ר' אלעזר בן עזריה אומר אין עושין את האמה בתחילה במועד ובשביעית וחכ"א עושין את האמה בתחילה בשביעית ומתקני' את המקולקלות במועד ומתקנין את קילקולי המים שברשות הרבים וחוטטין אותן ומתקני' את הדרכים ואת הרחובות ואת מקוות המים ועושין כל צורכי הרבים ומציינין על הקברות ויוצאין אף על הכלאים:
What has been said about the stars, applies to those which are not generally seen until nightfall; for, no note is taken of those which appear before the day is terminated. Therefore, R. Yosse bar R. Aboon says: It means three stars not counting, R. Jacob from Darom (south) says: One star indicates that it is still day; but two stars certainly show that it is night. Is there any doubt of this? No; the doubt can only exist between the stars visible by day, and the other stars. With regard to this, we are taught that it is still day as long as the sky is red towards the east; SIGN OF [GOD'S] ANGER3 WHY MAKE MENTION OF IT? THEREUPON R. ELIEZER SAID TO HIM: I ALSO DID NOT SAY TO PRAY4 BUT TO MAKE MENTION [IN THE WORD] ‘HE CAUSETH THE WIND TO BLOW AND THE RAIN TO FALL’5 -IN ITS DUE SEASON. HE [R. JOSHUA] REPLIED TO HIM: IF THAT IS SO ONE SHOULD AT ALL TIMES MAKE MENTION OF IT. WE PRAY FOR RAIN ONLY CLOSE TO THE RAINY SEASON. R. JUDAH SAYS: THE LAST TO STEP BEFORE THE ARK6 ON THE LAST DAY OF THE FEAST MAKES MENTION, THE FIRST DOES NOT; ON THE FIRST DAY OF PASSOVER THE FIRST MAKES MENTION, THE LAST DOES NOT. GEMARA. What has the Tanna [in mind] when he teaches WHEN etc.?7 -The Tanna refers to [a Mishnah] elsewhere which teaches: We make mention of the Power of Rain in the [benediction of] the Revival of the Dead,8 and we pray for [rain] in the Benediction of the Years9 and [we insert] the Habdulah10 in [the benediction] ‘Thou favourest man with knowledge’.11 [With that passage in mind] the Tanna now teaches: When do we [begin] to make mention of the Power of Rain? Would it not have been more appropriate to teach it there, why did he leave it until now? — [Say] rather, because the Tanna had just completed [learning the Tractate] Rosh Hashanah12 where we have learnt: And on the Feast [the world] is judged through water. And, [as there] he taught: ‘And on the Feast [the world] is judged through water,’ therefore there he teaches: When do we [begin] to make mention of the Power of Rain. But let him teach: When do we [begin] to make mention of Rain: why, the Power of Rain?-R. Johanan said: Because Rain comes down by the Power [of God], as it is said, Who doeth great things und unsearchable, marvellous things without number.13 And it is [further] written, Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields.14 Where [in these verses is this idea] implied? — Rabbah b. Shila replied: It is derived from the analogous use of the word heker in verses treating of Creation. Here it is written, ‘Who doeth great things and unsearchable’. And there it is written, ‘Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, The Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? His discernment is past searching out.15 And [of Creation] it is [also] written, Who by Thy strength settest fast the mountains, Who art girded about with might.16 Whence do we know that mention of Rain is to be made in the Prayer?17 - It has been taught: To love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart.18 What is Service of Heart? You must needs say, Prayer. And the verse following reads, That I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain.19 R. Johanan said: Three keys the Holy One blessed be He has retained in His own hands and not entrusted to the hand of any messenger, namely, the Key of Rain, the Key of Childbirth, and the Key of the Revival of the Dead. The Key of Rain, for It is written, The Lord will open unto thee His good treasure, the heaven to give the rain of thy land in its season,20 The Key of Childbirth, for it is written, And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened
Jerusalem Talmud Nazir
