פסחים 50 — Soncino English Talmud

¹is like its prohibition: just as its prohibition is for as much as an olive, so its return is for as much as an olive. It was taught, R. Nathan said: Both have the standard of two eggs; but the Sages did not agree with him. And it shall come to pass in that day that there shall not be light, but heavy clouds [yekaroth] and thick [we-kippa'on]; what does yekaroth we-kippa'on mean? — Said R. Eleazar: This means, the light which is precious [yakar] in this world, is yet of little account [kapuy] in the next world. R. Johanan said: This refers to Nega'im and Ohaloth, which are difficult [heavy] in this world yet shall be light [easily understood] in the future world. While R. Joshua b. Levi said: This refers to the people who are honoured in this world, but will be lightly esteemed in the next world. As was the case of R. Joseph the son of R. Joshua b. Levi, [who] became ill and fell into a trance. When he recovered, his father asked him, ‘What did you see?’ ‘I saw a topsy-turvy world’, he replied, ‘the upper [class] underneath and the lower on top’’ he replied: ‘My son’, he observed, ‘you saw a clear world. And how are we [situated] there?’ ‘Just as we are here, so are we there. And I heard them saying, "Happy is he who comes hither with his learning in his hand". And I also heard them saying, "Those martyred by the State, no man can stand within their barrier"’ . Who are these [martyrs]? Shall we say, R. Akiba and his companions? is that because they were martyrs of the State and nothing else? Rather [he meant] the martyrs of Lydda. In that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses [meziloth ha-sus]: HOLY UNTO THE LORD. What does ‘meziloth ha-sus’ [intimate]? — Said R. Joshua b. Levi: The Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to add to Jerusalem as far as a horse can run and cast its shadow [mazzil — under itself]. R. Eleazar said: All the bells which are hung on a horse between its eyes shall be holy unto the Lord. While R. Johanan said: All the spoil which Israel shall take spoil [from morning] until a horse can run and cast its shadow [under itself] shall be holy unto the Lord. As for him who explains it [as referring to] all the spoil which Israel shall take spoil, it is well: hence it is written, and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the basins before the altar. But according to those who give the [other] two explanations, what is [the relevance of] ‘and the pots in the Lord's house shall be’ [etc.]? — [The verse] states another thing, viz., that Israel will become wealthy, make votive offerings, and bring them [to the Temple]. As for him who says [that it means] spoil, it is well: that is what is written, and in that day there shall be no more a trafficker in the house of the Lord of hosts. But according to those who give the [other] two explanations, what does and there shall be no more a trafficker [kena'ani] [etc.] mean? — Said R. Jeremiah: No poor man shall be here. And how do we know interdict. A passage describing the death of great scholars, ten in number, is found in the liturgies for the Day of Atonement and the Fast of Ab. Some of the most famous of them were R. Gamaliel, R. Judah b. Baba and R. Akiba. that [kena ‘ani] connotes a merchant? — Because it is written, And Judah saw there the daughter of a certain Canaanite [kena'ani]: what does ‘kena'ani’ mean? Shall we say, literally a Canaanite: is it possible that Abraham came and admonished Isaac, Isaac came and admonished Jacob, and then Judah went and married [a Canaanite]! Rather, said R. Simeon b. Lakish: [It means] the daughter of a merchant, as it is written, As for the trafficker [kena'an], the balances of deceit are in his hand, Alternatively, I can quote this: Whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers [kin'anehah] are the honourable of the earth. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall the Lord be One, and His name one: is He then not One now? — Said R. Aha b. Hanina: Not like this world is the future world. In this world, for good tidings one says, ‘He is good, and He doeth good’, while for evil tidings he says, ‘Blessed be the true Judge’; [whereas] in the future world it shall be only ‘He is good and He doeth good’. ‘And His name one’: what does ‘one’ mean? Is then now His name not one? — Said R. Nahman b. Isaac; Not like this world is the future world. [In] this world [His name] is written with a yod he and read as alef daleth; but in the future world it shall all be one: it shall be written with yod he and read as yod he. Now, Raba thought of lecturing it at the session, [whereupon] a certain old man said to him, It is written, le'alem. R. Abina pointed out a contradiction: It is written, this is my name, to be hidden; [and it is also written], and this is my memorial unto all generations? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Not as I [i.e., My name] and written am I read: I am written with a yod he, while I am read as alef daleth. CHAPTERIV MISHNAH. WHERE IT IS THE CUSTOM TO DO WORK ON THE EVE OF PASSOVER UNTIL MIDDAY ONE MAY DO [WORK]; WHERE IT IS THE CUSTOM NOT TO DO [WORK], ONE MAY NOT DO [WORK]. HE WHO GOES FROM A PLACE WHERE THEY WORK TO A PLACE WHERE THEY DO NOT WORK, ON FROM A PLACE WHERE THEY DO NOT WORK TO A PLACE WHERE THEY DO WORK, WE LAY UPON HIM THE RESTRICTIONS OF THE PLACE WHENCE HE DEPARTED AND THE RESTRICTIONS OF THE PLACE WHITHER HE HAS GONE;^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

^ᵃnote:V. p. 238, n. 12.
