Shabbat 63a — the Talmud in English

Is it

between mustard-colored

, meaning white, and his intention is to ask about a woman who is white,

or ![](pamud.bmp "

exact page location")

between dark mustard-colored

, black, about a black woman?

With a wide misav or with a short misav —

a misav is a bed upon which one reclines at the time of eating, and here his intention is to ask whether the woman was fat?

With a good companion or with a bad companion,

about a woman of good appearance or not?

Rav Hisda said: And all of them

their intention was

to engage in licentious relations,

to ask about these matters.

Rabbi Yehuda said: The trees of Jerusalem were of cinnamon. And when they burned them, their fragrance wafted

throughout all the Land of Israel.

And when Jerusalem was destroyed, they hid

those cinnamon trees

and only a measure the size of a barley grain remained

of them.

And it is found in the treasury

and that small amount is found in the treasury

of Tzimtzai the queen

that is the name of the queen.

Mishna:

A man may not go out

with weapons on Shabbat,

neither with a sword

a sword,

nor with a bow, nor with a shield —

a shield to save himself from the arrows of the enemies,

nor with a club

a thick stick with which one strikes,

nor with a spear.

And if he went out

with one of these

he is liable for a sin-offering.

Rabbi Eliezer says:

he may go out with them because they are

ornaments for him.

And the Sages say: They are only for disgrace

and they are not an ornament.

As it is stated: “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”

And we learn from the prophet’s announcement that the weapons will be nullified, since they are not an ornament.

A biryit,

a bracelet on the calf to hold the coverings of her calves so that they should not fall and reveal her calves —

is pure,

since it is not a vessel capable of receiving impurity.

And one may go out with it on Shabbat.

And they were not concerned lest she remove it, because she would not wish to reveal her calf.

Chains

with which the legs are tied [as explained in the Gemara]

are impure,

they receive impurity because they are vessels used by a person.

And one may not go out with them on Shabbat,

lest she come to remove them and carry them four cubits in the public domain.

Gemara:

What is “with a

”?

club

,” a stick with which one strikes, whose head is thick?

We learned in the Mishna:

Rabbi Eliezer says: They are ornaments for him.

It was taught in a beraita: They said to Rabbi Eliezer: Since

weapons

are ornaments for him, why are they nullified in the days of the Messiah?

He said to them: Because they will not be needed,

because there will be no war,

as it is stated: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation”

in the future.

And we challenge this:

Let them be

weapons in the future

merely for adornment,

and why should they be removed from the world?

Abaye said: It is as with a lamp in the daytime,

just as a lamp does not illuminate in daylight, and therefore has no adornment, so too the weapons will not be ornamental vessels at a time when there will be no need for them.

And it disagrees

this beraita, which states that the weapons will be nullified in the future, disagrees with

Shmuel .

For Shmuel said: There is no difference between this world and the days of the Messiah except for the subjugation of the kingdoms

that the nations will not harm Israel, but nevertheless one nation will still lift up the sword against another nation. And proof that the consolations of the prophets were not said about the days of the Messiah is

as it is stated

in the Torah

“For the needy shall never cease out of the land.”

For even in the days of the Messiah there will be a needy person, and the world will follow its usual course.

And the beraita that says that the weapons will be nullified in the days of the Messiah

supports Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba.

For Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said: All the prophets

who prophesied prophecies of consolation

prophesied only for the days of the Messiah.

But concerning the World to Come,

the goodness is so abundant that a person has no power to attain it in its entirety, and none knows its greatness, beauty, and strength except the Holy One, blessed is He alone, and concerning this it is said

“No eye has seen, O God, besides You.”

And some say: They said to Rabbi Elazar: Since

weapons

are ornaments for him,

then

why are they nullified in the days of the Messiah?

He said to them: Even in the days of the Messiah they will not be nullified .

And

this is Shmuel’s view,

that weapons will not be nullified in the days of the Messiah.

And it disagrees with Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba,

who holds that the prophecies of consolation were said concerning the days of the Messiah.

Abaye said to Rav Dimi, and some say

Abaye said

to Rav Avya, and some say

he said

Rav Yosef to Rav Dimi, and some say

Rav Yosef said

to Rav Avya, and some say

he said

Abaye to Rav Yosef:

What is the reason of Rabbi Eliezer, who says

that it is permitted to go out with weapons on Shabbat because

they are ornaments for him?

From where did he learn this matter?

For it is written: “Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one, your glory and your majesty,”

meaning that weapons are glory and majesty for the one who girds them.

Rav Kahana said to Mar, son of Rav Huna:

One cannot learn Rabbi Eliezer’s ruling from this verse, because

this

verse

is written concerning words of Torah,

that a person should be diligent in reviewing his learning so that it will be ready for him at the time of judgment.

He said to him:

Even though they expound the verse concerning words of Torah, nevertheless Rabbi Eliezer’s ruling is learned from here, because

a verse does not depart from its plain meaning .

And the plain meaning of the verse concerns an actual sword.

Rav Kahana said: When I was eighteen years old,

when I was eighteen years old,

and I had already mastered the entire Shas,

I already knew all six orders,

but I did not know that a verse does not depart from its plain meaning until now.

