Taanit 20b — the Talmud in English

He encountered

on his way

a certain man

, who was exceedingly ugly.

He said to him

that man to Rabbi Elazar:

“Peace be upon you, Rabbi!”

But he did not return to him

Rabbi Elazar a greeting .

Moreover, instead of this, he said to him:

“Empty one” [

it is an expression of disparagement. That is: an empty person such as you],

“How ugly is that man [

he said this concerning that man]

! Perhaps all the people of your city are ugly like you?”

That man said to him:

that man:

“I do not know.”

“Rather, go and say to the Craftsman who made me” [

that is, the Holy One, blessed be He]:

“How ugly is this vessel that You made!”

That is, if you have claims concerning my ugly appearance, I am not the address. Rather, go to my Creator, to the Holy One, blessed be He, and complain before Him about the ugly creation that He created!

When he knew

and understood, Rabbi Elazar

himself that he had sinned

through his words,

he descended from the donkey—

and prostrated himself before him [

before that man],

and said to him: “I have spoken excessively to you” [

I spoke to you more than was proper] ,

forgive me!

That man said to him: that man: “I will not forgive you until you go”

“to the Craftsman who made me, and say to Him: ‘How ugly is this vessel that You made!’”

Rabbi Elazar was

to the Craftsman who made me and say to Him: How unattractive is this vessel that You made!

walking about

after him

and attempting to appease him until

he reached his city .

behind him

and trying to appease him until

The people of his city went out to greet him [

to greet Rabbi Elazar], and they would say to him: “Peace be upon you, my Rabbi, my Rabbi; my teacher, my teacher!” He said to them that man: “Whom are you calling ‘Rabbi,’ ‘Rabbi’?”

The people of his city went out to greet him [

to greet Rabbi Elazar ],

and they said to him: Peace be upon you, my rabbi, my rabbi; my teacher, my teacher!

The man said to them

They said to him: “The

man

who is walking after you”.

To Rabbi Elazar.

He said to them: “If

a man

such as this—

is a Rabbi

he—

may Rabbis

-

not

like him become numerous in Israel!”

They said to him:

Heaven forbid!

“For what reason

are you saying this?”

He said to them: “This and this he did”

“to me” [

he told them the entire incident].

They said to him: “Even so,” despite what he did to you,

to me [

he related the entire incident to them ].

“forgive him”

Rabbi Elazar, because

“he is a great man in Torah.”

He said to them: “For your sake” [

because you are asking]—

“I hereby forgive him.”

“Provided that he will not be accustomed to doing so” .

Immediately Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Shimon entered

provided that he does not make a habit of doing this .

the house of study

and expounded: “A person should always be pliable like a reed”

, and should not be hard like a cedar .

And therefore, since the reed is pliable, the reed merited having a quill taken from it with which to write a Torah scroll, phylacteries, and mezuzot. We learned in our Mishna: “And likewise, a city in which there is pestilence or a collapse, and so on.” The Sages taught: The collapse that they said in our Mishna— that is, in a case where the walls were sound [ strong] from the outset, and not walls that were already unstable.

, and should not be rigid like a cedar .

For if they were already unstable, it is their nature to fall.

Likewise, this refers to walls

that are not liable to fall, and not

walls

that are liable to fall.

And the Gemara asks:

“Which are they” [

which are these]

“the sound ones,”

and

“which are they” [

and which are these]

“that are not liable to fall?”

If they are sound and not liable to fall, they are one and the same!

And likewise,

“which are they, the unstable ones; which are they, the ones liable to fall?”

Are they not one and the same?

And the Gemara explains: What we learned, “liable to fall” separately and “sound” separately, which implies that “liable to fall” refers to sound walls—

“It is necessary” [

the matter is not necessary]—but rather, it refers to a case

where

indeed the walls are sound, but

they fell because of

their height [

because of their height: they were excessively high].

Alternatively,

the matter is possible in a case

where they stand on the riverbank [

where the walls stand on the bank of the river]. For although the walls are sound, they fall because the water damages the ground and wears away the foundation.

The Gemara brings another incident concerning an unstable wall.

