Taanit 21b (כא:) — the Talmud in English

But if they died

on one day, or

died

over four days—

this is not a plague.

The city called

“Drokart”—

a city that produced five hundred foot soldiers

had

three dead leave it on one day.

Rav Naḥman bar Rav Ḥisda decreed a fast

because of this, despite the fact that we learned in the earlier beraita that it is specifically when they leave over three days that this is a plague. But if they leave on one day, this is not a plague, and one does not fast because of it.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: In accordance with whose opinion

did Rav Naḥman decree a fast? For we learned in the beraita that one does not fast because of this—

in accordance with

the opinion of

Rabbi Meir

regarding an ox that gored another ox. The law is that if the goring ox is an innocuous ox, meaning that this was the first or second time it gored, its owner pays half the damage. But if it gored three times, it is considered forewarned, and its owner pays the full damage.

Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Meir disagreed concerning this matter.

Rabbi Yehuda’s opinion is that it is specifically if it gored three times on three consecutive days that it becomes forewarned, as implied by the verse: “Or it became known that the ox is a goring ox from yesterday and the day before.” This is how they expound the verse: “from yesterday”—two; “and the day before”—three. Thus, there are three days.

But if it gored three times on one day, it does not become forewarned.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak, in our discussion, follows the opinion of Rabbi Meir there,

who said

that even if it gored three times on one day, it is forewarned. For this follows by means of a kal va-chomer: If when it

separated its gorings

from one another, goring only once a day, it became forewarned and

was liable

for the full damage, then when it

brought its gorings closer together,

goring three times on one day,

is it not all the more so

that it becomes forewarned?!

If so, the same applies here, concerning a plague: It can be derived by a kal va-chomer. If when three people die over three days this is a plague, all the more so when three people die on one day, it is certainly a plague.

The Gemara relates: Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak lived among people who were not particularly distinguished.

Rav Naḥman bar Rav Ḥisda said to Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak: Let the Master arise and come to us

[Come and leave your place, and live with us, in a place where more distinguished people live]!

He said to him,

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak:

We learned:

[We learned in a Mishna or beraita],

Rabbi Yosei says: It is not a person’s place that honors him.

If a person goes to a place where more distinguished people live, this does not cause him to become more honored.

Rather,

on the contrary,

a person honors his place.

If a person is honored because of his deeds, his place too becomes honored through him.

For we find this with regard to Mount Sinai.

For as long as

the Divine Presence

rested upon it,

the mountain was holy and honored, as

the Torah said

concerning the time of the giving of the Torah:

“Neither sheep nor cattle shall graze facing that mountain.”

The wording “that mountain” indicates that specifically as long as it was in its greatness, with the Divine Presence upon it, “neither sheep nor cattle shall graze” facing the mountain, because of its holiness.

But as soon as

the Divine Presence departed from it,

Mount Sinai,

the Torah said: “When the ram’s horn is sounded long, they may ascend the mountain.”

That is, from the time the sounding of the shofar ends—for it is customary to prolong the blast at the end, which is the meaning of “when the ram’s horn is sounded long”—the holiness departs, and they may ascend the mountain .

And

likewise

we find with regard to

the

Tent of Meeting in the wilderness.

For as long as it

the tent

was erected

and stood in its place,

the Torah said: “They shall send out from the camp every leper.”

That is, lepers and other impure people were not to be inside the camp, because the Divine Presence rested within it.

But as soon as

the curtains were rolled up,

that is, when the Tabernacle’s curtains were dismantled,

the

zavim

and the lepers were permitted to enter there,

because the Divine Presence had already departed.

Rav Naḥman bar Rav Ḥisda said to

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak:

If so, I will arise and go to the Master

[If so, I will arise and come live among you]!

He said to him,

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak: It is not proper to do this.

For

it is preferable

that

Mane

son of Half [He called himself Mane son of Half, meaning Mane son of half a maneh

, because he himself had received semikha, as indicated by his being called “Rav Naḥman,” whereas his father had not received semikha, as he was not called “Rav Yitzḥak” but simply “Yitzḥak”]

come to Mane son of Mane [He called Rav Naḥman bar Rav Ḥisda this, because he himself was a Rav and was also the son of a Rav], since Mane son of Mane is more distinguished than Mane son of Half.

[this is how he referred to Rav Naḥman bar Rav Ḥisda, since he himself was a Rav and was also the son of a Rav], because a maneh son of a maneh is more distinguished than a maneh son of half a maneh.

And let Mane son of Mane not come—

to Mane son of Half,

for this is beneath his dignity.

The Gemara relates additional incidents concerning people who saved their surroundings through their good deeds:

In

the city of

Sura there was a plague

[there was a plague]. Only

in Rav’s neighborhood

[in his vicinity, in the area where Rav lived]

was there no plague.

They thought it was because Rav’s merit was great

[The people of the place thought that because of Rav’s many merits, the plague had not reached his neighborhood].

It was shown to them in a dream

[They were shown from Heaven in a dream]:

“Rav, whose merit is exceedingly great—the matter is a minor one for Rav”

[Rav, whose merits are exceedingly numerous: the fact that there is no plague in his neighborhood is a minor matter for him], and certainly this should not be attributed to Rav’s merits .

But because of what was there no plague—

Because of that man

[because of the merit of that man] who lived there,

who would lend a hoe and a shovel for burial

[he would lend digging tools, a hoe and a shovel, for burial].

They measured for him measure for measure: Because he performed acts of kindness for the dead, there was no deadly epidemic in his neighborhood.

In Drokart there was a fire

[In the city called “Drokart” there was a fire].

But in Rav Huna’s neighborhood there was no fire

[In the neighborhood of Rav Huna, who lived in that city, there was no fire].

They thought it was because Rav Huna’s merit was great

[The people of the place thought that the reason there was no fire there was Rav Huna’s many merits].

It was shown to them in a dream

[They were shown this in a dream from Heaven]:

This

matter, that there should be no fire in his neighborhood, is

a minor matter

[it is a minor matter]

for Rav Huna,

and it cannot be said that it was because of his merits, since his merits were exceedingly numerous!

Rather, because of that woman

[because of that woman],

who would heat her oven from one Sabbath eve to the next Sabbath eve

[she would keep the oven burning in her home throughout the week so that it would be ready for baking at any time],

and lend it to her neighbors

[and lend it to her neighbors for their use] .

They measured for her measure for measure: Because she performed an act of kindness with fire, no fire broke out in her neighborhood.

The Gemara relates:

They said to Rav Yehuda: Locusts have arrived

[Locusts have come to our area , which customarily consume the grain].

Rav Yehuda decreed

a fast

so that

the locusts would depart from them.

The people of the place said to him:

Why must we fast? Those locusts

are not causing damage

[they are not harming anything]!

Rav Yehuda said to them:

Did those locusts

bring provisions with them

[bring food supplies with them from their own place], so that they do not need to eat anything here? Surely, in the end, they will damage the grain! Furthermore,

they said to Rav Yehuda: There is a plague among the pigs

[there is a deadly epidemic among the pigs].

Rav Yehuda decreed

a fast

so that

the deaths would cease.

This is seemingly puzzling. Until now, we have found that a fast is decreed only when there is a plague among human beings. But when there is a plague among animals, no fast is decreed.

Therefore, the Gemara asks:

Shall we say that Rav Yehuda holds

[shall we infer from this that Rav Yehuda maintains] that

a plague sent against one species

such as in this case, when a plague was sent against the pigs, is a sign that the plague is

sent against all species,

and it will reach human beings as well, and therefore a fast should be decreed?!

The Gemara rejects this:

No.

There is no proof from here. In truth, one may say that when a plague is sent against one species, it is not sent against all species. But

the pigs are different,

[pigs differ from other domestic and wild animals],

as their intestines resemble those of human beings

[their intestines resemble human intestines ]. Therefore, when there is an epidemic among pigs, it is a bad sign for human beings as well .

The Gemara relates another incident concerning fasting over calamities.

They said to Shmuel: There is an epidemic in Bei Huzai

[there is a plague in a certain place in the Babylonian kingdom called “Bei Huzai”].

Shmuel decreed

a fast

in

his city, Nehardea, even though it was far from that place.

The people of his city said to Shmuel:

:

But it is distant

[the epidemic is in a distant place from us], and there is no concern that it will reach here!

He said: There is no crossing here that can stop it.

That is, there are no crossings or barriers here that can halt the plague and prevent it from coming here!

Since there is nothing to stop it, a fast must therefore be decreed, so that the epidemic will not come here.

They said to Rav Naḥman: There is an epidemic in the Land of Israel

[there is a deadly epidemic in the Land of Israel].

Rav Naḥman decreed

a fast

in

his place, in Babylonia.

