חולין 91 — Soncino English Talmud

¹R. Ashi said: It can only refer to the fat thereof. For it was taught: The fat thereof is permitted, but Israel being a holy people have treated it as forbidden. Rabina said: It can only be explained according to the statement of Rab Judah in the name of Samuel. For Rab Judah said in the name of Samuel: It consists of two nerves, the inner, next the bone is forbidden and one is liable on account of it; the outer next to the flesh is forbidden but one is not liable on account of it. Come and hear: If a person ate an olive's bulk [of the sciatic nerve] of this [thigh] and another olive's bulk [of the sciatic nerve] of the other [thigh], he has incurred eighty stripes. R. Judah says: He has only incurred forty stripes. Now if you say that he was certain about it, then it is well; but if you say that he was in doubt about it, then the warning [with regard to each] was dubious, and we have heard that according to R. Judah a dubious warning is no warning. For it was taught: If he struck one and then struck the other, or if he cursed one and then cursed the other, or if he struck them both simultaneously, or if he cursed them both simultaneously, he is liable [to the death penalty]. R. Judah says: If simultaneously he is liable; if one after the other, he is not liable! — This Tanna [who expressed the view of R. Judah] is in agreement with that other Tanna who declares, also in the name of R. Judah, that a dubious warning is a warning. For it was taught: And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; [and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire]. Scripture here came and provided a positive precept as a remedy for the [disregarded] prohibition to indicate that the prohibition is not punishable by stripes: so R. Judah. R. Jacob says: This is not the reason for it, but because it is a prohibition which involves no action [in the contravention thereof], and any prohibition which involves no action [in the contravention thereof] is not punishable by stripes. Come and hear! If a person ate two [sciatic] nerves from two thighs of two animals, he has incurred eighty stripes. R. Judah says: He has only incurred forty stripes. Now since it says: ‘From two thighs of two animals’ it is obvious that the prohibited one of each is intended; and the case was necessary to be stated in order to set forth R. Judah's view; it follows therefore that he was certain about it. This stands proved. But if he [R. Judah] was certain about it why does he incur forty stripes and no more? Surely he should incur eighty! — We must suppose here that [in one alone] there was not as much as an olive's bulk. As it has been taught: If a person ate it and [the whole of] it was not as much as an olive's bulk, he is nevertheless liable [to stripes]. R. Judah says, [He is not liable] unless there is as much as an olive's bulk of it. And what is the reason? — Raba said: The verse says: The thigh, this implies the right thigh. And the Rabbis? — [They would say,] That [verse indicates that the prohibited nerve] is the one that is spread over the whole of the thigh, [namely, the inner one] but not the outer one. R. Joshua b. Levi said. [The reason is this,] The verse says. As he wrestled with him, [which suggests] as when a person locks another [in his arms] and his [right] hand reaches the hollow of that other's right thigh. R. Samuel b. Nahmani said: He appeared to him as a heathen, and the Master has said: If an Israelite is joined by a heathen on the way he should let him walk on his right. R. Samuel b. Aha said in the name of Raba b. Ulla in the presence of R. Papa: He appeared to him as one of the wise, and the Master has said: Whosoever walks at the right hand of his teacher is uncultured. And the Rabbis? [They say,] He [the angel] came from behind and dislocated both [thighs]. And how do these Rabbis interpret the verse: ‘As he wrestled with him’? — They interpret it as in the other statement of R. Joshua b. Levi. For R. Joshua b. Levi said, [This verse] teaches that they threw up the dust of their feet to the Throne of Glory, for it is written here, ‘As he wrestled [behe'abko] with him’ and it is written there. And, the clouds are the dust [‘abak] of his feet. R. Joshua b. Levi also said: Why is it [the sciatic nerve] called gid ha-nasheh? Because it slipped away [nashah] from its place and rose up; for so it is said: Their strength hath slipped away, they are become as women. R. Jose b. R. Hanina said: What is the meaning of the verse: The Lord sent a word unto Jacob and it hath lighted upon Israel? ‘The Lord sent a word unto Jacob’, that is the [injury to his] sciatic nerve; ‘and it hath lighted upon Israel’, for the prohibition thereof has spread throughout Israel. R. Jose b. R. Hanina also said: What is the meaning of the verse: And slaughter the animals and prepare the meat? ‘And slaughter the animals’, that is, uncover for them the place that has been slaughtered; ‘and prepare the meat’, that is, remove the sciatic nerve in their presence: this is in accordance with the view that the sciatic nerve was prohibited to the sons of Noah. And Jacob was left alone. Said R. Eleazar: He remained behind for the sake of some small jars. Hence [it is learnt] that to the righteous their money is dearer than their body; and why is this? Because they do not stretch out their hands to robbery. And there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. Said R. Isaac: Hence [it is learnt] that a scholar should not go out alone at night. R. Abba b. Kahana said, [You can derive it] from the verse,^ᵃ^ᵇ^ᶜ^ᵈ^ᵉ^ᶠ^ᵍ^ʰ^ⁱ^ʲ^ᵏ^ˡ^ᵐ^ⁿ^ᵒ^ᵖ^ᵠ^ʳ^ˢ^ᵗ^ᵘ^ᵛ^ʷ^ˣ^ʸ^ᶻ^ᵃᵃ^ᵃᵇ^ᵃᶜ^ᵃᵈ^ᵃᵉ^ᵃᶠ^ᵃᵍ^ᵃʰ

^ᵃnote:I.e., the fat around the sciatic nerve. In the Baraitha the term ‘nerves’ means this fat.
^ᵇnote:Consequently it is left over from the Paschal lamb, but since by the law of the Torah it may be eaten it must therefore be burnt as nothar.
^ᶜnote:Sc. the sciatic nerve.
^ᵈnote:To stripes.
^ᵉnote:The outer one therefore must be left over; yet it must also be burnt as nothar, since according to Biblical Law it is permitted.
^ᶠnote:I.e., he was warned against eating the nerve of the right thigh and was also separately warned against eating the nerve of the left thigh of the same animal (v. supra 82b).
^ᵍnote:He has incurred stripes for eating the nerve of the right thigh and the warning with regard to it was a warning against a certain prohibition.
^ʰnote:One in doubt as to which of two men is his father struck first one and then the other. V. supra 82b and notes thereon, p. 461.
^ⁱnote:For the warning with regard to each one when taken separately is a dubious warning, which is no warning, hence he is not liable.
^ʲnote:Ex. XII. 10. V. supra p. 462.
^ᵏnote:It is evident from this that R. Judah is of the opinion that a dubious warning — as here, for the offender can always render the warning futile by replying, ‘I have yet time to eat’ — is a proper warning, for the only reason here why the punishment of stripes is not inflicted is that the remedial measure provided by the Torah weakens the force of the prohibition.
^ˡnote:I.e., the right thigh of each animal, for otherwise it would have been sufficient to speak of the two thighs of the one animal.
^ᵐnote:That even though both are prohibited, for each is the nerve of the right thigh, he has incurred only forty stripes and no more. V. infra.
^ⁿnote:For if R. Judah were in doubt as to which was the prohibited thigh the punishment of stripes could not be inflicted at all.
^ᵒnote:For R. Judah's view that only that of the right thigh is prohibited.
^ᵖnote:Gen. XXXII, 33.
^ᵠnote:V. supra, the statement of Rab Judah in the name of Samuel, p. 000.
^ʳnote:V. p. 509, n. 6.
^ˢnote:Gen. XXXII. 26.
^ᵗnote:So it was with Jacob, and it was his right thigh only that was injured.
^ᵘnote:The angel appeared to Jacob.
^ᵛnote:A.Z. 25b. The Israelite should have his right hand nearest to the heathen so as to protect himself the more easily against a sudden attack from the heathen. So did Jacob act too; and the angel injured that thigh of Jacob which was nearest to him, i.e., the right thigh.
