Taanit 21a — the Talmud in English

Except for this

last matter mentioned, for he would announce that anyone who wished could come and eat,

for I cannot do

that is, I cannot sustain it,

because there are many

soldiers of Meḥoza

because the poor in the city of Meḥoza were extremely numerous, and if they all came to eat at my house, my money would be exhausted.

The Gemara brings another incident, in which, among other things, an unstable wall is mentioned.

Ilfa and Rabbi Yoḥanan

were studying Torah

they were learning Torah.

The matter was very pressing for them

they were extremely poor and in straitened circumstances.

They said

to one another:

Let us arise and go and conduct business

let us go and engage in business for the sake of our livelihood,

and fulfill in ourselves

the verse

“There will surely be no needy among you

for the Lord will surely bless you.” That is, they interpreted and expounded the verse as follows: There will be no needy among you, yourselves. Rather, you must concern yourselves with your livelihood.

They went

along their way.

On the road,

they sat beneath a dilapidated wall

they sat in the shade of a wall that was unstable and about to fall.

They were eating

bread

they ate bread.

Two ministering angels came

two ministering angels came.

They heard

them,

Rabbi Yoḥanan, who said one to the other

as one angel said to the other:

Let us cast this wall upon them—

and kill them

let this wall fall upon them—and let us kill them, because

they are abandoning

the occupation with Torah, which is for the sake of

eternal life

to come, and are occupied with

their livelihood, which is for the sake of

temporary life

the life of this world, which is only temporary and has an end!

The other one said to him

the second angel said to him

Leave them

leave them and do not kill them,

for there is one among them—

for whom the hour is standing

because there is one among them for whom the hour is standing to become great in Torah, and it is not his time to die.

Rabbi Yoḥanan heard

the words of the angels, whereas

Ilfa—

did not hear.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said to Ilfa: Did the Master hear anything

did you hear something?

He said to him,

Ilfa:

No,

I heard nothing.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said

in his heart:

Since I heard

from the fact that I heard the words of the angels,

and

Ilfa

did not hear, learn from this

it is proven

that for me

it is

that the hour is standing

that I am the one concerning whom the angels said that the hour is standing.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said

to Ilfa: I retract my first thought. Rather,

I shall return

I shall return to our place and continue studying Torah,

and fulfill in myself

the verse:

“For the needy shall not cease from the midst of the land”.

Rabbi Yoḥanan returned to his place, whereas

Rabbi Yoḥanan returned

to his place, whereas

Ilfa—

did not return

he did not return, but remained of the opinion that one must go to seek a livelihood.

Until Ilfa came

until Ilfa returned from his journey—

Rabbi Yoḥanan reigned

Rabbi Yoḥanan became head of a yeshiva.

The Gemara calls this “reigned,” a term of kingship, because the custom was that when someone became head of a yeshiva, the public would elevate him and make him wealthy from their money.

They said to him

the people of the place said to Ilfa:

If the Master had sat and studied

if you had sat here and studied,

would the Master not have reigned

would you not have become head of a yeshiva?!

Certainly we would have made you king [for Ilfa had initially been wiser than Rabbi Yoḥanan]!

Ilfa went

Ilfa went, and

he suspended himself from the mast

of a ship

he climbed up and set himself at the height of the mast of a ship that was moored in the harbor.

And from there he announced and

said: If there is anyone who asks me about a baraita of Rabbi Ḥiyya and Rabbi Oshaya

if someone comes and asks me something concerning a baraita that Rabbi Ḥiyya and Rabbi Oshaya taught,

and I cannot resolve it for him from a Mishna

and cannot bring him a proof for the words of the baraita from a Mishna,

I shall fall from the mast of the ship—

and drown

I shall throw myself from the mast—and drown in the sea!

A certain elder came; he taught him

the following baraita

One who says

a person who, before his death, instructed a trustworthy person to whom he had entrusted his money: “After my death,

give a shekel

half a sela

to my sons each week”

each week, for the needs of the week,

and

in truth

they

are fit

because of their many needs

to be given a sela—

because of their many needs

They give them a sela,

according to their actual needs.

And the reason is that if his intention had specifically been that they be given a shekel and no more, he would have had to instruct explicitly: Do not give them more than a shekel.

And since he did not say so, we assume that when he said to give them a shekel, and no more, this was in order to spur them in business dealings, so that they would toil and learn the way of the world—and earn.

But if in the end the money does not suffice for their livelihood, certainly it was also his intention that they be given more.

And

on the other hand,

if he said

that person in this wording:

“Do not give them

to my sons

anything but a shekel

per week,” the meaning is that they should be given only a shekel—and no more.

Therefore,

they do not give them anything but a shekel.

they are given nothing but a shekel.

And

if he said

that person, when he instructed before his death:

“If they die

if my sons die

others shall inherit in their place,”

then

whether he said: “Give

a shekel to my sons each week,” and

whether he said: “Do not give

them anything but a shekel”—

they do not give them anything but a shekel.

Because by saying, “If they die, others shall inherit in their place,” he intended that an amount remain in the hands of the trustee that they could bequeath to others. Therefore, we say that he intended that they be given specifically a shekel, and no more, so that something would remain for the others.

He said to him

Ilfa: What we learned in the baraita—that although less than a sela is insufficient for them, nevertheless they are given only a shekel,

whose opinion is this

according to which view is it?

The view of

Rabbi Meir, who says: It is a mitzva to fulfill the words of the deceased.

according to which view is it ? It is the opinion of Rabbi Meir, who said: It is a mitzva to fulfill the words of the deceased.

Therefore, although by law he should have given the sons everything appropriate for them, since all the money belongs to them, for they inherited it from their father, and those others whom the father said would inherit after them have no claim to it unless some of that money remains after the sons’ death—in which case those others will take it, and if not, they will take nothing,

nevertheless, because it is a mitzva to fulfill the words of the deceased, who instructed that others inherit after his sons, we economize on the money that the sons will inherit, so that there will be a remainder in it, and those others will take it.

Since an incident involving a dilapidated house and the greatness of Rav Adda, whose merit prevented the house from falling, have been mentioned, the Gemara brings another instructive incident concerning this matter.

They said about Naḥum of Gam Zu

, that he was blind in both eyes and had both hands amputated,

his two hands had been cut off,

was lame in both legs, and his entire body was full of boils.

And he was lying

lying

in a dilapidated house.

And the legs of his bed were placed in bowls of water, so that ants would not climb upon him

by way of the legs of the bed; and he was unable to remove them, for his hands had been severed.

Once, the bed of

Nahum

was placed in a dilapidated house.

His students sought to remove

first

his bed

with him,

and afterward to remove the vessels

that were in the house, so that the house would not fall upon him.

He said to them

Nahum:

My sons! Remove

first

the vessels, and

only

afterward remove my bed.

And why?

Because

you are assured that as long as I am in the house —

the house will not fall .

And therefore it is preferable that you first remove the vessels, in order to save them, because there is no concern that in the meantime the house will fall upon me. This is not so if you remove me first, for there is concern that immediately afterward the house will fall, before you manage to take out the vessels.

His students did as he said.

They removed

first

the vessels—

and afterward they removed his bed, and

only then

the house fell.

When they saw this,

his students said to him

to Nahum in astonishment:

My master! Since you are a completely righteous person,

to such an extent that you are certain that the house will not fall as long as you are in it,

why has this happened to you,

that you are so afflicted?

He said to them: My sons! I caused these sufferings

to myself.

For

this is what happened:

Once I was walking on the road to my father-in-law’s house, and I had a burden with me [

a load] of

three donkeys.

One [carried] food,

and one [carried] drink,

and one [carried] kinds of delicacies [

fruits].

One poor man came and stood in my way, and said to me: My master, sustain me [

give me something to eat]!

I said to him: Wait until I unload from the donkey

something to eat .

I had not managed to unload from the donkey before the soul of the poor man went out

who had been extremely hungry .

I went and fell upon the face

of the poor man,

and I said: My eyes, which did not have compassion upon your eyes—

may they become blind [

may they lose their sight] ,

My hands, which did not have compassion upon your hands—

may they be severed,

my legs, which did not have compassion upon your legs—

may they be cut off.

And my mind was not cooled until I said: Let my entire body be filled with boils.

And so it indeed was.

They said to him

his students:

Woe to us that we have seen you in such a state,

in such a condition!

He said to them: Woe

would have been

to me if you had not seen me in such a state .

And why did they call him

Nahum by this designation:

for what reason did they call him “איש גם זו”?

Because

every matter that happened to him [

every event that occurred to him, whether for good or for bad],

he said: This too is for the good .

Once, they wished to send Israel’s gift to the emperor’s house [

once Israel wished to send a gift to the emperor’s house].

They said: Who shall go [

who shall go as our emissary]? It is fitting that

he should go [

go]

Nahum איש גם זו, for he is practiced

and accustomed

in miracles.

They sent in his hand a full chest [

they sent with him a full box]

of precious stones and pearls.

He went [

he walked],

and lodged in that inn [

he spent the night on the way in a lodging house] .

At night those lodgers arose [

at night, when Nahum was sleeping his sleep, the residents of the house arose],

and took his chest [

they took the box], removed what had been inside it and took it for themselves,

and filled it with earth [

they filled the box with earth from the courtyard of their house], and returned it to its place, as though nothing had happened.

When he arrived there [

when Nahum arrived there, at the emperor’s house], and presented the gift to the emperor,

they opened the chest [

the servants opened the box],

and saw that it was filled with earth [

and saw that it was full of earth].

The king wanted to kill them all [

the king, in his anger, wanted to kill all the Jews].

He said: The Jews are mocking me [

the Jews are making fun of me], sending me as a gift a box full of earth!

Nahum said

in his heart:

This too is for the good.

Elijah came and appeared to him as one of them [

Elijah the prophet came and appeared to the king as one of the ministers].

He said to him

to the king: It is not plausible that the Jews would do such a thing, sending earth to the king and angering him.

Perhaps this earth—

it is from the earth of Abraham, their father [

perhaps this is not ordinary earth, but the special earth of Abraham their father], which he used in the war of the kings [as recounted in the Book of Genesis, chapter 14],

for when he would throw earth—

they would become swords [

when Abraham would throw earth at his enemies, the earth would become swords],

and straw—

they would become arrows [

and when he would throw straw at his enemies, it would become arrows ].

As it is written: “He makes his sword like dust, his bow like driven straw!”

The king accepted Elijah’s words and decided to test and examine whether the earth was indeed miraculous.

There was one province that they were unable to conquer [

there was one province that the emperor’s armies could not conquer].

They tested it with some of it [

they tested some of that earth, throwing it at the army of that province]—

and they conquered it [

and in this way they succeeded in conquering it] .

They entered the treasury [

they entered the king’s treasury],

and filled his chest [

and filled Nahum’s box] with

precious stones and pearls, and sent it to him with great honor [

and sent it to its place with great honor].

When he came, his household

to that lodging house [

on the return journey, Nahum again lodged in that same inn].

When the members of the household saw the great honor being shown to Nahum,

they said to him: What did you bring with you, that they performed all this honor for you [

what did you bring with you to the emperor’s house, that they showed you such great honor]?

He said to them: What they took from here—

I brought to there [

what I took with me from here, I brought there, to the emperor’s house] .

The members of the household rejoiced and said in their hearts: The earth upon which our house is built is miraculous earth! It is worthwhile to demolish the house and take all the earth beneath it to the emperor’s house!

They demolished their house [

they destroyed their house],

and brought it to the king’s house [

and brought the earth to the king’s palace].

They said to him

to the king:

This earth that was brought here [

the earth that was brought here previously]—

it is ours [

it is ours], and here we have brought you more of that same earth!

They tested it—

and did not find it [

the king’s servants tested whether their words were true, that this earth too was miraculous earth, but it was not found to be as they said],

and they killed those lodgers [

and they killed those members of the household].

We learned in our Mishna:

Which is the plague of a city that sends out five hundred footmen, and so forth?

“What is considered a plague in a city that sends out five hundred men, and so on?”

The Sages taught: A city that sends out five hundred and one thousand footmen [

that is, one thousand five hundred footmen],

such as Kfar Akko, and nine dead emerge from it over three days

one after the other—

this is

considered a plague of

pestilence.

But if nine people died

on one day, or

died

over four days —

this is not pestilence.

And a city that sends out five hundred footmen, such as Kfar Amiko,

that is, it sends out one-third of the city mentioned above, such as Kfar Akko, which sends out five hundred and one thousand footmen,

and three dead emerge from it over three days, one after the other, that is,

one-third of the nine dead mentioned above—

this is

considered a plague of

pestilence. For in relation to the number of the people of the city, it is the same, as in Kfar Akko .

For in relation to the number of people in the city, it is the same proportion as in Kfar Akko .