Something happened7A close relative died. By rabbinic convention, the mourner cannot leave his house for the first seven days after burial; he does not shave for thirty days. R. Immi considered the 30 days’ period of the nazir as a paradigm for the 30 day period of the mourner. to Rebbi Immi and he shaved on the 30th day, and something happened to Rebbi Immi and he shaved on the 31st day8He was inconsistent in his actions.. Rebbi Zeriqa said, Rebbi Immi learned this from the Mishnah, as we have stated there9Mishnah 2.: “If somebody vowed two neziriot, he shaves for the first on the 31st day, for the second on the 61st day10The argument is from the part of the Mishnah which is not quoted: “But if he shaved for the first on the 30th day, he shaves for the second on the 60th” (cf. Note 6)..” Rebbi Yose said, there when it happened, here from the start11R. Yose criticizes R. Immi. The Mishnah requires the nazir to shave on his 31st day; it only legitimizes shaving on the 30th after the fact. But R. Immi shaved on the 30th on his own initiative. R. Zeriqa seems to hold that what is acceptable after the fact in biblical rules is permitted from the start in rabbinic usage.. Rebbi Jeremiah instructed Rebbi Isaac Aṭoshia, and some say, Rav Ḥiyya bar Rav Isaac Aṭoshia, to shave on the 30th day, following the Mishnah12Mo‘ed qaṭan 3:5. “If somebody buried his relative three days before a holiday, the seven-day rule is waived for him. Eight days, the 30 day rule is waived for him, as they said: Sabbath is counted but does not interrupt, holidays interrupt but do not count.” If somebody was mourning for three days before the holiday, he does not have to continue the intense mourning period after the holiday; he continues with the remainder of the 30-day period. Similarly, if he was keeping at least one day of mourning after the seven-day period, the holiday cancels the remainder of the 30-day mourning period. (The Babli, Mo‘ed qaṭan 19b, reduces the 8 day period to 7 since “part of a day is like a whole day” and the 30-day period starts on the seventh.): “Eight days, the decree of 30 days is waived for him.” The eighth has the same status as the 30th day13The argument here goes as follows: If the 8th day of mourning was holiday eve, the mourner can shave in the afternoon in preparation for the holiday. The time elapsed from dawn to the afternoon is counted as a full day for him. Therefore, the person who shaves on the 30th day can nevertheless count the entire 30th day as being part of his mourning period.. Rebbi Yose said, there is a difference; there they permitted in order to honor the holiday. You should know this, since Rebbi Ḥelbo bar Ḥuna said in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: If his eighth day falls on the Sabbath, he shaves Sabbath eve. If you say that they did not permit in order to honor the holiday, then even if his 30th day falls on the Sabbath, he should shave Sabbath eve14Nobody allows the mourner to shave on the 29th day. (Quoted by Tosaphot Mo‘ed qaṭan 19b, s. v. הלכה).. In addition, from what Rebbi Joḥanan had said15Mo‘ed qaṭan 3:5 (82b 1. 10), 3:8 (83d 1. 23); Babli 22b.: “For all deceased16Except for father and mother. The first sign of mourning required is to tear one’s garment. For the seven-day period, the mourner is required to wear the torn garment. He can stitch together the tear after the end of the seven-day period (after 30 days for father or mother) and invisibly mend it after thirty days (never mending invisibly for father or mother.) Why does one not allow stitching or mending on the last day of a period if “part of the day is counted as a whole day”? he stitches together after seven days and mends after 30.” Why should he not stitch on the seventh day and mend on the 30th day? Rebbi Ḥaggai said, this has been transmitted in this way and that has been transmitted in that way16Except for father and mother. The first sign of mourning required is to tear one’s garment. For the seven-day period, the mourner is required to wear the torn garment. He can stitch together the tear after the end of the seven-day period (after 30 days for father or mother) and invisibly mend it after thirty days (never mending invisibly for father or mother.) Why does one not allow stitching or mending on the last day of a period if “part of the day is counted as a whole day”?.