What does this come to teach us

Rav Kahana?

That a person should first learn and afterward reason,

that a person should learn his teaching from his teacher and afterward seek to understand the reasons for the matters .

A sign of strangeness

Rabbi Yirmeya said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: Two Torah scholars who sharpen one another,

asking and answering

one another in halakha,

not in order to defeat one another, but rather in order to become sharper,

the Holy One, blessed is He, makes them successful

in their path.

As it is stated: “And your way shall prosper.”

And we expound:

Do not read “and your way” —

but rather “and you shall sharpen one another.”

And furthermore, they rise

both of them

to greatness, as it is stated: “Prosper, ride.”

Could it be

that the learners merit these matters

even

if they engage in Torah

not for its own sake?

The verse states: “Because of truth” —

the matter concerns those who engage in Torah with truth.

Could it be

also

if the learner made

the learner

his mind haughty,

that he became arrogant, he merits these matters?

The verse states: “And humility of righteousness” —

the matter concerns those who engage in Torah with humility.

And if they do so,

to engage in Torah for its own sake and with humility,

they merit the Torah that was given with the right hand.

As it is stated: “And Your teaching

and it teaches you

the awesomeness of Your right hand” —

this is the Torah that was given with the right hand.

Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak said: They merit

those who engage in Torah for its own sake and with humility

the matters that were said at the right side of Torah,

which are length of days, wealth, and honor.

For Rava bar Rav Sheila said, and some say Rav Yosef bar Hama said in the name of Rav Sheshet: What is the meaning of that which is written, “Length of days —

in its right hand.

In its left hand —

wealth and honor.”

Rather,

but is it so that

in its right hand —

only

length of days is there,

but

wealth and honor are not there?

Rather,

this is what it says:

For those who use their right hand with it —

who engage in it with all their strength and are occupied with knowing its secret, like a person who uses his right hand, which is primary ,

length of days is there

for them,

and all the more so

that they will also merit

wealth and honor.

For those who use their left hand with it —

who do not toil in Torah as much as they should, only

wealth and honor are there,

but

length of days is not there.

Rabbi Yirmeya said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: Two Torah scholars who are at ease with one another in halakha,

who discuss it calmly and learn from one another,

the Holy One, blessed is He, listens to them.

As it is stated: “Then those who feared the Lord spoke one with another.” There is no speaking except

with

calmness, as it is stated: “He shall speak

peoples beneath us,”

He shall humble the peoples beneath us, and every humbling is with calmness .

What is “and those who think upon His Name”

[which is stated at the end of the verse]?

Rabbi Ami said: Even if one intended to perform a mitzva but was prevented and did not perform it, Scripture credits him as though he performed it.

Rabbi Hanina bar Idi said: Anyone who performs a mitzva according to its statement

is not informed of evil tidings.

As it is stated: “He who keeps a mitzva shall know no evil thing.”

Rabbi Asi said, and some say

he said

Rabbi Hanina:

One who performs a mitzva according to its statement,

even if the Holy One, blessed is He, decrees a decree

upon him,

He annuls it.

As it is stated: “Where the word of a king is, there is power, and who may say to him, ‘What are you doing?’”

When a decree has been decreed before the King of the world, no one can annul it except one who observes a mitzva. And we expound:

And adjacent to it is “He who keeps a mitzva shall know no evil thing.”

For he can be saved and annul the decree of the Lord.

Rabbi Abba said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: Two Torah scholars who listen to one another in halakha, the Holy One, blessed is He, listens to their voice.

As it is stated: “She who sits in the gardens, companions listen to your voice; let me hear it.”

And we expound: “Gardens” — these are houses of study. And when companions listen in them, the Lord hears their voice.

And if they do not do so,

that they do not listen to one another in halakha,

they cause

through their evil deeds

the Divine Presence to depart from Israel.

As it is stated

immediately afterward,

“Flee, my beloved, and be like” and so on.

Rabbi Abba said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: Two Torah scholars who gather together with one another in halakha —

who gather together to learn when they have no teacher ,

the Holy One, blessed is He, loves them.

As it is stated: “And his banner over me was love.”

Rava said: And this is when they know

those Torah scholars

the form of the teaching,

that they learned the roots of the matters from their teacher.

And this is when they have no teacher in the city from whom to learn

that there is no teacher in their city from whom to learn, and then their conduct of learning together without a teacher is praiseworthy.

Rabbi Abba said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: Lending is greater than giving charity

because the poor borrower is not embarrassed to borrow, but he is embarrassed to receive charity .

And one who invests in a fund

money, and forms a partnership with the poor person — is

greater than all of them,

because he supports him honorably so that he will not need other people.

Rabbi Abba said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish:

If a Torah scholar is vengeful and bears a grudge like a snake

he is —

bind him to your loins,

attach yourself to him, for in the end you will benefit from his learning.

If an ignoramus is pious -

do not dwell in his neighborhood

since he does not understand the fine points of mitzvot, and his piety is not genuine, and you will ultimately learn from him.

Rav Kahana said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish.

,

And some say, Rav Asi said.

And some say, he said

Rabbi Abba said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: Anyone who raises a vicious dog within his house prevents kindness from his house,

since the poor cannot enter his house.