Taanit 22a — the Talmud in English

In the morning they wrapped them up, took them, and arose and went out to the marketplace [

In the morning, the Torah scholars wrapped the woolen mattresses, took them, and went out with them to the marketplace to sell them there] —

and found them [

and Abba the Surgeon found them there].

They said to him: Let our master appraise how much they are worth [

Appraise for us how much these mattresses are worth, and buy them for yourself]!

And the Sages wanted to test him: whether he would suspect them of being robbers, or perhaps whether he would appraise the mattresses at less than their value, so that he would not lose much by buying them from them even though they were his.

He said to them: Such-and-such [

They are worth such-and-such].

They said to him: Perhaps they are worth more [

Perhaps they are worth more than that]?

He said to them: I bought them for this amount [

I myself bought them for this sum] .

They said to him: They are yours—

and we took them from you [

These mattresses are yours—we took them from you].

They said to him: Please, what did you suspect us of [

Please tell us: when you saw that we were trying to sell your mattresses without your permission, what did you suspect us of]?

He said to them: I said [

I said to myself], perhaps

the redemption of captives had happened upon the Rabbis, and they were embarrassed to tell me [

Perhaps an urgent mitzva of redeeming captives had come before you, and you were embarrassed to tell me that you needed money]. And therefore you initially came to lodge in my house, so that you could obtain money in some manner.

They said to him: Now let our master take them [

Now that it has become clear to you that they intended only to test you, take your mattresses]!

He said to them: From that moment—

I diverted them from my mind for charity [

From the moment when I thought that you had taken the mattresses for the purpose of redeeming captives, I diverted them from my mind and intended that they be used for charitable purposes].

The Gemara continues and relates:

Rava’s spirits were weakened—

because of Abaye [

Rava’s spirits were weakened because of Abaye’s superiority. For that heavenly voice came to Abaye once a week, whereas to Rava it came only once a year, on the eve of Yom Kippur].

He appeared to him in a dream [

He appeared to him in a dream from Heaven], and

they said to him: It is enough for you that you protect the entire city [

It is enough for you that you protect all the inhabitants of your city through your merits] .

Rabbi Beroka of Hozאה [

who was from a place called “Bei Hozai”]

was frequently present in the marketplace of Bei Lapat [

he was frequently present in the marketplace of a place called “Bei Lapat”].

Elijah was frequently with him [

the prophet Elijah was frequently present there with him].

He said to him—

Rabbi Beroka said to Elijah:

Are there in this marketplace a son of the World to Come [

Is there in this marketplace a person who is a son of the World to Come]?

He said to him: No.

There is no such person here .

Meanwhile [

in the meantime, while they were standing and speaking],

he saw a certain man who was wearing black shoes and did not place a thread of blue in his garment [

Elijah saw a certain man who was wearing black shoes, unlike the custom of the Jews] , and he also did not have a thread of blue placed in his garment .

He said to him

to Rabbi Beroka:

This

person before us

is a son

of the World to Come

[indeed] .

He called him, but he did not come to him [

Rabbi Beroka called him, but that man did not come to him].

He ran after him [

Rabbi Beroka ran after him].

He said to him—

to that man:

What is your occupation [

What are your deeds; what do you engage in]?

He said to him

that man said to Rabbi Beroka:

Go now and come tomorrow [

Go now and come tomorrow], and then I will answer your questions.

The next day

Rabbi Beroka again met that man.

He said to him: What is your occupation [

What are your deeds]?

He said to him: I am a prison guard [

I am the guard of a prison].

And I imprison the men separately and the women separately [

And I imprison the men separately and the women separately],

and I place my bed between these and those [

And I place my bed between these and those], that is, I sleep between the men and the women,

so that they should not come to transgression [

so that the men should not mingle with the women and come to sin].

When I see a daughter of Israel upon whom the non-Jews place their eyes,

I give over my soul—

and save her [

When I see among the prisoners a Jewish girl upon whom the prison officials cast their eyes for a sinful act, I give over my soul and save her from the prohibition].

That man continued and related:

One day there was an engaged girl with us, upon whom the non-Jews had placed their eyes [

One day there was an engaged girl with us, upon whom the non-Jews had placed their eyes].

What did I do in order to save her—

I took wine dregs and threw them at the hem of her garment [

I took wine dregs, which are red like blood, and threw them at the lower edge of her garment],

and I said [

so that those who saw would think and say]:

She is a menstruant [

This is her menstrual way] , and she is repulsive.

Rabbi Beroka said to him

:

What is the reason [

What is the reason] that you do not follow the custom of the Jews,

you do not have threads [

that tzitzit are not placed in your garment],

and you wear black shoes [

and you wear black shoes]?

