Yoma 75b — the Talmud in English

They asked appropriately for bread,

since it is impossible to do without it; therefore

it was given to them appropriately,

in the morning, so that they had time to prepare it.

From here the Torah teaches proper conduct: a person should eat meat only at night.

They raise an objection:

but didn’t Abaye say: When a person has a meal—

he should not eat it

he should eat it

except during the day!?

And we answer: He should eat it by the light of a torch, which is

like daylight—

that is what we are saying.

Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov said: At first, the Israelites were like

in their eating habits

like chickens, which peck

all day

in the refuse.

Until Moses came and established fixed mealtimes for them,

one in the morning and one in the evening.

The Gemara now explains that there is no contradiction between the verses concerning the quail:

In the Book of Numbers, in the section concerning the Graves of Desire [chapter 11, verse 33], the verse says:

“The meat was still between their teeth,

before it was cut off, and the Lord’s anger flared against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague.”

And

On the other hand,

it is written

earlier [in verse 20], where God promised Israel that they would eat the meat of the quail

for a full month.

How

can these two verses be reconciled?

Rather, this is what happened:

The ordinary people—

immediately,

at once

died.

The wicked

were

afflicted continuously for a full month.

The Gemara now explains the verse stated there, concerning the Graves of Desire:

“They gathered the quail. The one who gathered the least gathered ten heaps. And they spread them out around the camp.”

“And they spread them out”—

Reish Lakish said: Do not read the word “vayishtḥu”—

“—but rather

“vayishḥetu,” “and they slaughtered.”

This teaches

that the verse

that the enemies of Israel [a euphemistic expression referring to the Jewish people]

[a euphemistic expression referring to the people of Israel]

slaughter

because they asked for meat merely to satisfy their desire.

“Spread out”—

A tannaitic sage taught in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa: Do not read “shatu’aḥ,” “spread out,” but rather “shatuḥ,” “slaughtered.”

This teaches that

the quail that

descended for Israel together with the manna

was

something that requires ritual slaughter.

Rabbi said: Is it from here that you learn

that there is an obligation to ritually slaughter a bird?

But it was already stated [Psalms 78]:

[Psalms 78]

“He rained meat upon them like dust, and winged birds like the sand of the sea.”

Since this verse in Psalms makes clear that the quail mentioned in the Torah is a type of bird, it cannot be that the verse in the Torah came to teach that the quail requires ritual slaughter, because this matter is a law transmitted to Moses from Sinai.

And it was taught in a beraita, a tannaitic source not included in the Mishna, that Rabbi says: [Deuteronomy 12]

[Deuteronomy 12]

“You shall slaughter as I have commanded you”—

the wording

of the verse, “as I have commanded you,” although it does not explain how slaughter is performed,

teaches that Moses was commanded

orally

concerning

the slaughter of

the gullet, and concerning

the slaughter of

the windpipe, and concerning

the slaughter of

the majority

of one of the

two [the gullet or windpipe]

[the esophagus or the trachea]

organs in a bird, and concerning

the slaughter of

the majority of two

organs

in an animal.

Rather, what is the meaning of the word “spread out”?

It teaches that it descended for them

the quail onto the ground

in layers upon layers,

spread out in layers.

It is written [Exodus 16]: “I am going to rain for you

“[Exodus 16] “Behold, I am raining down for you

bread

from heaven.”

And it is written:

“Its taste was like the taste of rich cream,”

oil,

молочного»

and it is written:

“Its taste was like a wafer with

honey.”

».

How is this possible?

Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: For the young—

bread.

For the elderly—

oil.

For children—

honey.

Each one received the taste appropriate for him.

It is written “salav,” and it is read “salיו.”

Rabbi Ḥanina said: The righteous ate it peacefully; the wicked ate it, and it seemed to them like thorns,

thorns.

Rav Ḥanin bar Rava said: There are four types of quail, and these are they: shikhli, kibali, pasyoni, and salav.

The best of them all—

shikhli.

The poorest of them all—

salav.

It was like a small bird,

a small bird,

and they would place

and set

it

to roast it

in an oven.

And

because of its abundant fat, it would

swell

and become thick,

and it would fill the oven.

And they would place it

while it was dripping with fat

on thirteen loaves,

one loaf on top of another; and it was impossible to eat them because of the fat absorbed into them.

And

even the loaf that was

last [which was in fact eaten],

[which could in fact be eaten],

could not be eaten

by itself, since it too was full of fat,

but only when mixed with something else.

As for Rav Yehuda—

quail would be found for him,

quail birds would be provided to him from Heaven

between his barrels,

between his barrels.

As for Rav Ḥisda—

quail would be found for him among the wood,

in the place where the wood was kept.

Rava,

Rav Ḥisda’s student and son-in-law—

would have

brought to him

by his tenant-farmer every day,

quail from the field.

One day he did not bring any.

Rava said

Rava:

What is this,

that he did not bring quail today?

Rava went up

Rava

to the roof,

to the roof of his house,

and he heard a child

heard a small child

reciting

the verse in Habakkuk [chapter 3]:

“I heard—

and my belly trembled.”

Rava said

Rava:

Infer from this,

from the fact that they did not bring me quail today and from the verse that the child recited for me, that: א.

Rav Ḥisda has died. ב.

And

because

of my great teacher,

because of the merit of the teacher [Rav Ḥisda, Rava’s teacher],

the student was able to eat.

And now that Rav Ḥisda, who was my teacher, has died, I no longer have the merit to eat quail.

It is written [there, concerning the manna]:

[concerning the manna]

“When the layer of dew rose,

and behold, upon the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance.” This implies that the dew was above the manna.

But

on the other hand

it is written [Numbers 11]:

[Numbers 11]

“When the dew descended

upon the camp, the manna descended upon it.””

How is this possible?

Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: There was dew above and dew below,

with the manna in between,

so that it was like something placed in a box.

“A fine flaky substance.”

Reish Lakish said:

this is an abbreviated expression:

something that melts on the palm of the hand.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said:

this is an expression based on numerical value:

something that was absorbed

and did not leave the digestive tract

through the 248

limbs,

corresponding to the numerical value of “maḥasfas.”

And they ask: But the numerical value of

“maḥuspas”—

is much greater!

For altogether, it equals 254!?

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: “Maḥasfas”

is written without the letter vav,

as it is written.

The Sages taught:

It is stated in Psalms [chapter 78] concerning Moses our teacher:

“Man ate the bread of the mighty.”—

He ate

bread that the ministering angels eat; this is the statement of Rabbi Akiva.

When these words were reported to Rabbi Yishmael, he said to them: Go and tell Akiva: Akiva, you are mistaken!

Do the ministering angels eat bread?

But it was already stated

concerning Moses our teacher, that when he ascended on high and was among the angels [Deuteronomy 9]:

“I did not eat bread and I did not drink water.”

Rather, how do I understand

“bread”

“of the mighty”?—

Bread that was absorbed into the 248 limbs,

so that they did not need to relieve themselves.

Rather, how do I understand [Deuteronomy 23]

[Deuteronomy 23]

“You shall have a peg with you,

and when you sit outside, you shall dig with it, return, and cover your excrement”? Surely they did not pass excrement!

This was due to eating

things that merchants of the nations of the world sold to them.

Rabbi Elazar ben Parta says: Even things that merchants of the nations of the world sold to them were expelled by the manna,

and these too were absorbed into the limbs.

Rather, how do I understand “You shall have a peg with you”?

It was after they sinned.

The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: I had said that they would be like the ministering angels,

who do not need to relieve themselves.

Now,

since they complained about the manna, calling it “the vile bread”—

I will trouble them

to go outside the camp.

And one who went from the beginning of the camp to its end had to pass through the entire camp, whose length was

three parasangs.

As it is written [Numbers 33]:

[Numbers 33]

“They encamped by the Jordan, from Beth-HaYeshimot to Abel-Shittim.”

And Rabba bar bar Ḥana said: I myself saw that place, and it was three parasangs long.

And a tannaitic source taught: When they relieved themselves

outside the camp, behind the clouds,

they did not relieve themselves in front of them or to their sides

of the clouds, since perhaps the cloud and the Ark within it would move toward the direction in which they were relieving themselves, and they would find themselves inside the camp.

Rather,

they relieved themselves

behind them

of the clouds, since the clouds never moved backward. [Numbers 11]

[Numbers 11]

“And now our souls are dry; there is nothing.”

They said: This manna will eventually cause their bellies to swell. Is there anyone born of a woman who takes in food but does not excrete?

The Vilna Gaon deletes this passage:

When these words were reported to Rabbi Yishmael, he said to them: Do not read “avirim,” “mighty,” but rather “eivarim,” “limbs”—

something that was absorbed into the 248 limbs.

Rather, how do I understand, “You shall have a peg with you”?—

It refers to things that came to them from overseas.

The Vilna Gaon deletes the text up to this point.