Taanit 5b (ה:) — the Talmud in English

“Two evils,” that is, one transgression

one -

which is

equivalent to two .

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And what is it [

what is that transgression]? -

Idolatry.

And from where do we know that this transgression is equivalent to two?

For it is written: “For two evils my people have done: They have forsaken Me, the source of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns.”

And it is written concerning them [

what is written about them], concerning the Jewish people:

“For cross over to the isles of the Kittim and see, and send to Kedar and consider well, etc. Has a nation exchanged its gods, though they are not gods? Yet My people has exchanged its glory for that which does not profit.”

This is the meaning of “For two evils my people have done”: they acted worse than these two nations, the Kittim and the Kedarites. Although the objects of these nations’ worship [the idolatry that they worshipped] were inferior and corrupt, they did not exchange them or replace them with something else. But My people exchanged its glory, its God—the living God—for another god that is of no benefit.

And this is what we said above: idolatry is equivalent to two, because one who worships idolatry performs two evil acts: he forsakes the source of living waters and goes to hew broken cisterns .

A tanna [

we learned in a beraita]:

The Kittim

worship fire.

And

the

Kedarites worship water .

And although they know that

the Kittim

know that water extinguishes fire,

and if so, the power of water is greater, nevertheless

they did not exchange

their

god,

which was fire,

Rashash holds that the text reads “ “Kittim” rather than “Kuthites,” since we were not discussing the Kuthites at all. This is obvious. And so too wrote Porat Yosef. And

if only

My people,

the Jewish people,

had exchanged

its

glory,

that is, its God,

for that which does not profit [

for a god that is of no benefit].

And Rav Naḥman said to Rabbi Yitzḥak: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And it came to pass when Samuel grew old, and he appointed his sons as judges over Israel, etc.”

?

And did Samuel grow old to that extent [

was Samuel really so old]?

But he was only fifty-two years old [

for he was fifty-two years old] when he died, and this is not considered having reached old age. If he died at an age that is not old age, it follows that Samuel was never in a state of old age during his life at all!

For the Master said:

A person who

dies at the

age of

fifty-two years is not considered to have died by karet ,

but rather -

this is the death of Samuel of Ramah, who also died at that age!

who also died at that age!

He said to him: This is what Rabbi Yoḥanan said:

Indeed, Samuel did not reach old age during his life, but

old age descended upon him ,

his hair turned white before its time, and he appeared to be elderly.

For it is written,

that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Samuel after the incident involving Amalek

“I regret that I have made Saul king.”

That is, the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to remove Saul from the kingship and appoint another in his place.

Samuel did not want this to happen during his lifetime, namely, that the appointment he himself had made as the agent of the Holy One, blessed be He, should be annulled. Therefore he

said before Him [

before the Holy One, blessed be He]:

Master of the

universe! You have considered me equal to Moses and Aaron [

you said that I am equal in stature and importance to Moses and Aaron],

for it is written: “Moses and Aaron among His priests -

and Samuel among those who call upon His Name.”

Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, equated Moses and Aaron with Samuel.

If so, I should be treated as they were!

Just as Moses and Aaron -

did not see the work of their hands annulled

which was Joshua , who was their disciple -

during their lifetimes,

that is, Joshua did not die during the lifetimes of Moses and Aaron,

So too I,

it is fitting that

the work of my hands should not be annulled

Saul, whom I appointed king,

during my lifetime!

The Holy One, blessed be He, said: What shall I do [

how shall I act]?

Shall Saul die [

if I cause Saul to die] now -

Samuel will not permit it [

Samuel will not allow Me to do so], as he argued that he should not be treated in this manner.

What else shall I do?

Shall Samuel die [

so that Samuel dies] now, so that he will not see Saul’s death?

That too cannot be done. For

if he dies young -

they will speak ill of him [

if Samuel dies while young, people will speak about him and slander him]. The people would say that because he had a transgression on his account, he died young.

What else, then?

Neither shall Saul die nor shall

Samuel [

so that neither Saul nor Samuel dies]? But

David’s kingship has already arrived [

the time of David’s kingship has arrived],

and one kingship does not touch another -

even by a hairsbreadth [

the thickness of a hair, which is extremely thin]. Once the time of the new kingship arrives, the previous kingship must end immediately .

The Holy One, blessed be He, said,

this is what I shall do:

I will bring upon him [

upon Samuel]

old age,

and then I will be able to cause him to die now, before Saul . Since he will appear elderly, the people will not speak ill of him.

This is the meaning of what is written [

this is what we find in Scripture]:

“And Saul was sitting in Gibeah beneath the tamarisk tree in Ramah.”

The straightforward meaning is that Saul sat in a place called Gibeah, beneath the tamarisk tree that was in Ramah .

But this is puzzling:

what connection is there between Gibeah,

which was in the land of Benjamin,

and Ramah,

which was in the hill country of Ephraim? They are two different places!

Rather, the verse comes to allude and

the verse comes as an allusion and

tell you: Who caused Saul to remain in Gibeah

for an additional

two years

and a half

after the decree had been issued against him, so that he would not yet die?