He said to him: I enter and go out among the non-Jews [

I enter and go out among the non-Jews]. And therefore I do not follow the custom of the Jews,

so that they should not know that I am a Jew [

so that the non-Jews should not know that I am a Jew].

And for what purpose do I enter among the non-Jews—

in order to hear their conversations and discussions.

Through this,

when they would decree decrees [

when they decided to issue decrees against Israel],

I would inform the Rabbis [

I would inform the Sages of this],

and they would request mercy, and annul their decree [

and they would request mercy from Heaven and annul the decrees].

Rabbi Beroka further asked him:

And what is the reason that when I said to you, “What is your occupation?” you said to me, “Go now and come tomorrow” [

What is the reason that when I asked you what your occupation was, you told me to go now and come tomorrow]?

He said to him: At that time they were decreeing a decree [

At that time I heard the non-Jews issuing a decree against Israel].

And I said [

and I said in my heart],

“First I will go and inform the Rabbis, so that they may request mercy concerning the matter” [

First I will go immediately and inform the Sages of this matter, so that they may request mercy concerning it].

Meanwhile, those two others came [

In the meantime, two more people came to the marketplace].

Elijah said to him

to Rabbi Beroka:

These too are sons of the World to Come [

These too are sons of the World to Come].

He went to them [

Rabbi Beroka went to those people].

He said to them: What are your occupations [

What are your deeds]?

They said to him: We are jesters; we cheer up the sorrowful [

We are cheerful people who make jokes, and we cheer up sorrowful people] .

Alternatively

, there is another thing that we regularly do:

When we see two people who have a quarrel between them [

when we see two people who are in dispute with one another],

we exert ourselves and make peace between them [

we exert ourselves through words of joking and make peace between them] .

We learned in our Mishna:

For these they sound the alarm in every place, etc.

The Sages taught: For

matters

these

that follow,

they sound the alarm in every place:

A.

For blight,

B.

and for yellowness,

C.

and for locust and hasil,

D.

and for a dangerous animal.

Rabbi Akiva says: For blight and for yellowness,

even if they are seen

in any amount,

in an extremely minimal quantity—they sound the alarm .

And likewise concerning locust and

hasil, even

if

only one wing appeared in the Land of Israel [

one of these creatures] ,

they sound the alarm concerning them.

We learned in our Mishna:

“And concerning a wild animal, etc.”

The Sages taught: The evil beast of which they said

that they sound the alarm on its account, specifically

when

they see

that it has been sent

from Heaven to cause harm —

they sound the alarm on its account.

But if

it has not been sent,

but is walking in its usual manner —

they do not sound the alarm on its account.

And now we must clarify

which

animal is considered

sent, and which is —

not sent.

That is, from where will we know whether the animal has been sent from Heaven, so that we sound the alarm over it?

The beraita continues and explains:

If

the animal is seen

животное

in the city —

it is

sent

from Heaven, for it is not the way of animals to appear in the city, but only in their natural place, in the field.

But if it is seen

in the field —

it is not sent

from Heaven. For this is always its way, to be in the field.

If it is seen

during the day —

it is

sent

from Heaven.

But if it is seen

at night —

it is not sent

from Heaven.

If

the animal saw

животное

two people, and pursued [ [A0052]and pursued]

and runs]

them —

it is

sent.

But if

the animal hid

from them —

it is not sent.

If

it tore apart [ [A0063]killed] the animal

killed]

two people, and ate

only

one of them —

it is

sent

from Heaven. For if not, why did it kill two people, if it was hungry for only one?

Rather, certainly it had been sent from Heaven to kill people!

But if

the animal ate

the

two of them [ [A0087]the two people whom it killed] —

the two people whom it killed]—

it is not sent.

For it killed both of them because it was hungry to eat two people.

It went up

the animal

to

the roof of the

roof, and took a baby from a cradle —

it is

sent.

And now the Gemara discusses the words of the beraita.

The Gemara raises an objection:

The matter itself is difficult [ [A0100]the words of the beraita themselves are difficult]!

the words of the beraita themselves are difficult]!

You said

at first:

If it was seen in the city, it is sent.

It follows that in every case,

it makes no difference [ [A0106]it is not different] whether it was seen

it is no different] whether it was seen

during the day —

and it makes no difference

whether it was seen

at night,

if it was in the city, it is sent.

And afterward,

and later in the beraita,

you said: During the day it is sent; at night —

it is not sent.

It follows that if it was seen at night, even though it was in the city, it is not sent!

And the Gemara answers:

It is not difficult.

