulty: How could the prophets establish the places of the open and closed letters? We said:

“These are the commandments”—a prophet is not permitted to introduce anything new from then on.

The Gemara answers:

Rather,

from the outset, the locations of the open and closed letters had also been transmitted at Sinai. But

they forgot them, and the prophets returned

and

reestablished them.

With regard to the matter itself: Rav Ḥisda said: The mem and samekh on the Tablets—

stood by means of a miracle.

And Rav Ḥisda said: The writing on the Tablets could be read from inside and from outside.

From the other side, the letters appeared reversed, and the words also appeared reversed,

for example, “navuv”

was read from the outside as

“buvan.” “Bahar”—

“rahav.” “Saru”—“varas.”

There were no such words on the Tablets; they are mentioned merely as examples. This statement contains no new teaching; it comes to inform us, as above, that the writing went all the way through and that, consequently, the existence of the mem and samekh involved a miracle. [Rashi’s commentary on Exodus 32:15 seems to indicate that the miracle was that the letters were read on the other side in their proper form. This requires examination. See the Maharsha’s aggadic novellae here.]

The Sages said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: Children

young children who study in the schoolhouse

nowadays

at this time

have come to the study hall and said teachings that were never stated even in the days of Joshua son of Nun:

Alef-bet

is an acronym for:

“Learn understanding,”

meaning: study Torah.

Gimel-dalet—

“Bestow kindness upon the poor.”

Those children explained them:

Why is the leg of the gimel extended toward the dalet?

Why does the leg of the gimel incline toward the dalet before it, rather than toward the bet after it?

Because it is the way of one who performs acts of kindness to run after the poor.

And why is the leg of the dalet extended toward the gimel,

with the leg of the dalet inclining slightly backward?

So that the poor person should present himself to him,

and not trouble him by having to run after him.

And why does the face of the dalet turn away from the gimel?

Why is the face of the dalet turned away from the gimel?

So that he can give to him discreetly, in order that he not be embarrassed

so that the poor person will not be ashamed

before him.

Heh

is

vav

—

this is one of the names of the Holy One, blessed be He

“Vav-heh” is one of the names of the Holy One, blessed be He, as explained in tractate Sukka 45a: “I and Vav-heh, please save.”

Zayin

—yayin, wine;

het

—tav;

tet

—tav;

yod

—vav;

kaf

—kaf;

lamed

—lamed—

and if you do this, the Holy One, blessed be He, sustains you, grants you favor, benefits

you, gives you an inheritance, and binds a crown

for you in the World to Come.

An open mem, a closed mem—

an open teaching, a closed teaching.

There are matters that one is permitted to expound, and matters that one is commanded to keep concealed, such as the account of the Divine Chariot.

A bent nun, a straight nun—

a trustworthy person who is bent.

A proper person should be bent and humble.

A trustworthy person who is straight,

for in the end he will be upright and erect in the World to Come.

Samekh [exact location on the page]—

“yayin”—

support the poor.

Alternatively—

make signs in the Torah and acquire it.

Make signs concerning the order of the statements of the tannaim or the amoraim, so that they will not be forgotten. [This is found in several places in the Talmud, where signs are given before a series of statements on one subject.]

Pe

—

a bent pe, pe

—

a straight pe—

an open mouth,

when the sages of the generation are not teaching Torah to the masses, it is your responsibility to teach Torah to the students.

A closed mouth

when the great scholars are teaching Torah, hold to humility and do not assume authority to teach others.

A bent tzadi and a straight tzadi—

a righteous person who is bent, a righteous person who is straight.

The Gemara asks:

Is this not the same as “a trustworthy person who is bent, a trustworthy person who is straight,”

which was already mentioned above?

The Gemara answers:

The verse has added an additional bending to his bending!

From here it follows that the Torah was given with a bowed head,

with awe and exceptional humility.

Kuf—

holy. [

The reference is to the Holy One, blessed be He.]

Resh—

wicked.

Why does the face of the kuf turn away from the resh

with the face of the resh turned away from the kuf? [The Gemara phrases it in the reverse order, out of respect for the Holy One, blessed be He.]

The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I cannot look at a wicked person!

And why does the crown of the kuf turn toward the resh?

Why does the crown above the kuf incline toward the resh?

The Holy One, blessed be He, said: If he repents—

I will bind a crown for him like My own.

That is, the crown, the small stroke above the kuf, is intended for him if he repents.

And why is the leg of the kuf suspended?

Is the leg of the kuf suspended in the air and not attached to the roof of the kuf?

So that if he repents

the wicked person, if he wishes to repent—

he can enter through this one,

through this upper opening between the left leg of the kuf, and he will be accepted back; this opening was made for him.