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Jerusalem Talmud Sotah
HALAKHAH: “Rebbi Joshua said, who would remove the dust from your eyes, Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakkai,” etc. 154The parallel is in Babli, Baba Batra 15a/b. When was Job? Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish in the name of Bar Qappara: He was in the days of our father Abraham; that is what is written: “155Job 1:1. A man was in the land of Oz, his name was Job.” And it is written, “156Gen. 23:21, in the list of Aramean Naḥor tribes. Oz his firstborn.” Rebbi Abba said157In the Babli, this is the opinion of R. Nathan in an alternate version., in the days of our father Jacob and Dinah was his wife; that is what is written: “158Job 2:10. You speak like one of the impious ones”, and it is written: “159Gen. 34:7. For an impiety he did in Israel.” Rebbi Levi said, he was in the days of the tribes; that is what is written: “160Job. 15:18. The previous verse ends: This I have seen, I shall tell it; the verses are interpreted as referring to Judah and Reuben who confessed their sins; cf. Chapter 1, Note 195. What Sages would tell, they did not conceal from their fathers.” Rebbi Yose ben Ḥalaphta said, he was born when they descended into Egypt and he died when they left161This is an anonymous tannaïtic opinion in the Babli. The traditional duration of the tribes’ stay in Egypt is 210 years; cf. the author’s The Scholar’s Haggadah, pp. 283–284. Job lived another 140 years after his tribulations (Job 42:16). Since God gave double restitution for everything he had lost, it is concluded that he suffered in his 70th year and lived for 210 years.. A parable of a shepherd when a wolf came and attacked his flock. What did he do? He put up a ram against him162In the Babli, 14b, this is hinted at by the statement that Job’s goats were able to attack wolves, being supernaturally safe from predators.. That is what is written: “163Job 16:11. He delivered me to the evil one, he threw me amongst evildoers.” Rebbi Ismael stated: Job was one of Pharao’s servants, a great one in his government164In the later Midrash, Ex. rabba1(12), this is extended to include in Pharao’s council Bileam, who voted for killing the Jewish children and was killed, Job who abstained from voting and suffered, and Jethro who voted against Pharao’s decree and was rewarded in that his descendants sat in the Synhedrion.’165Familia as a term for government is from the time of the principate when the emperor ran the state by his freedmen and slaves, his familia.. That is what is written: “166Ex. 9:20. One who feared the word of the Eternal etc.”, and it is written about him, “155Job 1:1. a man, artless and straight, fearing God and fleeing from evil152Job 1:1.”. Rebbi Yose bar Jehudah167In the Babli, R. Eleazar. says, he was in the days when the Judges judged; that is what is written: “Behold, you all did see, why do you turn all into vapor168Job 27:12..” You saw what my generation did, that they collect tithes on the threshing floors; “you loved whore’s wages on all grain threshing floors169Hos. 9:1. Since it is in the hand of the farmer to whom to give his tithes; the Levite or Cohen who comes to the threshing floor to collect his tithes is an extortionist (Cf. Demay 6:3, Note 69)..” Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman in the name of Rebbi Jonathan170In the Babli, R. Nathan.: He was in the days of the queen of Seba, as it is said: “Seba attacked and took them171Job 1:15..” Rebbi Nathan172In the Babli, the anonymous Sages. said, he was in the days of the Chaldeans, as it is said: “The Chaldeans attacked from three sides.173Job 1:17.” Rebbi Joshua ben Qorḥa174Same argument in the Babli. said, he was in the days of Asuerus, as it is said: “One shall look for beautiful virgins for the king175Esth. 2:2..” And it is written, “no women were found like Job’s daughters176Job 42:15..” Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, he was of the returnees of the diaspora. Rebbi Joḥanan said, He was of the returnees from the diaspora and was a Jew177In the Babli, R. Joḥanan and R. Eleazar.. Therefore Rebbi Joḥanan learned from him the rules of mourning. “Job got up and tore his coat178Job 1:20.”; Rebbi Jehudah ben Pazi in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: From here [one learns] that a mourner has to tear [his garment] while standing179In Mo‘ed Qaṭan 3:7, Babli 20b, the verse is quoted without asking whether Job was Jewish or not.. Rebbi Ḥiyya180In the Babli this is an anonymous tannaïtic statement. stated: In My world I had one just Gentile, I gave him his reward and removed him from My world181Since Job, in contrast to Jewish saintly persons, received his reward in this world, he seems to be excluded from the World to Come.. Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish182In the Babli, 14a, this is the opinion of an anonymous author who proves that Scripture in effect contains tales that do not correspond to reality, such as Nathan’s tale of the poor man and his sheep. said, Job did not exist and will never live. The opinion of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish is inconsistent: There, Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said in the name of Bar Qappara: He was in the days of our father Abraham, but here he says so? But he did exist but his suffering did not. Then why is it written about him? To tell you that if it had come upon him, he would have withstood it.
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Jerusalem Talmud Moed Katan
MISHNAH: Only the relatives of the deceased tear their clothes, or take them off276It used to be that male mourners were sitting with bare shoulders., or are brought the first meal277On a holiday; whereas on weekdays those close to the deceased also could show their mourning. The first meal cannot be prepared by the mourners themselves at any time.. One receives the first meal only on upright standing couches278In contrast to weekdays when overturned couches are the standard.. Also one carries the first meal to the mourner’s house neither on a tablet279Latin tabula., nor in a bowl280Latin scutella., nor in a reed basket281Greek κανοῡν.; only in sacks282Since the poor have only sacks, they should not be excluded from the meritorious act of providing the first meal.. On the holiday one does not recite the blessing of the mourners283In the cemetery all burial ceremonies are omitted., but one stands in a row, consoles, and dismisses the public284When leaving the cemetery the public forms two rows between which the mourners leave while the public tells that the All-Merciful may console them among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. In contrast to weekdays the public is dismissed at the cemetery and the mourners return to their house unaccompanied..