This is what he means [ [A0120]this is what he said, this is what he intended], the tannai of the beraita:

this is what he said and this is what he intended]: the tanna of the beraita:

If

it was seen

the animal

in the city,

and for example it was seen

during the day,

for the plain meaning of the expression “it was seen” indicates that this was during the day — it is

sent.

It follows, however, that if it was seen

in the city at night —

it is not sent.

For at night the animal is not wary, even in the city.

Alternatively,

and likewise, there is another circumstance in which it is not considered sent: if it was seen

in the field, even

if this was

during the day —

it is not sent,

for that is its place of growth.

The Gemara raises another objection against the beraita:

We learned:

If it saw two people and pursued them —

it is sent.

It follows,

this

if it saw two people and did not pursue them, even though it remained

standing,

and did not flee and hide from them —

it is not sent.

And afterward [ [A0162]and afterward, later in the Mishna]

afterward, later in the Mishna]

you said: It hid from them,

from those two people —

it is not sent.

It follows,

this

if it is

standing

in its place, and does not flee and hide from them — it is

sent!

And the Gemara answers:

It is not difficult.

Here,

what is implied by the first clause, that if it stood, even though it did not hide, it is not sent, refers to

a field adjacent to a marsh [ [A0177]a marsh is a place near the city, full of thorns, where animals hide].

a marsh is an area near the city, filled with thorns, where animals hide].

Since the animal is found near its place of growth, it does not flee. For it thinks that if the people pursue it, it will flee and hide from them immediately.

But

here,

what is implied by the continuation of the Mishna, that if it stood, it is sent, refers to

a field that is not adjacent to a marsh.

For in such a circumstance, it is not usual for it to stand and not flee. And since this one does not flee, it is a sign that it has been sent from Heaven because of a decree.

We learned further in the beraita:

If it tore apart two people at once

, and ate one of them —

it is sent.

If it ate

both of them —

it is not sent.

And the Gemara is astonished: How can the tannai say that if the animal ate two people, it is not sent,

but you said

that

even

if

it pursued [ [A0202]pursued] people, even though it did not tear apart a person at all, it is sent!

ran] after people, although it did not maul anyone at all, it has been sent!

Rav Pappa said: When the tannai teaches that statement,

what the tannai taught, that specifically if it ate it is sent, but if it only pursued, it is not sent, this refers to

a marsh [ [A0213]in a marsh, the place where animals are found]. Since it is in its place of growth, it is not wary of pursuing people.

the marsh, the place where the animals are found]. Since it is in its natural habitat, it is not wary of pursuing people.

The matter itself [ [A0215]we learned in the body of the Mishna]:

we learned in the body of the Mishna]:

It went up to the roof and took a baby from a cradle —

it is sent.

And the Gemara is astonished:

It is obvious!

It is obvious that if an animal dared so greatly as to climb onto the roof of a house in which people live and take a baby, it is certainly sent!

Rav Pappa said:

The case is not one of a house located within a settlement. For in such a circumstance it is indeed obvious that it is sent, and the tannai would not have needed to teach us this law.

Rather, the tannai is speaking of a house

like the huts of hunters [ [A0225]a hut, a structure used by hunters when they are not occupied with hunting], located in the field, in which they hide in order to ambush birds and hunt them.

a den, a structure used by hunters when they are not engaged in hunting], located in a field, where they hide in order to ambush birds and catch them.

And the tannai teaches us that even though this is not a permanent building, and is not considered a settlement, and it is located in the natural place of growth of animals — in the field, where the law is that if an animal is seen there, it is not sent —

nevertheless, if an animal climbed onto the roof of that hunters’ hut and took a baby from a cradle, this is not its nature, and it is sent.

We learned in our Mishna:

“Concerning the sword, etc.”

The Sages taught: The sword of which they said

in our Mishna that one fasts on its account ,

it is not necessary

for the tannai

to say

and introduce this matter concerning

a sword that is not one of peace,

that is, a war coming against Israel. For it is obvious that they sound the alarm over this.

Rather,

the tannai means to say that

even concerning

a sword of peace,

that is, a military force that does not come to fight Israel, but only passes through the Land of Israel in order to fight elsewhere — they sound the alarm .

And why is it necessary to sound the alarm over a sword of peace, since they are not coming to fight Israel —

For

behold,

you have no sword of peace more than

the army of

Pharaoh Neco, and nevertheless King

in that war,

Josiah stumbled because of it,

in that war, as will be related below.

As it is stated

when Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, wished to pass through the Land of Israel in order to fight Assyria in the place called Carchemish, which is on the Euphrates River , and Josiah, king of Israel, went out to war against him in order to prevent him from passing through the Land of Israel: