חולין 60 — Soncino English Talmud

¹‘I will see him’. He went and placed the Emperor facing the sun during the summer solstice and said to him, ‘Look up at it’. He replied: ‘I cannot’. Said R. Joshua, ‘If at the sun which is but one of the ministers that attend the Holy One, blessed be He, you cannot look, how then can you presume to look upon the divine presence’! On another occasion the Emperor said to R. Joshua b. Hananiah, ‘I wish to prepare a banquet for your God’. He replied: ‘You could not undertake it’. ‘Why’? ‘Because his attendants are too numerous’. ‘Indeed, I will do it’. ‘Then go and prepare it on the spacious banks of Rebitha’. He [the Emperor] spent the six months of summer in making preparations when a tempest arose and swept everything into the sea. He then spent the six months of winter in making preparations when rain fell and washed everything into the sea. ‘What is [the meaning of] this’? asked the Emperor. ‘They are but the sweepers and sprinklers that march before him’! ‘In that case’, said the Emperor, ‘I cannot do it’. The Emperor's daughter once said to R. Joshua b. Hananiah, ‘Your God is a carpenter, for it is written: Who layeth the beams of His upper chambers in the waters. Ask him to make for me a spool!’ He replied: ‘Very well’. He prayed for her and she was smitten with leprosy. She was then removed to the open square of Rome and was given a spool. (For so it was the custom in Rome, whoever was smitten with leprosy was given a spool and removed to the open square, and was given skeins to wind, so that people may see them and pray for their recovery). One day as R. Joshua was passing he saw her sitting in the open square of Rome and winding the skeins on to the spool. He remarked: ‘My God has given you a beautiful spool’! She said: ‘I pray you, ask your God to take back what He has given me’. He replied: ‘Our God grants a request, but [when granted] never takes it back’. Rab Judah said: An ox has a large belly, large hoofs, a large head and a long tail; an ass has just the reverse. What is the point of this? — For commercial transactions. Rab Judah further said: The bullock which Adam sacrificed had but one horn in its forehead, as it is said: And it shall please the Lord better than a bullock that hath horns [makrin] and hoofs’. But does not makrin imply two horns? — R. Nahman said: Mkrn is written. Rab Judah further said: The bullock which Adam sacrificed had fully developed horns before it had hoofs, as it is said: ‘And it shall please the Lord better than a bullock that hath horns and hoofs’; the verse first says: ‘that hath horns’ and then ‘hoofs’. This supports R. Joshua b. Levi, who said: All the animals of the creation were created in their full-grown stature, with their consent, and according to the shape of their own choice, for it is written: And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them read not zeba'am but zibyonam. R. Hanina b. Papa expounded: May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; let the Lord rejoice in His works! This verse was said by the Angel of the Universe. For when the Holy One, blessed be He, enjoined after its kind upon the trees, the plants applied unto themselves an a fortiori argument, saying: ‘If the Holy One, blessed be He, desired a motley growth, why did He enjoin "after its kind" upon the trees? Moreover, is there not here an a fortiori argument? If upon trees which by nature do not grow up in a motley growth the Holy One, blessed be He, enjoined "after its kind", how much more so does it apply to us’! Immediately each plant came forth after its kind. Thereupon the Angel of the Universe declared: ‘May the glory of the Lord endure for ever: let the Lord rejoice in His works!’ Rabina propounded the question: If a man grafted one plant on to another,^ᵃ^ᵇ^ᶜ^ᵈ^ᵉ^ᶠ^ᵍ^ʰ^ⁱ^ʲ^ᵏ^ˡ

^ᵃnote:The name of a river; v. however, Neub. Geog. p. 277-8, where it is suggested that the correct text is ‘on the shore of the Great Sea’. V. D.S.
^ᵇnote:Ps. CIV, 3.
^ᶜnote:I.e., one who is about to purchase an ox or an ass should look for these particular qualities in the ox and the reverse in the ass.
^ᵈnote:Ps. LXIX, 32. Heb. ihren; so according to traditional reading. The verse alludes to the sacrifice offered by Adam.
^ᵉnote:iren The word is written defectively without the ‘yod’, and this suggests the peculiarity of a single horn, as the word may be read iren
^ᶠnote:Which is just the reverse of the natural development in the bullock. Since the full-grown animal was brought forth from the ground (Gen. I 24) in an upright stature (v. infra) its horns obviously appeared first and then its hoofs.
^ᵍnote:Gen. II, 1.
^ʰnote:otcm, ‘the host of them’.
