תענית 22 — Soncino English Talmud

¹In the morning the scholars rolled these together and took them to the market [for sale]. There they met Abba and they said to him, Sir, value these, how much they are worth, and he replied, So-and-so much. They said to him, Perhaps they are worth more? He replied, This is what I paid for them. They then said to him, They are yours, we took them away from you; tell us, pray, of what did you suspect us. He replied: I said to myself, perhaps the Rabbis needed money to redeem captives and they were ashamed to tell me. They replied, Sir, take them back. He answered: From the moment I missed them I dismissed them from my mind and [I devoted them] to charity. Raba was dejected because of the special honour shown to Abaye and he was therefore told, Be content that [through your merit] the whole city is protected. R. Beroka Hoza'ah used to frequent the market at Be Lapat where Elijah often appeared to him. Once he asked [the prophet], is there any one in this market who has a share in the world to come? He replied, No. Meanwhile he caught sight of a man wearing black shoes and who had no thread of blue on the corners of his garment and he exclaimed, This man has a share in the world to come. He [R. Beroka] ran after him and asked him, What is your occupation? And the man replied: Go away and come back tomorrow. Next day he asked him again, What is your occupation? And he replied: I am a jailer and I keep the men and women separate and I place my bed between them so that they may not come to sin; when I see a Jewish girl upon whom the Gentiles cast their eyes I risk my life and save her. Once there was amongst us a betrothed girl upon whom the Gentiles cast their eyes. I therefore took lees of [red] wine and put them in her skirt and I told them that she was unclean. [R. Beroka further] asked the man, Why have you no fringes and why do you wear black shoes? He replied: That the Gentiles amongst whom I constantly move may not know that I am a Jew, so that when a harsh decree is made [against Jews] I inform the rabbis and they pray [to God] and the decree is annulled. He further asked him, When I asked you, What is your occupation, why did you say to me, Go away now and come back to-morrow? He answered, They had just issued a harsh decree and I said I would first go and acquaint the rabbis of it so that they might pray to God. Whilst [they were thus conversing] two [men] passed by and [Elijah] remarked, These two have a share in the world to come. R. Beroka then approached and asked them, What is your occupation? They replied, We are jesters, when we see men depressed we cheer them up; furthermore when we see two people quarrelling we strive hard to make peace between them. THE ALARM IS SOUNDED EVERYWHERE ON ACCOUNT OF THE FOLLOWING [VISITATIONS] etc. Our Rabbis have taught: The alarm is sounded everywhere on account of the following visitations, blast, mildew, locust, crickets and wild beasts. R. Akiba says: For the slightest attack of blast and mildew; and In the case of locust and crickets even if only one winged creature is seen the alarm is sounded [immediately]. FOR WILD BEASTS etc. Our Rabbis have taught: The Alarm is sounded for wild beasts only when they are a [divine] visitation but not otherwise. What constitutes a [divine] visitation and what does not? When they make their appearance in the city that is a [divine] visitation, in the field it is not; by day it is a [divine] visitation, by night it is not; if a beast sees two persons and pursues them it is a [divine] visitation, but if it hides itself on seeing them it is not; if it killed two persons and devoured only one of them that is a [divine] visitation, but if it devoured both of them it is not; if it mounted the roof and carried off an infant out of the cradle that is a divine visitation. Is not this [Baraitha] self-contradictory? [First] you say, ‘If it makes its appearance in the city it is a visitation’ and no distinction is made whether this happens by day or by night, and then you add ‘it is a visitation’, but by night it is not! — There is no contradiction. This is what is meant. If it makes its appearance in the city by day it is a visitation, but in the city by night it is not. Or, in the field even by day it is not a visitation. [First you say,] ‘If the beast sees two persons and pursues them it is a visitation’ which implies that if it remains still it is no visitation and then you add ‘if it hides itself on seeing then it is not a visitation’; this would imply that if it remains still it is a visitation! — This is no contradiction. In the one case it speaks of [a beast] in a field near reedland, in the other in a field not near reedland. [You say,] ‘If it kills two men and devours one of them, that is a visitation but if it devours both of them it is not.’ But did you not say that even if it only pursues [two people] that is a visitation? — R. Papa replied: That speaks of a case [where the beast is standing] in reedland. The [above] text [states] ‘If it mounted the roof and carried off an infant out of the cradle it is a visitation’. Is not this self-evident? R. Papa replied: This statement is meant to refer to [the case of a beast carrying off an infant out of a cradle in] a hunter's cave. AND THE SWORD etc. Our Rabbis have taught: By ‘SWORD’ is meant not only a hostile attack by an invading army but also the passing en route of a friendly army. For there could be no more friendly army than that of Pharaoh-Necho, and yet through it king Josiah met his fate, as it is said^ᵃ^ᵇ^ᶜ^ᵈ^ᵉ^ᶠ^ᵍ^ʰ^ⁱ^ʲ^ᵏ

^ᵃnote:Of Be Hozae (Khuzistan).
