פסחים 119 — Soncino English Talmud

¹They who recognize their colleagues’ place in the academy. Others state, R. Eleazar said: They who welcome their colleagues in the academy. What does ‘and for stately clothing’ [li-mekasseh ‘athik] mean? That refers to him who ‘conceals’ [mekasseh] the things which the Ancient [‘athik] of days concealed. And what is that? The secrets of the Torah. Others explain: That refers to him who reveals the things which the Ancient of days concealed [kissah]. And what is it ? The reasons of the Torah. R. Kahana said on the authority of R. Ishmael b. R. Jose: What is meant by, ‘For the leader [la-menazzeah]: a Psalm of David? Sing praises to Him who rejoices when they conquer Him. Come and see how the character of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like that of mortal man. The character of mortal man is such that when he is conquered he is unhappy, but when the Holy One is conquered He rejoices,for it is said, Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen stood before Him in the breach, [to turn back His wrath]. R. Kahana said on the authority of R. Ishmael son of R. Jose, and our Rabbis said in the name of R. Judah Nisi'ah: What is implied by the verse, And they had the hands of a man under their wings? Yado [his hand] is written: this refers to the Hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, which is spread out under the wings of the Hayyoth, in order to accept penitents [and shield them] from the Attribute of Justice. Rab Judah said in Samuel's name: All the gold and silver in the world Joseph gathered in and brought to Egypt, for it is said, And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found [in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan]. Now I know it only about that of Egypt and Canaan; whence do we know it about that of other countries? Because it is stated, And all the countries came unto Egypt [to Joseph to buy corn]. And when the Israelites migrated from Egypt they carried it away with them, for it is said, and they despoiled the Egyptians. R. Assi said: They made it like a trap in which there is no corn; R. Simeon b. Lakish said: Like a pond without fish. Thus it [the treasure] lay until Rehoboam, when Shishak king of Egypt came and seized it from Rehoboam, for it is said, And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem; and he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house. Then Zerah, king of Ethiopia, came and seized it from Shishak; then Assa came and seized it from Zerah king of Ethiopia and sent it to Hadrimon the son of Tabrimon. The Ammonites came and seized it from Hadrimon the son of Tabrimon. Jehoshaphat came and seized it from the Ammonites, and it remained so until Ahaz, when Sennacherib came and took it from Ahaz. Then Hezekiah came and took it from Sennacherib, and it remained thus until Zedekiah, when the Babylonians [Chaldeans] came and seized it from Zedekiah. The Persians came and took it from the Chaldeans; the Greeks came and took it from the Persians . the Romans came and took it from the Greeks, and it is still lying in Rome. R. Hama son of R. Hanina said: Three treasures did Joseph hide in Egypt: one was revealed to Korah; one to Antoninus the son of Severus; and the third is stored up for the righteous for the future time. Riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt: R. Simeon b. Lakish said: This refers to Korah's wealth. And a the substance that was at their feet. R. Eleazar said: This refers to a man's wealth, which puts him on his feet. R. Levi said: The keys of Korah's treasure-house were a load for three hundred white mules, though all the keys and locks were of leather. (Mnemonic: Diyash, ADYish, Kashdek, me-Odeka) R. Samuel b. Nahmani said in R. Jonathan's name: I will give thanks unto Thee, for Thou hast answered me was said by David; The stone which the builders rejected is become the chief corner-stone; by Yishai [Jesse]; This is the Lord's doing, by his brothers; This is the day which the Lord hath made by Samuel. We beseech ‘Thee, O Lord, save now! was said by his brothers: We beseech Thee, O Lord, make us now to prosper! by David; Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord, by Jesse; We bless you out of the house of the Lord, by Samuel; The Lord is God, and hath given us light, by all of them; Order the festival procession with boughs, by Samuel; Thou art my God, and I will give thanks unto Thee, by David; Thou art my God, I will exalt Thee, by all of them. We learned elsewhere: Where it is the practice^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.. who treat them in a friendly fashion. Maharsha: who are among the earliest, so that they can greet their colleagues who arrive latter.
^ᵇnote:This completes the verse.
^ᶜnote:God; v. Dan. VII, 13.
^ᵈnote:Esoteric teaching, which was to be confined to the few.
^ᵉnote:It is meritorious to investigate the reasons of Scriptural laws.
