Yoma 38b — the Talmud in English

And

the money that they give you is not a gift from their money, but

from your own.

From the money designated for you from Heaven

they will give you.

For

no person touches what is prepared for his fellow, and no kingdom

whose time to fall has arrived

touches

a kingdom designated for

its fellow, even by the measure of a hairsbreadth

[the smallest possible measure].

We learned in the Mishna:

Hugras ben Levi

knew a section of song but did not wish to teach it.

It was taught in a beraita: When he would give forth his voice with melody,

he

would put his thumb

[his thumb]

into his mouth, and place his finger between the strings

[the vocal cords ]

until his fellow kohanim would start up

—would recoil

with a start

[suddenly. Meiri]

backward.

We learned in the Mishna: Ben Kamtzar did not wish to teach about the craft of writing. The Gemara brings a beraita that explains what the craft of writing was.

The Sages taught:

Ben Kamtzar did not wish to teach about the craft of writing.

[And what was the craft of writing?]

It was said about him that he would take four pens

in the spaces

between the fingers

of one of his hands,

and if there was

before him

a word of four letters, he would write it all at once

[and through this he was able to write the four letters of the Name all at once ].

The Sages said to him: What did you see that you did not wish to teach

this craft to others?

All of them

all the people enumerated in our Mishna

found an answer for their words

[for they feared that unsuitable people might learn their craft and use it in honor of idolatry], whereas

Ben Kamtzar did not find an answer

to explain

his words

—why he refused to teach his craft to others.

And the beraita concludes:

Concerning the first ones

mentioned in the preceding Mishna [Ben Gamla, Ben Katin, Munbaz, and Helena]

it is stated

[in Proverbs 10]:

“The memory of the righteous is for blessing.”

And concerning Ben Kamtzar and his companions

[Bet Garmu, Bet Avtinas, and Hugras ben Levi]

it is stated

[there]:

“And the name of the wicked shall rot.”

For although they answered the Sages, the Sages did not accept their answer. [Based on Rambam’s commentary on the Mishna ].

And we explain:

What

is the meaning of the verse:

“And the name of the wicked shall rot”?

Rabbi Elazar said: Rot

rust that rises on an iron vessel that is not used

shall rise upon their names,

for just as a vessel that has rust is a sign that it is not used, so too the name of the wicked—

we do not raise it in names.

People should not name their sons after the names of the wicked.

Ravina raised an objection

a contradiction to the words of Rabbi Elazar:

It was taught in a beraita:

There was an incident involving Doeg ben Yosef, whom his father left

as an orphan while he was

a small child, to his mother.

Every day his mother would measure him in handbreadths

to check how much he had grown since the previous day, and she would estimate the weight of the increase,

and give

its

weight in gold to the Temple. And when the

enemy

grew strong

and there was famine in Jerusalem,

she slaughtered him and ate him.

And Jeremiah lamented over her

[Lamentations 2:20]: “

Is

it fitting that

women should eat their own fruit, the

children of tender care?”

And in the continuation of the verse

the holy spirit responds and says: “

Is

it fitting that

a

koen and prophet should be killed in the Sanctuary of the Lord

[for you killed Zechariah ben Jehoiada the koen, who was also a prophet]?” And because of the killing of a koen and prophet in the Sanctuary of the Lord, you were punished, so that women ate their own fruit, the children of tender care.

And it is brought in the beraita that there was a child called Doeg ben Yosef, after Doeg the Edomite, who was wicked. And this is a contradiction to the words of Rabbi Elazar, who said that one does not call a child by the name of a wicked person!

And we answer:

See

—see

what became of him

—what happened to that child, whose end was that he was slaughtered .

The Gemara brings a statement of Rabbi Elazar concerning the verse cited above: “The memory of the righteous is for blessing, and the name of the wicked shall rot.”

Rabbi Elazar said: A righteous person

is remembered for good

from

the good deeds that he performed by

himself, and a wicked person

is remembered for evil even

from

the deeds of

his fellow

the wicked person,

And from where did we learn this?

A righteous person

is remembered for good

from

his own deeds:

for it is written: “The memory of the righteous is for blessing,”

[in the singular].

And a wicked person

is remembered for evil even

from

the deeds of

his fellow: for it is written: “And the name of the wicked shall rot,”

and it does not say, “The name of a wicked person shall rot.” This teaches you that even through his wicked companions the wicked person is remembered for evil.