^ʷnote:Jacob regarding the angel as a scholar took his place at the left hand of the other and so was injured in his right thigh, the side nearest to the angel.
^ˣnote:Nahum I, 3.
^ʸnote:vabv shd.
^ᶻnote:Jer. LI, 30. The verb used is v,ab from vab, to slip away, to fail.
^ᵃᵃnote:Isa. IX, 7.
^ᵃᵇnote:Gen. XLIII. 16.
^ᵃᶜnote:To convince the sons of Jacob that the slaughtering was according to ritual.
^ᵃᵈnote:Ibid. XXXII, 25.
^ᵃᵉnote:He had already taken across that which he had (ibid. 24), but he must have returned for some small vessels.
^ᵃᶠnote:And whatever they acquire by their toil and honest dealing is therefore very dear to them.
^ᵃᵍnote:Ibid. XXXII. 25.
^ᵃʰnote:For Jacob was in danger only during the night, but with the break of day the danger was past.

²Behold he winnoweth barley tonight in the threshing floor. R. Abbahu said, [You can derive it] from the verse: And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass. The Rabbis say, [You can derive it] from the verse: Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren, and well with the flock. Rab says, [You can derive it] from the verse: And the sun rose upon him. R. Akiba said: I once asked R. Gamaliel and R. Joshua in the meatmarket of Emmaus where they had gone to buy a beast for the wedding feast of R. Gamaliel's son: It is written: And the sun rose upon him. Did the sun rise upon him only? Did it not rise upon the whole world? R. Isaac said: It means that the sun which had set for his sake now rose for him. For it is written: And Jacob went out from Beer-Sheba, and went toward Haran. And it is further written: And he lighted upon the place. When he reached Haran he said [to himself], ‘Shall I have passed through the place where my fathers prayed and not have prayed too?’ He immediately resolved to return, but no sooner had he thought of this than the earth contracted and he immediately lighted upon the place. After he prayed he wished to return [to where he was], but the Holy One, blessed be He said: ‘This righteous man has come to my habitation; shall he depart without a night's rest?’ Thereupon the sun set. It is written: And he took of the stones of the place; but it is also written: And he took the stone! — R. Isaac said: This tells us that all the stones gathered themselves together into one place and each one said: ‘Upon me shall this righteous man rest his head’. Thereupon all [the stones], a Tanna taught, were merged into one. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth. A Tanna taught: What was the width of the ladder? Eight thousand parasangs. For it is written: And behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. At least two were ascending and two descending, and when they met each other [on the ladder] there were four; and of an angel it is written: His body was like the Tarshish, and we have a tradition that the Tarshish is two thousand parasangs long. A Tanna taught: They ascended to look at the image above and descended to look at the image below. They wished to hurt him, when Behold, the Lord stood beside him. R. Simeon b. Lakish said: Were it not expressly stated in the Scripture, we would not dare to say it. [God is made to appear] like a man who is fanning his son. The land whereon thou liest, [to thee will I give it, and to thy seed]. What is the greatness of this? — Said R. Isaac: This teaches us that the Holy One, blessed be He, rolled up the whole of the land of Israel and put it under our father Jacob, [to indicate to him] that it would be very easily conquered by his descendants. And he said: Let me go, for the day breaketh. [Jacob] said to him, ‘Are you a thief or a rogue that you are afraid of the morning?’ He replied: ‘I am an angel, and from the day that I was created my time to sing praises [to the Lord] had not come until now’. This supports the statement of R. Hananel in the name of Rab. For R. Hananel said in the name of Rab: Three divisions of ministering angels sing praises [to the Lord] daily; one proclaims: Holy, the other proclaims: Holy, and the third proclaims: Holy is the Lord of hosts. An objection was raised: Israel are dearer to the Holy One, blessed be He, than the ministering angels, for Israel sing praises to the Lord every hour, whereas the ministering angels sing praises but once a day. (Others say: Once a week; and others say: Once a month; and others say: Once a year; and others say: Once in seven years; and others say: Once in a jubilee; and others say: Once in eternity.) And whereas Israel mention the name of God after two words, as it is said: Hear, Israel, the Lord etc., the ministering angels only mention the name of God after three words, as it is written: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord of hosts. Moreover, the ministering angels do not begin to sing praises in heaven until Israel have sung below on earth, for it is said: When the morning stars sang together, then all the sons of God shouted for joy! — It must be this: One [division of angels] says: Holy; the other says: Holy, holy; and the third says: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord of hosts. But is there not the praise of ‘Blessed’? 22^ᵃⁱ^ᵃʲ^ᵃᵏ^ᵃˡ^ᵃᵐ^ᵃⁿ^ᵃᵒ^ᵃᵖ^ᵃᵠ^ᵃʳ^ᵃˢ^ᵃᵗ^ᵃᵘ^ᵃᵛ^ᵃʷ^ᵃˣ^ᵃʸ^ᵃᶻ^ᵇᵃ^ᵇᵇ^ᵇᶜ^ᵇᵈ

^ᵃⁱnote:Ruth III, 2. Naomi was certain that Boaz would not leave the threshing floor that night, for since he was working late into the night he would not go out alone at night on his homeward journey.
^ᵃʲnote:Gen. XXII, 3. Abraham did not set out at night even though in this case he was accompanied by Isaac and two young men.
^ᵃᵏnote:Ibid. XXXVII, 14. ‘And see’, i.e., at a time when one can see, namely, during the day.
^ᵃˡnote:Ibid. XXXII, 32. Only then did Jacob go on his way but not earlier.
^ᵃᵐnote:Gen. XXVIII, 10.
^ᵃⁿnote:Ibid. 11.
^ᵃᵒnote:Ibid. 18. The contradiction is that one verse speaks of ‘stones’ in the plural, whereas the other speaks of ‘the stone’.
^ᵃᵖnote:Ibid. 12.
^ᵃᵠnote:Dan. X, 6. ahar, usually translated ‘beryl’ or some other precious stone. According to Rabbinic tradition it is the name of a sea which extends for two thousand parasangs (Persian miles). V. Jonah I, 3. Rashi (on Dan. ibid.) identifies it with the sea of Africa; probably the Mediterranean Sea.
^ᵃʳnote:So that if four angels were to be at the same time on one rung of the ladder it would have to be eight thousand parasangs wide.
^ᵃˢnote:V. Ezek. I, 10. Around the Throne of Glory was the likeness of four living creatures, one being the likeness of a man, and according to Rabbinic tradition the likeness of man was the image of Jacob.
^ᵃᵗnote:Gen. XXVIII. 13.
^ᵃᵘnote:To protect him from the heat of the sun; so God stood over Jacob to protect him from the envy of the angels.
^ᵃᵛnote:Of the promise to give Jacob the land on which he lay, which would be four cubits at most!
^ᵃʷnote:As the four cubits of ground upon which he lay.
^ᵃˣnote:Gen. XXXII, 27.
^ᵃʸnote:xuyxuhcue, a kidnapper (Rashi); a gambler (Tosaf.).
^ᵃᶻnote:That angels sing praises, or that they are limited to an allotted time for song (Tosaf.).
^ᵇᵃnote:Isa. VI, 3.
^ᵇᵇnote:Deut. VI, 4.
^ᵇᶜnote:Job XXXVIII, 7. The morning stars are Israel who are likened to the stars, and the sons of God are the angels. The objection therefore is: How then can it be said above that a division of ministering angels sing: Holy (is) the Lord of hosts, thus mentioning the name of God after one word?
^ᵇᵈnote:Blessed-be the-glory-of the-Lord Ezek. III, 12. In this song of praise by the angels the name of God is mentioned after two words.