חולין 92 — Soncino English Talmud

¹— ‘Blessed’ is recited by the Ophanim. Or you may say: Since permission has once been granted it is granted. Yea, he strove with an angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication unto him. I know not, who prevailed over whom. But when it says. For thou hast striven with God and with men and hast prevailed, I know that Jacob became master over the angel. He wept and made supplication unto him! I know not who wept unto whom. But when it says: And he said: Let me go, I know that the angel wept unto Jacob. ‘For thou hast striven with God and with men’: Said Rabbah: He intimated to him that two princes were destined to come from him: the Exilarch in Babylon and the Prince in the Land of Israel; this was also an intimation to him of the exile. And in the vine were three branches. R. Hiyya b. Abba said in the name of Rab: These are the three men of excellence that come forth in Israel in every generation; sometimes two are here [in Babylon] and one is in the land of Israel, and sometimes two are in the land of Israel and one is here. And the Rabbis set their eyes upon Rabbana ‘Ukba and Rabbana Nehemiah, the sons of Rab's daughter. Raba said: These are the three princes of the nations who plead in Israel's favour in every generation. It was taught: R. Eliezer says: The ‘vine’ is the world, the ‘three branches’ are [the patriarchs] Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; ‘and as it was budding its blossoms shot forth’, these are the matriarchs; ‘ad the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes’, these are the tribes. Thereupon R. Joshua said to him: Is a man shown [in a dream] what has happened? Surely he is only shown what is to happen! Therefore, I say: The ‘vine’ is the Torah, the ‘three branches’ are Moses, Aaron and Miriam; ‘and as it was budding its blossoms shot forth’, these are [the members of] the Sanhedrin; ‘and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes’, are the righteous people of every generation. R. Gamaliel said: We still stand in need of the Modiite, for he explains the verse as referring to one place. For R. Eleazar the Modiite says. The ‘vine’ is Jerusalem, the ‘three branches’ are the Temple, the King and the High priest; ‘and as it was budding its blossoms shot forth’, these are the young priests; ‘and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes’, these are the drink-offerings. R. Joshua b. Levi interprets it in regard to the gifts [bestowed by God upon Israel]. For R. Joshua b. Levi said: The ‘vine’ is the Torah, the ‘three branches’ are the well, the pillar of smoke, and the manna; ‘and as it was budding its blossom,s shot forth’, these are the first fruits; ‘and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes’, these are the drink-offerings. R. Jeremiah b. Abba said: The ‘vine’ is Israel, for so it is written: Thou didst pluck up a vine out of Egypt. The ‘three branches’ are the three Festivals on which Israel go up [to the Temple] every year. ‘And as it was budding’: the time Is come for Israel to be fruitful and to multiply, for so it is written: And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly. ‘Its blossoms shot forth’: the time is come for Israel to be redeemed. for so it is written: And their lifeblood is dashed against My garments, and I have stained all My raiment. ‘And the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes’: the time is come for Egypt to drink the cup of staggering. And this is in accordance with what Raba had said: Why are three cups mentioned in connection with Egypt? One [refers to the cup] which she drank in the days of Moses; the other to that which she drank in the days of Pharaoh-Necho; and the third to that which she is destined to drink together with all the nations. R. Abba said to R. Jeremiah b. Abba: When Rab expounded [this verse] in an Aggadic lecture he expounded it as you have done. R. Simeon b. Lakish said: This people [Israel] is like unto a vine: its branches are the aristocracy, its clusters the scholars, its leaves the common people, its twigs those in Israel that are void of learning. This is what was meant when word was sent from there [Palestine]. ‘Let the clusters pray for the leaves, for were it not for the leaves the clusters could not exist’. So I bought her [wa-ekreha] to me for fifteen pieces of silver [and a homer of barley, and a half-homer of barley]. Said R. Johanan in the name of R. Simeon b. Jehozadak: The word ‘Kirah’ must mean ‘buying’, for so it is written: In my grave which I bought [karithi] for me. ‘For fifteen’: that is the fifteenth day of Nisan when Israel was redeemed out of Egypt. ‘Pieces of silver’: these are the righteous, for so it is written: He has taken the bag of silver with him. ‘And a homer of barley and a half-homer of barley:’ these are the forty-five righteous men on account of whom the world continues to exist. But I know not whether thirty of them are here [in Babylon] and fifteen in the land of Israel, or thirty in the land of Israel and fifteen here [in Babylon]; but when the verse says. And I took the thirty pieces of silver and cast them into the treasury, in the house of the Lord, I know that thirty [righteous men] are in the land of Israel and fifteen here. Said Abaye: Most of them are to be found in the synagogue under the side chamber. And I said to them: If ye think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear. So they weighed out for my hire thirty pieces of silver. Said Rab Judah: These are the thirty righteous men among the nations of the world by whose virtue the nations of the world continue to exist. Ulla said: These are the thirty commandments which the sons of Noah took upon themselves but they observe three of them, namely,^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

^ᵃnote:Not by the ministering angels but by the Ophanim, a higher rank of angels forming part of the Throne of Glory; cf. Ezek. I.