^ᵇnote:The leaven and the holy flesh.
^ᶜnote:Zech. XIV, 6.
^ᵈnote:Lit., ‘light’, ‘floating’.
^ᵉnote:For the light of this world will pale into insignificance before the greater light of the next. He translates the verse: And it shall come . . . the light will not be precious but (only) of small account.
^ᶠnote:The laws of leprosy and the defilement of tents through a dead body.
^ᵍnote:In which people occupy the positions they merit.
^ʰnote:They occupy such an exalted position in the next world that they are unapproachable.
^ⁱnote:Who were executed or martyred by the Roman State at various times for their insistence on teaching the Torah in spite of the Roman
^ʲnote:Surely they had other claims to eminence too!
^ᵏnote:Two brothers, Lulianus and Papus, who took upon themselves the guilt for the death of the Emperor's daughter, so as to save the people as a whole; v. Ta'an. 18b. Lyyda was a district in Asia Minor, to which belonged the city Laodicea, which city it denotes here.
^ˡnote:Zech. XIV, 20.
^ᵐnote:Rashi: i.e., as far as a horse can run from the morning until midday, when its shadow (zel) is directly beneath it.
^ⁿnote:I.e., they shall be votive offerings to the Sanctuary.
^ᵒnote:Ibid. Even the pots shall be of gold and silver, owing to the abundance of spoil.
^ᵖnote:Ibid. 21. The Temple Treasurers will not need to buy or sell for the Temple, on account of the great wealth of the spoil.
^ᵠnote:Reading kena'ani as kan ‘ani, here is a poor man.
^ʳnote:Gen. XXXVIII, 2.
^ˢnote:Not to marry a Canaanite; v. Ibid. XXIV, 3; XXVIII, 1.
^ᵗnote:Hos. XII, 8.
^ᵘnote:Isa. XXIII, 8.
^ᵛnote:Zech. XIV, 9.
^ʷnote:V. Ber. 54a.
^ˣnote:For there will never be any evil tidings there.
^ʸnote:YHWH = yod he waw he, the letters of the Tetragrammaton.
^ᶻnote:Adonay =alef daleth nun yod.
^ᵃᵃnote:To hide it. This is explained anon.
^ᵃᵇnote:The bracketed word is added in var. lec.
^ᵃᶜnote:Ex. III, 15. The actual reading is: this is my name for ever. (le'olam, okugk); but it is written, to be hidden (le'alem, okgk). Thus this indicates that God's name must be kept secret; whereas ‘this is my memorial’ etc. implies that He is to be known by this name. Another version, accepting the reading le'olam (for ever) explains the difficulty thus: since God states this is my name, it is obvious that He is to be known by it: why then add, ‘and this is my memorial’ etc.?
^ᵃᵈnote:The importance attributed to the Divine Name was owing to the fact that it was not regarded simply as a designation, but was held to express the essence of the Godhead. The right way of pronouncing the Tetragrammaton was not generally known, being preserved as an esoteric teaching. Cf. Kid., Sonc. ed. p. 361, n. 6. and Sanh., Sonc. ed. p. 407, n. 2.

