Taanit 25a — the Talmud in English

The Gemara relates:

It was customary for his wife to heat the oven every Sabbath eve and throw in a substance that produced smoke ![](pamud.bmp "

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because of embarrassment .

She had this wicked neighbor .

She said

that neighbor to herself:

Since I know that they have nothing at all [

for Rabbi Hanina and his wife],

what is all this [

what is all this great smoke coming out of the chimney of their oven]?

She went and knocked at the door [

she went and knocked on the door of Rabbi Hanina’s house].

She became embarrassed and entered the inner room [

Rabbi Hanina’s wife was embarrassed to open, because she feared that the neighbor would see her in her embarrassment, and therefore she entered the room].

When the wicked neighbor saw that the door was not being opened, she opened it herself and entered to look.

A miracle was performed for her [

a miracle was performed for Rabbi Hanina’s wife],

for she saw the oven full of bread, and a kneading trough full of dough [

the neighbor saw the oven full of bread, and beside it stood a bowl full of dough].

The neighbor called to Rabbi Hanina’s wife and

said to her: So-and-so, so-and-so [

so-and-so, so-and-so]

! Bring the peel, for your bread is burning [

bring the peel to take out the bread, for it has begun to scorch and burn]!

She said to her

Rabbi Hanina’s wife:

I too entered for this purpose [

I too entered the room for this purpose, to bring the peel].

The tan­​nay taught:

It was not merely to make an excuse that Rabbi Hanina’s wife said this, but

she too

in truth, when she heard that the neighbor was knocking at her door, and that if there were no bread in the oven she would suffer great embarrassment,

entered to bring the peel

into the room,

because she was accustomed to miracles

she was, and she knew with certainty that a miracle would be performed for her so that she would not be embarrassed.

After that incident,

his wife said to him [

his wife said to Rabbi Hanina]:

Until when shall we go on suffering all this [

until when shall we continue suffering so much from poverty]?

He said to her

Rabbi Hanina:

What shall we do [

and what shall we do in order to leave this situation]?

Rabbi Hanina’s wife said to him:

Pray for mercy, that they give you something [

ask mercy from Heaven, that they give you something from which we can support ourselves]!

He prayed for mercy [

Rabbi Hanina prayed for mercy].

A miracle was performed for him, and

there emerged

from Heaven

something like the palm of a hand, and they gave him one leg of a golden table [

and they gave him from Heaven one leg of a golden table].

The following night, before they had yet managed to do anything with that golden leg,

he saw in a dream the righteous of the future eating at a golden table that had three legs, while he was at a table with two legs [

Rabbi Hanina saw in a dream how the righteous sit in the Garden of Eden in the World to Come. The other righteous eat at a golden table that has three legs , and he eats at a table that has two legs].

By this they hinted to him from Heaven that what they had now given him would be lacking to him in the future, in the Garden of Eden .

He said to her

Rabbi Hanina to his wife:

Would it be satisfactory to you that everyone eat at a complete table, while we eat at a deficient table [

would it be satisfactory to you that everyone eat at a complete table, and only we eat at a deficient, incomplete table]?

She said to him

his wife:

And what shall we do [

and what shall we do now], so that our table will not be deficient—

Pray for mercy that they take it from you [

ask for mercy that they take the golden leg from you] .

He prayed for mercy—

and they took it [

Rabbi Hanina prayed for mercy, and they took away the golden leg].

The tan­​nay taught: The latter miracle was greater,

that they took the golden leg from him—

than the first.

For it is an established tradition [

for this is what we have received from our Sages]:

What is given is given, but taking—

they do not take [

they give from Heaven. But after they have given, they do not take back].

The Gemara relates another miracle that was performed for Rabbi Hanina.

One Sabbath eve [

one Sabbath eve , between sunset and nightfall]

he saw his daughter, who was sad [

Rabbi Hanina saw that his daughter was sad].

He said to her: My daughter! Why are you sad [

why are you sad]?

She said to him: A vessel of vinegar was switched for me with a vessel of oil,

for I wished to pour oil into the Sabbath lamps, and I thought that the vessel of vinegar was the vessel of oil, and I poured from it into the lamp,

and I lit from it a light for Sabbath.