^ᵇnote:[The capital of the province of Khuzistan during the Sasanian period, v. Obermeyer p. 209.]
^ᶜnote:Cf. Num. XV, 38.
^ᵈnote:She was menstruating. [As protection of the woman this was singularly effective, as among the Persians the laws of menstruation were of extreme rigour, v. Obermeyer p. 210, n. 1.]
^ᵉnote:[It was the black latchets which were the distinguishing marks between Jews and Gentiles, v. Sanh. 74b and Krauss TA. I, 628.]
^ᶠnote:[Var. lec.: ‘two brothers’.]
^ᵍnote:The animal had already satisfied its hunger by devouring the first person whom it killed; when therefore it kills another person then it can only be a divine visitation.
^ʰnote:[The text is doubtful and in disorder. MS.M. omits, or in the field... visitation’. The words ‘in the fields by night it is not a visitation’, which appear in the cur. ed. in brackets are best left out.]
^ⁱnote:When the animal stands near reedland and it feels itself secure because it has a place of escape and it therefore is not likely to attack a person
^ʲnote:Although it is a low building and the animal need not climb up high for its prey, the attack is yet taken as a divine visitation.
^ᵏnote:Lit., ‘there is no need to speak of a sword that is not of peace but ever a sword of peace’.

²But he sent ambassadors to him, saying : What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war: and God hath given command to speed me; forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that He destroyeth thee not. What is meant by ‘God who is with me’? — Rab Judah said in the name of Rab: Idols. Josiah said [to himself], Since he [Pharaoh-Necho] puts his trust in his idols I will prevail over him. And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants: Have me away, for I am sore wounded. What is meant by, ‘For I am sore wounded’? Rab Judah said in the name of Rab: This teaches that his whole body was perforated like a sieve. R. Samuel b. Nahmani said in the name of R. Jonathan: Josiah was punished because he should have consulted Jeremiah and he did not. On what did Josiah rely? — On the divine promise contained in the words, Neither shall the sword go through your land. What sword? Is it the warring sword? It is already stated [in the same verse], And I will give peace in the land. It must surely refer to the peaceful sword. Josiah, however, did not know that his generation found but little favour [in the eyes of God]. When he was dying Jeremiah observed that his lips were moving and he feared that perhaps, Heaven forfend,[Josiah] was saying something improper because of his great pain; he thereupon bent down and he overheard him justifying [God's] decree against himself saying, The Lord is righteous; for I have rebelled against His word. He [Jeremiah] then cited of him, The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord. IT HAPPENED THAT THE ELDERS RETURNED FROM JERUSALEM TO THEIR OWN CITIES etc. The question was asked, [Does the Mishnah mean] as an oven full of grain, or as an oven full of bread? — Come and hear: As much as would fill the opening of an oven. The following question however still remains, Does it mean [as much bread] as would close the opening of an oven, or a row of loaves extending to the opening of the oven? This is left undecided. THEY ALSO ORDAINED A FAST BECAUSE WOLVES DEVOURED etc. ‘Ulla said in the name of R. Simeon b. Jehozadak: It happened that wolves devoured two children and they passed them out through their secretory canal and the question came up before the Sages and they declared that the flesh [of the children] was clean but that their bones were unclean. THE ALARM IS SOUNDED ON THE SABBATH etc. Our Rabbis have taught: When a city is surrounded by hostile Gentiles, or threatened with inundation by the river, or when a ship is foundering in the sea, or when an individual is being pursued by Gentiles or robbers or by an evil spirit, the alarm is sounded [even] on the Sabbath; and on account of all these an individual may afflict himself by fasting. R. Jose says: An individual may not