יומא 75

¹ his eye in the cup, all incestual intercourse appears to him like a plain; the other said: One who indulges in his cup, the entire world appears to him like a plain. Care in the heart, boweth it down. R. Ammi and R. Assi [explained it differently], one said: One should force it down, the other said: One should tell thereof to others. And dust shall be the serpent's food. R. Ammi and R. Assi [disputed its meaning], one said: Even if the serpent were to eat all the delicacies of the world, he would feel therein but the taste of dust; the other said: Even though he ate all the delicacies of the world, his mind would not be at ease until he had eaten dust. It was taught: R. Jose said, Come and see how different the action of human beings is from that of the Holy One, blessed be He. If one of flesh and blood is angry with his neighbour he persecutes him as far as depriving him of his livelihood, but it is different with the Holy One, blessed be He. Although He cursed the serpent, yet when he goes up to the roof, there is his food; if he goes down, there is his food. He cursed Canaan: yet he eats what his master eats, drinks what his master drinks. He cursed the woman, all are running after her. He cursed the earth, all are feeding from it. We remember the fish which we were wont to eat in Egypt for nought. Rab and Samuel [were disputing its meaning], one said: [Fish here means] real fish; the other said: Illicit intercourse. One who said it means real fish [explains it so because of] ‘which we were wont to eat’; the other who interprets it as ‘illicit intercourse’, does so because the term ‘for nought’ is used. But according to him who said it means ‘intercourse’, does not Scripture read: ‘Which we were wont to eat’? — Scripture uses an euphemism, as it is written: She eateth and wipeth her mouth and saith: I have done no wickedness. What does ‘for nought’ mean according to him who says they were real fish? — They were brought to them from public property, for a Master taught: When the Israelites were drawing water, the Holy One, blessed be He, prepared for them in the water little fish for their pitchers. According to him who said ‘real fish’, but with regard to illicit intercourse [he holds] they were not dissolute, it will be quite right that Scripture said: A garden shut up is my sister, etc. but according to the view that fishes mean ‘illicit intercourse’, what ‘fountain sealed’ is here? — They were not dissolute with regard to forbidden relations. It will be right according to him who interprets it as ‘illicit intercourse’, hence Scripture said: And Moses heard the people weeping for their families, i.e., because of the families [relations] with whom they were forbidden to have intercourse; but according to him who interprets it as ‘fish’, what does ‘weeping for their families’ mean? — Both are implied. The cucumbers and the melons. R. Ammi and R. Assi [were disputing its meaning], one said: They found in the manna the taste of every kind of food, but not the taste of these five; the other said: Of all kinds of food they felt both taste and substance, but of these the taste only without the substance. Now the manna was like gad [coriander] seed. R. Assi said [it was] round like a seed [of coriander] and white like a pearl. Our Rabbis taught: ‘Gad’ i.e., the manna resembled the seed of flax in its capsules. Others say: ‘Gad’ i.e., it was like a tale, which draws the heart of man, even like water. Another [Baraitha] taught: ‘Gad’, because it revealed to Israel whether the child was one of nine months’ pregnancy from the first husband, or of seven months’ [pregnancy] from the second. ‘White’, because it makes white [cleanses] the sins of Israel. It was taught: R. Jose said: Even as the prophet would tell Israel what is to be found in clefts or holes so would the manna reveal to Israel what is to ‘be found in clefts or holes’. How that? If, e.g., two men came before Moses with a law-suit, one saying: You have stolen my servant, the other saying: You have sold him to me, Moses would say to them: To-morrow judgment will be pronounced. To-morrow, then: If his [the slave's] ‘omer was found in the house of his first master, it was evidence that the other one had stolen him; if it was found in the house of his second master, that was proof that the former had sold him to the latter. Similarly, if a man and a woman came before Moses with a suit, he saying: She acted offensively against me, and she asserting: He acted offensively against me, Moses would say to them: To-morrow judgment will be pronounced. On the morrow: If her ‘omer was found in her husband's house, that was proof that she had acted offensively, but if it was found in her father's house, that was evidence that he had acted offensively towards her. It is written: And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it, and it is also written: And the people shall go out and gather, and it is written too: The people went about and gathered it. How all that? — Unto the righteous it fell in front of their homes; the average folk went out and gathered, whereas the wicked ones had to go about to gather it. It is written: ‘bread’, and it is written, [dough of] ‘cakes’, and it is written, ‘they ground it’. How that? — The righteous received it as bread, the average Israelites as [dough of] cakes, and the wicked ones had to grind it in the handmill. Or beat it in mortars. Rab Judah said in the name of Rab, or as some say, R. Hama b. Hanina: That teaches that there came down to Israel with the manna the cosmetics for women, i.e., a thing that is ground in a mortar. And seethed it in pots. R. Hama said: This intimates that with the manna there came down to Israel the ingredients for pudding. And they brought yet unto him freewill-offerings every morning. What does ‘every morning’ mean? — R. Samuel b. Nahmani, in the name of R. Jonathan said: [This:] Of those things which came down every morning intimates that, together with the manna, there came down to Israel precious stones and pearls, as it is said: And hanesi'im brought the onyx stones; [and] it was taught: [nesi'im here means]: clouds literally, as it is said also: As clouds [nesi'im] and winds, without rain. And the taste of it was as the taste of a cake baked with oil. R. Abbuha said: [Do not read le-shad (cake), but shad (breast)] viz: Just as the infant finds very many a flavour in the breast, so also did Israel find many a taste in the manna as long as they were eating it. Some there are who say: [‘Le-shad’ means] a real demon; even as the demon changes into many colours, so did the manna change into many tastes. And Moses said: This shall be when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full. A Tanna [taught] in the name of R. Joshua b. Karhah: The flesh for which they asked improperly was given to them at an improper time;37^{ᵃᵇᶜᵈᵉᶠᵍʰⁱʲᵏˡᵐⁿᵒᵖᵠʳˢᵗᵘᵛʷˣʸᶻᵃᵃᵃᵇᵃᶜᵃᵈᵃᵉᵃᶠᵃᵍᵃʰᵃⁱᵃʲᵃᵏ}