And surely the lamp will go out shortly, since vinegar is not a combustible substance .

He said to her: My daughter! What difference does it make to you

what substance you put in the lamp?

He who said to oil, ‘Let it burn,’

that is, the Holy One, blessed be He, who gave oil the property of burning,

He will say

also

to vinegar—

‘Let it burn!’

The tan­​nay taught: It was

the lamp

burning and continuing.

It did not burn only on Sabbath night, as it normally burned, but continued burning

the entire day

until the conclusion of Sabbath,

until they brought light from it for

the purpose of

Havdalah .

And another miracle that was performed for Rabbi Hanina:

Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa had these goats [

he had goats].

They said to him

his neighbors:

Your goats are causing damage [

your goats are damaging our fields]!

Rabbi Hanina, who was careful that his goats should eat only from ownerless produce, was certain that they were not damaging other fields, and therefore

said

to his neighbors:

If they are causing damage—

let bears eat them [

if it is as you say, that the goats are causing damage, let bears eat them].

And if not, let each one and one come in the evening with a bear on its horns [

but if this is not so, in the evening each goat should bring a bear on its horns].

And so it was.

In the evening each one and one brought a bear on its horns [

in the evening each goat brought a bear clinging to its horns] .

And another miracle that Rabbi Hanina performed:

He had a certain neighbor who was building a house [

he had a neighbor who built a house for herself], but by mistake she brought beams for the ceiling that were not of the correct measurement, and they were too short,

and the beams did not reach [

and the beams did not reach from wall to wall] .

She came before him [

the neighbor came before him].

She said to him: I built my house, but my beams did not reach [

I built my house, but the beams did not reach]!

He said to her

Rabbi Hanina:

What is your name?

She said to him: Ikku

is my name.

He said: Ikku! May your beams reach [

may it be God’s will that your beams lengthen and reach the proper length]!

The tan­​nay taught:

Indeed, this is what happened: the beams lengthened and

reached

the walls of the house. Moreover, they lengthened so much

that they extended

and projected beyond the walls of the house,

a cubit here,

on this side of the house,

and a cubit

here ,

on its other side.

And some say: They made them senifin.

That is, through a miraculous act, small pieces of wood became attached to the short beams, and lengthened them until the appropriate size.

It was taught in a beraita: Pelimo says: I saw

the

same house

of Icho,

and its beams extended one cubit in this direction and one cubit in that direction.

And they said to me: This house, which was roofed [

he made a ceiling for it. That is, he assisted in erecting its ceiling ]

Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa through his prayer [

through his prayer ].

The Gemara now returns to discuss the earlier incident, in which Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa’s goats were mentioned. And it asks:

And Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa, from where did he have goats? But

we said above that

he was poor [he was], and he supported himself with carobs from one eve of Shabbat to the next!

he was, and he supported himself with carob from one Shabbat eve to the next]!

And furthermore,

it is puzzling how Rabbi Hanina raised goats, for

the Sages said:

One may not raise small livestock in the Land of Israel!

And the Gemara explains that, indeed, the goats did not belong to him; rather, he held them for another person, because of an incident that occurred, as follows.

Rav Pinhas said: It once happened that a certain man passed by the entrance of Rabbi Hanina’s house

of Rabbi Hanina,

and left chickens there,

and forgot them there and went on his way.

And Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa’s wife found them

when they were lying at the entrance of her house.

She brought the chickens into the house.

The chickens laid eggs,

and he said to her

Rabbi Hanina:

Do not eat from their eggs,

for they are not ours.

And they multiplied

the chickens

in eggs, and

the chicks hatched from them, grew, and became

chickens

many in number,

and they caused them distress [

Rabbi Hanina and the members of his household] with their clucking and the great filth that they brought].

And

therefore

he sold them

Rabbi Hanina

and bought goats with their proceeds.

Once, that same man from whom the chickens had been lost passed by

near Rabbi Hanina’s house,

and said to his companion: Here I left my chickens

a long time ago.

Rabbi Hanina heard

his words.

He said to him

to that man:

Do you have,

regarding those chickens,

a distinguishing mark?

He said to him: Yes.

Indeed, I have a distinguishing mark regarding them.

