Yoma 28b — the Talmud in English

Gemara:

It was taught:

What would the one who sees say?

Rabbi Yishmael says: “A flash—‘Barkai.’”

The first light flashed at dawn, which is called Barkai.

Rabbi Akiva says: “It has risen—‘Barkai.’”

The light called Barkai became stronger and illuminated more.

Nachuma ben Apakshiyon says: “It has also

risen, the light called

‘Barkai,’

and it was visible

in Hebron

[opposite Hebron], at the southern edge in the eastern direction [according to Tiferet Yisrael on the Mishna].

Matya ben Shmuel, the supervisor over the lotteries

says: “The face of all the east has become light, until it is visible in Hebron,”

which is a stronger light than Barkai.

Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira says: “The face of all the east has become light, until

it is visible

in Hebron,

and also

all the people have gone out, each person to his work.”

And we raise an objection against the words of Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira:

If so,

if all the people have already gone out to their work—then

it has become very bright,

the daylight has already become greatly illuminated?! And a long time has passed since dawn.

And we answer: What Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira said, “All the people have gone out, each person to his work”—he does not mean that the laborers have already gone out to their work. Rather, we are saying that the householders went out

to hire laborers.

And householders rise early to find laborers.

Rav Safra said: The prayer of Abraham,

the afternoon prayer that Abraham our father prayed—its time is

from when the walls begin to darken.

Beginning from the time when the eastern side of the walls darkens, because of the shadow upon them.

The eastern walls begin to darken from midday onward [at the beginning of the seventh hour of the day]. For at the beginning of the day the sun is in the east and illuminates the eastern walls, but once midday arrives, the sun then stands in the middle of the firmament, above every person’s head, and illuminates the thickness of the top of the wall. And its upper edge casts a shadow over the entire height of the wall, so the eastern side of the wall is found to be dark from the shadow.

And from that time the evening shadows incline [the shadow inclines and comes from the west], and it is called “evening.” And the time of the afternoon prayer is from that time.

And Rav Safra came to teach us that a person should pray the afternoon prayer at the same time that Abraham our father prayed; for otherwise, what did he come to teach us? After all, what happened has happened! Ritva.

Rav Yosef said,

it is puzzling: Is it so that

we—

should arise and derive [the law] from Abraham!?

Can we be as zealous as Abraham our father, praying immediately at midday? But surely there was no person as zealous as he! [The Ritva according to Rashi].

Rava said:

There is no reason to be puzzled by this! For the

tanna

of the beraita below indeed

derived

[learned] that one should act with zeal

from Abraham.

And if so,

then

why

we—

do we not learn from him!?

[And are we not to learn from him?!]

And Rava explains where we find that the tanna learned zeal from Abraham:

For it was taught:

It is stated [Leviticus 12] concerning the mitzva of circumcision:

“And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.”

From the fact that it says “on the day” and does not say “in the morning”—

the verse teaches

that

the entire day

of the eighth

is fit for circumcision.

However, the zealous rise early for mitzvot.

As it is stated

concerning Abraham our father [Genesis 22], regarding the binding of Isaac:

“And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled

his donkey.” Here we have that the tanna in the beraita learned zeal from Abraham!

Rather, Rava said,

this is how Rav Yosef’s puzzlement is to be explained:

Rav Yosef—

this is what was difficult to him:

How could Rav Safra say that Abraham our father prayed the afternoon prayer immediately at midday?

But the afternoon prayer was instituted corresponding to the daily offering of the afternoon. It follows that according to Rav Safra, one can learn from Abraham our father that it is possible to slaughter the daily offering immediately at midday.

And this is impossible.

For we learned

in Pesachim [58a]: If

the eve of Passover falls

on the fourteenth of Nisan [on which they slaughter the Passover offering]

on the eve of Shabbat,

they would advance the time of slaughtering the daily offering.

For on the other days of the year, the daily offering is slaughtered in the afternoon, at eight and a half hours [the counting of the hours is from the morning], and is offered at nine and a half.

But when the eve of Passover falls on the eve of Shabbat, the daily offering

is slaughtered at six and a half

[half an hour after midday]

and is offered at seven and a half,

because they need to manage to roast the Passover offerings during the day, before Shabbat. Therefore, they advanced the offering of the Passover offering as much as they could, and established its law according to the Torah law, that the daily offering is slaughtered “between the evenings”—from the time when the evening shadows incline.

And Rav Yosef wondered: Behold, according to Rav Safra’s words, the time when the walls darken is called “evening.”

And

if so,

let us slaughter it

the daily offering already

from when the walls begin to darken,

let us slaughter the daily offering on the eve of Passover precisely at midday, for then the walls begin to darken and it is called “evening”! And why did we learn that the daily offering is slaughtered only at six and a half?

And the Gemara rejects Rav Yosef’s objection, for, on the contrary, one should wonder about Rav Yosef:

And what is the difficulty?

