Shabbat 33b — the Talmud in English

The Sages taught: Diphtheria comes to the world ![](pamud.bmp "

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for the

sin of one who does not

tithe

his produce and eats it in its untithed state. For this reason he is punished in his throat, because with it he ate.

Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosei, says: For malicious speech.

Rava said, and some say Rabbi Joshua ben Levi

said:

What is the verse?

As it is written in Psalms [63]:

“And the king shall rejoice in God; everyone who swears by Him shall glory. For the mouth of

those who speak falsehood shall be stopped.” “Shall be stopped” is in the sense of “diphtheria.”

“Will be stopped” is related to the expression “diphtheria.”

They raised a question before them:

Is it the intention of

Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosei

that diphtheria is only

for malicious speech,

and not for one who eats his produce while it is still untithed, and this is what he

says: “

for malicious speech”?

Or perhaps:

Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosei,

also says that it is for malicious speech as well,

that punishment by diphtheria comes for this sin too.

Come and hear: When our Sages entered the

study hall in which they sat in rows, like a

vineyard,

and this was

in Yavne.

Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosei, and Rabbi Shimon were there.

And

this question was asked before them: This blow

of diphtheria—

why does it begin

in the

intestines, and

it

ends in the mouth?

Rabbi Yehuda, son of Rabbi Ilai, the head of the speakers, answered,

who would speak first

everywhere,

because so the king had commanded.

And he said

in answer:

Although the kidneys

are

advisers

giving counsel to a person, and the

heart

is the one that

understands, and the tongue

is the one that

cuts,

nevertheless the

mouth

is the one that

finishes

the speech of malicious speech, from which the voice emerges. Therefore diphtheria begins in the intestines and ends in the mouth.

Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosei, answered and said:

The explanation of why it ends in the mouth is

because they eat through it—

through the mouth, impure things.

And we were astonished:

“Impure things”—could it enter your mind?!

Is the punishment of one who eats impure things death?

And we explain:

Rather,

this is what he says:

Because they eat through it things that are not prepared,

while they are still untithed; and one who eats untithed produce is liable to death.

Rabbi Shimon answered and said: For the sin of neglecting Torah study .

They said to him,

the Sages:

Women will prove

that they are not commanded in Torah study, as it is written, “And you shall teach them to your sons,” and nevertheless they too die from diphtheria.

He said to them: They too are punished for the sin of neglecting Torah study, because

they

cause their husbands to neglect

Torah study.

They said to him:

Non-Jews will prove,

for although they have no connection to Torah, they too die from diphtheria.

He said to them: They are punished because

they

cause the

the

Jewish people

to neglect Torah study.

They said to him:

Children will prove,

for they do not cause Torah study to be neglected, and nevertheless they die from diphtheria.

He said to them: Because

they cause their fathers

to neglect studying.

They said to him:

The children of the schoolhouse

who study Torah and do not neglect it,

will prove

that the punishment does not come for the sin of neglecting Torah study.

And we explain:

There,

with the children of the schoolhouse,

it is in accordance with Rabbi Gurion.

For Rabbi Gurion said, and some say Rabbi Yosef, son of Rabbi Shemaya

said it:

When the righteous

are

present in the generation,

the

righteous are seized

to be punished

for

the sin of

the generation.

And when

there are no righteous in the generation,

then

the children of the schoolhouse are seized for

the sin of

the generation.

Their death from diphtheria is not for their own sin.

Rabbi Yitzhak bar Ze’iri said, and some say Rabbi Shimon ben Nezira said: What is the verse?

As it is written:

“If you do not know, fairest among women—

go forth in the footsteps of the sheep,

and pasture your kids beside the shepherds’ tents.”

And this is the meaning of this verse: “If you do not know, fairest among women”—to observe My mitzvot properly. “

Go forth,” and request mercy, by the merit of “the footsteps of the sheep”—these are the holy forefathers, who were the feet of the sheep. “

And pasture,” by the merit of the forefathers, “

your kids”—these are your children, “beside the shepherds’ tents.”

And we say:

These are

kids who are held as pledges,

like a pledge,

for the shepherds,

so that they will not be seized for the sin of the shepherds and leaders of the generation.

And we conclude from this:

Infer from it, since Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosei, said: Because they eat things that are not prepared,

, since Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosei, said: “Because people eat through it things that are not prepared,”

also for

the sin of

malicious speech as well he said; infer from it.

And we inquire about it:

And why did they call him

Rabbi Yehuda, son of Rabbi Ilai,

“the head of the speakers everywhere”?

And we explain: An incident occurred,

that Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yosei, and Rabbi Shimon

bar Yoḥai were sitting.

And Yehuda ben Gerim was sitting with them [and he was called this because his father and mother were converts].

Rabbi Yehuda opened and said: How beautiful are

the deeds of this nation [Rome]. For they

[Rome]. For they

repaired

markets,

and

repaired bridges,

and

repaired bathhouses.

Rabbi Yosei,

when he heard Rabbi Yehuda’s words,

was silent.

Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai answered and said: Everything that

the Romans

repaired, they repaired only for the needs of

the enjoyment of

themselves.

They repaired

markets—

in order

to install prostitutes in them.

They repaired

bathhouses—

in order

to indulge themselves

themselves

in them.

They repaired

bridges—

in order

to take from them,

from those passing through them,

a toll.

Rabbi

Yehuda

ben Gerim went and related

at home

their words,

of the Sages.