The Gemara challenges this: Why is the upper opening necessary? The kuf also has a lower opening, in the space between its right and left legs. If so,

let him enter

so that the wicked person who comes to repent can go around the kuf and enter

through this one,

the lower opening through which he emerged. Why, then, was a special opening made for him to return?!

The Gemara answers: The creation of this special opening for one who repents

supports the teaching of Reish Lakish.

As Reish Lakish said:

What is the meaning of the verse

in the Book of Proverbs:

“If it concerns scoffers—

He scoffs,

but to the humble He gives favor”? This teaches you:

One who comes to defile himself,

he is allowed to proceed on his own,

and they open for him

an opening through which he can leave and enter into impurity; he is not prevented, but neither is he assisted.

But

one who comes to purify himself—

they assist him,

as they prepare a special opening for him, as here: the left leg of the kuf was distanced from its roof in order to create an opening immediately near the wicked person, alluded to by the letter kuf, who returns. He does not have to go around and enter beneath the kuf; as soon as he returns, an opening is ready for him through which he can return.

This is the meaning of “but to the humble He gives favor”: if a person turns toward a good trait, he is granted favor from Heaven to assist him.

Shin—

falsehood.

Tav—

truth.

Why? The letters of falsehood are close together,

as its three letters are near one another in the order of the alphabet, whereas

the letters of truth are far apart,

one being at the beginning of the alphabet, one in the middle, and one at the end.

Because

falsehood is common,

just as its letters are close to one another. But

truth

is

not common,

just as its letters are far apart from one another in the order of the alphabet.

And why does falsehood stand on one leg,

with each of its letters standing on only one leg,

whereas

truth

rests on broad bricks,

like a brick beneath its letters, whose bases are stable: the alef and tav stand on two legs, and the mem has a broad base?

Because

truth stands,

truth stands and endures, whereas

falsehood does not stand.

Alef-tav, bet-shin [

From this point onward, the letters of the alphabet are expounded according to the alef-tav, bet-shin order: first the opening letter and the final letter are expounded together, then the second letter from the beginning and the second from the end, and so on.]

The Holy One, blessed be He, said:

Alef-tav—

“He despised Me.”

The wicked person despised Me; so

should I desire him?

Bet-shin—

“He did not desire Me,”

so

should My Name rest upon him?

Gimel-resh—

“He defiled his body,”

so

should I have mercy on him?

Dalet-kuf—

“He locked My doors,”

so

should I not cut off his horns?

Up to this point

this is

the conduct of the wicked.

But the conduct of the righteous—

Alef-tav, bet-shin—

if you are ashamed

:

Gimel-resh, dalet-kuf. If you do this,

if you are ashamed to be a sinner—

dwell in a secure place,

your soul will be bound beneath My throne and beneath the expanse of the heavens.

And you will also merit

heh-tzadi, vav-pe—

there will be a barrier between you and

the burning

anger.

And likewise,

zayin-ayin, het-samekh, tet-nun—

you will not tremble before the Satan.

Yod-mem, kaf-lamed—

the minister of Gehenna said before the Holy One, blessed be He: “To the sea”—

everything!

Gehenna is called “the sea,” since most people go to Gehenna, and he says to the Holy One, blessed be He: Give the entire world to my sea.

The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Het-samekh, bet-tet-ayin, gimel-yod-pe [

the order of the alphabet with seven letters skipped between each one]—

I have compassion on them

upon Israel

because they have rejected immorality [

adultery in Aramaic].

Dalet-kaf-tzadi—

They are pure, they are upright, they are righteous.

Heh-lamed-kuf—

Woe to you,

Gehenna,

for you have a share in them.

And mem-resh-zayin, shin-tav—

and

Gehenna said before Him: “Master of the universe, my Master, sustain me!” [

the Master who sustains the world]:

Give me some of the descendants of Seth,

whether gentiles or Jews, since the entire world is descended from Seth.

He said to him

the Holy One, blessed be He:

Alef-lamed, bet-mem, gimel-nun, dalet-samekh [

the first letter, the middle letter, and the last letter of the alphabet].

Alef-lamed, bet-mem: You shall have no share in them, in Israel. Rather, gimel-nun, dalet-samekh—

where will He lead them?

To the garden of myrtle,

the Garden of Eden.

Heh-ayin, vav-pe—

Gehenna said before the Holy One, blessed be He: “Master of the universe, I am hungry,”

from starvation [heh-ayin, vav-pe: I am hungry from starvation].

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him:

Zayin-tzadi, het-kuf—

These are the descendants of Isaac.

Tet-resh, yod-shin, kaf-tav—

Wait.

Preserve them and wait, because

I have groups and groups of idolaters—

whom I will give you.