^ᶠnote:This is the superscription of a number of psalms; ‘menazzeah is derived from nazzeah, to be victorious.
^ᵍnote:I.e., prevail upon Him to rescind intended punishment. La-menazzeah is now understood in a causative sense: to Him who makes men victorious.
^ʰnote:Ps. CVI, 23.
^ⁱnote:The Prince. I.e., R. Judah II, — The text is as emended in the margin.
^ʲnote:Ezek. I, 8.
^ᵏnote:Instead of yede, the hands of.
^ˡnote:Lit., ‘living creatures’ — the angels that bore the Divine Chariot, as described in Ezek. I.
^ᵐnote:Var. lec.: on account of.
^ⁿnote:Justice, Mercy. etc., are often hypostasized.
^ᵒnote:Gen. XLVII, 14.
^ᵖnote:Ibid. XLI, 57.
^ᵠnote:Ex. XII, 36.
^ʳnote:To attract the birds. Bird-traps were set with corn. [Aliter: Like a fortress without corn (pro. visions). Var. lec.: like a net without fish.]
^ˢnote:Var. lec. (v. D.S.): like husks without grain.
^ᵗnote:I Kings XIV, 25f.
^ᵘnote:On his identity v. Sanh., Sonc. ed. p. 610 n.7.
^ᵛnote:Eccl. V, 12.
^ʷnote:Deut. XI, 6.
^ˣnote:This of course is not to be taken literally.
^ʸnote:Instead of metal, so as to be light in weight, yet they were such a load.
^ᶻnote:D == David; Y == Yishay (Jesse); A ==Ehaw (his brothers); Sh == Shemuel (Samuel), K == kulan (all of them); me-Odeka == on the passage commencing Odeka, ‘I will give thanks unto Thee’.
^ᵃᵃnote:Ps. CXVIII, 21.
^ᵃᵇnote:Ibid. 22.
^ᵃᶜnote:Ibid. 23.
^ᵃᵈnote:Ibid. 24.
^ᵃᵉnote:Ibid. 25.
^ᵃᶠnote:Ibid. 26.
^ᵃᵍnote:Ibid. 27.
^ᵃʰnote:Ibid. 28.

²to repeat, he must repeat; to recite it once only, he must recite them once only; to pronounce a blessing after it [sc. the Hallel], he must pronounce a blessing upon it: it all depends on local custom. Abaye observed: This was taught only [about a blessing] after it, but a blessing before it is obligatory, for Rab Judah said in Samuel's name: A blessing must be recited for a religious duties before [‘ober] they are performed. How is it implied that ‘ober connotes priority? — Said R. Nahman b. Isaac: Because it is written, Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and overran [wa-ya'abor, i.e., ran before] the Cushite. Abaye said: [It follows] from this: And he himself passed over [‘abar] before them. Others quote the following: And their king is passed on [wa-ya'abor] before them, and the Lord at the head of them. It was taught: Rabbi repeated [certain] verses of it [sc. Hallel]; R. Eleazar b. Perata added passages to it. What did he add? Said Abaye: He added [passages] for repetition from ‘I will give thanks to thee’ and onwards. R. ‘Awira lectured, Sometimes stating it in R. Ammi's, Sometimes in R. Assi's name: What is meant by. And the child grew, and was weaned [wa-yiggamel]? The Holy One, blessed be He, will make a great banquet for the righteous on the day He manifests [yigmol] His love to the seed of Isaac. After they have eaten and drunk, the cup of Grace will be offered to our father Abraham, that he should recite Grace, but he will answer them, ‘I cannot say Grace, because Ishmael issued from me. Then Isaac will be asked, ‘Take it and say Grace.’ ‘I cannot say Grace,’ he will reply, ‘because Esau issued from me.’ Then Jacob will be asked: ‘Take it and say Grace.’ ‘I cannot say Grace,’ he will reply. ‘because I married two sisters during [both] their lifetimes, whereas the Torah was destined to forbid them to me. Then Moses will be asked, ‘Take it and say Grace.’ ‘I cannot say Grace, because I was not privileged to enter Eretz Yisrael either in life or in death.’ Then Joshua will be asked: ‘Take it and say Grace.’ ‘I cannot say Grace,’ he will reply, ‘because I was not privileged to have a son,’ for it is written, Joshua the son of Nun; Nun his son, Joshua his son. Then David will be asked: ‘Take it and say Grace.’ ‘I will say Grace, and it is fitting for me to say Grace,’ he will reply, as it is said, I will lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. MISHNAH. ONE MAY NOT CONCLUDE AFTER THE PASCHAL MEAL [BY SAYING]. ‘NOW TO THE ENTERTAINMENT! [APIKOMAN].’ GEMARA. What does APIKOMAN mean? Said Rab: That they must not remove from one company to another. Samuel said: E.g., mushrooms for myself and pigeons for Abba. R. Hanina b. Shila and R. Johanan said: E.g., dates, parched ears of corn, and nuts. It was taught as R. Johanan: You must not conclude after the Paschal meal with e.g., dates, parched ears, and nuts. Rab Judah said: One may not conclude after the [last] unleavened bread [is eaten] by saying, ‘Now to the entertainment!’ We learned: YOU MAY NOT CONCLUDE AFTER THE PASCHAL, MEAL [BY SAYING], ‘NOW TO THE ENTERTAINMENT!’ Thus it is forbidden only after the Paschal meal, but you may conclude [thus] after the unleavened bread? — He proceeds to a climax: After the unleavened bread it need not be stated, since its taste is not substantial; but [I might think] that there is no objection after the Paschal lamb, whose taste is substantial and cannot [easily] be wiped out. Hence he [the Tanna] informs us [otherwise]. Shall we say that this supports him: [As for] sponge cakes, honey-cakes and iskeritin, a man may fill his stomach with them, providing that he eats as much as an olive of unleavened bread at the end. [This implies], only at the end,^ᵃⁱ^ᵃʲ^ᵃᵏ^ᵃˡ^ᵃᵐ^ᵃⁿ^ᵃᵒ^ᵃᵖ^ᵃᵠ^ᵃʳ^ᵃˢ^ᵃᵗ^ᵃᵘ^ᵃᵛ^ᵃʷ^ᵃˣ^ᵃʸ^ᵃᶻ^ᵇᵃ^ᵇᵇ

^ᵃⁱnote:Certain verses at the end of Hallel, viz., Ps. CXVIII, 21-29. Every verse of the rest of the Psalm is repeated in the text, either actually or by parallelism, and therefore these four verses are repeated when they are recited.
^ᵃʲnote:Lit., ‘to (say it) straight off.’
^ᵃᵏnote:II Sam. XVIII, 23.
^ᵃˡnote:Gen. XXXIII, 3.
^ᵃᵐnote:Mic. II, 13.
^ᵃⁿnote:[Rashi(Suk. 39a): ‘from "We beseech thee, O Lord, etc." onwards.’]
^ᵃᵒnote:[I.e., to those repeated by Rabbi (Rashi loc. cit.)].
^ᵃᵖnote:Gen. XXI, 8: the verse continues: And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
^ᵃᵠnote:I.e., when Israel is vindicated and his glories restored.
^ᵃʳnote:The cup of wine over which Grace after meals is recited.
^ᵃˢnote:Num. XIV, 38 et passim.
^ᵃᵗnote:I Chron. VII, 27. This occurs in the genealogical lists, and since it is not carried beyond Joshua, we must assume that he was not blessed with a son.
^ᵃᵘnote:Ps. CXVI, 13.
^ᵃᵛnote:Gr. **.
^ᵃʷnote:V. Supra 86a for notes.
^ᵃˣnote:I.e., Rab. Rab and Samuel used to eat pigeons and mushrooms respectively after the meal, as desert, and Samuel says that this must not be done after the Paschal meal. Thus his interpretation (and R. Johanan's which follows) is stricter than Rab's. For Rab only forbids further eating elsewhere, whereas Samuel forbids it in the same place.
^ᵃʸnote:I. e., nowadays at the end of the meal in memory of the Paschal lamb.
^ᵃᶻnote:Lit., ‘he says, it is unnecessary".’
^ᵇᵃnote:He must finish the meal with the taste of the Paschal lamb and the unleavened bread predominant in his mouth. Now the taste of the latter is not substantial and enduring, and therefore it is superfluous to teach that nothing may be eaten after it.
^ᵇᵇnote:V. Supra 37a. These are regarded as ‘rich mazzah’ and therefore the duty of eating mazzah, which must be ‘bread of affliction (poverty)’ cannot be discharged with them.