²AND A MAN MUST NOT ACT DIFFERENTLY [FROM LOCAL CUSTOM] ON ACCOUNT OF THE QUARRELS [WHICH WOULD ENSUE]. SIMILARLY, HE WHO TRANSPORTS SABBATICAL YEAR PRODUCE FROM A PLACE WHERE IT HAS CEASED TO A PLACE WHERE IT HAS NOT CEASED OR FROM A PLACE WHERE IT HAS NOT CEASED TO A PLACE WHERE IT HAS CEASED, IS BOUND TO REMOVE IT. R. JUDAH SAID: ‘DO YOU TOO GO OUT AND BRING [PRODUCE] FOR YOURSELF. GEMARA. Why particularly THE EVE OF PASSOVER? Even on the eve of Sabbaths and Festivals too? For it was taught: He who does work on the eve of Sabbaths or Festivals from minhah and onwards will never see a sign of blessing? — There it is forbidden only from minhah and onwards, but not near to minhah; [whereas] here it is [forbidden] from midday. Alternatively, there he merely does not see a sign of blessing, yet we do not place him under the ban; [whereas] here we even place him under the ban. [To turn to] the main text: He who does work on the eve of the Sabbath and on the eve of Festivals from minhah and onwards, and at the termination of the Sabbath or at the termination of a Festival, or at the termination of the Day of Atonement, or wherever there is the [least] suspicion of sin, which is to include a public fast, will never see the sign of a blessing. Our Rabbis taught: Some are industrious and profit [thereby,] while others are industrious and suffer loss; some are indolent and profit [thereby], while others are indolent and suffer loss. An industrious man who profits, — he who works the whole week but does not work on the eve of the Sabbath. An industrious man who suffers loss, — he who works the whole week and works on the eve of the Sabbath. An indolent man who profits, — he who does not work the whole week and does not work on the eve of the Sabbath. An indolent man who suffers loss, — he who does not work the whole week but works on the eve of the Sabbath. Raba said: As to these women of Mahuza, though they do not work on the eve of the Sabbath, it is because they are used to indulgence [indolence], seeing that they do not work every day either. Yet even so, we call them, an indolent person who profits’. Raba opposed [two verses]. It is written, For thy mercy is great unto the heavens; whereas it is also written, For thy mercy is great above the heavens? How is this [to be explained]? Here it refers to those who perform [God's behest] for its own sake; there it refers to those who perform [it] with an ulterior motive. And [this is] in accordance with Rab Judah. For Rab Judah said in Rab's name: A man should always occupy himself with Torah and good deeds, though it is not for their own sake, for out of [doing good] with an ulterior motive there comes [doing good] for its own sake. Our Rabbis taught: He who looks to the earnings of his wife or of a mill will never see a sign of blessing. ‘The earnings of his wife’ means [when she goes around selling wool] by weight. ‘[The earnings of] a mill’ means its hire. But if she makes [e.g., woollen garments] and sells them, Scripture indeed praises her, for it is written, she maketh linen garments and selleth them. Our Rabbis taught: He who trades in cane and jars will never see a sign of blessing. What is the reason? Since their bulk is large, the [evil] eye has power over them. Our Rabbis taught: Traders in market-stands and those who breed small cattle, and those who cut down beautiful trees, and those who cast their eyes at the better portion, will never see a sign of blessing. What is the reason? Because people gaze at them. Our Rabbis taught: Four perutoth never contain a sign of blessing: the wages of clerks, the wages of interpreters, the profits of orphans, and money that came from oversea countries. As for the wages of interpreters, that is well, [the reason being] because it looks like wages for Sabbath [work]; orphans money too, because they are not capable of renunciation; money which comes from overseas, because a miracle does not occur every day. But what is the reason for the wages of writers? — Said R. Joshua b. Levi: The men of the Great Assembly observed twenty-four fasts so that those who write Scrolls, tefillin and mezuzoth should not become wealthy for if they became wealthy they would not write. Our Rabbis taught: Those who write Scrolls, tefillin, and mezuzoth, they, their traders and their traders’ traders, and all who engage [in trade] in sacred commodities, which includes the sellers of blue wool, never see a sign of blessing. But if they engage [therein] for its own sake, they do see [a sign of blessing]. The citizens of Beyshan were accustomed not to go from Tyre to Sidon on the eve of the Sabbath. Their children went to R. Johanan and said to him, For our fathers this was possible; for us it is impossible. Said he to them, Your fathers have already taken it upon themselves, as it is said, Hear my son, the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother. The inhabitants of Hozai were accustomed to separate hallah on rice. [When] they went and told it to R. Joseph he said to them, Let a lay Israelite eat it in their presence: Abaye raised an objection against him: Things which are permitted, yet others treat them as forbidden, 43^ᵃᵉ^ᵃᶠ^ᵃᵍ^ᵃʰ^ᵃⁱ^ᵃʲ^ᵃᵏ^ᵃˡ^ᵃᵐ^ᵃⁿ^ᵃᵒ^ᵃᵖ^ᵃᵠ^ᵃʳ^ᵃˢ^ᵃᵗ^ᵃᵘ^ᵃᵛ^ᵃʷ^ᵃˣ^ᵃʸ^ᵃᶻ^ᵇᵃ^ᵇᵇ^ᵇᶜ^ᵇᵈ^ᵇᵉ^ᵇᶠ^ᵇᵍ^ᵇʰ^ᵇⁱ^ᵇʲ^ᵇᵏ^ᵇˡ^ᵇᵐ^ᵇⁿ^ᵇᵒ^ᵇᵖ^ᵇᵠ^ᵇʳ^ᵇˢ^ᵇᵗ^ᵇᵘ

^ᵃᵉnote:The law concerning produce of the Sabbatical year is this: as long as there is produce in the field available for animals, a man may keep produce at home as his private property; but when the produce in the field has ceased, — the animals having consumed it, he must carry out the produce from his home and declare it free for all. Having done this, he may then take back into the house whatever he needs for his private use (Tosaf. 52b, s.v. ihrgc,n).