² whereas the bread for which they asked properly was given to them in its proper time. Here the Torah intimates a matter of good form; that one should eat meat but at night. But surely Abaye said: One who has a meal should eat it only during the day? — We mean: as in day-light. R. Aha b. Jacob said: At first Israel were like hens picking in the dunghill, until Moses came and fixed for them a definite meal-time. While the flesh was yet between their teeth, yet it is also written: But a whole month, how is that? — The average people [died] at once, the wicked ones continued to suffer a whole month. And they spread them all abroad. Resh Lakish said: Do not read ‘wayishtehu’ [they spread abroad], but ‘wa-yishahtu’ [they were slaughtered], which [reading] intimates that the enemies of Israel had incurred the punishment of being slaughtered. ‘Spread abroad’; it was taught in the name of R. Joshua b. Karhah: Do not read ‘shatoah’, but ‘shahut’ [ritually killed], which would intimate that there came down to Israel together with the manna something requiring ritual killing. Rabbi replied: So must you infer it from here. Was it not stated before: He caused flesh also to rain upon them as the dust, and winged fowl as the sand of the sea? And was it not taught: Rabbi said, Then thou shalt kill [of thy herd and of thy flock]. . . as I have commanded thee. This teaches that Moses received commandments concerning the gullet, and the windpipe, and concerning the larger part of one [organ] in the case of a fowl, and the larger part of two in the case of cattle? What then does ‘shatoah’ [read, shahut] intimate? — That they [the quails] came down so as to form layers. It is written: ‘bread’, but it is also written, ‘oil’ and it is also written, ‘honey’? — R. Jose b. Hanina said: Bread for the youths, oil for the aged, honey for the infants. It is written ‘shlaw’ and we read: slaw? — R. Hanina said: The righteous eat it at ease, whereas when the wicked eat it, it is unto them like thorns. R. Hanan b. Abba said: There are four kinds of slaw [quails]: thrush, partridge, pheasant and quail proper; the best of all is the thrush, the worst of all is the quail proper, which is like a small bird. [One stuffs it], places it in the oven, and it swells up, and becomes so big that it fills the oven. Thereupon one places it on top of twelve loaves of bread, and [even] the lowest one of them cannot be eaten without [some other food] in combination. Rab Judah would find them among his jars; R. Hisda among the twigs. Unto Raba his field labourer used to bring them from the meadow every day. One day he did not bring them. He wondered: Why this? He went up to the roof and heard a child which read: When I heard, my inward parts trembled. Thereupon he said: One knows from this that R. Hisda is dead. It is for this reason that people say: By the merit of his master eats the pupil. It is written: And when the layer of dew was gone up, but it is also written: And when the dew fell? — R. Jose b. Hanina said: There was dew above, and dew below it; it resembled something placed in a box. A fine scale-like thing [mehuspas]; Resh Lakish said: It is something that melts on the wrist [palm] of the hand. R. Johanan said: [It means] something which is absorbed by the two hundred and forty-eight parts [of the human body]. But [the numerical value] of mehuspas is much more? — R. Nahman b. Isaac said: The word is written defective. Our Rabbis taught: Man did eat the bread of the mighty, i.e., bread which ministering angels eat. This was the interpretation of R. Akiba. When these words were reported to R. Ishmael he said to them: Go forth and tell Akiba: Akiba, thou hast erred. For do, indeed, the ministering angels eat bread? Was it not said long ago: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water? How, then, do I interpret ‘the bread abbirum [of the mighty]’? I.e., bread which was absorbed by the two hundred and forty-eight parts [ebarim]. Then how do I apply: And thou shalt have a paddle among thy weapons? That refers to what [foods] the foreign merchants were selling unto them. R. Eleazar b. Perata said: Even of the foodstuff which merchants of other nations sold them, the manna would counteract the effect. What then is the meaning of ‘And thou shalt have a paddle among thy weapons’? — That applied to the time after their offence. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I thought they shall be like ministering angels, but now I shall burden them with the walk of three parasangs as it is written: And they pitched by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth even unto Abel-shittim. And Rabbah b. Hana had said: I have seen this place, it is three parasangs in extension. And furthermore it was taught when they went to relieve nature they went neither forward, nor sideways, but rearwards. But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all. They said: This manna will swell up their bowels, for is there one born of woman who absorbs food without eliminating it too? But when these words were reported before R. Ishmael he said to them: Do not read abbirim [mighty] but ebarim [parts of the body], i.e., something which is absorbed by the two hundred and forty-eight parts. But how do I then interpret: ‘And thou shalt have a paddle among thy weapons’? — That refers to food that came to them from the distant parts. Another interpretation of: Man did eat the bread of the mighty:^{ᵃˡᵃᵐᵃⁿᵃᵒᵃᵖᵃᵠᵃʳᵃˢᵃᵗᵃᵘᵃᵛᵃʷᵃˣᵃʸᵃᶻᵇᵃᵇᵇᵇᶜᵇᵈᵇᵉᵇᶠᵇᵍᵇʰᵇⁱᵇʲᵇᵏᵇˡᵇᵐᵇⁿᵇᵒᵇᵖᵇᵠᵇʳᵇˢᵇᵗ}