The prayer of Samuel of Ramah,

who prayed that the work of his hands not be annulled during his lifetime. This is why Ramah is mentioned here: to allude to Samuel of Ramah, who caused this to happen.

The Gemara asks: How could Samuel die because David’s kingship had to arrive?

Is one person displaced on account of another [

is one person really displaced because of another]?

And we say:

Yes.

Indeed, that is so.

For Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them with the words of My mouth”? "

“I slew them

through their deeds,”

that is, because of their sins” -

it is not stated.

Rather, “

I slew them

with the words of My mouth.”

That is, because of a decree that I decreed, such as the incident involving Samuel and David mentioned above.

Apparently [

we learn from here]:

one person is displaced on account of another [

one person is displaced because of another].

Rav Naḥman and Rabbi Yitzḥak were sitting at a meal [

they were sitting at a meal].

Rav Naḥman said to Rabbi Yitzḥak: Let the Master say a matter [

let the Master say something]!

He said to him, thus [

so]

said Rabbi Yoḥanan: One may not converse [

speak]

during

the

meal .

For there are two openings in the throat: the opening of the esophagus and the opening of the trachea. Food passes through the esophagus, while breathing [and the emission of the voice in speech] takes place through the trachea.

During eating, the opening of the trachea is closed so that food will not enter it.

We are concerned

lest

by speaking during the meal, he open the valve of the trachea, and

the trachea precede the esophagus,

meaning that food will enter the trachea before reaching the esophagus,

and come

thereby

to danger .

And since this was so, I will not tell you anything now. Rather, I will wait until the meal is over.

After they had finished eating [after they had concluded their meal], Rav Yitzḥak remembered that he had promised Rav Naḥman that he would tell him something.

After they had finished eating, Rav Yitzḥak remembered that he had promised Rav Naḥman that he would tell him something.

He said to him:

Rabbi Yitzḥak:

This is what Rabbi Yoḥanan said: “Jacob our forefather did not die” ,

but rather, he lives forever.

He said to him:

Rav Naḥman:

Was it for nothing

[in vain]

that the eulogizers eulogized

[that the eulogizers eulogized],

and the embalmers embalmed

[and the embalmers embalmed] ,

and the buriers buried

[and the buriers buried]? For all this is explicitly written in the Scripture: they eulogized Jacob, the physicians embalmed him, and his sons buried him in the land of Canaan!

He said to him:

I am not saying these things on my own authority. Rather,

I am expounding a verse.

As it is stated: “But you, do not fear, My servant Jacob, says the Lord, and do not be dismayed, Israel, for behold, I will save you from afar

and your offspring from the land of their captivity.”

he [Jacob] with his offspring,

From the fact that

the verse compares

and links

him

[Jacob]

to his offspring,

we expound:

Just as

the ingathering of

his offspring

from the lands of their captivity is

while they are alive

[when they are alive, since only living human beings are held captive],

so too he,

Jacob, is

alive .

That is, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring him to the Exile in order to redeem his sons before his eyes.

As for what we find in the Torah, that the physicians embalmed Jacob, they believed that he had died. But in truth, he is alive .

The Gemara cites another statement that Rav Yitzḥak said to Rav Naḥman.

Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Anyone who says, “Rahav, Rahav”

[this was the name of the prostitute who hid Joshua’s spies in Jericho ]]—

immediately experiences a seminal emission

[he becomes a ba’al keri, due to lust] , because she was exceedingly beautiful.

Rav Naḥman said to him:

I can prove that this is not so, for

I say

[I say], “Rahav, Rahav,”

and it does not affect me

[and it causes me nothing]!

He said to him:

Certainly, when a person has never known Rahav, as in your case, mentioning her name causes nothing.

What I said

[what I said], that one who mentions her name becomes a ba’al keri, applies

to one who knows and recognizes her.

That is, to one who knows her .

When they were taking leave of one another

[when Rav Naḥman and Rabbi Yitzḥak took leave of one another and parted, each going on his way],

he said to him

Rav Naḥman said to Rabbi Yitzḥak

Let the master bless me

[bless me]!

He said to him: I will tell you a parable. To what can this be compared? To a person who was traveling in the wilderness, and was hungry, weary, and thirsty .

If I say that your shade should be pleasant, your shade is pleasant. If I say that a stream of water should pass beneath you, behold, the stream of water already passes beneath you.

And he found a tree whose fruit was sweet ,

and he could eat from it and be satiated.

And its shade was pleasant,

so that he could rest beneath it and be protected from the heat of the sun.

And a stream of water flowed beneath it,

so that he could drink from it and quench his thirst.

The traveler ate

The traveler

ate

from the tree’s

fruit,

and

drank from its water

the spring that flowed beneath it,

and

sat

to rest

in its shade.

And when he wished to continue on his way,

he said:

“Tree, tree, how shall I bless you?

If I say to you,

“May your fruit be sweet,” your fruit is sweet

already.

If I say

“May your shade be pleasant, your shade is pleasant already.

If I say

“May a stream of water flow beneath you,” the stream of water is already flowing beneath you.