Because

he said:

This follows by means of a kal va-chomer:

If

the Land of Israel, which is important as a

mistress

in relation to Babylonia,

is stricken,

then Babylonia, which is

a maidservant

in relation to the Land of Israel,

is it not all the more so

likely to be stricken? The Gemara asks:

The reason

[the reason Rav Naḥman decreed a fast in Babylonia, even though it was not the site of the epidemic] was because of this kal va-chomer

of mistress and maidservant.

For if the mistress is stricken, surely one must be concerned for the maidservant.

This implies:

But

places that are like

maidservant and maidservant,

such as two places distant from one another within Babylonia itself, where a plague has come to one of the places—

no,

they do not fast in the other, distant place.

But

we already brought above that

they said to Shmuel: There is a plague in Bei Huzai

[there is an epidemic in Bei Huzai], and

he decreed

Shmuel

a fast in his place, even though he was far from Bei Huzai!

The Gemara answers: In truth, one does not fast because of a plague that has reached a distant place. But

the case there is different

[and the matter there is different], in the incident involving Shmuel,

because there were caravans

[there were frequent caravans from Bei Huzai to Nehardea]

that might accompany it and come with them

[as the plague could attach itself to them and come along with them].

And since we brought that abundant merits protect the inhabitants of a place, the Gemara brings another incident concerning this matter:

A man named

Abba Umna

[and he was called this because his occupation was bloodletting . A practitioner of this occupation was called an “umna”],

received

a greeting of peace from the academy in heaven

[he would receive a greeting from the academy in heaven, meaning that a Heavenly voice would say to him: Peace be upon you]

every day

[each day].

And to Abaye

that same Heavenly voice came

every Friday eve

[every eve of Shabbat]. That is, once a week, on Friday .

Whereas

to Rava

that same Heavenly voice came only

every eve of Yom Kippur

[every eve of Yom Kippur]. That is, once a year, on the eve of Yom Kippur .

Abaye’s spirits were troubled

[Abaye’s state of mind was troubled; that is, he was distressed] —

because of

the superiority

of Abba Umna.

Abba Umna was apparently a simple person, and yet his spiritual stature was so great that he received a greeting of peace from heaven every day.

Abaye, by contrast, who knew himself to be a Torah scholar and a righteous man, merited this only once a week.

They said to him:

You have no reason to be distressed over this, because

you are not able to perform the deeds of Abba Umna

[you cannot perform the good deeds of Abba Umna] .

And what were the deeds

[what were the deeds]

of Abba Umna?

When he performed his work

[when he was engaged in his occupation, bloodletting],

he would seat the men separately and the women separately

[he would seat the men separately and the women separately, for reasons of modesty] .

And he had a garment with a horn in it, and it was pierced like a cupping horn

[he had a type of garment with a small opening in it, and the horn used for bloodletting was inserted into that opening].

When a woman came to him

[when a woman came to him for bloodletting],

he would dress her in it

[Abba Umna would ask her to put on this garment],

so that he would not look at her

[so that he would not have to look at any part of her body] .

Without that garment, the woman would have had to uncover her body so that he could place the horn there and draw blood.

But now, when the woman wore this garment, she did not have to uncover any part of her body, since the garment was already pierced. It was only necessary to insert the horn into her body and draw blood.

The Gemara further recounts Abba Umna’s good deeds:

And he had a secluded place

[Abba Umna had a private place, not visible to everyone],

where he would place the coins he received

[those who came to have blood drawn would place there the small coins they owed him as payment].

Why did Abba Umna conduct himself in this manner, having each person place the payment himself, and in a secluded place—

so that those who had nothing with which to pay would not be embarrassed.

If he had the means —

he would place it there

[one who had the means to pay would place the money there].

If he did not have the means —

he would not be embarrassed

[one who did not have the means and could not pay would not suffer embarrassment on account of it. Since the collection box was in a secluded place and each person put in the money himself, no one knew who had paid and who had not].

When a Torah scholar happened to come to him

[when a Torah scholar happened to come to him for bloodletting],

he would not take payment from him

[he would not charge him].

And

not only that, but

after he arose

[after the scholar arose from the bloodletting] —

he would give him money

[Abba Umna would give him money of his own],

and say to him: Go, restore your health

[he would say to him: Go and buy yourself some food, and strengthen yourself] .

One day

[one day],

Abaye sent a pair of Torah scholars to examine him

[Abaye sent two Torah scholars to investigate Abba Umna’s conduct], in order to ascertain the great deeds of that man, who received a greeting from heaven more frequently than he did .

He seated them, fed them, and gave them drink

[Abba Umna seated them in his home and fed and gave them drink],

and

laid out woolen mattresses for them at night

[and spread out fine woolen bedding for them to sleep on at night].