^ⁱnote:obuhcm. The three ideas of the text are suggested by the slight variations and different meanings of the originals word otcm: (i) from the root cmb, meaning upstanding, full-grown; (ii) from hcm, meaning desire, consent; and (iii) from iuhcm meaning pleasure, choice. V. R.H. 11a.
^ʲnote:Ps. CIV, 31.
^ᵏnote:The angel Metatron, v. Tosaf. ad loc.
^ˡnote:Gen. I, 11. This phrase is stated in connection with the trees but not with plants.

²what would be the law according to the view of R. Hanina b. Papa? Since ‘after its kind’ is not expressly stated with regard to plants one should not be liable; or, seeing that the Lord approved of their action, it is regarded as if ‘after its kind’ were expressly stated [and one would be liable]. The question remains undecided. R. Simeon b. Pazzi pointed out a contradiction [between verses]. One verse says: And God made the two great lights, and immediately the verse continues: The greater light . . . and the lesser light. The moon said unto the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Is it possible for two kings to wear one crown’? He answered: ‘Go then and make thyself smaller’. ‘Sovereign of the Universe’! cried the moon, ‘Because I have suggested that which is proper must I then make myself smaller’? He replied: ‘Go and thou wilt rule by day and by night’. ‘But what is the value of this’? cried the moon; ‘Of what use is a lamp in broad daylight’? He replied: ‘Go. Israel shall reckon by thee the days and the years’. ‘But it is impossible’, said the moon, ‘to do without the sun for the reckoning of the seasons, as it is written: And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years’. ‘Go. The righteous shall be named after thee as we find, Jacob the Small, Samuel the Small, David the Small’, On seeing that it would not be consoled the Holy One, blessed be He, said: ‘Bring an atonement for Me for making the moon smaller’. This is what was meant by R. Simeon b. Lakish when he declared: Why is it that the he-goat offered on the new moon is distinguished in that there is written concerning it unto the Lord? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let this he-goat be an atonement for Me for making the moon smaller. R. Assi pointed out a contradiction [between verses]. One verse says: And the earth brought forth grass, referring to the third day, whereas another verse when speaking of the sixth day says: No shrub of the field was yet in the earth. This teaches us that the plants commenced to grow but stopped just as they were about to break through the soil, until Adam came and prayed for rain for them; and when rain fell they sprouted forth. This teaches you that the Holy One, blessed be He, longs for the prayers of the righteous. R. Nahman b. Papa had a garden and he sowed in it seeds but they did not grow. He prayed; immediately rain came and they began to grow. That, he exclaimed, is what R. Assi had taught. R. Hanan b. Raba said: The shesu'ah is a specific creature that has two backs and two spinal columns. Was Moses a hunter or an archer? This refutes those who maintain that the Torah was not divinely revealed. R. Hisda said to R. Tahlifa b. Abina, ‘Go, write down the words for "hunter" and "archer" in your homiletic note-book and explain them so’. It is written: The five lords of the Philistines: the Gazite and the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite and the Ekronite; also the Avvim. The verse says five but enumerates six! — R. Jonathan said: Their overlords were five in number. R. Hisda said to R. Tahlifa b. Abina, ‘Write down the word for "overlord" in your homiletic notebook and explain it so’. This interpretation differs from Rab's view, for Rab had declared that the Avvim originally came from Teman. There is also a Baraitha in support of this, viz., The Avvim originally came from Teman, and were named Avvim because they laid waste [‘iwwethu] their home. Another interpretation: They were named Avvim because they longed for [‘iwwu] many gods. A further interpretation: They were named Avvim because whosoever looked at them was seized with trembling [‘awwith]. R. Joseph said: Every one of them had sixteen rows of teeth. R. Simeon b. Lakish said: There are many verses which to all appearances ought to be burnt but are really essential elements in the Torah. [E.g.] It is written: And the Avvim that dwelt in villages as far as Gaza. In what way does this concern us? Inasmuch as Abimelech adjured Abraham saying: Thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let the Kaphtorim come and take away the land from the Avvim, who are philistines, and then Israel may come and take it away from the Kaphtorim. Similarly you must explain the verse: For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the King of the Amorites, who had fought against the former King of Moab. In what way does this concern us? Inasmuch as the Holy One, blessed be He, had commanded Israel: Be not at enmity with Moab, He therefore said: Let Sihon come and take away the land from Moab and then Israel may come and take it from Sihon. This, indeed, explains the saying of R. Papa, ‘Ammon and Moab were rendered clean [unto Israel] through Sihon’. Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion and the Amorites call it Senir. A Tanna taught: Senir and Sirion are mountains in the land of Israel; this verse, however, teaches us that every one of the nations of the world went and built for itself a large city naming it after a mountain of the land of Israel, thus teaching you that even the mountains of the land of Israel are dear to the nations of the world. In another instance it is written: And as for the people, he removed them city by city. In what way does this concern us? — In order that his brothers be not called strangers. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF BIRDS ARE NOT STATED. Are they not? But it has been taught: [It is written,] The eagle,^ᵐ^ⁿ^ᵒ^ᵖ^ᵠ^ʳ^ˢ^ᵗ^ᵘ^ᵛ^ʷ^ˣ^ʸ^ᶻ^ᵃᵃ^ᵃᵇ^ᵃᶜ^ᵃᵈ^ᵃᵉ^ᵃᶠ^ᵃᵍ^ᵃʰ^ᵃⁱ^ᵃʲ^ᵃᵏ^ᵃˡ^ᵃᵐ^ᵃⁿ^ᵃᵒ^ᵃᵖ^ᵃᵠ

^ᵐnote:The expression ‘after its kind’ suggests separateness and so implies a prohibition against grafting one kind on to another. Since, however, this is not expressly stated with reference to plants, but they acted so merely of their own accord, it is doubtful therefore whether there is with regard to plants an implied prohibition against grafting.