He gave him

Rabbi Hanina

a distinguishing mark

regarding the chickens,

and he took the goats

that Rabbi Hanina had bought with their proceeds.

And

those goats that Rabbi Hanina had bought with the proceeds of the chickens he had found, and had kept in his possession for some time,

they are the very goats that brought bears on their horns [

they are those same goats that brought bears on their horns].

The Gemara relates another incident dealing with what occurred because of the poverty of the Sages of Israel.

Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat was exceedingly hard-pressed [

he was very hard-pressed in his livelihood].

He performed an act [

he let blood], and although he became weak because of the bloodletting,

and

he was required to eat a full meal,

he had nothing to taste [

because of his great poverty, he had nothing to eat].

The only thing he found to eat was a piece of garlic.

He took a clove of garlic [

Rabbi Elazar took a segment of garlic],

and threw it into his mouth [

and placed it in his mouth and ate it].

His heart became weak—

and he fell asleep [

he fainted from extreme weakness—and then fell asleep].

The Sages went to inquire after him [

the Sages came to visit him].

They saw him crying and laughing [

the Sages saw him in his sleep, crying and then laughing],

and a spark of fire came out from his forehead [

and a spark of fire came out from his forehead].

When he awoke [

when he finally awoke from his sleep],

they said to him: Why did you cry and laugh [

why did you cry and laugh in your sleep]?

He said to them: The Almighty was sitting with me [

for the Almighty was sitting with me] .

And I said to Him [

and I said to Him]:

Until when shall I suffer in this world [

until when shall I suffer poverty in this world]?

And He said to me

the Almighty:

Elazar, My son, would it be pleasing to you if I were to overturn the world from the beginning [

would it be pleasing to you if I were to overturn the world from its beginning] ,

perhaps you would be born at a time of sustenance [

so that perhaps you would be born at a time and under a fortune of sustenance in abundance]?!

I said before Him [

I said before the Almighty]:

All this,

you have done so much in Your world,

and

you still say only that

perhaps,

that it is uncertain whether I will be born under a fortune of sustenance?

I said to Him [

I said and asked before Him]:

Are my years already more numerous [

are the years I have already lived greater in number than the years I will live, that is, have I already passed most of the days of my life],

or

perhaps

will I live longer [

will the years I will live from now onward be greater in number than the years I have already lived]?

He said to me

the Almighty:

You have lived longer [

the life you have already lived is greater than the life you will live from now on].

I said before Him [

I said to Him]:

If so,

since only a few years remain for me,

I do not want it [

I do not want You to destroy the world and create it anew for the sake of those few years] .

He said to me: In reward for your saying, “I do not want it” [

in reward for your saying this, that you do not want Me to destroy the world],

I shall give you in the World to Come thirteen rivers of balsam oil

, pure like the Euphrates and the Tigris, in which you will delight [

I shall give you in the World to Come thirteen rivers of balsam oil, pure like the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, in which you will delight].

And this is why Rabbi Elazar cried in his sleep: because the Almighty informed him that only a few years remained for him. And he laughed and rejoiced because the Almighty had announced to him those thirteen rivers of balsam.

I said before Him [

I said before Him]:

This, and no more [

you will give me only this, and no more]?

He said to me: And

if I give you more,

what shall I give your companion [

your companions, the other Sages; what shall I give them]?

I said to Him: Am I asking from a man who has nothing [

do I ask this request from a human being, who is limited in what he can give]? After all, I am asking from the One to Whom everything belongs, and Who has the power to give both to me and to my companions!

He struck me on the forehead with an askutla [

the Almighty struck me on my forehead by striking one finger against another] ,

and said to me: Elazar, My son, arrows in you, arrows [

I have struck you with arrows]!

And this is why a spark of fire came out from his forehead during his sleep, because of the Almighty’s striking him .

The Gemara now returns to the matter of a fast for rain, and brings another incident concerning this.

Rabbi Hama bar Hanina decreed a fast

so that rain would fall—but

the rain did not come [

and rain did not fall].

They said to him: But [

behold,

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi decreed a fast—

and the rain came [

and rain came]!

He said to them: Here am I, and here is bar Livai [

here am I, and here is Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi]. That is, it is impossible to compare us. He is superior to me, and therefore his prayer was answered.