^ᵃᶠnote:I.e., place it at everybody's disposal.
^ᵃᵍnote:This is explained in the Gemara.
^ᵃʰnote:The afternoon service, and the time for same — beginning generally two and a half hours before nightfall.
^ᵃⁱnote:I.e., the money earned then will not be profitable.
^ᵃʲnote:I.e., before.
^ᵃᵏnote:I.e., it is inadvisable.
^ᵃˡnote:As he may continue work after the Sabbath or Festival has actually commenced; or begin before they have quite terminated.
^ᵃᵐnote:Proclaimed on account of rain, when work was forbidden, Ta'an. 12b. On other fast-days work is permitted.
^ᵃⁿnote:Lit., ‘low’.
^ᵃᵒnote:Though his abstention then is due to indolence, not to respect for the Sabbath, he is nevertheless rewarded, since in fact he does abstain.
^ᵃᵖnote:V. p. 20, n. 5.
^ᵃᵠnote:[Var. lec. (v. Rashi); These women of Mahuza, although the reason they do no work. . . Sabbath is that they are used . . ,yet even so are called etc.]
^ᵃʳnote:Ps. LVII, 11.
^ᵃˢnote:Ibid. CVIII, 5.
^ᵃᵗnote:Lit., ‘name’. To them, His mercy is great above the heavens.
^ᵃᵘnote:Lit., ‘not for its own name’.
^ᵃᵛnote:Jast.; i.e., trading in wool, but not making it up; this realizes very little profit and is not a dignified occupation for a woman.
^ᵃʷnote:But trading in mills, buying and selling them, is profitable.
^ᵃˣnote:Prov. XXXI, 24. This occurs in the description of the ‘woman of valour’.
^ᵃʸnote:[Heb. Simta. Tosef. Bek. II has Shemittah, the Sabbatical year when trading with produce is forbidden.]
^ᵃᶻnote:Sheep, goats, etc.
^ᵇᵃnote:To sell for their timber.
^ᵇᵇnote:When sharing with their neighbour.
^ᵇᶜnote:Market traders are exposed to the public gaze, and so to the evil eye, which is a potent source of misfortune. The other three incur the ill-will of people, the first because breeding small animals was generally frowned upon.
^ᵇᵈnote:Perutah was the smallest coin. I.e., the monies earned by the four things enumerated.
^ᵇᵉnote:Officials who spoke the Sabbath lectures of the Sages to the congregation; the Sage whispered his statements to the interpreter, and he explained them to the people. Also, those who publicly interpreted and translated the weekly readings of the Law on the Sabbath.
^ᵇᶠnote:Orphans’ money was sometimes entrusted to people to trade with, and they kept half the profit for themselves for their labour.
^ᵇᵍnote:He may take more than his due, and a minor cannot legally renounce it in his favour.
^ᵇʰnote:Considerable danger attended the transport of freights at sea, and one might very easily suffer loss.
^ᵇⁱnote:A body of one hundred and twenty men founded by Ezra, regarded as the bearers of Jewish teaching and tradition after the Prophets; v. Ab. I, 1.
^ᵇʲnote:V. Glos.
^ᵇᵏnote:All who trade in these, whether directly or indirectly.
^ᵇˡnote:Lit., ‘work’.
^ᵇᵐnote:Wool dyed blue for insertion in garments as fringes; v. Num. XV, 38.
^ᵇⁿnote:To benefit the community, profit being a secondary consideration.
^ᵇᵒnote:Beyshan (Scythopolis) in Galilee (Jast.). [Beyshan was, however, far too distant from Tyre to enable its inhabitants to go there and back in one day. It must therefore be located in the neighbourhood of Tyre and it is identified with the village at Abasiya, N.E. of Tyre (Hurwitz, Palestine, p. 112).]
^ᵇᵖnote:On the coast of Palestine. Friday was market day at Sidon (Rashi).
^ᵇᵠnote:Prov. I, 8.
^ᵇʳnote:Known to-day as Khuzistan, in S. W. Persia; Obermeyer, pp. 204ff.
^ᵇˢnote:Which is necessary by law.
^ᵇᵗnote:Hallah may be eaten by a priest only. Thus he intimated that this was not hallah.
^ᵇᵘnote:Lit., ‘practise a prohibition in connection with them’.