^ᵇnote:I.e., once they have mentioned the name of God after three words they may thereafter mention it as often as it occurs, even when it occurs after two words or even after one word.
^ᶜnote:Hosea XII, 5.
^ᵈnote:Gen. XXXII, 29.
^ᵉnote:Hosea XII, 5.
^ᶠnote:Gen. XXXII, 27.
^ᵍnote:The heads of Jewry in Babylon and Palestine, the latter being designated as ‘Gods’ for they were ordained as judges and leaders, the former as men.
^ʰnote:Ibid. XL, 10.
^ⁱnote:Angels (Rashi).
^ʲnote:Gen XL, 10.
^ᵏnote:The supreme council of Israel.
^ˡnote:I.e., to the various institutions in Jerusalem.
^ᵐnote:Of Modiim, near Jerusalem, the ancient home of the Maccabean family.
^ⁿnote:These gifts of water (cf. Num. XXI, 16ff), protection by clouds, and food were bestowed by God upon Israel during their wanderings in the wilderness because of the merits of Miriam, Aaron and Moses respectively.
^ᵒnote:The reference is to the gift of a fertile land which yielded abundant fruits from which the first ripe fruits were offered.
^ᵖnote:Ps. LXXX, 9.
^ᵠnote:Ex. I, 7.
^ʳnote:Isa. LXIII, 3. The word vmb, ‘its blossom’ is interpreted as ojmb, ‘their strength, lifeblood’.
^ˢnote:The word cup occurs three times in the one verse: Gen. XL, 11. For the cup as a symbol of calamity, cf. Isa. LI, 17: The cup of staggering.
^ᵗnote:When Egypt was defeated by the Babylonians, cf. Jer. XLVI, 2, 13.
^ᵘnote:Every class is essential to the well-being of the community.
^ᵛnote:Hos. III. 2. The entire verse is here homiletically expounded, phrase by phrase. vrftu from the root vrf, to buy.
^ʷnote:vrhf the noun formed from the above root.
^ˣnote:Lit., ‘selling, sale’; here it means a transaction by buying and selling.
^ʸnote:Gen. L, 5: h,hrf also from the root vrf.
^ᶻnote:Prov. VII, 20. V. Sanh. 96b where this verse is interpreted as referring to the righteous in Israel.
^ᵃᵃnote:A homer (in Talmud Kor) consisted of thirty se'ah; so that the verse speaks of thirty units (se'ah) plus fifteen units.
^ᵃᵇnote:Zech. XI, 13. Thus the thirty righteous are always to be found in the house of the Lord, sc. Palestine.
^ᵃᶜnote:I.e., most of the righteous men in Palestine. The reference is unknown.
^ᵃᵈnote:Ibid. 12.
^ᵃᵉnote:[MS.M. omits ‘among the nations of the world’.]
^ᵃᶠnote:[These are comprised in the seven Noahide precepts. For reference v. Ronsberg Glosses.]

