Shabbat 12b — the Talmud in English

Rabbi Judah says:

they say to the sick person:

“May the Omnipresent have mercy upon you and upon the sick of Israel!”

Rabbi Yosei says: “May the Omnipresent have mercy upon you among the sick of Israel!”

For by including him with the others, his prayer is heard more, by virtue of the multitude.

Shevna, the man of Jerusalem,

when he came to visit the sick person on Shabbat—

upon entering

he

would say: “Peace!” And upon leaving

he

would say: “It is Shabbat, from crying out, and healing is near to come, and His mercies

of the Holy One, blessed be He,

are abundant

to bring you healing even without our crying out,

and your Shabbat

[rest during your Shabbat]

be in peace!”

And we raised a difficulty:

According to whom

among all these tannaim

does that which Rabbi Hanina said follow: “One who has a sick person within his house must include him among the sick of Israel”

when he prays for him [so that he may be healed by virtue of the multitude]?! And we answered:

According to whom? According to Rabbi Yosei,

who said above: “May the Omnipresent have mercy upon you among the sick of Israel!”

And Rabbi Hanina said: It was with difficulty that they permitted comforting mourners and visiting the sick on Shabbat!

For they cause distress.

Rabba bar bar Hana said: When we would go after Rabbi Elazar to inquire about him

[to visit the sick person],

sometimes he would say

to the sick person:

“May the Omnipresent attend to you for peace!” In

the Holy Tongue.

And sometimes he would say

to him:

“May the Omnipresent remember you for peace!”

in the Aramaic language. [And it was not specifically on Shabbat].

And we objected:

How did

Rabbi Elazar

do this? But Rabbi Judah said: “A person should never ask for his needs

in the Aramaic language!”

And

so

Rabbi Yohanan said: Whoever asks for his needs in the Aramaic language, the ministering angels do not attend to him

to bring his prayer before the Holy One, blessed be He! Because

the ministering angels do not understand the Aramaic language.

And we answered:

The sick person is different, for the Divine Presence is with him!

And he does not require the ministering angels to bring his prayer within the curtain; rather, it comes by itself before the Holy One, blessed be He.

For

Rav Anan said in the name of Rav: From where is it established that the Divine Presence attends the sick person

to support him in his weakness?

As it is stated: “The Lord will support him upon the bed of his illness”!

It was also taught so in a beraita: One who enters to visit the sick person should sit neither upon a bed nor upon a chair,

so that he should not sit higher than the sick person [if the sick person is lying in a low place. Tosafot],

but he should wrap himself

in his tallit over his head, out of fear of the Divine Presence, and he should not turn to the sides,

and he should sit before him

of the sick person, on the ground.

Because the Divine Presence is found above the sick person’s head. [

And if he sits behind his head, he is found sitting in the place of the Divine Presence].

As it is stated: “The Lord will support him upon the bed of his illness”!

And Rava said in the name of Ravin: From where is it established that the Holy One, blessed be He, feeds the sick person? As it is stated: “The Lord will support him upon the bed of his illness”!

For so'ed also means nourishment.

We learned in the Mishna:

“And he may not read by the light of the lamp!”

Rabba said: Even

if

the lamp is higher

than

two stories

of a person above the reader,

and even

if it is higher

by two goads

above him,

and even

if it is at the height of

ten houses, one upon another, [

for in such a case there is no concern lest he tilt it]—he may not read by its light! For once the Sages decreed their decree, it is forbidden in every manner, even where the reason for the decree does not apply, since the Sages did not distinguish.

And we infer: From the fact that the Mishna teaches “he may not read” in the singular, it implies that a person

alone is the one who may not read; but two

people

are entirely permitted!

And they are permitted to read by the light of the lamp, since if one of them comes to tilt it, his companion will remind him.

And this is difficult:

But it was taught in a beraita:

He may not read by the light of the lamp,

neither one nor two!

Rav Elazar said: It is not difficult. Here,

in the Mishna, which permits it for two, it is speaking when both are reading

about one matter!

For in this case, if one forgets and comes to tilt it, his companion will remind him. And

here,

in the beraita, which forbids it even for two, it is speaking when they are reading

about two matters!

Since each one is examining a separate passage, one does not notice the action of his companion.

Rav Huna said: But in the case of a bonfire,

a large one—

even

if they are

ten people, it is forbidden

for them to read by its light! Lest they come to stir it and adjust it. And we do not rely on their reminding one another, since they sit far from one another.

Rava said: If he is an important person—

it is permitted

for him to read by the light of the lamp! Because even on a weekday he is not accustomed to tilt it, on account of his importance.

It was objected: He may not read

a person

by the light of the lamp

on Shabbat,

lest he tilt it. Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha said: I will read and I will not tilt it! Once he read

on Shabbat by the light of the lamp, and he forgot

and sought to tilt it. He said: “How great are the words of the Sages, who would say: ‘He may not read by the light of the lamp’!”

Rabbi Natan says:

He did not merely seek to tilt it, but

he read and tilted it

in actuality.

And he wrote in his notebook: “I, Ishmael ben Elisha, read and tilted

the lamp on Shabbat, and transgressed the prohibition of kindling.

When the Temple is rebuilt, I shall bring a fat sin-offering

for this inadvertent act! But Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha was certainly an important person, and it follows that he too was included in the decree. This is difficult for Rava, who said: An important person is permitted.

Rabbi Abba said: Rabbi Ishmael ben

Elisha is different, since he places himself regarding words of Torah like an ordinary person!

And he does not concern himself with his importance, and tilts the lamp for the purpose of examining the Torah. Therefore, for reading Torah he does not have the status of an important person.

One beraita teaches

a beraita:

A servant examines cups and bowls by the light of the lamp

on Shabbat! And we do not fear that he may tilt it.

And another

beraita teaches:

The servant may not examine

cups and bowls by the light of the lamp! And the beraitot contradict one another.

And we answered:

It is not difficult. Here,

where it is forbidden,

it is a regular servant

he is! For he is in fear of his master, and therefore he examines the utensils carefully, lest he find something disgraceful in them. And in such an examination there is certainly concern lest he tilt it. And

here,

where it is permitted,

it is a non-regular servant

he is, and he does not require such a meticulous examination, and therefore there is no concern that he will tilt it.

And if you wish, say: Both this and that are speaking of a regular servant.

And it is not difficult. This

which is forbidden is speaking

of a

lamp

of oil

[of oil], for we are concerned that he may tilt it.

And this

which is permitted is speaking

of a

lamp

of naphtha!

For since it emits a bad smell, it is not customary to tilt it.

They raised a question:

According to the second answer stated above—

a non-regular servant, with a

lamp

of oil, what

is his law? Did they decree regarding him, or perhaps, since he is not in fear of his master, they did not decree regarding him, and it is permitted for him to examine by its light?

Rav said: The halakha

is that it is permitted.

But

nevertheless,

we do not instruct this!

So that people should not come to treat the decree of the Sages lightly.

And Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba said: The halakha

is that it is permitted,

and

also

we do instruct this!

Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba happened to come to the house of Rav Asi. His

attendant

[the attendant of Rabbi Yirmeya] rose and

was examining

the utensils

by the light of the lamp

[by the light of an oil lamp].

Rav Asi’s wife said to him

to her husband:

But

surely

the master does not do this! He said to her

Rav Asi:

Leave him alone,

this attendant, for he

holds according to his master

[Rabbi Yirmeya, who rules that it is permitted for a non-regular servant]

in his opinion!

And in the house of Rav Asi he was considered a non-regular servant.