Ravina said to one of the Sages

[to that student]

who was arranging aggadic teachings before him

[who was arranging the teachings of the Sages before him]:

From where is this matter that the Sages said

[from where is this matter that the Sages said]

“The memory of the righteous is for blessing”?

He said to him,

his student:

For indeed

for

it is written

in Proverbs:

“The memory of the righteous is for blessing”!

Ravina answered him: This is what I intended to ask:

from the Torah—

from where do we know it,

where is this matter hinted at in the Torah? [For there is nothing that Moses did not hint at in the Torah. Tosafot Yeshanim].

His student answered him:

For it is written

[Genesis 18:17]:

“And the Lord said: Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing”

[to Sodom]?

And

once He mentioned Abraham, He blessed him, as

it is written

in the continuation [verse 18]:

“And Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation.”

Ravina asked his student another question:

From where is this matter that the Sages said

[from where is this matter that the Sages said]:

“The name of the wicked shall rot”?

He said to him,

his student:

For indeed

for

it is written

in Proverbs:

“And the name of the wicked shall rot.”

Ravina answered him: This is what I intended to ask:

From the Torah, from where do we know it,

where is this matter hinted at in the Torah?

His student answered him:

For it is written

[Genesis 18:12] concerning Lot:

“And he pitched his tent

[he spread his tents]

toward Sodom,” and

once he mentioned Sodom, he mentioned its evil, for

it is written

in the continuation [verse 13]:

“And the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.”

The Gemara analyzed above the change in wording in the verse: “The memory of the righteous is for blessing, and the name of the wicked shall rot.” Righteous is stated in the singular, while wicked is stated in the plural. And here the Gemara brings an additional hint alluded to in this verse. Based on the Maharsha .

Rabbi Elazar said:

We find

a righteous person who

who

dwelt among two wicked people and did not learn from their deeds

the wicked ones [and the verse hinted at him: It mentioned “righteous” for blessing, because he dwelt among the “wicked” [and did not learn from them. Maharsha]. And likewise we find

a wicked person who

who

dwelt among two righteous people and did not learn from their deeds

the good ones.

And Rabbi Elazar explains his words:

A righteous person who

who

dwelt among two wicked people and did not learn from their deeds,

this is

Obadiah,

the prophet who dwelt among Ahab and Jezebel and did not abandon his righteousness [Kings I 18].

A wicked person who

who

dwelt among two righteous people and did not learn from their deeds, this is Esau,

who dwelt among Isaac and Rebecca and did not learn from their good deeds [Rav Hai].

In connection with having learned here several statements of Rabbi Elazar in aggada, the Gemara brings additional statements of Rabbi Elazar in aggada [most of them concerning the righteous and the wicked whom we discussed above].

And Rabbi Elazar said: From

the place where we learned in Scripture

the blessing of

the

righteous,

in that same place

you learn

that the Holy One, blessed is He, cursed

the wicked with a curse.

And

likewise

from

the place where we learned in Scripture

the curse of the wicked,

in that same place

you learn

that the Holy One, blessed is He, blessed

the righteous with a blessing.

And Rabbi Elazar explains his words: What I said,

“From the blessing of the righteous you learn”

in that same place

a curse for the wicked—

where do we find this matter?

For it is written

[Genesis 18:19] concerning Abraham:

“For I have known him, to the end that he may command

his sons ... and they shall keep the way of the Lord ... so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He has spoken concerning him.” Behold, a blessing for the righteous [for Abraham].

And it is written immediately afterward

after it [in verse 20]:

“And the Lord said: The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great

and their sin is very grievous.”

And what I said [Rabbi Elazar] above:

“And from the curse of the wicked you learn

in that same place

a blessing for the wicked”

—where do we find this matter?

For it is written

[Genesis 13:13]:

“And the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.”

Behold, the curse of the wicked.

And afterward [in verses 14–15] it is stated:

“And the Lord said to Abram after Lot had separated from him:

Raise your eyes ... for all the land that you see, to you I shall give it and to your seed forever.” Behold, a blessing for the righteous [for Abraham].

The Gemara brings another statement of Rabbi Elazar in aggada:

And Rabbi Elazar said: Even for the sake of one righteous person

the

world was created.

As it is stated [Genesis 1]:

“And God saw the light, that it was good.” And

only a

righteous person is called

“good,”

[Isaiah 3:10], as it is stated:

“Say

its praise

to the righteous, for he is good.”

And according to this, the verse should be explained as follows: “And God saw [that it is fitting to preserve] the light, because [for the sake of the righteous, who is called] good.”

The Gemara brings another statement of Rabbi Elazar in aggada:

And Rabbi Elazar said: Anyone who forgets a matter from his learning

[through his laziness and despair. Meiri],

causes exile for his sons.

As it is stated

[Hosea 4]:

“For you have forgotten the Torah of your God

—therefore,

I too shall forget your sons.”

Rabbi Abbahu said:

One who forgets a matter from his learning

is demoted from his greatness.

As it is stated

[Hosea, there]:

“For you

[the]

knowledge have rejected,

[therefore] I shall reject you from serving as My koen.”

The Gemara brings another statement in aggada, concerning the righteous:

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: No righteous person departs from the world until a righteous person like him has been created.

As it is stated

[Ecclesiastes 1]:

“And the sun rises and the sun sets”

[the sun here is an appellation for the righteous person].

And likewise we find that

before the sun of Eli had set, the sun of Samuel rose.

And

further

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi

Yohanan: The Holy One, blessed is He, saw that the righteous are few; He arose and planted them in every generation and generation.

As it is stated

[Samuel I 2]:

“For to the Lord belong the foundations of the earth

[the righteous]

and He set

[established and maintained]

the world upon them.”

From here, the world exists through the righteous; therefore, the Holy One, blessed is He, dispersed them throughout all the generations, to sustain the world.

And he added and

said: Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: Even for the sake of one righteous person the world endures.

As it is stated

[Proverbs 10]:

“And a righteous person

[one]

is the foundation of the world.”

Rabbi Hiyya

bar Abba

himself

on his own

said:

What Rabbi Yohanan said—that even for the sake of one righteous person the world endures—can be learned

from here

[from here]:

As it is stated

[Samuel I 2]:

“He guards the feet of His pious ones.”

And the meaning of the verse is: For the feet of His pious ones [because of His pious ones],

He guards—the Lord—the world.

And we raise an objection: behold,

“His pious one”—

much

more

indicates, and not only one righteous person!

, and not merely one righteous person!

Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak said: “His pious one” is written

(“His pious one” is written, and “His pious ones” is read. And they expound from the written form “His pious one,” which is in the singular language).

And Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yohanan said

another exposition from the aforementioned verse:

Once they have passed

[gone by]

most of the years of

the

person and he did not sin, again

[from then onward]

he does not sin.

As it is stated: “He will guard the feet of His pious ones.”

And the meaning of the verse is as follows: “the feet of His pious ones”—the end of His pious ones [the end of their lives]—“He will guard,” from sinning [the end is called here “foot,” like the foot, which is the end of the body].

The school of Rav Shila say

another exposition from this verse:

Once there came into his hand

of a person

a matter of transgression for the first and second time, and he does not sin. Again

[from then onward]

he does not sin.

As it is stated: “He will guard the feet of His pious ones.”

And so is the meaning of the verse: “the feet of His pious ones”—when a person acted with piety two times [and “foot” means a time, as it is stated in Numbers 22, “three times,” and its meaning is three times]—He will guard him from sin.

And similar to the words of the school of Rav Shila [that God guards His pious ones from sinning], Reish Lakish also said:

Reish Lakish said: What is the meaning of that which is written

what is the meaning of the verse [Proverbs 3]:

“If he concerns himself with scorners, He will scorn him, but to the humble He will give grace”?

One who

comes to become impure

[to go on the path of impurity]—they do not assist him from Heaven to become impure. Rather, they only

open for him

the possibility of doing as he wishes.

But the one who

comes to purify

[to go on the pure path]—

they assist

help

him

from Heaven.

And so is the meaning of the verse: If a person comes to attach himself to scorners, “he” himself will scorn, and they will not assist him from Heaven.

But to the humble—“He will give grace,” [He will give it]—the One who has it in His power to give grace, namely, the Holy One, blessed is He.

The tanna of the school of Rabbi Ishmael

[gave] a parable for the words of Reish Lakish.

A parable to a person who was selling naphtha

whose smell is bad,