²(i) they do not draw up a kethubah document for males, (ii) they do not weigh flesh of the dead in the market, and (iii) they respect the Torah. IT DOES NOT APPLY TO BIRDS, [BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO SPOON-SHAPED HIP]. But we see that they have it? — They have it indeed, but it is not convex. R. Jeremiah raised the question. What if a bird happened to have it convex, or if an animal happened to have it [flat and] not convex? Do we consider the particular creature by itself, or do we consider the class to which it belongs? — It is undecided. IT ALSO APPLIES TO A FOETUS. Samuel said: The ruling: ITS FAT IS PERMITTED, is agreed to by all. What fat? Should you say, that of a foetus, but this is a matter of dispute. For it has been taught: It applies to a foetus, and its fat is forbidden: so R. Meir. R. Judah says: It does not apply to a foetus, and its fat is permitted. And R. Eleazar said in the name of R. Oshaia: They differ in the case of a nine months’ fetus which was [extracted] alive [from its dam's womb]; R. Meir therefore ruling according to his principle and R. Judah according to his. And should you say, the fat of the nerve, but there too there is a dispute about it. For it has been taught: As to the sciatic nerve, one must follow it up as far as it goes and must cut away the fat thereof at its source; so R. Meir. R. Judah says: One merely cuts it away from off the cap of the bone! — In truth, it refers to the fat of the nerve; Samuel however agrees that according to R. Meir it is forbidden by Rabbinic decree. For it has been taught: Its fat is permitted, but Israel being a holy people have regarded it as forbidden. And presumably the author [of this Baraitha] is R. Meir who maintains that by the law of the Torah it is permitted but is forbidden by Rabbinic decree! But whence this? Perhaps it is R. Judah, but according to R. Meir it is forbidden even by the law of the Torah! — You cannot think of this; for it has been taught: As to the sciatic nerve, one must follow it up as far as it goes, and its fat is permitted. Now whom have you heard say that it is necessary to ‘follow it up?’ R. Meir; and here it expressly says, its fat is permitted. R. Isaac b. Samuel b. Martha said in the name of Rab: The Torah forbade only the branch nerves of it. Ulla said, [Although] it is like wood the Torah makes one liable for it. Abaye said: The view of Ulla is the more probable, for R. Shesheth said in the name of R. Assi. The veins in fat are forbidden but one is not liable [to the penalty of Kareth] on account of them. It is evident therefore that the Divine Law forbade the fat but not the veins, likewise the Divine Law forbade the nerve but not the branch nerves. [To turn to] the main text. ‘R. Shesheth said in the name of R. Assi: The veins in fat are forbidden but one is not liable on account of them’. The veins in the kidney are forbidden but one is not liable on account of them. As to the white substance of the kidney there is a difference of opinion between Rabbi and R. Hiyya, one forbids it and the other permits it . Rabbah used to scrape it all away. R. Johanan also used to scrape it all away. R. Assi used to cut away only the surface thereof. Abaye said: The view of R. Assi is the more probable, for R. Abba said in the name of Rab Judah on the authority of Samuel,^ᵃᵍ^ᵃʰ^ᵃⁱ^ᵃʲ^ᵃᵏ^ᵃˡ^ᵃᵐ^ᵃⁿ^ᵃᵒ^ᵃᵖ^ᵃᵠ^ᵃʳ^ᵃˢ^ᵃᵗ^ᵃᵘ^ᵃᵛ^ᵃʷ

^ᵃᵍnote:Although they are suspected of indecent practices and sodomy they do not go to that length of writing a ‘marriage’ deed for the purpose. vcu,f here means a marriage deed; for specific meanings v. Introduction to Keth., Sonc. ed., p. XI, n. 1.
^ᵃʰnote:Although they eat human flesh they do not sell it openly in the market. Rashi also suggests: They do not sell the flesh of an animal that had not been slain but had died a natural death.
^ᵃⁱnote:The muscles around the upper part of the hip bone of a bird are flat and not rounded and raised like a ball. V. supra p. 500, n. 2.
^ᵃʲnote:V. supra 74b; Tosef. Hul. VII.
^ᵃᵏnote:Sc. the prohibition of the sciatic nerve.
^ᵃˡnote:Sc. of a foetus.
^ᵃᵐnote:R. Meir holds that a nine months’ foetus which was extracted alive out of the womb is not rendered permitted by the slaughtering of its dam but must be slaughtered itself and is in every respect like an ordinary animal, hence its fat is forbidden and also the sciatic nerve.
^ᵃⁿnote:R. Judah maintains that this foetus is permitted by the slaughtering of its dam, and the whole of it may be eaten, the fat as well as the sciatic nerve.
^ᵃᵒnote:Wherever the fat is found, in all its ramifications.
^ᵃᵖnote:I.e., only that fat which is in close proximity to the nerve must be cut away, and this only for appearance sake, since strictly the whole of the fat is permitted.
^ᵃᵠnote:Pes. 83b and supra 91a.
^ᵃʳnote:Accordingly R. Meir's view is that strictly by the law of the Torah it is permitted, but it is only forbidden by Rabbinic decree. This then was the purport of Samuel's teaching.
^ᵃˢnote:Only the nerves that branch off the main sciatic nerve are prohibited, for these are tender and could impart a flavour into the substance that is cooked with it, but the actual sciatic nerve is hard like wood and is not forbidden.
^ᵃᵗnote:But the branch nerves are permitted. As to whether or not they are prohibited Rabbinically v. Tosaf. s.v. vh,uuf.
^ᵃᵘnote:Which is in the middle of the kidney but goes deep into the actual kidney.
^ᵃᵛnote:Even that which is deep in the kidney.
^ᵃʷnote:I.e., only that portion which is in the middle of the kidney but not that which is covered up by the kidney.