Perhaps

perhaps Abraham indeed prayed the afternoon prayer from midday. But nevertheless, concerning offering the daily offering, the walls of the Temple must darken, for the daily offering is offered there, since

the walls of the Temple

only

at

the

sixth and a half hour begin to darken,

and not earlier,

because they are not very well aligned,

because they are not completely straight, since they made them broad below and narrow above.

Therefore, even at midday, when the sun is above every person’s head, the walls are still illuminated by the sunlight, since the edge of the top of a wall such as this does not cast shade upon its sides. Only at six and a half, when the sun inclines toward the west, does the eastern side of the walls become dark.

Alternatively,

it is possible to answer in another way: even though Abraham prayed the afternoon prayer from midday, it is impossible to learn from Abraham our father to pray and offer the daily offering from midday.

For

different

he is

Abraham

from other people, since

great astrological knowledge was in his heart.

He possessed great knowledge of the wisdom of astrology [the wisdom of the movement of the stars and constellations], and knew how to calculate the hours of the day precisely; he need not fear that he might err and pray the afternoon prayer before midday.

But as for other people, the Sages did not permit them to pray precisely at midday, when the walls darken, because they were concerned that if they permitted them to pray at midday, they would err and pray earlier [Ritva]. And for this reason they also did not permit the daily offering to be slaughtered before six and a half.

Alternatively,

it is possible to answer in yet another way:

One cannot learn from Abraham to pray and offer the daily offering from midday onward,

because he was an elder,

a sage,

and was one who sat in the academy,

he taught Torah in the academy [according to the Maharsha], and the Divine Presence was with him [Rabbenu Hananel]. That is, he had heavenly assistance not to err. And from where did we learn that Abraham was an elder and sat in the academy?

For Rabbi Hama, son of Rabbi Hanina, said: From the days of our forefathers, the academy never departed from them:

They were in Egypt—

the academy was with them.

As it is stated

[in Exodus 13], that the Lord said to Moses in Egypt:

“Go and gather the elders of Israel.”

And these elders of Israel are the sages of Israel, because “elder” means none other than one who acquired wisdom [the Ritva below].

They were in the wilderness, the academy was with them, as it is stated: “Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel.”

Abraham our father—

was an elder and sat in the academy.

And as

it is stated:

[Genesis 24]

“And Abraham was old, advanced in days.”

And “elder” means one who acquired wisdom.

Isaac our father -

was old and sat in the yeshiva.

As it is stated: [

Genesis 27]

“And it came to pass when Isaac was old.”

Jacob our father -

was old and sat in the yeshiva.

As it is stated: [

Genesis 27]

“And the eyes of Israel had become dim from old age.”

Eliezer, Abraham’s servant -

was old and sat in the yeshiva.

As it is stated: [

Genesis 24]

“And Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household [

he is Eliezer]

who ruled over all that was his.”

And they expounded: what is the meaning of “who ruled over all that was his”?

Rabbi Elazar said: that he ruled [

was proficient]

in the Torah of

Abraham

his master.

And it is stated further concerning Eliezer: [Genesis 15] “And the son of the steward of my household

is he—Dammesek Eliezer.”

And

Rabbi Elazar said: “Dammesek” is an expression formed by initials:

the one who draws out and gives to others to drink from his master’s Torah.

“he draws out and gives to others from the Torah of his master.”

Rav said: Abraham our father fulfilled

the

entire Torah.

As it is stated: [

Genesis 26]

“Because Abraham listened to My voice

and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My Torahs.”

Rav Shimi bar Hiyya said to Rav:

From where is it known that the verse is speaking about the entire Torah?

And say

that it is stated only concerning

the seven commandments

of the descendants of Noah alone!?

And we raise a difficulty concerning Rav Shimi bar Hiyya’s question:

but there is also

for there is also the commandment of

circumcision

with which Abraham our father was commanded! If so, how did Rav Shimi say, “And say: only seven commandments”? [Maharsha]

Rather, necessarily, this is what Rav Shimi bar Hiyya asked:

And say

that Abraham our father fulfilled

seven commandments and circumcision

alone!

He said to him

Rav by way of an answer:

if

it is

so -

“My commandments and My Torahs”—why do I need this? [

If he fulfilled only the seven commandments, why is it also stated that he fulfilled “My Torahs”?]

Rava said, and some say [

and some say]

Rav Ashi: Abraham our father fulfilled even the joining of cooked foods,

which is rabbinic.

As it is stated, “My Torahs,”

in the plural, meaning two Torahs:

one, the Written Torah, and one, the Oral Torah.

We learned in the Mishna: If the time of the slaughter had arrived, the one who sees says, “It has dawned.”

Matya ben Shmuel says:

the entire eastern face has become illuminated as far as Hebron,

and he says, “Yes.”

And the Gemara assumes that since in the words of the first tanna it is stated that the one who sees says, “It has dawned,” it follows that Matya ben Shmuel is also speaking about the one who sees, and holds that the one who sees says, “The eastern face has become illuminated as far as Hebron.”