And

as a result

they were heard by the government

of Rome.

They said,

the government: Rabbi

Yehuda, who elevated

and praised the government, he

shall be elevated

as a reward for this to be the head of the speakers everywhere.

Rabbi

Yosei, who was silent

and did not praise, and did not even protest Rabbi Shimon’s words, he

shall be exiled to Sepphoris.

Rabbi

Shimon, who denigrated

the government, he

shall be killed.

He went,

Rabbi Shimon,

and his son,

Rabbi Eliezer. They

hid

in the

study house.

Every day his wife would bring them

, Rabbi Shimon’s wife,

bread,

bread to eat,

and a jug

[a vessel]

of water, and they would eat

.

When the decree grew severe,

for they searched for him intensely,

Rabbi Shimon said to

Rabbi Shimon

his son: Since

women’s minds are easily influenced,

women are easily influenced,

I am concerned

perhaps

the Romans

will torment her

with harsh tortures that she will not withstand,

and she will reveal us

where we are hiding.

They went and hid

themselves

in a cave.

And

a miracle occurred for them, and

there

was created for them

a tree of

carob

from which they ate fruit ,

and a spring of water,

and a spring from which to drink water.

And

Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Eliezer were

removing their garments,

taking off their clothes,

so that they would not wear out.

And they would sit up to their necks in sand [in sand].

[in sand].

The entire day

they would

study, and

and

at the time of prayer,

when they stood for prayer,

they put on

their garments,

covered themselves and prayed, and

when they finished their prayer,

they again removed their garments so that they would not wear out.

They remained twelve years in the cave.

After twelve years,

Elijah came

the prophet,

and stood at the entrance of the cave and said: Who will inform

them, who will inform

Bar Yoḥai that the emperor has died

of Rome,

and his decree has been annulled?

When they heard his words,

they emerged,

Rabbi Shimon and his son, and came out of the cave.

And upon their departure,

they saw people plowing and sowing,

who were engaged in plowing and sowing.

Rabbi Shimon said:

These people

are abandoning eternal life and engaging in temporal life,

and they should have performed these labors through non-Jews; and the Holy One, blessed be He, distributes food and profit to those who do His will.

Every place where

they

placed

their

eyes upon it, immediately

it

was burned.

A Divine voice emerged and said to them:

Is it so that you went out

to destroy

My

world?

Return to your cave!

They went back

to the cave,

and remained

in it another

twelve months.

They said:

Behold,

the judgment of the wicked in Gehinnom

is

twelve months,

and surely we are able to leave.

A Divine voice emerged and said

to them:

Leave your cave! Come out.

Wherever Rabbi Eliezer would strike

[hit],

Rabbi Shimon would heal

[heal]

it.

He said to him,

Rabbi Shimon to Rabbi Eliezer:

My son, the world is sufficiently sustained

by those who engage in Torah,

by you and me.

Toward evening on the eve of Shabbat,

on Friday afternoon,

they saw a certain old man who was holding two bundles of myrtle,

two bundles of myrtle,

and

he was

running,

running, during

twilight.

They said to him: These

myrtles

why do you need them?

He said to them: For the honor of Shabbat;

I bought them to smell them.

They asked him:

And

why not

is one sufficient for you? He said to them: One

bundle,

one corresponding to “Remember,” and

one

bundle, one corresponding to “Observe.”

He said to him,

Rabbi Shimon

to his son: See!

Look,

how beloved mitzvot are to Israel. Their minds settled

.

Rabbi

Pinḥas ben Yair

heard, who was

his son-in-law,

that Rabbi Shimon and his son were coming,

and he went out to meet them

to receive them.

He brought him into the bathhouse

and put him there.

He was scraping

and preparing and cleaning

his flesh. He saw

that there were fissures in his body,

cracks that had formed from his staying in the sand.

Rabbi

Pinḥas

was crying, and the tears of his eyes fell

of Rabbi Pinḥas over Rabbi Shimon,

and they caused him pain

—Rabbi Shimon, for the tears stung him on his wounds.

He said to him,

Rabbi Pinḥas ben Yair:

Woe is me that I have seen you in such a state!

In such suffering.

He said to him,

Rabbi Shimon:

Fortunate are you that you have seen me in such a state!

Because

if you had not seen me in such a state, you would not have found me so.

And we explain: Because

originally, when Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai would raise a difficulty, Rabbi Pinḥas ben Yair would resolve

[answer]

it with twelve resolutions.

In the end,

after his return,

when Rabbi Pinḥas ben Yair would raise a difficulty, Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai would resolve it with twenty-four resolutions.

Rabbi Shimon said:

Since

a miracle happened

to me,

I will go and repair something,

as our forefather Jacob did when he was saved from Esau,

as it is written: “And Jacob came whole,” and Rav said: Whole in his body—

for he was healed of his lameness;

whole in his money, whole in his Torah—

for it had not been forgotten by him on his lengthy journey.

And it is written:

“And he encamped before the city.” Rav said: He established currency for them

[and the expression “he encamped” is interpreted as grace and repair; another explanation in Rashi is that this is learned from the continuation of the verse, “And he purchased the portion of the field,” an expression of repair].

And Shmuel said: He established markets for them.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: He established bathhouses for them.

Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai said:

Is there

some matter that requires repair?

They said to him:

Yes,

there is a place in which there is a doubt of ritual impurity.