Like that unstable wall that was in Nehardea [

like that unstable wall that was in the city of Nehardea],

under which Rav and Shmuel would not pass [

they would not pass beneath it],

even though it had stood in its place for thirteen years and had not fallen [

even though the wall had already stood in its place for thirteen years and had not collapsed].

One day Rav Adda bar Ahava happened to come there [

one day Rav Adda bar Ahava happened to come to that place].

Shmuel said to Rav: “Let the Master come and let us go around” [

come and let us go around the dangerous wall, and not walk beneath it, as we always customarily do]!

He said to him

Rav to Shmuel:

“We do not need to do so now” [

today we do not need to go around],

because

Rav Adda bar Ahava is with us, whose merit is abundant, and I am not afraid [

because Rav Adda bar Ahava, whose merits are numerous, is with us, and therefore there is no concern that the wall will collapse].

The Gemara brings another incident concerning an unstable wall.

Rav Huna had that wine in that unstable house, and he wished to clear it out [

Rav Huna had wine that was lying in an unstable house, and he wanted to remove it from there before the house collapsed upon it].

But he was afraid to enter there.

Rav Huna acted ingeniously, and

brought Rav Adda bar Ahava there [

he brought Rav Adda bar Ahava into the house, since his merits were abundant, as was stated above].

He detained him with a discussion [

he kept him there by engaging him in Torah study]

until he had cleared it out [

until he finished removing the wine from the house].

After he had gone out—

the house fell [

immediately after Rav Adda left the house, the house fell].

Rav Adda bar Ahava sensed

the matter,

that they had brought him into the house so that it would not collapse and they could clear it out—and

he took offense [

and took offense at the matter] .

he delayed him there by engaging him in Torah study ]

until he had removed it [

until he finished removing the wine from the house ].

And why did he take offense at the matter?

He held [

for he held]

that this is what Rabbi Yannai said: “A person should never stand in a place of danger and say”:

I am not afraid, because surely

a miracle will be performed for me,

and I will not be harmed.

And the reason is that he must be concerned

perhaps a miracle will not be performed for him

from Heaven. And even if you should say that

a miracle will be performed for him—

nevertheless,

they deduct [

they reduce]

from him

on account of this

from his merits [

from the merits that he possesses through mitzvot and good deeds] .

The reason is that he must be concerned

that perhaps a miracle will not be performed for him

by Heaven.

And

even

if you should say

that

a miracle will be performed for him -

nevertheless,

Rav Hanan said: “What is the verse?” [

from where do we learn this matter, that through a miracle being performed for him they deduct from his merits]?

For it is written

that Jacob said when he prayed to the Holy One, blessed be He, to save him from Esau:

“I have become small from all the kindnesses and from all the faithfulness

and so on: ‘For with my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps’” [

that is, when I crossed the Jordan on my way to Laban, all my possessions were the staff in my hand. But now, when I am returning from there, there are so many people and possessions with me that they can be divided into two camps]. And what he said, “I have become small,” means that Jacob was concerned that perhaps through the great miracles that had been performed for him, his merits had been diminished and made small .

from where do we learn that when a miracle is performed for a person, his merits are deducted ]?

As it is written,

that Jacob said when he prayed to the Holy One, blessed be He, to save him from Esau:

“I have become too small for all the kindnesses and all the truth

and so on: ‘For with my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps’” [that is, when I crossed the Jordan on my way to Laban, all my possessions consisted of the staff in my hand. But now, as I return from there, the people and possessions with me are so numerous that they can be divided into two camps ].

When he said, “I have become too small,” Jacob was concerned that, because of the great miracles performed for him, his merits might have been diminished and reduced .

What were the deeds of

what were his deeds

of Rav Adda bar Ahava,

that they were so confident in his merits?

For it is as it was stated

In the Yerushalmi this matter is brought with a slight variation. The Sages sent to him: What good deeds do you have in your possession? And the Yerushalmi adds other things that he answered them. For example: Never did a person precede me to the synagogue, and never did I leave the synagogue and leave a person behind; the curse of my fellow never came upon my bed; and I never passed through the marketplace beside someone who owed me money. See there. as we find this statement :

His students asked Rav Adda bar Ahava: By what,

by which merits ,

did you live long?

The Ben Yehoyada explains that they asked him this because it had been decreed upon the people of Babylonia that there would be anger among them, as it is stated " And the Lord will give you there an agitated heart", and the Gemara in tractate Nedarim [22a] says that the matter refers to Babylonia. And our Sages, of blessed memory, said that anger shortens a person's days, as it is stated in Job [14:1]: Short of days and full of anger. And Rav Adda bar Ahava was in Babylonia; therefore they were astonished at the length of his days. And in tractate Megilla [28a] we find something similar concerning Rabbi Zeira, whom they asked: By what did you live long? And the Siftey Hakhamim wrote there that they asked him this because he used to fast a great deal, as we find in tractate Bava Metzia [85a], that when he went up to the Land of Israel he fasted three hundred fasts. And fasting weakens a person's strength; therefore they asked him by what he lived so long. And in the Yerushalmi at the end of the chapter, another matter is brought: they sent to Rav Adda bar Ahava, What good deeds do you have in your possession that the Holy One, blessed be He, performs miracles for you? And there it is brought that Rav Adda bar Ahava removed one shoe and rain fell [the same deed that is brought below [24b] concerning Rav Yehuda].

He said to them,

by virtue of these things:

The Keren Ora explains that all these matters below are a special means for longevity. For from the fact that his students asked him about the extraordinary length of his days, we learn of the pleasant companionship that existed between his body, created from earth, and his soul, which is a portion of God from above, and which accepts before it its dwelling in a body of matter. And to this he immediately answered them with his good traits, through which the foundations and wall of the house of matter would be strengthened, and it would be a pleasant dwelling for the king's daughter—the King of the universe, the pure soul—and the place would not be constricted for her. See there, where he elaborates greatly on this. A.

Never in my life did I become particular within my house ,

B.

And I did not walk before one who was greater than I in wisdom

The Maharsha explains that although it is written in several places that a person is forbidden to walk before one who is greater than he, we find in tractate Yoma [37a] that when three people are walking on the road, the teacher walks in the middle, the greatest of his students to his right, and the lesser one to his left [that is, somewhat behind him, as we find there]. And Rav Adda said that even in this manner, when he walked with his teacher, he did not walk even one step before him. And the Ben Yehoyada wrote that he took pride in not walking before one who was greater, even though he was older than him.

C.

And I did not contemplate

words of Torah

in filthy alleyways , D.

And I did not walk four cubits without

without

contemplation of

Torah

, and without

when

tefillin

placed upon my head and my arm,

E.

And I did not sleep in the house of study.

Not a permanent sleep, and

even

not a temporary sleep ,

and

I did not rejoice [

I was not happy]

at my fellow's mishap ,

G.

And I did not call my fellow by his nickname [ [A0110]]by the name by which people call him for disgrace, such as a byname].

by the name people used for him as an insult, such as a family nickname.

And some say [

and there are those who say] that Rav Adda said as follows: I did not give my fellow a name

by his family byname [

that is, the byname of his family] .

Rava said to Rafram bar Pappa: Let the master tell us of those fine things that Rav Huna used to do [ [A0162]]let the master tell us of those fine things that Rav Huna used to do]!

may the Master tell us about those excellent things that Rav Huna used to do!

He said to him: In his youth —

I do not remember [ [A0165]]the things he used to do in his youth I do not remember]. But

the things he did in his youth I do not remember. But

in his old age —

I remember [ [A0168]]the things he used to do in his old age I remember].

the things he did in his old age I do remember.

This is what he used to do:

On every cloudy day [ [A0171]]on every overcast day], when a strong wind blew through it, and there was concern that weakened walls might fall because of the force of the wind,

when the sky was overcast and a strong wind was blowing, creating a danger that weakened walls might collapse because of the force of the wind,

they would take him out in a golden carriage [ [A0173]]they would take him, Rav Huna, who was already old and found it difficult to walk on his feet, in a carriage

of gold] ,

and he would inspect the entire city [ [A0176]]and thus he would go around and inspect the entire city].

and in this way he would tour and examine the whole city.

And every wall that was weakened —

he would demolish it [ [A0200]]and every weakened wall—he would command his servants to demolish it], so that the wind would not topple it upon people.

every unstable wall—he would command his servants to demolish it, so that the wind would not cause it to fall upon people.

If its owner was able [ [A0202]]if the wall's owner had the financial ability]—

if the owner of the wall had the financial means

he would rebuild it [ [A0204]]the wall's owner would rebuild it again from his own money].

the owner of the wall would rebuild it with his own money.

And if he was not able [ [A0206]]and if he was unable

if he could not afford it,

then

he would rebuild it from his own funds [ [A0209]]Rav Huna would build the wall from his own money] .

Rav Huna would build the wall with his own money .

Rafram bar Pappa further recounts the fine deeds of Rav Huna:

And every Friday afternoon [ [A0213]]every Sabbath eve, toward the evening of the day],

every Friday, toward the end of the day,

he would send an agent to the market [ [A0215]]Rav Huna would send an agent to the market] .

Rav Huna would send an agent to the marketplace .

And all the vegetables that remained for the gardeners [ [A0217]]and all the vegetables that remained with the gardeners, the vegetable growers, who had not succeeded in selling them until then],

all the vegetables left with the growers, who had been unable to sell them until then,

he would buy them and cast them into the river [ [A0219]]Rav Huna's agent would now buy those vegetables, and afterward he would cast them into the river], for the reason that will be explained below.

Rav Huna’s agent would now buy those vegetables and then throw them into the river, for the reason that will be explained below.

And the Gemara wondered: Why would the agent cast them into the river,

and let him give them [ [A0226]]that he should give them]

so that he could give them

to the poor!

And the Gemara explains: This was because if he did so,

sometimes they would rely on it and would not come to buy [ [A0230]]sometimes the poor would rely on receiving for free the vegetables that remained, and would not buy at all]. But vegetables would not always remain in the market, and it would turn out that sometimes the poor would have no vegetables for Shabbat!

the poor might rely on receiving the leftover vegetables for free and would not buy any at all. But vegetables would not necessarily remain in the marketplace every week, and it would follow that sometimes the poor would have no vegetables for Shabbat!

And the Gemara wondered:

And

still, why did he need to cast them into the river,

let him cast them to an animal [ [A0235]]that he should cast them to animals, and they would eat them]!

so that the animals would eat them!

And the Gemara explains:

He held [ [A0238]]Rav Huna held] that something that is

Rav Huna held

human food—

one may not feed

it

to an animal .

And the reason is that it is a degradation of food. For when one gives food fit for a person to an animal, it appears as though he is kicking at the goodness that the Holy One, blessed be He, bestowed in the world .

And now the Gemara asks about the matter itself:

Why at all did Rav Huna need to buy those vegetables?

And should he not have bought them at all [

so that he would not buy them at all]!

The Gemara explains: The reason is that Rav Huna was concerned that, if those vegetables were not bought, during Shabbat they would dry out and spoil, and would not be fit for use, and the vegetable sellers would suffer a loss. And if so,

it turns out [

you turn out to be]

causing them to stumble for the future,

so that they would not want to sell vegetables for the Shabbat meal.

And another of Rav Huna’s excellent deeds:

When he had something medicinal [

whenever he had some medicine],

he would fill a pitcher with some of it and hang it at the end of the house [

he would fill a vessel with some of that medicine and hang it at the entrance of his house],

and he would say: Whoever wants—

let him come and take [

whoever wants—let him come and take].

And some say [

there are those who say]:

He was expert in the matter of shivta [

he knew that it was the practice of the demons to harm one who eats without washing his hands] .

And

therefore

he would set down a pitcher of water and make it available

to him [

he would place in a prominent place a vessel of water],

and he would say: Whoever needs it—

let him come in and wash [

let him enter and wash his hands],

so that he should not be endangered [

so that he would not come to danger].

Another excellent deed Rav Huna would perform:

When he would wrap bread [

when he would wrap bread to eat],

he would open his door [

he would open the gate of his house]

and say: Whoever needs—

let him come and eat [

whoever needs—let him come and eat].

Rava said: All of them,

all the practices of Rav Huna mentioned above—

I can fulfill [

I am able to fulfill] ,