And concerning this Matya ben Harash continued and said: “And he says, ‘Yes.’”

And we consider it:

who

who is the one who

said, “Yes”?

If you say it is the one who is standing on the roof,

if we say that the one who saw, who was standing on the roof, is the one who said “Yes,” this is difficult: [

And the Gemara expresses itself with a proverbial expression:] Is

he,

the same person who

dreams,

dreamed a dream,

and he

himself will be the one who

interprets [

solves it]?!

And the analogy is: is the one who asked whether the east had become illuminated himself going to answer his question, “Yes”?

Rather,

if you say

it is the one who is standing on the ground,

that the one standing on the ground is the one who answered “Yes.” That is, the one who saw asked whether the eastern face had become illuminated, and the one standing on the ground answered, “Yes.”

If so, this is difficult:

from where

did the one standing on the ground

know

that the east had become illuminated?

And we answer:

if you wish, say

if you wish, explain and say:

it is the one who is standing on the ground,

the one standing on the ground said “Yes.”

And if you wish, say

and if you wish, say:

it is the one who is standing on the roof,

the one standing on the roof said “Yes.”

And the Gemara explains:

If you wish, say: it is the one who is standing on the roof

who said “Yes”—and this is its explanation:

he said,

the one standing on the roof said:

“The entire eastern face has become illuminated!”

And the one who is standing on the ground said to him,

the one standing on the ground asked him: Has it become illuminated

as far as Hebron

?

And he said to him,

the one standing on the roof:

“Yes.”

And if you wish, say: it is the one who is standing on the ground

who said “Yes,” and this is its explanation:

He said,

the one standing on the ground asked: Has

the entire eastern face become illuminated?

And he said to him,

the one standing on the roof answered him: It has become illuminated

as far as Hebron.

And he said to him,

the one standing on the ground

“Yes!”

That is sufficient, for this is what I am asking [Ritva in the name of Rashi].

We learned in the Mishna:

And why did they need this [

to ascend to the roof and see]? Once the light of the moon rose, and they thought that the east had become illuminated, they slaughtered the daily offering and took it out to the house of burning.

And we raise a difficulty:

is there confusion?

Is it possible to err and confuse the light of the moon with the light of the sun?!

But it was taught

and after all we learned in a beraita:

Rabbi says: the column of the moon

a column of light rising like a date palm from the moon

does not resemble the column of the sun.

The column of the moon -

rises like a date palm,

straightens itself

and ascends like a staff.

Whereas

the column of the sun

does not straighten itself and does not illuminate only opposite the sun; rather it

bursts forth,

breaks through and splits

this way and that,

and also illuminates on the sides.

If so, how did they err between the light of the sun and the light of the moon?

And we answer:

the school of Rabbi Ishmael’s tanna said: it was a cloudy day,

that day, and the light of the moon could not illuminate opposite it in a straight line, because of the clouds standing before it,

and it burst forth,

and broke through and split, the column of the moon, through the openings between the clouds,

this way and that

in many places. Therefore they erred and thought that this was the light of the sun.

Rav Pappa said: learn from this,

we learn from the beraita that

a cloudy day

a cloudy day is

entirely sunlight!

The sun shines everywhere, even in a place where, on a clear day, it does not shine there [Ritva].

Just as the light of the moon splits on a cloudy day this way and that, so too the sun cannot illuminate directly against it on a cloudy day; rather, the light spreads out and breaks through between one cloud and another, in every opening between them.

And we consider it:

what practical difference does it make?

And we answer:

for spreading out hides!

For it is possible to dry hides on a cloudy day everywhere.

Alternatively,

the practical difference

is for

such as this

that Rava expounded:

A woman may not knead

dough for the matzot of Passover

in the sun, nor in water heated by the sun,

in hot water that was heated by the sun, lest the dough become leavened because of the heat.

And since we have learned that a cloudy day is entirely sunlight, it follows that it is forbidden to knead the matzot in any place that is opposite the sun throughout that expanse [Ritva].

Rav Nahman said,

two matters concerning the rays of the sun:

a.

the heat of the sun,

the heat of a cloudy day,

is harsher than the sun,

is harsher than the heat of the sun itself.

And your sign is: a vinegar jar.

A jug of vinegar whose mouth is tightly sealed so that its smell does not dissipate, and when a small hole is made in its stopper, a very strong smell emerges from it.

And similarly on a cloudy day, the sun is covered and its heat is confined, and it passes forcefully and heats through the hole in the clouds.

b.

the rays of the sun -

are harsher than the sun!

The rays of sunlight that enter through the hole in the clouds [according to Rabbeinu Hananel], one who looks at them is dazzled. Therefore those rays of the sun are harsher for him than the dazzling of the sun itself.

And your sign is: a leaky roof.

Rain falling on a person troubles him more than if he entered entirely into water.