Taanit 24a (כד.) — the Talmud in English

One day, he heard him studying

One day, Rabbi Yosei heard Rav Ashi studying and reciting]:

Shmuel said: One who pulls a fish from the sea on Shabbat, once it has dried

in an area of the fish whose size is

like a sela

[a type of coin], even though the fish continues to writhe afterward, and while it was still writhing he returned and threw it into the sea,

-

is liable

for the labor of taking a life,

The reason is that once the fish has dried to the size of a sela, it can no longer live,

He said to him,

Rabbi Yosei bar Avin:

But let the Master say

[Surely you should add another detail to this ruling and say]:

and

this ruling that we stated applies specifically when the dry area on the fish is

between its fins!

He said to him,

Rav Ashi: Indeed, that is so. You should have added this detail. But

do you not hold that this was stated by Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Avin

[Do you not hold that Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Avin stated this ruling]?! If so, you should have said your words in his name, for whoever reports a matter in the name of the person who said it brings redemption to the world!

He said to him: I am he

[I am Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Avin. I said the matter in my own name].

He said to him,

Rav Ashi:

Were you not regularly present before Rabbi Yosei of Yukrat

[Were you not sitting and studying before Rabbi Yosei of Yukrat]?

He said to him,

Rabbi Yosei bar Avin:

Yes.

That is indeed so.

He said to him,

Rav Ashi:

And for what reason did the Master leave him and come here

[Why did you leave Rabbi Yosei of Yukrat and come here to study]?

He said to him,

Rabbi Yosei bar Avin: I am afraid that he may become angry with me, and I may be harmed by his anger.

For

how can a man who had no compassion for his son or daughter have compassion for me

[How can a man who had no compassion for his son and daughter [as related below] have compassion for me]? The Gemara now relates the actual incidents, showing that Rabbi Yosei of Yukrat had no compassion for his son and no compassion for his daughter.

The incident in which he had no compassion for

his son

[his son]—

what was it?

What was the incident?

One day, he had day laborers working for him in the field

[One day, Rabbi Yosei had day laborers working in his field].

It grew late for them

[the day grew dark for them],

and

they still

had not brought them bread

[Rabbi Yosei had not brought them bread to eat].

They said to his son

[The laborers said to Rabbi Yosei’s son, who was with them in the field]:

We are hungry

[we are hungry]!

At that time,

they were sitting beneath a fig tree

[they were all sitting beneath a fig tree], which had no fruit because it was not the season for figs.

He said,

Rabbi Yosei’s son:

Fig tree, fig tree! Bring forth your fruit, and let my father’s laborers eat!

It brought forth

[the fig tree brought forth its fruit],

and they ate

some of it,

Meanwhile—

his father arrived

[in the meantime, Rabbi Yosei, his father, arrived].

He said to them

[he said to the laborers]:

Do not take offense

[do not suspect me in your minds for not bringing you food until now],

for the reason I was late—

I was occupied with a mitzva, and only now have I finished

[I was late because I was occupied with a mitzva, and only now have I finished engaging in it].

They said to him,

the laborers:

May the Merciful One satisfy you—

just as your son satisfied us

[May the Holy One, blessed be He, satisfy you, just as your son fed us until we were satisfied].

He said to them: From where

did he bring you food?

They said: This and that is what happened

[This and that happened]. And they told him the entire incident.

He said to him,

Rabbi Yosei to his son:

My son! You caused your Creator

[the Holy One, blessed be He, Who created heaven and earth]

to bring forth a fig tree’s fruit out of season; may you be gathered in out of season

[your punishment will be that you will be gathered from the earth and die before your time].

This was the incident in which Rabbi Yosei had no compassion for his son.

The incident in which he had no compassion for

his daughter

[his daughter]—

what was it

[what happened]?

He had a beautiful daughter

[Rabbi Yosei had a beautiful daughter].

One day, he saw a certain man digging through the hedge and looking at her

[One day, Rabbi Yosei saw a certain man digging through and dismantling the wooden fence surrounding his courtyard in order to look inside].

He said to him,

Rabbi Yosei to that man:

What is this

[What is this act that you are performing]?

He said to him: Rabbi, if I was not privileged to take her

[if I was not privileged to marry your daughter],

will I not even be privileged to see her?

I therefore made a hole in the fence so that I could at least see her.

He said to her,

Rabbi Yosei to his daughter:

My daughter! You are causing suffering to people

[you are causing people to suffer].

Return to your dust

[that is, die and be buried in the dust from which man was created], and

let human beings not stumble because of you

[because of you],

human beings.

And so it was

[and that is indeed what happened]

. This was the incident in which Rabbi Yosei had no compassion for his daughter.

The Gemara relates another incident concerning Rabbi Yosei of Yukrat.

He had a certain donkey

[Rabbi Yosei had a donkey, which he rented to others for their work].

When they rented it, every day in the evening they sent its rental fee on its back, and it would come to its owner’s house

[When people rented the donkey, each evening they would place the rental payment on its back, and the donkey would return with the money to its owner’s house].

But if they added to it or reduced it—

it would not come

[if they added to or deducted from the fixed rental fee, the donkey would not move from its place].

One day, the renters forgot a pair of sandals on it

[One day, the renters forgot a pair of sandals on the donkey],

and it did not go until they removed them from it, and then it went

[the donkey refused to proceed until the renters noticed this, removed the sandals from it, and only afterward did it go on its way].

When the charity collectors would see Elazar of Birta—

they would hide from him

[when the charity collectors saw him, they would flee from him so that he would not see them].

And why did they flee from him?

For whatever he had—

he gave to them

[because everything he had in his possession he gave to the collectors for charitable needs, leaving nothing for himself]

. One day, he went up to the marketplace to buy a dowry for his daughter

[One day, Elazar of Birta went to the marketplace to buy dowry articles for his daughter, who was about to marry].

The charity collectors saw him and hid from him

[the charity collectors saw him and fled from him so that he would not give them everything he had].

He went and ran after them

[he went and ran after them].

He said to them: I adjure you, what are you engaged in

[I adjure you to tell me: For what charitable cause are you collecting]?

They said to him,

the collectors: We are engaged

in

collecting money to marry off

an orphan boy and an orphan girl.

He said to them: By the service! They take precedence over my daughter

[I swear, they take precedence over my daughter]. For they are orphans and have no parents to care for them, whereas my daughter is not an orphan.

He took everything that he had with him—

He took all that he had with him— and gave it to them

[Elazar took all the money he had with him and gave it to them].

One zuz remained for him

[one zuz remained in his possession].

He bought wheat with it

[he bought wheat with that zuz],

and brought it up

and placed it in the granary

[and threw it into his wheat store], and went to the house of study.

His wife came

[his wife came],

and said to her daughter

[and said to her daughter]:

What did your father bring you

[what did your father bring you]?

She said to her,

his daughter:

Everything that he brought—

he placed in the granary

[everything that Father brought, he threw into the wheat store]. [unclear: the source’s segment contains only the preceding editorial transition, with no independent Hebrew text beyond the cited reading.]

She went to open the door of the granary

[the woman approached to open the door of the storehouse],

and saw that the granary was full of wheat

[she saw that it was full of wheat],

and it was protruding through the doorpost

[and the wheat was jutting out from beneath the threshold],

and the door could not be opened because of the wheat

[the door could not be opened because of the wheat pressing against it].

His daughter went to the house of study

[Elazar’s daughter went to the house of study].

She said to him: Come and see what your Beloved has done for you

[Come and see the great miracle that the Holy One, blessed be He, performed for you]!

He said to her: By the service

[I swear]! Those grains of wheat,

behold, they are consecrated to you

, and you have no share in them

except

as one of the poor of Israel

.

The reason is that these grains of wheat came about through a miraculous act, and a person is forbidden to benefit from a miraculous act. For one who benefits from a miracle has his merits deducted.

Rabbi Yehuda Nesi'a

[who was the son of Rabban Gamliel the son of Rabbi]

decreed a fast

so that rain would fall.

He pleaded for mercy—

but rain did not come

[he pleaded for mercy, but rain did not come].

He said,

Rabbi Yehuda:

How many

[how many years have passed]

since

the time of

Samuel the Ramahite,

when rain fell when he asked, as it is stated: “Is it not the wheat harvest today? I shall call to the Lord, and He will give thunder and rain, etc.”—

to

the time of

Yehuda ben Gamliel,

when Israel imposed upon him the duty of praying, and he cried out, but no one paid attention to him!

In other words, see what a difference there is between Samuel’s generation, which was answered immediately, and this generation, in which no one pays attention to us!

Woe to a generation in which such a thing has become stuck

[stagnant]!

Woe to the one in whose days this has arisen!

As a result of these words that he said,

his spirit was humbled

[his spirit became weakened and humiliated]—

and

as a result,

rain came

[the rain came].

The household of the Nasi decreed a fast, but did not inform

[did not inform]

Rabbi Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish.

In the morning they informed them

[on the morning of the fast, they informed them].

Reish Lakish said to Rabbi Yoḥanan: We did not accept the fast upon ourselves the previous evening

[we did not accept the fast upon ourselves while it was still daytime]!

He said to him,

Rabbi Yohanan:

We—

are dragged along after them, that is, we follow the entire community. In other words, from the outset we intended to do whatever the general community does; therefore, it is as though we explicitly accepted the fast upon ourselves.

The members of the house of the Nasi

the people of the Nasi’s household

decreed a fast, but

the rain did not come

and no rain fell.

He taught them

the following teaching:

Oshaya Ze’ira min ha-Havrayya

the youngest in the academy said to them: It is written:

“And if it was done unwittingly by the eyes of the congregation.”

“The eyes of the people” are the elders and sages, who illuminate the eyes of the people.

This is analogous to a bride who is in her father’s house.

As long as her eyes are beautiful,

her entire body does not require examination.

For the beauty of the eyes is an indication of the beauty of the entire body.

But if

her eyes are round

and not beautiful —

her entire body requires examination.

That is, it is reasonable to assume that the rest of her body is not beautiful either.

And since the members of the Nasi’s household, who are currently considered “the eyes of the people,” are wicked , the rest of the common people do not require examination—that is, their deeds need not be examined—and therefore Heaven does not heed them when they fast.

The servants of the Nasi’s household came, placed a cloth around his neck, and began tormenting him,

because he had insulted the Nasi and his household by saying that they were wicked.

The people of his city said to them—

the servants of the Nasi:

Leave him,

leave Oshaya alone and do not torment him,

for he also torments us,

since he insults and curses us for our conduct.

But

once we saw that everything he does is for the sake of Heaven,

since we see that Oshaya’s intention is for the sake of Heaven—

we say nothing to him and leave him alone.

And

you too, leave him alone,

you, the members of the Nasi’s household—leave him alone.

Rabbi decreed a fast, but

the rain did not come.

Ilfa went down before him

a man named “Ilfa” went down before the ark,

and some say it was Rabbi Ilfei,

and some say that his name was “Rabbi Ilfei.”

He said,

that man:

“Who makes the wind blow”—

and

immediately

a wind blew

and the wind blew.

That man said:

“Who brings down the rain”—

and

immediately

the rain came

and rain fell.

Rabbi said to him,

Rabbi asked him:

“What is your occupation?”

What good deeds do you perform, such that your prayer is answered so readily?

He said to him: I live in a remote, impoverished village, where there is no wine for Kiddush and Havdala,

I live in a distant and poor village, where they have no wine for Kiddush and Havdala.

I trouble myself to bring them wine for Kiddush and Havdala, and fulfill their obligation for them,

I take the trouble to bring them wine for Kiddush and Havdala, and fulfill their obligation .

Rav happened to come to a certain place

Rabbi happened to come to a place where there was a drought.

He decreed a fast, but the rain did not come.

The communal emissary went down before him,

the prayer leader went down before him to the ark.

The prayer leader said,

that communal emissary said:

“Who makes the wind blow”—

and a wind blew.

He said,

that communal emissary said:

“Who brings down the rain”—

and the rain came

and rain fell

and rain came.

He said to him: “What is your occupation?”

What good deeds do you perform, such that your prayer is answered immediately?

He said to him: I am a teacher of young children,

I teach children,

and I teach the children of the poor—

like the children of the wealthy

I teach the children of the poor just as I teach the children of the wealthy.

And whoever cannot afford it, I take nothing from him

and from anyone unable to pay, I do not take any fee at all.

And I have a fishpond

and I have a pit containing fish.

And any student who neglects his studies

and any student who does not wish to study—

I bribe him with some of them

I entice him with the fish,

and I arrange things for him and appease him until he comes and reads

I encourage and placate him until he comes and reads and studies with everyone.

Rav Naḥman decreed a fast.

He pleaded for mercy, but

the rain did not come.

He said,

Rav Naḥman said to the public:

“Take Naḥman and hurl him from his seat to the ground”

take Naḥman and throw him down from where he is sitting onto the ground , for his prayer is not being answered!

As a result of these words that he said about himself,

he was distressed,

he was embarrassed and became dispirited,

and

for that reason

the rain came.

Rabba decreed a fast.

He pleaded for mercy, but

the rain did not come.

They said to him: But when Rav Yehuda would decree a fast,

the rain would come

whenever he decreed a fast, rain would immediately come!

He said to them,

Rabba said to them:

“What can I do?”

what can I do?

If

you think that Rav Yehuda was answered

because of his learning,

because the level of Torah study in his time was superior to ours,

that is not so, for

we are superior to them

we are superior in this matter to the generation of Rav Yehuda.