^ⁿnote:Gen. I, 16.
^ᵒnote:Ibid. 14.
^ᵖnote:Righteous men shall be named ‘the Small’ after the moon which was reduced to become the small luminary.
^ᵠnote:Cf. Amos VII, 2: How shall Jacob stand? for he is small.
^ʳnote:A renowned Tanna of the first century, called ‘the Small’ on account of his humility.
^ˢnote:Cf. I Sam. XVII, 14: And David was the youngest (smallest).
^ᵗnote:Num. XXVIII, 15: And a he-goat for a sin-offering unto the Lord. These words, ‘unto the Lord’, are not found in connection with sacrifices on other festive seasons.
^ᵘnote:Gen. I, 12.
^ᵛnote:Gen. II, 5.
^ʷnote:V. Deut. XIV, 7. According to Rabbinic tradition the word vguxav, which in the E.V. is translated as ‘cloven’, is the name of a specific creature with the Peculiarities here stated.
^ˣnote:For Moses could not of his own knowledge have described the various animals mentioned in the Torah, nor could he have known so well the nature of them all.
^ʸnote:hdhbe from Gr. **, a hunter.
^ᶻnote:hryxhkc from ‘ballistarius’, one who attends to the catapult, an archer. R. Tahlifa was advised to note these words as foreign words.
^ᵃᵃnote:Josh. XIII, 3.
^ᵃᵇnote:heburt (there are many variations: MS.M. hebsust; Aruch hesbst; Musafia hebust) meaning chiefs, overlords. The etymology of the word is doubtful, v. Jast. and Aruch.
^ᵃᶜnote:They were not indigenous to Philistia but came from Teman (a region in the country of Edom) and settled with the Philistines.
^ᵃᵈnote:There is here a play upon the words ohug, Avvim, and u,ug or, as in some texts, uug, which means they destroyed or laid waste.
^ᵃᵉnote:uut, they desired.
^ᵃᶠnote:,hug, convulsions.
^ᵃᵍnote:In many MSS. are added the words ‘like the books of Miram’ or’ of minim’, i.e., heretics. These words were obviously struck out by the censor from the Present editions. As to ‘Miram’, v. Jastrow Dict. s.v. orhnv, p. 355.
^ᵃʰnote:Deut. II, 23.
^ᵃⁱnote:Gen. XXI, 23.
^ᵃʲnote:The Israelites, being bound by the oath of Abraham not to molest the Philistines, indirectly, however, gained possession of their land by dispossessing the Kaphtorim who had vanquished the Philistines.
^ᵃᵏnote:Num. XXI, 26.
^ᵃˡnote:Deut. II, 9.
^ᵃᵐnote:I.e., Israel by defeating Sihon indirectly got possession of the land of Ammon and Moab. V. Git. 38a; Sanh. 94b.
^ᵃⁿnote:Ibid. III, 9.
^ᵃᵒnote:Gen. XLVII, 21.
^ᵃᵖnote:For now the Egyptians too were rendered homeless, and were themselves strangers in the cities wherein Joseph had settled them.
^ᵃᵠnote:Lev. XI, 13 and Deut. XIV, 12. Heb. rab, usually translated ‘eagle’, but the griffon vulture or great vulture is probably intended. It must be observed that the identification of the various birds dealt with in this chapter is extremely doubtful and the suggestions made are merely tentative; v. Tosaf. infra 63a, s.v. .b. For the most part the identifications of Lewysohn, discussed in his work, Die Zoologie des Talmuds, have been adopted.