abbahu

What means "all His benefits"? R. Abbahu said : [It means] that He placed her breast in the place of understanding.

R. Abbahu b. Zutarti said in the name of R. Judah b. Zebida: It was sought to include the Parashah of Balak in the reading of the Shema'. Why did they not do so? Because of the trouble [its length would cause] to the congregation.

R. Abbahu said in the name of R. Johanan : The Halakah is in accord with R. Judah who maintains that one may not interrupt between "I am the Lord your God" and "True and firm." R. Abbahu [also] said in the name of R. Johanan: What is R. Judah's reason? Because it is written,

R. Abbahu said in the name of R. Johanan : The Halakah is in accord with R. Judah who maintains that one may not interrupt between "I am the Lord your God" and "True and firm." R. Abbahu [also] said in the name of R. Johanan: What is R. Judah's reason? Because it is written,

R. Abbahu said in the name of R. Johanan: He must repeat the word "true." Rabbah said : He does not repeat it. Somebody descended in the presence of Rabbah ; and when the latter heard him say emit "true" twice, He [Rabbah] exclaimed, "Every emet has seized hold of this fellow !"

R. Johanan had the habit of going and sitting at the gates of the baths, saying, "When the daughters of Israel leave, let them gaze upon me, and they will have children as beautiful as I." The Rabbis said to him, "Art thou not afraid of the Evil Eye?" He answered, "I am come from the seed of Joseph against whom the Evil Eye had no power ; for it is written, 'Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a fountain' (Gen. xlix. 22) ; and R. Abbahu said: Read not 'ale 'ayin 'by a fountain' but 'ole 'ayin 'overcoming the [Evil] Eye'."

And did R. Johanan really say what is attributed to him? For lo, Rabbah b. Bar Hannah has said in the name of R. Johanan : One is permitted to meditate anywhere upon words of Torah except the bath-house and privy ! And shouldest thou urge that here also one refers to standing and the other to walking, it cannot be so ; because R. Abbahu once followed R. Johanan and he was reading the Shema', but when he reached the filthy courtways he lapsed into silence. He said to R. Johanan, "Where should I resume [my prayer] ?" He replied, "If thou hast waited sufficient time to finish the whole, return to the commencement" !

But if he does stop, what is his reward? R. Abbahu said : Of him the Scriptures state, "Through this thing ye shall prolong your days" (Deut. xxxii. 47).

"Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them and that I may consume them ; and I will make of thee a great nation" etc. (Exod. xxxii. 10). R. Abbahu said : Were it not explicitly written, it would be impossible to say it ; for this teaches that Moses caught hold of the Holy One, blessed be He, like a man who takes hold of his neighbour by his garment, and said before Him, "Lord of the universe ! I will not let Thee alone until Thou forgivest and pardonest them."

This is at variance with the opinion of R. Abbahu who said : The place which the penitent occupy, the perfectly righteous are unable to occupy ; as it is said, "Peace, peace to him that is far off and to him that is near" — "to him that is far off [from God]" first, and then "to him that is near." But R. Johanan can reply :

For there is a Mishnaic teaching : The olive which they mention [as constituting the minimum] is neither small nor large but an average size, viz. : the kind called Egori. R. Abbahu said : Its name is not Egori but Ibroti; and some say Simrosi. Why is it called Egori ? Because its oil is stored up [agur] within it.

R. Abbahu ate so many of them that a fly would glide down his face. R. Ammi and R. Assi ate so many of them that their hair fell out. R. Simeon b. Lakish ate so many of them that he began to rave. R. Johanan reported this to the household of the Prince, and R. Judah the Prince sent officials after him and brought him to his house.

GEMARA Whence is this derived? Rab Assi said : Because the Scriptures state, "O magnify ye the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together" (Ps. xxxiv. 4). R. Abbahu said : From the following, "For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe ye greatness unto our God" (Deut. xxxii. 3).

R. Zera was ill. R. Abbahu went in to visit him, and took [a vow] upon himself, "If the little one with the scorched legs recovers, I will make a joyous day for the Rabbis." He did recover, and R. Abbahu made a feast for all the Rabbis. When it was time to commence the meal, he said to R. Zera, "Let the master begin for us." He replied, "Does not the master hold with R. Johanan's statement, 'The master of the house should break the bread'?" He commenced for them.

R. Zera was ill. R. Abbahu went in to visit him, and took [a vow] upon himself, "If the little one with the scorched legs recovers, I will make a joyous day for the Rabbis." He did recover, and R. Abbahu made a feast for all the Rabbis. When it was time to commence the meal, he said to R. Zera, "Let the master begin for us." He replied, "Does not the master hold with R. Johanan's statement, 'The master of the house should break the bread'?" He commenced for them.

