Ketubot

They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be, until the day that I remember them, saith the Lord.  And R. Zera?  — That textrefers  to the vessels of ministry.  And Rab Judah? — Another text also is available:  I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles, and by the hinds of the field, [that ye awaken not, nor stir up love,  until it please]'.  And R. Zera? — That  implies that Israel shall not go up [all together as if surrounded] by a wall.  And Rab Judah? — Another 'I adjure you'  is written in Scripture. And R. Zera? — That text is required for [an exposition] like that of R. Jose son of R. Hanina who said: 'What was the purpose of those three adjurations?  — One, that Israel shall not go up [all together as if surrounded] by a wall;  the second, that whereby the Holy One, blessed be He, adjured Israel that they shall not rebel against the nations of the world; and the third is that whereby the Holy One, blessed be He, adjured the idolaters that they shall not oppress Israel too much'. And Rab Judah? — It is written in Scripture, That ye awaken not, nor stir up.  And R. Zera? — That text is required for [an exposition] like that of R. Levi who stated: 'What was the purpose of those six adjurations?  — Three for the purposes just mentioned and the others, that [the prophets] shall not make known the end,  that [the people] shall notdelay  the end,  and that they shall not reveal the secret  to the idolaters'. By the gazelles, and by the hinds of the field.  R. Eleazar explained: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, 'If you will keep the adjuration, well and good; but if not, I will permit your flesh [to be a prey] like [that of] the gazelles and the hinds of the field'. R. Eleazar said: Whoever is domiciled in the Land of Israel lives without sin, for it is said in Scripture, And the inhabitant shall not say, 'I am sick', the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.  Said Raba  to R. Ashi; We apply this [text]  to those who suffer from disease. R. Anan said; Whoever is buried in the Land of Israel is deemed to be  buried under the altar; since in respect of the latter  it is written in Scripture, At altar of earth thou shalt make unto me,  and in respect of the former  it is written in Scripture, And his laud doth make expiation for his people. 'Ulla was in the habit of paying visits to the Land of Israel but came to his eternal rest  outside the Land — [When people] came and reported this to R. Eleazar he exclaimed, 'Thou 'Ulla, shouldst die in an unclean land!'  'His coffin', they said to him, 'has arrived'.  'Receiving a man in his lifetime', he replied, 'is not the same as receiving him after his death'. A certain man  who fell under the obligation [of marrying]  a sister-in-law  at Be Hozae  came to R. Hanina and asked him whether it was proper  to go down there to contract with her levirate marriage. 'His brother', [R. Hanina] replied, 'married a heathen  and died, blessed be the Omnipresent Who slew him, and this one would follow him!' Rab Judah stated in the name of Samuel: As it is forbidden to leave the Land of Israel for Babylon so it is forbidden to leave A man once moved from Pumbeditha to [settle in] Be Kubi and R. Joseph placed him under the ban. A man once left Pumbeditha to [take up his abode at] Astunia,  and he died.  Said Abaye: 'If this young scholar wanted it, he could still have been alive'. Both Rabbah and R. Joseph stated: The fit  persons of Babylon are received  by the Land of Israel, and the fit40  ones of other countries are received  by Babylon. In what respect?  If it be suggested: In respect of purity of descent,  surely [it may be objected,] did not the Master say, 'All countries are [like] dough  towards the Land of Israel,  and the Land of Israel is [like] dough towards Babylon'?46  — The fact, however, [is that the 'fit'  are received] in respect of burial.48 Rab Judah said: Whoever lives in Babylon is accounted as though he lived in the Land of Israel; for it is said in Scripture, Abaye stated: We have a tradition that Babel50  will not witness the sufferings51  [that will precede the coming] of the Messiah.52  He [also] explained it53  to refer  to Huzal  in Benjamin which would be named  the Corner of Safety. R. Eleazar stated: The dead outside the Land58  will not be resurrected; for it is said in Scripture, And I will set glory  in the land of the living,  [implying] the dead of the land in which I have my desire  will be resurrected, but the dead [of the land] in which I have no desire will not be resurrected. R. Abba b. Memel objected: Thy dead shall live, my dead bodies shall arise;  does not [the expression] 'Thy dead shall live' refer to the dead of the Land of Israel, and 'My dead bodies shall arise' to the dead outside the Land;  while the text,  And I will give glory  in the land of the living  was written of Nebuchadnezzar concerning whom the All-Merciful said, 'I will bring against them a king who is as swift as a stag'?  — The other replied: Master, I am making an And spirit to them that work therein  [teaches], said R. Jeremiah b. Abba in the name of R. Johanan, that whoever walks four cubits in the Land of Israel is assured of a place  in the world to come. Now according to R. Eleazar,  would not the righteous outside the Land81  be revived?  — R. Elai replied: [They will be revived] by rolling [to the Land of Israel]. R. Abba Sala the Great demurred: Will not the rolling be painful to the righteous? — Abaye replied: Cavities will be made for them underground. Thou shalt carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying-place.  Karna remarked: [There must be here] some inner meaning. Our father Jacob well knew that he was a righteous man in every way, and, since the dead outside the Land will also be resurrected, why did he trouble his sons?  Because he might possibly be unworthy to [roll through] the cavities.85 Similarly you read in Scripture, And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, [saying … ye shall carry up my bones from hence],  and R. Hanina remarked: [There is here] an inner meaning. Joseph well knew himself to be a righteous man in every way, and, since the dead outside the Land  will be revived, why did he trouble his brothers [with a journey of] four hundred parasangs? Because he might possibly be unworthy to [roll through] the cavities. His brothers  sent [the following message] to Rabbah:  'Jacob well knew that he was a righteous man in every way' etc.  Ilfa added to this the following incident. A man was once troubled on account of [his inability to marry] a certain woman  and desired to go down [to her country]; but as soon as he heard this  he resigned himself to his unmarried state  until the day of his death. Although you are a great scholar [you will admit that] a man who studies on his own cannot be on a par with a man who learns from his master. And perchance you might think that you have no master [good enough for you here, we may inform you that] you have one, and he is  R. Johanan. If you are not coming up, however, beware [we advise you] of three things. Do not sit too long, for [long] sitting aggravates one's abdominal troubles;  do not stand for a long time, because [long] standing is injurious to the heart; and do not walk too much, because [excessive] walking is harmful to the eyes. Rather [spend] one third [of your time] in sitting, one third in standing and one third in walking. Standing is better than sitting when one has nothing to lean against. 'Standing'! How can this be imagined in view of the statement that '[long] standing is injurious to the heart'? — What was meant in fact was this:  Better than sitting