afflict himself by fasting lest thereby he come to need the help of his fellow men and it may be that they will not have mercy upon him. Rab Judah said in the name of Rab: R. Jose's reason is because It is written, And became a living soul; Scripture thereby implies, [God says], Keep alive the soul which I gave you. SIMEON THE TEMANITE SAYS [THE ALARM IS SOUNDED] ALSO EVEN ON ACCOUNT OF PLAGUE etc. The question was asked: Did the Rabbis disagree with him only when it was a question of sounding the alarm on the Sabbath, but on weekdays they agreed with him; or, perhaps they did not agree with him in any circumstances? — Come and hear: The alarm is sounded on account of plague on the Sabbath, and, it goes without saying, on weekdays. R. Hanan b. Pitom, a disciple of R. Akiba, said in the name of R. Akiba: We may not under any circumstances sound the alarm on account of plague. THE ALARM IS SOUNDED ON ACCOUNT OF ANY VISITATION, THAT COMES UPON THE COMMUNITY! Our Rabbis have taught: The alarm is sounded on account of any visitation that comes upon the community! except on account of an overabundance of rain. Why?- R. Johanan said: Because we may not pray on account of an excess of good. R. Johanan further said: Whence do we derive that we may not pray on account of an excess of good? For it is said, Bring ye the whole tithe into the storehouse . . . that there shall be more than sufficiency. What is the meaning of, ‘More than sufficiency’? — Rami son of R. Yud interpreted: Until your lips grow weary with saying, Sufficient. Rami son of R. Yud said: In the Diaspora the alarm is sounded on account of this. It has been taught likewise: In a year of excessive rain the Men of the Mishmar send [a message] to the Men of the Ma'amad: Think of your brethren in the Diaspora that their houses may not become their graves. R. Eliezer was asked, How excessive must the rainfall be to warrant prayer for it to cease? He replied: When a man standing on Keren Ofel is able to dabble his feet in water. But has it not been taught ‘his hands’? — I mean, his feet [at the same time] as his hands. Rabah bar b. Hana related: Once as I was standing on Keren Ofel I saw [below] an Arab with a spear in his hand riding on a camel and to me he looked as small as a flax-worm. The Rabbis have taught: And I will give you rains in their season. [This means that the soil shall be] neither soaked nor parched, but moderately rained upon. For whenever the rain is excessive it scours away the soil so that it yields no fruit.^ˡ^ᵐ^ⁿ^ᵒ^ᵖ^ᵠ^ʳ^ˢ^ᵗ^ᵘ^ᵛ^ʷ^ˣ^ʸ^ᶻ^ᵃᵃ^ᵃᵇ^ᵃᶜ

^ˡnote:II Chron. XXXV, 21.
^ᵐnote:Ibid. 23.
^ⁿnote:Rab Judah infers this from the words ohruhv uruhu which he renders,’And the archers continued shooting.’[Or, h,hkjv is connected with kkj to pierce through.]
^ᵒnote:Lev. XXVI, 6.
^ᵖnote:Lam. I, 18.
^ᵠnote:Ibid. IV, 20.
^ʳnote:The former is the larger quantity.
^ˢnote:Their flesh as mere secretion does not render anyone coming into contact with them unclean, but their bones, still retaining their solid nature, do; cf. Lev. V, 2-3.
^ᵗnote:[Var. lec.: ‘an evil beast’.]
^ᵘnote:Gen. II, 7.
^ᵛnote:[Var. lec.: b. Phinehas.]
^ʷnote:Mal. III, 10.
^ˣnote:Because of an excess of rain.
^ʸnote:The phrase, Men of the Mishmar’ here does not refer to priests but to a division of lay Israelites whose representatives in Jerusalem known as the Men of the Ma'amad (v. Glos.) stood by during the sacrificial ceremonies reciting prayers (v. Malter, a.l. and infra 27a notes).
^ᶻnote:Diaspora in the first instance denotes Babylon. Babylon being a low lying country would be swamped by an excess of rain.
^ᵃᵃnote:The name of a high rock on the brook of Kidron E. of Jerusalem. Cf. Tosef. Ta'an. III, I. [The water to reach the Ofel would have to rise five hundred feet. V. Buchler, op. cit. p. 197.]
^ᵃᵇnote:[MS.M. omits, ‘I mean’, the reference being to the Baraitha. I.e., the Baraitha, in stating ‘hands’ means that the water had risen so high that one can sit on the Keren Ofel and wash his hands whilst his feet dabble in the water.]
^ᵃᶜnote:Lev. XXVI, 4.