With whose opinion was R. Abbahu in agreement?

The first tithe from, which Terumah has been taken. This is evident ! No ; it is necessary to state it for the case where [the Levite] anticipated with the ears of corn and separated therefrom the Terumah of the tithe before [the priest] had separated the great Terumah. This is in accord with R. Abbahu who said in the name of R. Simeon b. Lakish : The first tithe, which [the Levite] anticipated and separated from the ears, is exempt from the great Terumah ; as it is said, "Ye shall set apart of it a gift for the Lord, even a tithe of the tithe" (Num. xviii. 26) — i.e. "a tithe of the tithe" I tell thee [to set apart], but not a great Terumah or a Terumah of a tithe of a tithe.

R. Zera said in the name of R. Abbahu (another version: it was taught in a Baraita) : Ten things are said with reference to the cup used for the Grace after meals : It requires washing and rinsing, undiluted [wine] and must be full, crowning and covering ; he takes it with both hands and places it in the right hand, raises it a handbreadth from the floor and gazes at it. Some also say : He sends it as a present to his household,

R. Abbahu said (another version : it was taught in a Baraita) : He who eats while walking should say Grace standing ; but he who eats standing should sit to say Grace ; and when he reclines at the meal, he should sit up to say Grace. The Halakah in every case is : He sits and says Grace.

R. Johanan said : The Holy One, blessed be He, only gives wisdom to him who has wisdom ; as it is said, "He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding" (Dan. 2:21 ). Rab Tahlifa the Palestinian heard this and repeated it in the presence of R. Abbahu. He said to him : You learn it from there ; but I learn it from the following, for it is written, "In the hearts of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom" (Exod. 31:6).

For rain and good tidings he says, "Blessed... Who art good and dispensest good." But is the benediction for rain "Who art good and dispensest good"? For lo, R. Abbahu has said (another version : It was taught in a Baraita) : From what time do we say the benediction over rain ? From the time the bridegroom goes forth to meet his bride ;

R. Abbahu entered a bath-house, and its floor gave way beneath him. A miracle occurred, and he stood upon a pillar and rescued a hundred and one men with one arm. He exclaimed, "This is what R. Aha meant."

It is quite right according to him who says that it was a face ; that is what is written, "Male and female created He them" (Gen. 5:2). But according to him who said it was a tail, what means "Male and female created He them"? It is [to be explained] according to R. Abbahu who asked : It is written "Male and female created He them," and it is written, "For in the image of God made He man" (ibid. ix. 6). How is this? At first He planned to create two, but in the end only one was created.

R. Abbahu said : If it was originally a public path, it is permitted [as a short cut for all]. R. Helbo said in the name of Rab Huna: Who enters a Synagogue to pray is allowed to use it as a short cut ; as it is said, "But when the people of the land shall come before the Lord in the appointed seasons, he that entereth by the way of the north gate to worship shall go forth by the way of the south gate" (Ezek. xlvi. 9).

Rab Safra said : R. Abbahu related that when Hananyah, the nephew of R. Joshua, went to the Diaspora, he used to intercalate the years and fix the new moons outside the [Holy] Land.

"And he would return into the camp" etc. (ibid.). R. Abbahu said : The Holy One, blessed be He, spake to Moses, "Now will they say, The Master is angry and the disciple is angry; what will become of Israel? If thou wilt restore the tent to its place [within the camp], well and good ; but if not, Joshua the son of Nun, thy disciple, will minister in thy stead."

Abaye said to him: Is it not possible that [the latter part] is merely an explanation: "He placed it beside many waters," and what was it? A tzaftzefah? If so, what does "he set it" mean? R. Abbahu said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: I said that Israel should be before me as something placed beside many waters that is, a willow, but they have made themselves as a tzaftzefah of the mountains

Some teach this verse in connection with the baraitha: "He placed it beside many waters, he set it as a tzaftzefah." R. Zera raised a difficulty: Is it not possible that [the latter part] is merely an explanation: "He placed it beside many waters" and what was it? A tzaftzefah? If so, what is meaning of ‘he set it’? R. Abbahu said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: I said that Israel should be before me as something placed beside many waters, that is, a willow, but they have made themselves as a tzaftzefah of the mountains.

R. Abbahu said: Read not hadar, but ha-dar, a fruit which lives upon its tree from year to year. Ben Azzai said: Read not hadar, but hudor for in Greek water is called hudor. Now what fruit is it that grows by every water? Say it is the etrog.