They said to him: Let us come and direct our minds [in prayer]; perhaps the heart of the community will break, and rain will come [

let us come and direct our minds in prayer; perhaps the heart of the community will break, and rain will come].

They sought mercy—

and the rain did not come [

they sought mercy—and rain did not come].

He said to them

to the community:

Is it pleasing to you that rain should come for our sake [

is it pleasing to you, and do you agree with one opinion, that rain should come for our sake]?

They said to him: Yes.

Rabbi Hama bar Hanina said:

Sky, sky, cover your face

with clouds, and let rain fall!

It did not cover itself [

the face of the sky was not covered with clouds].

Rabbi Hama said:

:

How brazen are [

insolent]

the face of the sky,

that it does not cover itself with clouds even though the community prayed for this!

After Rabbi Hama said these words,

it covered itself with a cloud [

the face of the sky was covered with clouds],

and rain came [

and rain fell].

The Gemara continues and relates:

Levi decreed a fast, but rain did not come.

He said before Him [ [A0003]before the Holy One, blessed be He]:

before the Holy One, blessed be He]:

“Master of the world! You ascended and sat on high, yet You do not have mercy on Your children!”

Through those words that Levi said against the Holy One, blessed be He, two things occurred:

Rain came [ [A0009]rain came],

rain came],

and

also

he became lame [ [A0013]Levi became lame], for he was punished for the words that he spoke harshly against Heaven.

Levi became lame], because he was punished for the words that he spoke harshly toward Heaven.

Rabbi Elazar said: A person should never speak harshly

against Heaven.

For a great man

spoke harshly against Heaven—

and he became lame [ [A0019]and became lame].

and became lame].

And who was he [ [A0028]and who was that person]—

and who was that person]?—

Levi,

as was recounted above.

And the Gemara is astonished:

But did this cause it for him [ [A0033]and did this thing cause him] to become lame?

did this really cause him to become lame]?

But Levi performed a kidah before Rabbi [ [A0035]he performed a kidah before Rabbi .

performed a full prostration before Rabbi . A full prostration means that one places his thumbs firmly on the ground and bends down until his face reaches the floor]]—

and he became lame [ [A0038]and through this he became lame ]!

and because of this he became lame ]!

We have, then, that he became lame because he performed a kidah! And we say:

This and that,

the two things—the act in which he performed a kidah, and the act in which he spoke harshly against Heaven—

caused it for him [ [A0048]caused him] to become lame.

caused him to become lame.

That is to say, the sin that he committed, that he spoke harshly against Heaven, caused him to become lame through the kidah. For had it not been for the sin, he would not have been harmed by the kidah .

Rabbi Hiyya bar Lulyani heard those clouds saying [ [A0056]he heard the clouds as they said to one another]:

he heard the clouds saying to one another]:

“Let us come and let us give water in Ammon and Moab” [ [A0058]come and let us give water in Ammon and Moab].

come and give water to Ammon and Moab].

Rabbi Hiyya

said

before Him [ [A0070]before the Holy One, blessed be He]:

before the Holy One, blessed be He]:

“Master of the world, when You gave the Torah to Your people

Israel, You went around to all the nations of the world—

and they did not accept it

, and now You are giving them

to the nations of the world

rain?”

“Cast them here” [ [A0082]that the clouds should cast their waters here, in our place]!

so that the clouds should release their water here, in our place]!

And indeed the clouds did so,

they cast it in their place [ [A0085]they brought down their waters in the place of Rabbi Hiyya].

they brought down their water in Rabbi Hiyya’s place].

Rabbi Hiyya bar Lulyani expounded: What is the meaning of that which is written,

what is the explanation of the verse:

“A righteous man shall flourish like a palm tree; like a cedar in Lebanon he shall grow tall”?

If it is said

that the righteous man will flourish like a

palm tree, why is it said

later in the verse that he will grow tall like a

cedar?

And if it is said

that the righteous man resembles a

cedar, why is it said

that he resembles a

palm tree?

Why did the Torah compare the righteous man both to a palm tree and to a cedar?

Rather,

had it been said

only that the righteous man resembles a

palm tree, and it had not been said

that he resembles a

cedar, I would say

as follows: