Shekalim 17a — the Talmud in English

Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says:

Therefore it is called the Water Gate, because

through it the water trickles

[it comes out in a thin flow, like the width of the mouth of a jug] in the future,

and they will be destined

[according to the prophecy of Ezekiel]

to come out

and to spring

from beneath the threshold of the House

in the Holy of Holies. And at their beginning, their flow is the thickness of locust horns, but when they reach this gate they will increase and become already like the width of the mouth of a jug.

Corresponding to these four gates that were in the south, he would prostrate himself four times toward the south.

Opposite them

of the four gates in the south, there were four gates

in the north, near the west:

a.

The Gate of Jeconiah.

[And later in the Mishna the reason it was so called will be explained.]

b.

The Sacrifice Gate—

through it they would bring in sacrifices of the most sacred order, for the place of their slaughter was in the north of the Temple courtyard.

c.

The Women’s Gate—

through it the women entered to place their hands upon their sacrifice, according to the one who says that women are permitted to place their hands upon their sacrifice. And according to the one who says that they are forbidden to place their hands, in any event they would enter to stand beside their sacrifice.

d.

The Song Gate—

through it they would bring in musical instruments for the singing of the Levites.

And why was its name

of the first gate in the north, near the west,

the Gate of Jeconiah?

Because

through it Jeconiah went out

the king of Judah

in his exile,

after he entered the Temple to prostrate himself and ask for mercy concerning his going into exile to Babylon, and he went out through that gate.

The gates

that were in the east

are:

a.

The Gate of Nicanor—

named after Nicanor, who brought its doors from Alexandria by a miracle.

b.

And two small gates

[small gates in which there were small doors]

were

fixed

to it

in the large gate, one

on its right and one on its left,

so that they would be convenient to open for whoever wished, whenever he wished [Meiri]. And these too are counted among the thirteen gates.

And two

additional ones were

in the west,

which

did not have a name

known, because they were used only little, to go out through there to the open area behind the Temple [Meiri].

All the gates together were found to number thirteen, and corresponding to them there were thirteen prostrations.

Gemara:

And we say:

Our Mishna—

[is the view of] Abba Yose ben Yohanan,

who says

that there were thirteen gates in the Temple, and therefore it is possible to explain that the prostrations were

corresponding to thirteen gates.

However, according to the Rabbis

[but according to the Rabbis] it is impossible to explain our Mishna in this way. For in their view only

seven gates were in the Temple courtyard.

And if so,

according to the view of the Rabbis

[according to the Rabbis], we must know:

where were

the thirteen

prostrations האלה?

And we answer: The Rabbis will explain

that it is like that which

is similar to

we learned there,

that we learned there, in tractate Middot:

There were thirteen breaches in it,

in the wall of the Temple courtyard,

which the Greek kings breached, and the Hasmoneans later fenced them in.

And they decreed thirteen prostrations corresponding to them.

We learned in the Mishna: And why was its name called the Water Gate? Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: Through it the water trickles, and in the future it will come out from beneath the threshold of the House, as in the prophecy of Ezekiel.

And the Gemara explains the verses of this prophecy.

It is written

in Zechariah [14:8]:

“And it shall be on that day: living waters shall go out from Jerusalem

half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea. In summer and in winter it shall be.”

It was taught: From the Holy of Holies

the waters will spring forth. But from there

until the curtain

of the Holy of Holies, the stream will be thin

like the horns of flies and gnats

[like the horns of flies and mosquitoes], which are exceedingly thin.

And

from

the

curtain until the golden altar

the stream will widen slightly and become

like locust horns.

And

from the golden altar until the courtyards

the stream will be

like a thread

of weaving

of the warp,

which is thicker than locust horns.

And

from the courtyards until the threshold of the House

the stream will become

like a thread

of weaving

of the woof,

which is thicker than the warp. And

from here onward

the stream will grow stronger and its width will become

like

the stream that comes out

from the mouth of the jug.

As it is written

in the prophecy of Ezekiel [47:2–5]:

“And behold, waters trickling from the right shoulder, as the man went out eastward, with a measuring line in his hand.

And he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters, waters of ankles.

And he measured a thousand, and he brought me through the waters, waters of knees.

And he measured a thousand, and he brought me through waters of loins.

And he measured a thousand, a stream which I could not cross, for the waters had risen, waters for swimming, a stream which could not be crossed.”

And this is the explanation of the verses:

“And behold, waters trickling”—

coming out with the width of their stream like the waters of a jug;

“from the right shoulder”—

that is, from the southern gate, and as we learned in our Mishna: The Water Gate, through which they trickle and come out from beneath the threshold of the House, and continue and grow stronger from place to place, as follows.

“As the man went out eastward, with a measuring line in his hand”—

the angel took a measuring rod in his hand.

“And he measured a thousand cubits”—

and he measured a thousand cubits from the threshold of the House.

“And he brought me through the waters, waters of ankles”—

the angel brought me in my vision through the waters. And there the waters were already at the depth of waters of ankles. That is, the waters reached

to his ankle

[to the ankles].

“And he measured a thousand, and he brought me through waters of knees”—

and again the angel measured an additional thousand cubits, and there the waters increased and reached

to his knees

[to the knees].

“And he measured a thousand, and he brought me through waters of loins”—

he measured an additional thousand cubits, and when I passed there in my vision, the waters reached

to the loins

[the waist].

“From here onward, ‘and he measured a thousand’

additional ones, and there the waters were flowing and surging like

“a stream which I could not cross.”

For

even a large ship,

[a ship]

cannot cross it.

What is the reason

that he says this? From where does he know that even ships cannot cross there?

As it is stated in Isaiah [33:21] concerning this spring:

“And a mighty ship

[large ships]—

it shall not pass through it.”

It is thus explicit that ships cannot pass through it.

And

for what reason

will the ships not be able to pass through?

“For the waters have risen”

[this is the continuation of the preceding verse]

“waters of swimming.”

What are “waters of swimming”?

And the Gemara explains that its meaning is as though the word were written as one word—“swimming.”

To say that even

to swim

in the waters is impossible in this surging stream.

And the Gemara explains: From where is it understood that “swimming” is an expression for sailing? As

Rav Huna said in our place,

[in our place],

people call

people

sailing

swimming.

And likewise we find in Scripture, as it is stated in Isaiah:

“And the palms of his hands within him, as the swimmer spreads out to swim.”

It follows that one who moves through the water is called a “swimmer.”

Rabbi Yose comes to explain in another manner the expression “waters of swimming,” said concerning this stream that comes out from the Temple.

What are “waters of swimming”?

Rabbi Yose son of Rabbi Bun said:

“Waters of swimming” means

waters

[waters]

that are spoken about in the world

[about which people converse in the world].

“Swimming” is an expression of conversation, and the intention of the verse is to say that the waters of the stream flow so strongly that they cause people to wonder about them and speak about them.

And the Gemara brings another verse dealing with this spring mentioned in the prophecy of Ezekiel.

It is written

in Zechariah [13:1]:

“On that day there shall be a spring

[a fountain]

opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.”

And it is difficult: What is the meaning of what is written in this verse, “for sin and for impurity”? It implies that this spring is fit only for the immersion of a menstruant and for the water of purification, which they would place in the ashes of the red heifer. But it is not fit for other immersions. And why? For a spring is fit for all immersions.

He said,

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman in the name of Rabbi Yohanan:

This is the intention of the verse: The waters flowing in the spring in the section that is

from the house of David

that was outside Jerusalem

until the inhabitants of Jerusalem—

they are fit

for

the

immersion of

a menstruant,

to immerse and become purified from her menstruation,

and

for the water of

purification.

But in the area of the river flowing

from here onward—

they are mixed waters,

for rainwater mixes with the spring water. Therefore:

they are fit

only

for

the immersion of

a menstruant,

for her immersion is valid both in a spring and in rainwater. But

they are invalid

for

the water of purification,

because the law of the water of purification is that it must come only from “living waters,” that is, spring water; and once rainwater has mixed with the spring, it is no longer fit for the water of purification.

Rabbi Elazar said:

The verse did not intend this. Rather, the intention of the verse is that the waters flowing

from the house of David until the inhabitants of Jerusalem are fit

they are

for

the immersion of

a menstruant and for the water of purification.

And the waters flowing

from here onward—

they are waters of a steep descent

[they descend on a very steep slope], and the law of water that descends in this manner is that

they are invalid

both

for

the immersion of

a menstruant, and

both

for

the water of

purification,

since for this reason they are not considered connected to the spring, as is explained in several places: “a steep descent” is not considered a connection, and the water there does not purify.

And the Gemara brings another verse dealing with the aforementioned spring.

It is written

in Ezekiel [47:6], in the continuation of his prophecy concerning the vision of this spring:

“And he said to me: These waters are going out toward the eastern district, and they will go down upon the plain, and they will come to the sea, to the sea of the outlet—and the waters shall be healed.”

And the Gemara explains this verse:

“And he said to me: These waters are going out toward the eastern district”—

this is the Sea of Samcho.

For seven seas surround the Land of Israel, and to four of them the aforementioned spring waters went out. And the eastern district is the “Sea of Samcho,” which is found to the east of the Land of Israel, and on account of this the verse called it “the eastern.”

“And they will go down upon the plain”—

this is the Sea of Tiberias.

“And they will come to the sea”—

this is the Dead Sea.

“To the sea of the outlet”—

this is the Great Sea.

And why was its name called “the outlet”?

Corresponding to the two times that this sea went out

to inundate the world,

one in the generation of Enosh and one in the generation of the Dispersion.

Rabbi

Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Hanina: The first time,

when the sea went out in the generation of Enosh,

it went out as far as

a country whose name was

Calabria,

and it is in the country of France;

and the second time—

in the generation of the Dispersion—

the sea went out

as far as

the rocks

[the rocks] in the country of

Barbaria.

Rabbi Aḥa said in the name of Rabbi Hanina,

saying:

The first time,

in the generation of Enosh,

it went out as far as the rocks of Barbaria, and the second time it went out as far as Acre and Jaffa.

And he expounds it from the verse of Job, as it is written: “And the Lord answered Job …,” and it says: “Thus far shall you come and no farther, and here shall the pride of your waves be set.”

And he explains the verse in this manner:

“Thus far shall you come and no farther.”

“Thus far” is like “to here.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the sea: Come as far as here, that is,

you shall come as far as Acre, and you shall go no farther,

to spread farther, because Acre is the boundary of the Land of Israel.

“And here shall the pride of your waves be set.”

For the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the sea:

As far as Jaffa I shall set the pride of your waves,

and no farther. And “here” is like “Jaffa.”

And now the Gemara returns to explain the end of the aforementioned verse, which says there, after the verse specified that the waters of the said spring go out to the Sea of Samcho, the Sea of Tiberias, the Dead Sea, and the Great Sea: “And the waters shall be healed,” for through the entry of the spring waters into them, the waters in these seas will be healed.

And we ask:

It is understandable concerning the Great Sea

[the Great Sea]

and the Salt Sea

[and the Dead Sea], whose waters are salty; therefore the spring waters are needed to heal them

in order to sweeten them

[to remove their salinity].

But

the Sea of Tiberias and the Sea of Samcho—

what need is there to heal them, for their waters are sweet?

And we answer: The reason the spring waters also entered these seas was in order

to increase their fish,

for through these waters that come from the spring, their waters will be blessed to produce many fish.

As it is written concerning it

[in Ezekiel concerning this spring]:

“Its fish shall be according to its kinds.”

And the word “according to its kinds” is superfluous, for it is obvious that it will be according to its kind. Rather, this verse comes to teach us that

its fish shall be according to kinds of kinds,

and its fish will be exceedingly abundant, which is not found in this manner in other seas.

It was taught; Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel said: It happened that I went to Sidon, and they brought before me more than three hundred kinds of fish in a single serving

[in a cooked dish]

one.

It is written at the end of the aforementioned verse

“And the waters shall be healed”

through the spring waters.

And it is written there, in the continuation of the prophecy concerning the aforementioned spring:

“Its swamps and its pools, and they shall not be healed; they shall be given over to salt.”

And it is difficult, for at first

it is written, “And the waters shall be healed,” but you say

in the continuation of the passage

“and the waters shall not be healed”?

And we answer: The intention of the verse is not to say that these waters do not heal. For certainly they do heal, as it is written at the beginning.

Rather,

it is a place, and its name is “They Shall Not Be Healed.”

And the verse comes to say that the waters will not reach this place, which is called “They Shall Not Be Healed,” because these places “shall be given over to salt.”

Further,

it is written

there, in the continuation of this verse:

“And by the stream shall rise upon its bank, on this side and on that side, every tree for food.

Its leaf shall not wither, nor shall its fruit fail; by its months it shall yield firstfruits.

For its waters issue from the Temple, and its fruit shall be for food and its leaf for healing.”

It was taught; Rabbi Judah said: Since in this world grain produces

[grows]

in six months,

for in Heshvan they sow the grain, and in Nisan they already bring the Omer offering from the new grain. Whereas

a tree produces

its fruit once

in twelve months.

But in the future, grain will produce in one month, and a tree will produce in two months.

What is the reason

and the source for this?

As it is written

in this verse: “Every tree for food …

by its months it shall yield firstfruits.”

And the minimum of a plural is two. It follows that in the future the trees will yield their fruits once every two months; and since the customary period for grain to yield firstfruits is half that of a tree, as explained, we learn that in the future grain will yield firstfruits once a month.

Rabbi Yose said

[he comes to dispute the words of Rabbi Judah]:

Since in this world grain produces in six months, and a tree produces its fruit in twelve months.

But in the future grain will produce in fifteen days, and a tree will produce

fruit once

in one month.

For we find that grain produced in the days of Joel in fifteen days.

For the first rain fell that year at the beginning of Nisan, and the grain grew quickly,

and they brought from it

an offering of

the Omer,

which is brought on the sixteenth of Nisan. And since grain yields firstfruits in half the time of a tree, we learn that a tree yields firstfruits in one month.

What is his reason?

That is, where do we find this in Joel?

As it is written: [Joel 2]

“And the children of Zion, rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God, for He has given you the teacher for righteousness, and He has brought down for you rain, the teacher and the latter rain, in the first month.”

It follows that the first rain fell that year in Nisan, and on the sixteenth of Nisan they had already brought the Omer.

And we ask:

And what does

[how does he explain]

Rabbi Yose

the verse

“by its months it shall yield firstfruits”

that implies that the tree will produce its fruit once every two months [for the minimum of a plural is two], and not once a month?

And we answer: Rabbi Yose explains the verse in this way: “By its months it shall yield firstfruits”—

in every single month it shall yield firstfruits,

and the expression “its months” means ordinary months.

And now he explains the end of this verse, which says: “And its fruit shall be for food

and its leaf for healing.”

Rabbi Yohanan said:

“Healing” is an expression for fruit. And the verse says:

The healing

[the fruits] of these trees

will be more visible than it

—they will appear more than the leaves on the trees, because they will be exceedingly numerous.

And we ask:

And

if

“healing”

is an expression of

food

[food], how is it possible to explain that “its healing” means the fruits?

Rather, certainly “its healing” is an expression of healing. And the intention of the verse is that these leaves heal whoever eats them.

And

Rav and Shmuel

disagreed concerning what the healing in these leaves is:

One said: To open the upper mouth,

so that mute people who eat these leaves will speak.

And one said: To open the lower mouth.

For the wombs of barren women who eat these leaves will be remembered.

And likewise

Rabbi Hanina and Rabbi Joshua ben Levi

one said:

that these leaves are beneficial

to open the mouth of barren women, and one said: to open the mouth of mutes.

And this is in accordance with Rav and Shmuel.

We learned in the Mishna:

Opposite them, in the north

near the west, the Gate of Jeconiah … And why was its name called the Gate of Jeconiah? Through it Jeconiah went out in his exile.

And the Gemara brings the event that occurred with Jeconiah [that is, King Jehoiachin] in the Temple before his departure into exile.

You find that when Nebuchadnezzar came up here,

to the Land of Israel, in order to take Jehoiachin, king of Judah, whom they had made king in place of Jehoiakim his father, and the ministers of Babylon advised him to remove him,

he came and settled for himself in the outskirts of Antioch

[in the open area of the city of Antioch].

And the Great Sanhedrin went out toward him and said to him:

Has

the time

already

come for this House to be destroyed?

[And they asked him this because they knew from the prophets that the House was destined to be destroyed, and they wished to know whether his coming now to the Land of Israel was for that reason.]

He said to them,

Nebuchadnezzar: I did not come to destroy the House. Rather,

the one whom I made king over you

[Jehoiachin]—

give him to me, and I will go.

They came

the Sanhedrin

and said to Jehoiachin, king of Judah: Nebuchadnezzar wants you

[desires you].

When he heard this from them, he took

Jehoiachin the

keys of the Temple,

and

went up to the roof of the Sanctuary.

He said before Him: Master of the world, formerly we were faithful to You, and Your keys were entrusted to us.

Now, that we are not faithful—

Your keys are entrusted to You.

And they disagree,

two amoraim,

what happened at that time when he threw the keys upward.

One said: He threw them

upward,

and they had not yet descended.

And one said: A kind of hand came

from above

and took them from his hand.