It was stated: R. Yohanan and R. Joshua b. Levi disagree: One holds that the aravah is an institution of the prophets, the other holds that the aravah is a custom of the prophets. It can be concluded that it was R. Yohanan who said: It is an institution of the prophets since R. Abbahu stated in the name of R. Yohanan: The rite of the aravah is an institution of the prophets. This is conclusive.

R. Zera sad to R. Abbahu, Did R. Yohanan really say that? Did not R. Yohanan say in the name of R. Nehunya of the Valley of Beth Hovartan that ‘the law of the ten plants, the aravah ... and the water libation were given to Moses on Mount Sinai? He was silent for a while (Daniel 4:16), and then he answered: They were forgotten and the prophets re-instituted them.

R. Abbahu said: What is its Scriptural proof? As it is said, “Order the festival procession with boughs, up to the horns of the altar” (Psalms 118:27). R. Abbahu said n the name of R. Elazar: Whoever takes the lulav with its binding and the hadas in its thickness is regarded by Scripture as though he had built an altar and offered on it a sacrifice. For it is said,

R. Abbahu said: What is its Scriptural proof? As it is said, “Order the festival procession with boughs, up to the horns of the altar” (Psalms 118:27). R. Abbahu said n the name of R. Elazar: Whoever takes the lulav with its binding and the hadas in its thickness is regarded by Scripture as though he had built an altar and offered on it a sacrifice. For it is said,

A certain min whose name was Sason once said to R. Abbahu: You are destined to draw water for me in the world to come, for it is written, “Therefore be-Sason shall you draw water.” He said back to him: If it had been written, “le-sason” it would be as you say, but as it is written “be-sason” the meaning must be that a water-skin will be made of your skin, and water will be drawn with it’.

R. Abbahu said: “Ekron shall be rooted up” (Zephaniah 2:4); this is Caesarea the daughter of Edom, which is situated among the sands, and which was a thorn in the side of Israel in the days of the Greeks. When the House of the Hasmoneans grew powerful and conquered them, they called it “The capture of the tower of Shir.”

Shimon b. Gamaliel says that books [of the scripture] also are permitted to be written only in Greek. Abbahu said in the name of R. Yohanan: The halakhah follows R. Shimon b. Gamaliel. R. Yohanan further said: What is the reason of R. Shimon b. Gamaliel? Scripture says, “God will enlarge Yapheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem” (Genesis 9:26); [this means] that the words of Yapheth shall be in the tents of Shem.

“Then King Ahashverosh said, and he said to Esther the queen.” Why “said” and again “said”? R. Abbahu said: He first spoke to her through an intermediary. When she told him that she came from the house of Saul, he immediately,”said to Esther the queen.”

“And the king said to the queen: In Shushan the castle the Jews have slain . . .” (Esther 9:12). R. Abbahu This teaches us that an angel came and slapped him on his mouth.

R. Abbahu said: R. Meir is different, because to him could be applied the verse, "Let your eyes look in front, and gaze straight before you" (Proverbs 4:25). Rami b. Hama asked R. Jeremiah from Difti: What is the meaning of "Let your eyes [af'apekha] look in front, and gaze straight before you"? He replied: This refers to the words of the Torah, of which it is written, "Will your eyes fly over it [ta'if] and it is gone?" (Proverbs 23:5). And even so, they were produced correctly by R. Meir.

GEMARA: A Tanna stated: This is not the case with [the public reading of] the Torah. From where does this rule come? R. Abbahu said: As the verse says, "But as for you, stand here with me" (Deuteronomy 5:28). R. Abbahu also said: Were it not written in the Scripture, it would be impossible for us to say it: as it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, also was standing.

GEMARA: A Tanna stated: This is not the case with [the public reading of] the Torah. From where does this rule come? R. Abbahu said: As the verse says, "But as for you, stand here with me" (Deuteronomy 5:28). R. Abbahu also said: Were it not written in the Scripture, it would be impossible for us to say it: as it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, also was standing.

R. Abbahu further said: How do we know that a rabbi should not sit on a couch and teach his students while they sit on the ground? Because it says, "But as for you, stand here with me." (Deuteronomy 5:27)

R. Abbahu said: It refers to one who says, "My monetary [value] be upon me" as it has been taught: "One who says, My monetary [value] be upon me, we estimate his value as we would that of a slave." And a slave is compared to property, as it is written, "And you shall pass them down as an inheritance for your children after you, to hold for a possession" (Leviticus 25:46).